Russian Contractors in the Service of the Kremlin, 2019

This is the analytic paper by the Warsaw Institute. Over the past years, the Russian Federation has expressed a growing interest in contracting private military personnel, seen until now as the domain of countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, South Africa or Israel. But unlike these private military giants, PMC’s remain illegal in Russia according to the Constitution. However, despite this, private military firms enjoy (unofficial) support from the Kremlin that treats them as a tool to implement its strategic interests yet without the state’s direct participation. Russian mercenaries boost Moscow’s military influence while allowing political elites to evade responsibility for any steps taken by such companies in war-torn regions.

WI