Russia’s army is being subordinated to its security services
Vladimir Putin mistrusts his generals
TWO WEEKS after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Sergei Beseda’s mobile phone went dead. Mr Beseda, a general in the FSB, Russia’s main security agency, had been responsible for informing Vladimir Putin about internal dynamics in Ukraine. He was one of the bosses of the FSB’s Fifth Service, set up in the 1990s to spy on former Soviet republics. His information led to Mr Putin’s mistaken expectation that Ukraine would crumble.
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This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “Calling the shots”
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