Russian Civil-Military Relations in Concept of Ukrainian Geopolitics: Part-3

Khrushchev’s Tenure

Nikita Khrushchev’s ouster 11 years later was an equally perilous operation for Leonid Brezhnev and his Politburo colleagues, who had decided that Khrushchev was overstepping the bounds of their collective leadership. From 1950 to 1953 Khrushchev in the inner circle at the Kremlin was well-placed to closely observe and evaluate Stalin's foreign policy, while of course praising the dictator every day. Khrushchev considered the entire Cold War to be a serious mistake on Stalin's part. 

In long-term perspective, it created a militarized struggle with NATO, a stronger capitalist coalition. That struggle was entirely unnecessary, and was very expensive for the Soviet Union. It diverted attention away from the neutral developing world, where progress could be made, and it weakened Moscow's relationship with its East European satellites. He believed the working classes and the common peoples of the world would eventually find their way towards socialism and communism, and that conflicts like the Cold War diverted their attention from this eventual goal. 

In specific terms Khrushchev decided that Stalin had made a series of mistakes, such as heavy-handed pressure in Turkey and Iran in 1945 and 1946, and especially heavy pressure on Berlin that led to the failed Berlin blockade in 1948. 

Following photo is Khrushchev with Vice President Richard Nixon, 1959, Khrushchev decided that Stalin had made a series of mistakes, such as heavy-handed pressure in Turkey and Iran

Nikita Khrushchev enjoyed strong support during the 1950s thanks to major victories like the Suez Crisis, the launching of Sputnik, the Syrian Crisis of 1957, and the 1960 U-2 incident. By the early 1960s however, Khrushchev's popularity was eroded by flaws in his policies, as well as his handling of the Cuban Missile Crisis. 

This emboldened his potential opponents, who quietly rose in strength and deposed him. At this point, beginning in March 1964, Supreme Soviet presidium chairman and nominal head of state Leonid Brezhnev began plotting Khrushchev's removal. KGB chief Vladimir Semichastny played a pivotal role. He met with Khrushchev at the airport upon Khrushchev return from a Black Sea vacation and informed him that he was out of his job. Flanked by a group of KGB guards, Semichastny warned Khrushchev not to resist. Khrushchev, who had appointed Semichastny to his KGB post and considered him a close ally, felt deeply betrayed, but he accepted his fate and the transfer of power took place smoothly. 

Some historians argued that it was not a coup, because it followed the Central Committee procedures for naming leadership that Khrushchev had himself introduced in which there were no show trials, no ritual attacks, no public confessions, and no executions. However, he did not suffer the deadly fate of previous Soviet power struggles and was pensioned off with an apartment in Moscow and a dacha in the countryside. 

When it's come to contemporary time, the efforts to depose Russian President Vladmir Putin would require either active or passive support from three key organizations such a the military, the FSB (successor to the KGB) and the National Guard (“Rosgvardiya”). Putin has firm allies in place like Russian Siloviki. They are the alphas in a world of alphas. They resent the way the Soviet Union surrendered in 1990s and they are commited to the idea of Russia as a global power in which They are known as “Siloviki”. They are ruthless, cunning and tenacious. They are closely identified with Putin forming his most trusted advisors and making up what is the machinery of the Russian State but what constitute the Federal Siloviki apart from the broader Russian elite is that they are possessing extraordinary hard power. 

Most nations have a social contract that emphasizes economic growth, stability or electoral representation but Siloviki believed that in Russia legitimacy derives from military conquest. They are believe that Russia is an exceptional nation destined to be a premier global power. At this point, if repression is necessary to achieve that goal then they don’t hesitate to not use force. Those are a group of man who will not take “no” for an answer. Who exactly are the Siloviki? and if they have Putin’s error what exactly are they saying and will they do? 

Oligarch System:

Boris Berezovsky, Vladimir Gusinsky and Mikhail Khodorkovsky (The men on the above photo) were repressed and driven abroad therefore the rest of the oligarchy fell in line.

Oligarch is a term often used to describe the ulta rich Russian class which accumulated exceptional wealth in the 1990s. Since then the term has been synonymous with political influence though the club of entrepreneurs did dominate political affairs during the Former President Boris Yeltsin era. The hold of the oligarchy was broken beyond recovery by President Puitn’s first tenure in office when the top persons Boris Berezovsky, Vladimir Gusinsky and Mikhail Khodorkovsky were repressed and driven abroad therefore the rest of the oligarchy fell in line. At this point, Russian billionaries were not allowed to keep their business until they vowed unconditional obedience to the head of the state. With Putin presidency, oligarchy as a political power broker is gone though admittedly the concept itself has survived. It should be noted that the term of oligarchy and its place replaced with a new smaller group of policy makers known as “the Sloviki” which does come to means of “the Powerful.”

Since Putin come to power, the members of Siloviki have enrolled into offices throughout all branches of governance in Russia with a particular focus on military and security related agencies. The members of the Siloviki operate military factories by employing tens of thousands of security agents recruiting and deploying spies, drafting national policy as well. Most of the Siloviki are former KGB members and some are former military officers and some are still civilian technocrats. The Federal Siloviki has remained homogenous since its inceptions and its members make up Putin’s inner circle fueling his geopolitical anxieties. The Sloviki judge that “everyone who are residing outside Russia they are potential suspect as being a threat to Russia as harboring plans for destruction. If NATO is technically capable of harming Russian security then it will eventually do exactly that in due time. ”

The Sloviki judge that “everyone who are residing outside Russia they are potential suspect as being a threat to Russia as harboring plans for destruction. If NATO is technically capable of harming Russian security then it will eventually do exactly that in due time

In accordance to the Siloviki’s monolithic world view suggesting is that Russia is a fortress under siege fighting for its place in the world that is denied by the west and the only objective mechanism that can truly ensure security by geopolitical dimensions. That is why the members of the Siloviki giving importance to the belief of “Alexander Dugin and the Hearthland Theory.” At this point, they believe that Russia must transform itself into a “Eurasian Super Power” therefore it can challange the western hemisphere for global supremacy. To this end, they transmitted all their own power to the executive office in a way that members of the Siloviki fueled Putin’s anxieties by having influence on Russian decision making system.  The list of the Siloviki members is extensive with each coming from different backgrounds.