Prospects for reform of the Russian militia

Abstract

The author compares the possible reform of the Russian militia with the urgently needed Russian military reform. In contrast to the likely military reform any substantial reform of the law‐enforcement currently lacks the commitment from the country's political establishment. The structure of the Ministry of the Interior's forces, its ranking system and the ideology of policing still largely reflect the old Soviet values. Therefore, they cannot be productive in the rapidly changing conditions of the modern Russia. New types of crime and the increasing public fears are commonly used to justify the more repressive militia's tactics, the anonymity of its officers’ actions, their little concern on the violation of the individual rights and the diminishing role for the public control over the law‐enforcement. The only changes within the militia's priorities are caused by the re‐distribution of the power, with even a bigger emphasis on the political elites’ personal security. Due to the collapse of the state fin...