Julian Macfarlane
Russia advances; the West retreats into madness
As Russian forces in the Ukraine continue their advances, cauldronizing the last remnants of Kievan occupation forces in Liman and Konstantinovka in preparation for taking the Slavyangrad - Kramatorsk agglomeration, and with Russian airpower strikes on all fronts, it would seem that the SVO is entering a decisive phase. Kiev is getting desperate with more and more terrorist strikes. Kiev will not give up easily. And the West is increasingly deranged. ]The Silovik myth
There are constant references to Putin’s KGB background, with the KGB understood as the USSR’s Gestapo. . Putin is the ultimate silovik.
This word, “silovik” tells us much about the centuries old phobic response of Europe and the Anglosphere to Russian civilization and its values. And indeed Putin IS the “ultimate Silovik” have reinvented the concept of public service in the context of a renewed Russia.
For him, “Siloviki” are public servants who have dedicated their lives to serving Mother Russia. They represent service and sacrifice And the Russian public agrees. No world leader, other than Xi, is as popular with his people as Putinm One can keep in mind, that, if the Russian people, don’t support him, they won’t vote for him.
Of course, as Western academics will tell you, the siloviki were associated with the KGB in the context of the USSR, post Stalin.
Yet to understand the full meaning of what this kind of public service means you must also understand why Putin sought to join the KGB as a young man, despite the discouragement of family, friends, teachers — and the KGB itself! (That’s in a separate post for coffeebuyers. You can click on the link later.)
In my last post, we talked about honesty - an important idea in any country with complex hierarchies—and not something seen much in Washington DC. .
The honest man
Who would say that of any Western politician?
Nor is Putin’s association with the KGB and a its successor agencies a problem for Russians.
It may be hard for Western readers to grasp this, for lack of historical context
The KGB was the successor to Stalin’s’ NKVD which was a massive organization including secret police, the regular police, the penal system and border and internal troops.
American Threat
The Soviet Union at this time was under constant threat from Western intelligence agencies, which were overthrowing governments around the world, Greece, Iran, etc.
The Soviet espionage networks at Los Alamos were organized and directed by the NKVD (People’s Commissariat for Internal Affairs) under the code name ENORMOZ. Soviet intelligence officers operating out of the New York consulate recruited scientists and set up a system to to funnel research to Moscow.
The majority of these scientists were Jewish, including Ethel Rosenberg who was not a scientist. The only non-Jew was Klaus Fuchs who was German. Only the Rosenbergs were executed although records show Ethel Rosenberg was innocent of anything but marrying a spy.
She deserves exoneration, of course — but it will probably never happen. .
Why you don’t know?
The point is that the USSR had good reason to be afraid of American intentions. It’s initial intelligence after WWII was thanks to the…
KVD / NKGB: foreign intelligence services
MGB: (Ministry of State Security), which handled collection of early U.S. war plans like Operation Fleetwood and Operation Charioteer.
GRU: which intercepted a large portion of Pentagon tactical planning.
These plans were partially revealed in the 70s, then more fully with the opening of Soviet archives in the 90s. which helped dispel Russian illusions about American benevolence.
It also revealed how much Russia owed its siloviki.
It also helped that the KGB which replaced the NKVD organizations had a much better image.
Beginning in the Khrushchev and Brezhnev eras, aware of the NIKVD’s reputation, the USSR promoted “Chekist fiction” in literature and film (such as Yulian Semyonov’s Seventeen Moments of Spring).
These stories portrayed KGB officers as brilliant, incorruptible patriots, deeply devoted to the state rather than blindly serving a political party.
Whether or not, ordinary people believed this, as you will see, the KGB did— and tried to live up to the new image, as I explain in the follow-up article on the coffee buyer’s site .
The KGB represented order and the rule of law (Soviet Style) And principles and integrity at the same time. .
But with the economic and social chaos of the 80s and the geopolitical humiliations that broke the Soviet Union apart, the KGB foundered and was replaced by the FSB, created by Boris Yeltsin and the, FSR and GRU.
The FSB handles domestic counterintelligence.
The SVR is the foreign intelligence branch.
The GRU handles military intelligence and offshore operations.
So, Yeltsin basically broke the KGB into three organizations. Putin was given the job of making them work. And he did, imposing on them the values he had hoped for in the old KGB.
Russia Under Threat
The Chechen War, which has been set up by the CIA and MI6 was raging with major terrorist attacks in Russia. Naturally, the Western media portrayed the Chechens as “freedom fighters”, although the rhetoric lost momentum after the Boston Bombing.
Budyonnovsk Hospital Hostage Crisis (June 1995): Militants led by Shamil Basayev seized a hospital in southern Russia, taking over 1,500 hostages. The siege resulted in the deaths of 129 civilians and hostages.
Kizlyar-Pervomayskoye Hostage Crisis (January 1996): Fighters attacked a military airbase and a hospital in Kizlyar, taking thousands of hostages and retreating to the village of Pervomayskoye, leaving dozens dead.
Moscow Theater Siege (October 2002): Chechen militants seized the Dubrovka Theater in Moscow, holding approximately 850 people hostage. Russian special forces stormed the building using gas, resulting in the deaths of 40 attackers and at least 129 hostages.
Beslan School Siege (September 2004): Attackers occupied School Number One in Beslan, North Ossetia, holding over 1,000 people hostage. The three-day siege ended in a violent chaotic rescue operation, leaving 334 people dead, including 186 children.
Russian Apartment Bombings (September 1999): A series of coordinated bombings targeted apartment blocks in Buynaksk, Moscow, and Volgodonsk, killing nearly 300 people.
Moscow Metro Bombings (February 2004): A suicide bombing on a crowded Moscow metro train during morning rush hour killed 41 people and wounded over 100.
Domodedovo Aircraft Bombings (August 2004): Two Russian passenger planes were blown up by female suicide bombers within minutes of each other, resulting in 90 deaths.
Yessentuki Train Bombing (December 2003): A suicide bombing on a commuter train near the Yessentuki station in southern Russia killed 46 people and injured 160.
That’s about 600 civilians – not counting Chechens. By comparison about 500 to 1000 Russian civilians have died as a result of Ukranian terrorism since 2022 – not counting those who died after 2014.
In Russia,the Russian intelligence agencies are credited with reducing casualties , but often criticized for being too liberal in their approach.
But today, Chechnya is thriving and very pro-Russian.
But the Russian public is tired of Western interference and increasingly vocal in demanding more extreme measures !
The responsibility of the siloviki is to protect not just the “state” but its people. Also to lead not to be led by special interests. In the US the government is “led” by the wealthy. The Epstein Class does not serve — it is served. This is one reason why Putin’s anticorruption efforts are so popular. “Don’t lie, don’t steal, don’t cheat”. It’s pretty simple.