He hinted this to the Russians: Putin’s new term will rely on the security forces, in particular the FSB, – ISW

ISW said that Putin will rely on the support of the FSB during the next term of the presidency/Collage 24 Channel

Analysts of the American Institute Studies of the war noted that after his “victory,” Vladimir Putin introduced the Russian Federal Security Service as the main guarantor of Russia’s security and sovereignty. It is on their help that the Russian dictator will obviously rely.

Experts noted that in this way Putin probably gave a signal that Russian security services and siloviki will continue to represent his core constituency for the new presidential term. In particular, for the Russian dictator this will already be the fifth term in the role of “president” of Russia.

Putin will rely on the security forces during new “presidency”

The Institute for the Study of War said that Putin made his first big address since his speech about “victory” in the March 18 elections at a meeting of the FSB board on March 19. During the meeting, the Russian dictator “praised the FSB officers for ensuring the security and sovereignty of Russia.

” Putin thanked the FSB officers for successful operations in Ukraine, for stopping attempts to interfere in the internal affairs of the Russian Federation and for repelling “terrorist” attacks against Russia (we are talking about limited raids of all-Russian pro-Ukrainian volunteers in the Kursk and Belgorod regions),” noted ISW.

According to analysts, Putin also emphasized the FSB's role in “suppressing attempts by unnamed individuals to provoke internal unrest and inter-ethnic conflicts in Russia” and the FSB's responsibilities to “ensure Russia's economic security, fight corruption and protect critical infrastructure.”

< p class="bloquote cke-markup">Putin's invocation of these FSB functions was likely intended to remind his voters that his regime has the support of a large security apparatus, which the Kremlin has been trying to expand since the start of the full-scale invasion, especially after the failed Wagner uprising in June 2023, the experts noted.

ISW also explained that Putin may be seeking to send a signal that Russian security forces are firmly united in supporting his fifth presidential term and his military efforts in Ukraine. In addition, according to experts, Putin has traditionally pitted Russia's security services and security forces against each other to compete for his support and prevent any single entity from amassing too much power.