Sometimes known in English as EMERCOM, MChS is a great success story. Formed partially on the basis of Civil Defense troops of the Soviet military, its closest analogue in the US context would be the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). In reality, it is quite a different animal. Formed in the late-Soviet period as a “rescue corps,” it became a State Committee for Emergency Situations and then a State Committee for Civil Defense and Emergency Situations after taking over the Civil Defense forces. It was elevated to a ministry, MChS, in 1994. One man, Sergey Shoygu, headed the organization throughout the Yeltsin and Putin presidencies, making him by far the longest serving minister in the Russian government.79
The core personnel of MChS was given as 22,831 by the Federal State Statistics Service in 2007. This number obviously does not include the roughly 20,000 personnel in the Civil Defense Forces, as well as the 220,000 employees of the State Fire Service, which MChS succeeded in gaining control over in 2001 after years of efforts by Shoygu. Even so, the Ministry has apparently become considerably smaller in recent years; previous estimates put the size of MChS at 70,000 personnel, including the Civil Defense Forces but not the State Fire Service. Further, the Civil Defense forces are to be removed from MChS by 2011 as part of the long-anticipated “demilitarization” of the agency.80
MChS is active both domestically and internationally. Domestically, it is a highly visible presence at the scene of both natural and man-made disasters. This visibility and Shoygu’s reputation as a competent official have made MChS one of the most trusted government agencies. Shoygu’s popularity made him a logical choice to head the new “Unity” party in 1999, and he remains a prominent member of the successor ruling party, “United Russia.”81 Internationally, it also participates in relief operations after natural disasters. Much of its international activity is done on a commercial basis, some of which has prompted corruption allegations.82
MChS also played an important role in the conflict in Chechnya and neighboring regions, dealing with refugees and humanitarian aid. Despite this humanitarian role, MChS personnel, many of whom previously served in the armed forces, wear uniforms, travel in military vehicles, and carry weapons. The Russian journalist Dmitry Babich wryly noted that, given its size and militarized nature, MChS was “capable not only of liquidating emergency situations, but also creating them.” Russian expert Ekaterina Stepanova refers to MChS as a “militarized humanitarian agency” but gives it high marks for its competent work in the North Caucasus.83
Although Shoygu personally is an important and influential figure, the MChS as an institution is not a prominent political actor, and it is known to most Russians only through their TV screens. Still, its relative competence as a disaster relief organization has arguably contributed to Russian state capacity throughout the post-Soviet period.
The KGB and Its Successors
Although smaller and receiving less money than the armed forces, pride of place among the power ministries as a political actor in the Soviet period goes to the KGB. Its broad mandate of foreign intelligence, border security, communications security, domestic intelligence and repression, and leadership protection made it a central figure in maintaining Soviet rule at home and expanding influence abroad. The KGB played a key role in the overthrow of one General Secretary (Nikita Khrushchev in 1964), the attempted overthrow of another (Mikhail Gorbachev in 1991), and one of its own became the top leader of the country (Yuriy Andropov, KGB head from 1967 to 1982 and General Secretary from 1982 to 1984). Secret police personnel are collectively known as “Chekists,” after the name for the KGB predecessor organization, the Cheka, created under Lenin.84
Estimates put the size of the KGB at around 500,000-700,000 personnel in the late Soviet period. Given the lead role the KGB played in the August 1991 coup, as well as its traditional major role in domestic politics, not to mention its past role in the bloodiest episodes of Soviet history, Gorbachev and Yeltsin decided to break up the KGB into multiple parts. As Figure 2.1 shows, of the three main Soviet power ministries, the KGB, at least organizationally, was the most affected by the Soviet collapse. Separate agencies were created for foreign intelligence, domestic intelligence and counterintelligence, border protection, government communications, and leadership security.85
World History
