Putin's militocracy? An alternative interpretation ofSilovikiin contemporary Russian politics

Democracy, Authoritarianism, and Ministerial Selection in Russia: How Presidential Preferences Shape Technocratic Cabinets

“…The central reason for the enhancedpresence of ministers with coercive and economic backgrounds in the government, in other words, is the changing governing strategy of apresident. These results contribute to and clarify the debate about the trend toward the increasing "militarization" of Russia'snationalleadership and its implications (Kryshtanovskaya and White, 2003;Renz, 2006;Illarionov, 2009). While the siloviki arei ndeed drawn from ar angeo fb ackgrounds (Bremmer andCharap, 2006 -2007, p. 87), and hold av ariety of political views (Renz, 2006), the crucial question is whythey are being promoted to central positions in government.…”

“…These results contribute to and clarify the debate about the trend toward the increasing "militarization" of Russia'snationalleadership and its implications (Kryshtanovskaya and White, 2003;Renz, 2006;Illarionov, 2009). While the siloviki arei ndeed drawn from ar angeo fb ackgrounds (Bremmer andCharap, 2006 -2007, p. 87), and hold av ariety of political views (Renz, 2006), the crucial question is whythey are being promoted to central positions in government. By early 2007, this group controlled more than 10 government agencies and had partial control over severalm ore (Bremmer andCharap, 2006-2007).…”

“…Thus, Renz proposes that the influx into the elite of siloviki-individuals with professional backgrounds in the armed services, law enforcement bodies, and intelligencea gencies-cannot be said to favoramore authoritarian policy direction because the siloviki differ in terms of institutional attachment, former rank,r ole, and political outlook, and do not form a coherent political group (Renz, 2006). This work has contributed much to the understanding of Russia's cabinets, but ac ritical omission has limited the ability of scholars to resolve the debates outlined above.…”

Civil–Military Relations and Institutional Decay: Explaining Russian Military Politics

“…For excellent expositions on this issue, seeRenz (2006) andTaylor (2007). CIVIL-MILITARY RELATIONS AND INSTITUTIONAL DECAY 593 Downloaded by [UZH Hauptbibliothek / Zentralbibliothek Zürich] at 11:14 22 December 2014…”

Russian state visions of world order and the limits to universal liberalism

“…These tendencies have been accompanied by the increased involvement of security forces, or siloviki, in Putin's inner circle, a trend that began early in his tenure as Russian President. A comprehensive definition of the term is offered by Renz (2006):…”