Intelligence & Counter-intelligence

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A Failure of Personalised Services: Prioritising Regime Security over Public Safety 

Despite its vigilant security apparatus with extensive surveillance networks, Russia was unable to prevent the terrorist attack on the concert hall close to its capital. The question is why it failed. Why is the Federal Security Service (FSB), tasked with combating terrorism, now downplaying the involvement of the Islamic State? What effect will this tragedy have on Putin’s regime? To address these questions, it is essential to understand Russia’s distinctive approach to counterterrorism.

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Putin’s Counterintelligence State

It is far from inevitable that the looming historical defeat of the Russian armed forces in their full-blown invasion of Ukraine will shutter the core of the counterintelligence state. On the contrary, the growing militarisation and securitisation of Russian society will most likely bring the Federal Security Service (FSB), the regime’s ‘sword and shield,’ to the forefront as a primary instrument of maintaining subservience and order.

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