Potočňák, Adam and Miroslav Mareš
2022
Russia’s Private Military Enterprises as a Multipurpose Tool of Hybrid Warfare
The Journal of Slavic Military Studies
35
2
https://doi.org/10.1080/13518046.2022.2132608
This article covers the emergence, evolution and use of private military enterprises in Russia. Although formally illegal, there exist a diverse private military enterprises market in Russia with several providers more or less intertwined with state authorities. Building on previous research, the authors conclude that Russian private military enterprises gradually evolved from grassroots origins into a suitable tool for a wide range of hybrid warfare and counter-hybrid warfare operations. Moreover, the authors found that Russian private military providers recently underwent a transformation that turned them into a multipurpose tool usable in Russia’s geopolitical confrontation with the West. Russian PMCs have recently been seen in many African countries, where their activities contribute to two purposes — first, the commercial interests of their owners and donors. Second, the advance of Moscow’s geopolitical and economic interests. This modus vivendi is made possible by a peculiar, non-transparent relationship between the Russian state or specific state authorities (especially armed forces and intelligence services) and the owners of allegedly private military enterprises – the so-called hybrid model of the economy. Its essence is the leverage the state has over the privateers – an ability to summon them at any time in support of the state’s strategic goals in exchange for privateers’ impunity and tolerance of their de facto illegal business activities.
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