The “Siloviki”: Putin's circle of power in the Kremlin could produce his successor
Created: 06/12/2022, 04:46 am
By: Felix Durach
The "Siloviki" is Vladimir Putin's inner circle of power in the Kremlin.
The circle consists of close confidants and old companions of the President.
Moscow – The Russian war of aggression in Ukraine is the next escalation of an increasingly aggressive Russian foreign policy.
At least since the start of President Vladimir Putin's second term in office, Russia has made no secret of its radical foreign policy efforts.
The illegal annexation of the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea in 2014 underscored Russia's foreign policy course, which culminated in the recent escalation of the Ukraine conflict.
Experts also attribute the development to the political orientation of Putin's inner circle of power in the Kremlin.
The representatives of the secret service and military associated with the Russian autocrat, referred to as “siloviki”, are among Putin's most influential confidants.
The ideas of the "siloviki" after a repressive domestic and aggressive foreign policy of Russia could have influenced the president.
In his political endeavors, Putin seems to have recognized the course his circle of power is taking as the right one.
“Sloviki”: Putin’s closest confidants – “The Kremlin is like a solar system”
"The Kremlin is like a solar system, with Putin as the sun and all the planets in different orbits around it," Vladimir Gelman, a professor of Russian politics at the University of Helsinki, told the
Guardian
about the power structure in Moscow.
In this context, the term "siloviki" is derived from the Russian word for power and strength and refers to those "planets" that form close circles around the Russian president.
Russian President Vladimir Putin with the members of his "siloviki" power circle in the Kremlin.
(Archive image) © Mikhail Klimentyev/imago-images
When choosing his confidants, Putin relies above all on loyalty.
The Russian President was born in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) and made his career with the Russian secret service KGB.
It is therefore not surprising that the "Silowiki" also contains a number of former KGB employees with connections to St. Petersburg.
Putin's hawk Nikolai Patrushev: Political hard-liner is treated as Putin's successor
One of them is Nikolai Patrushev, Secretary of the Russian Security Council.
Like Putin, the 70-year-old comes from Leningrad and replaced the president in 1999 as head of the KGB's successor organization, the FSB.
Because of their long history together, Patrushev is also considered one of Putin's closest confidants.
With his political orientation, the former KGB man should also have a certain influence on the president - at least on a small scale.
Politically, Patrushev is seen as a hardliner who wants to strengthen Russia's position vis-à-vis the West.
"Patrushev is the hawk because he thinks the West has been out to get Russia for years," University College London's Ben Noble told the BBC.
A few days after the beginning of the Russian war of aggression, the 70-year-old spoke at a Security Council meeting broadcast on live television that the destruction of Russia was the "specific goal" of the USA.
Considered a political hardliner and close confidante of the president: Nikolai Patrushev, head of the Security Council.
© Yelena Afonina/imago-images
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Patrushev is also being treated as a potential deputy and successor to Putin if reports of the president's illness come true.
In addition to the Secretary of the Security Council, Alexander Bortnikov and Sergey Naryshkin complete the “Leningrad Trio” in the “Silowiki”.
Bortnikov heads the domestic intelligence agency FSB, while Naryshkin heads Russia's foreign intelligence agency SVR.
Like Putin and Patrushev, both have a KGB past.
Because of his position, Bortnikov is also one of the Kremlin boss's most influential confidants and advisers.
In reports by the Ukrainian secret service, the 70-year-old was even named as a potential successor to Vladimir Putin, should the Russian military attempt to overthrow Putin as a consequence of the Ukraine war.
The relationship between Vladimir Putin and Sergey Naryshkin, on the other hand, seems to be on the decline.
At a Security Council meeting in February, the 67-year-old made a mistake when asked about the self-proclaimed People's Republics of Donetsk and Luhansk and stuttered.
Putin then sharply rebuked the SWR boss and punished him in public.
Observers took the behavior as a sign of the deteriorating relationship between Putin and Naryshkin.
Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu as part of the "siloviki" - fallen out of favor with Putin?
Another member of the "siloviki" may have fallen out of favor with Putin in the recent past: Russia's Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.
The 67-year-old has also been in private contact with President Putin in the past and accompanied him on hunting trips to Siberia.
Shoigu was able to score plus points with the autocrat through the annexation of Crimea he carried out in 2014, which took place with virtually no Russian losses.
A confidante at Putin's side: Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu next to the Russian President at a parade in May 2022. © Evgeny Biyatov/imago-images
However, due to the lack of success, the Minister of Defense is increasingly coming under pressure.
The numerous suspected losses in the Ukraine war and the failed conquest of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv are eroding the 67-year-old's position.
Normally, Putin has little tolerance for such failures.
However, Schoigu seems to be able to hold his position.
Political scientist Tatyana Stanovaya told the
Guardian
that Putin does blame his defense minister for the mistakes.
However, the president is still aware of Shoigu's qualities.
Igor Sechin: Putin's "right hand" as a possible successor?
An important member of the "siloviki" outside of politics is Igor Sechin.
Like much of Putin's inner circle of power, the 61-year-old has a KGB past.
Sechin now runs the state-owned oil company Rosneft, putting himself at the forefront of Putin's most important geopolitical tool.
In this position, Sechin also had dealings with former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, who was active as chairman of the supervisory board at Rosneft.
Sechin has also been described as Putin's right-hand man in the past and is also being treated as a possible successor to the president at the head of the Kremlin.
Merely because of their power, influence and ties to Putin, the members of the "siloviki" are eligible as the new heads of state of the Russian Federation.
However, only the future can tell what effects Putin's circle of power will have on the further course of the Ukraine war.
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