Federal Law on Private Military Security Companies. What does the Russian law say about PMCs? Chapter i. general provisions

What is the Wagner group

Private military company Wagner appeared in the Middle East shortly before Russia began officially deploying its bases in Syria in the fall of 2015, a Defense Ministry officer noted in a conversation with RBC. This information was confirmed by a source familiar with the operation. In total, almost 2.5 thousand people who represented the Wagner group were located near the Syrian Latakia and Aleppo.

Fontanka first reported on the Wagner group and its participation in the Syrian war in October 2015. According to this media, PMC fighters were previously seen in the southeast of Ukraine, where they took part in battles on the side of the self-proclaimed republics. The Wall Street Journal also wrote about this.

Wagner’s group got its name from the call sign of the detachment leader, RBC sources who are personally familiar with Wagner said. "Fontanka" called commander PMC Wagner Dmitry Utkin: according to the publication, Wagner is his combat call sign. Utkin was at a reception in the Kremlin in December 2016, this information was provided by the press secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov.

Wagner PMC with the owner of the Concord group Yevgeny Prigozhin, the latter in a commentary to RBC, which has nothing to do with the military company.

An RBC source familiar with fighters from the Wagner group said that the minimum salary of a mercenary at a base in Russia is 80 thousand rubles, and for service in Syria they pay from 250 thousand rubles. per month. For the deceased, the military company pays compensation to his relatives.

According to the chairman of the Moscow Military Bar Association, Vladimir Trignin, the law is necessary because now PMC employees and their families “do not have the rights and benefits like contract soldiers”: “PMC employees are not under any protection, are not insured, although they can perform tasks national importance on the territory of other states.”

Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Defense Yuri Shvytkin (“ United Russia") I am convinced that it is necessary to legalize PMCs. “The bill needs to be developed and clearly spell out the issue of social status and protection of this category of citizens, as well as members of their families,” he said, adding that the adoption of the law on PMCs “will increase the significance of the tasks that they perform.”

The head of the Conflict Intelligence Team (CIT) organization, Ruslan Leviev, was convinced that the current situation with the captured and killed fighters of the Wagner group forced them to declare the need to protect PMC employees.

In the matter of protecting the rights of such people, one should not forget that the Wagner group is very far from Western understanding the term "private military company," he added. Traditionally, employees of Western PMCs are engaged only in security and training, says Leviev. In his opinion, the conduct of battles and offensive operations, reconnaissance, and acts of sabotage should remain on the shoulders of government agencies. “With Dmitry Utkin’s group everything is different. Now Wagner PMC is the main ground tactical force of Russia in Syria. They drive fighting, are advancing on the enemy’s positions,” Leviev claims.

But the more problematic issue is the weapons, and not the recognition of losses, the head of CIT noted. “Private military companies need bases with weapons and armored vehicles to train fighters, and according to modern Russian legislation a private structure cannot own such an arsenal,” Leviev summed up.

According to CIT, during the campaign in Syria, about 260 Russian PMC fighters were killed. According to Fontanka data as of August 2017, during the entire Russian campaign in the Arab Republic, from 70 to 92 employees of Russian PMCs were killed.

Legal inconsistencies

The editor-in-chief of Arsenal of the Fatherland magazine, reserve colonel Viktor Murakhovsky notes that in practice, the interests of PMCs do not always coincide with the interests of government agencies. “In Syria, for example, it’s so a difficult situation, the forces at work are so different that theoretically it could happen that a Russian PMC will act in support of an organization that is in conflict with the Ministry of Defense. In this case, there must be some kind of arbitration, which would be in the image and likeness Federal service for military-technical cooperation, I would issue a license for every contract with a foreign state in the area of military cooperation,” says Murakhovsky.

The head of the private military company RSB-Group, Oleg Krinitsyn, claims that the absence of a law on PMCs “does not complicate their work at all.” He agreed that PMCs are companies engaged in supporting the military operations of the army, whose task is to obtain commercial profit. “Private military companies operate outside of Russia and are subject to the laws of the host country. And not a single country will recognize this law of ours,” Krinitsyn told RBC. He also added that this is at least the third attempt to write a law and “so far things have not gone further than talk.”

The State Duma Defense Committee has not yet prepared a bill regulating the activities of PMCs, Yuri Shvytkin told RBC. RBC’s source in the State Duma explains this by saying that “there was an unspoken directive not to attract undue attention to PMCs.” According to the source, most likely, the situation changed after the withdrawal of the main contingent of regular troops from Syria. “The role of PMCs will grow,” he added.

We need a bill that will legalize the situation with PMCs, Franz Klintsevich, a member of the Federation Council Defense Committee, told RBC. “We don’t have them, not yet, and the current legislation is extremely aggressive towards mercenaries. We are not developing it because of the position of the security agencies [who oppose such a law],” he said. A source in the apparatus of the upper house confirmed that the head of the defense committee, Viktor Bondarev, “has not received such laws and the leadership of the committee is not currently dealing with this problem.”

Mercenary Market

The legalization of PMCs in Russia means the emergence of a new market, but it will be small, Krinitsyn believes. He is confident that financial conditions will be created for entering the market that will not allow everyone to enter, but “only a select few and those close to them.” Officially, there will be three or four companies that have close ties with the authorities and law enforcement agencies, the head of RSB-Group is convinced.

PMC costs

“Taking into account salaries, base supplies, accommodation and food, the annual maintenance of the Wagner group can cost from 5.1 billion to 10.3 billion rubles. One-time expenses for equipment - 170 million rubles, compensation to the families of the victims with a minimum estimate of losses - from 27 million rubles,” RBC wrote in 2017.

After the legalization of private military companies, such as Wagner PMCs, Russian market there will be no more than three, Leviev believes. “This is very expensive: you need to maintain a base with a large number of weapons, ammunition, and armored vehicles. We need to find good instructors, qualified former military personnel - the potential personnel supply is also not immense,” he explained.

Allied countries and disputed territories will be interested in the services of Russian PMCs: the self-proclaimed republics of Donbass, Abkhazia, South Ossetia, Central Asian countries, Leviev added.

“Will our PMCs be able to receive truly monetary orders from European and American companies - for the protection of fields, diplomatic missions, and corporate facilities? Doubtful, since it requires an established reputation. And given our relations with the West, the sanctions, I suspect that almost none of the Western and European companies will dare to resort to the services of legal Russian PMCs,” summed up RBC’s interlocutor.

The State Duma promptly responded to the call of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to legalize the status of private military companies (PMCs), Nikita Kovalenko and Marina Baltacheva write on the pages of the online newspaper "Sight" . The principles of the future law have already been announced - all “wild geese” fighting abroad will be coordinated from the Ministry of Defense. PMCs will also be exempted from the criminal article on “mercenarism.” What can this give to the Russian state?

A bill designed to legalize PMCs is planned to be introduced within a month, Mikhail Emelyanov, first deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on State Construction and Legislation, said on Wednesday. “The law will allow PMCs to be involved in participation in counter-terrorism operations abroad and to protect the sovereignty of allied states from external aggression. And also to the protection of various objects, including oil and gas fields, railways", Emelyanov explained.

The deputy explained: the bill will spell out the concept, tasks and types of work of PMCs. In addition, state guarantees will be secured for Russians working for private military companies. Necessary restrictions will also be introduced: a ban on private military companies violating sovereignty and changing state borders, overthrowing legitimate authorities, conducting subversive activities, developing, purchasing or storing weapons of mass destruction.

The relevance of PMCs was especially demonstrated by the situation in Syria, Emelyanov pointed out. Other deputies agree with him: “We see real practice when the developed countries, such as America and a number of others, use PMCs to perform tasks outside their country. For us, this question is... somewhat underestimated. Private military companies are already a given, which cannot be ignored... We are ready to get involved in this work,” said Vladimir Shamanov, Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Defense.

“PMCs are a fast-growing global market, various companies from Western countries, Israel and Lately especially active from China. We have a tremendous advantage in this market. Few of our competitors have the kind of experience in participating in wars, the kind of tactics and strategy, training, and weapons that our officers possess. The history of Russia is such that we constantly have to fight, defend our sovereignty and independence. And we have enormous experience. Why don't we use it? – Yemelyanov asked rhetorically.

People who were shot at should write the law

“Most importantly, PMCs will help save the lives of hundreds of young people. Even under contract, too young people without proper experience serve in our army. He served a year in the army, signed a contract, and went to fight against highly professional mercenaries and fanatics. And the PMCs will accept people with very extensive experience, these are retired military personnel, officers who have been through hot spots. Accordingly, our losses will be less,” the deputy hopes.

“In addition, the dismissed officers will be employed. After all, they are demobilized at a relatively young age. They have been preparing to fight all their lives - they don’t know how to do anything else. They get drunk and go somewhere as security guards. Why not give them the opportunity to serve?” – asks Emelyanov.

General Director of the private security organization "RSB-Group", former officer FSB border guard Oleg Krinitsyn, who himself unofficially positions his company as a PMC, welcomes the news from the State Duma. According to him, “Russian contractors” need social guarantees, perhaps some benefits.

“I don’t see any other positive thing. We have a lot of documents that limit our lives - the law on weapons, for example, is imperfect,” Krinitsyn said. – How will a PMC move weapons or any equipment across the border, if this happens? I'm not sure this will work quickly. If done in a normal, human way, it could be a tool of influence Russian state without the participation of the Russian state - in those countries, as Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin said, in which we have our interests. Where it is inappropriate to send a military contingent, a group can enter and work as a private structure.”

The name "Wagner" was heard more than once

Indeed, there are already more than a hundred large private military companies operating in the world, primarily in the USA, Great Britain, and France. The importance of “soldiers of fortune” is evidenced by reports that appeared last year that the Trump administration involved representatives of two well-known PMCs - Blackwater (now Academi) and DynCorp - in developing US military strategy.

As a rule, the scope of activities of PMCs includes the security of facilities, training of army and police units, consulting services in the field of security, supply and provision of troops. Several dozen such companies were involved in Iraq and Afghanistan.

There is no similar practice in Russia. Moreover, work in “private armies” can be regarded as mercenarism (Article 359 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). “Recruiting, training, financing or other material support of a mercenary, as well as his use in an armed conflict or hostilities” can result in up to four to eight years in prison. The very work of a mercenary “by specialty” in a war zone is punishable by imprisonment for a term of three to seven years.

The West is convinced that Russian PMCs already exist and even pose a serious threat. For example, in June, the United States added Wagner PMC to its next sanctions list, as well as retired lieutenant colonel Dmitry Utkin, named as the leader of this supposedly existing organization.

As noted earlier, no real ways Washington does not have the option to punish PMCs Wagner and Utkin. If only because legally “Wagner” itself does not exist. Which, however, does not prevent the head of the SBU from blaming the “Wagner group” for the destruction of the Ukrainian Il-76 in Lugansk.

But the discussion about the legalization of PMCs has been going on since at least 2012, when President Vladimir Putin supported the idea of creating such companies that could provide services for the protection of facilities and training of foreign military personnel abroad - without the participation of the Russian state. At the same time, the defense industry curator, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, repeatedly spoke out in favor of the practice of using PMCs. In 2014, a bill on private military security companies was even introduced to the State Duma, but it was never adopted - after negative feedback from the government.

The debate on this issue flared up again after two Russians, Roman Zabolotny and Grigory Turcanu, were captured by ISIS militants in Syria, who were not formally military personnel. Last Monday, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called for the creation of a legislative framework to protect the interests of Russians working for PMCs in other countries, after which deputies became more active again.

How do “wild geese” differ from “military specialists”

After 1978, when the British action movie “Wild Geese” was released, this is what they began to call mercenaries who fight only for money. It is difficult to distinguish PMC fighters from mercenaries. The main difference is that a private commercial structure is controlled by the state and it also works in the interests of the state.

Both according to Russian and international law, the main criteria for “mercenaryism” are considered to be two characteristics: not only foreign citizenship, but also “selfish motives”, work for money. However, PMC fighters also receive a salary, and there are also internationally unrecognized states - for example, the DPR and LPR, so the legal boundary between these concepts remains blurred. As Oleg Krinitsyn says about this:

“It is very important that our activities do not run counter to the Criminal Code of Russia and international laws. We do not create armed groups. We do not participate as mercenaries in battles on the territories of other states.”

The 2014 bill, according to Krinitsyn, was “raw.” “It’s obvious that this was written by a non-professional. We took excerpts from the law on private security activities and added extracts from Tax Code, it’s not at all clear why it all happened. Let's say PMCs were prohibited from engaging in reconnaissance. And this is one of the elements of combat support. Before going anywhere, it is necessary to conduct reconnaissance of the area, conditions, etc.,” the head of RSB-Group is perplexed.

However, the initiators of the bill promise to take into account such concerns in the text.

“We are correcting the mistakes of the 2014 bill, expanding the scope of its activities, removing unjustified restrictions, and introducing additional guarantees,” explained Mikhail Emelyanov. “Then the government’s main objection was the somewhat far-fetched proposition that our bill supposedly contradicts the Constitution. They referred to Article 13, paragraph 5, which states that public associations cannot create armed groups. And we clarify that PMCs are not a public association. This commercial organization, pursuing the goal of making a profit.”

If we legalize PMCs, then all companies that operate within the framework of Russian legislation will not fall under the article of the Criminal Code on mercenarism, the deputy promises. He recalled international experience - foreign PMCs in the USA, Great Britain, China, etc. do not fall under these articles.

“We write in the bill that, firstly, they must act in full accordance with the principles of international law, with respect for the territorial integrity of states. Secondly, they can participate in operations abroad only at the invitation of the legitimate governments of these countries and with the permission of our Ministry of Defense, in the presence of an international agreement between our countries,” the deputy listed.

“But the customer does not have to be the state. It could also be our Ministry of Defense. What is very important: regardless of who the customer is, the controlling and coordinating function remains with the ministry. When a PMC operates on the territory of a foreign state, there must be a representative of the ministry. If a PMC goes beyond the limits dictated by the ministry, then at the request of the ministry, this company must leave this country. Otherwise, the license will be revoked,” the initiator of the law threatened.

taken from chvk.info

In Russia they propose to legalize the creation and operation of private military companies (PMCs). The corresponding bill is planned to be submitted to the State Duma for consideration within the next month. The first deputy chairman of the Committee on State Construction and Legislation, Mikhail Emelyanov, told RT about this.

“The bill is planned to be introduced within a month,” says Emelyanov. “Lavrov’s speech stimulates us to do this. The situation in Syria has shown the relevance of private military companies - they are excellent for use in such local conflicts. The law will allow PMC employees to participate in counter-terrorism operations abroad and to protect the sovereignty of allied states from external aggression. And also to the protection of various objects, including oil and gas fields, railways,” Emelyanov said.

He noted that the activities of such organizations must be licensed by relevant departments. The document will describe the concept and tasks of private military companies, the types of their work and services. Social guarantees will also be established for Russians who work for PMCs in Russia and other countries.

Among the planned restrictions for PMCs are a ban on violating sovereignty and changing the borders of states, overthrowing legitimate authorities, conducting subversive activities, developing, purchasing or storing weapons of mass destruction.

On January 15, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke about the need to protect the interests of Russian citizens who work for private military companies in other states.

“As for other countries, yes, this practice is spreading in many countries around the world. This happened both in Iraq and in other countries in the region, where the so-called Blackwater (an American PMC, now called Academi. - RT) worked. Then it was renamed into something else,” the minister said.

According to him, it is necessary to “clearly establish the legislative framework so that these people are also within the legal framework and protected.”

A private military company (PMC) is a commercial organization whose employees protect or protect objects or people for a fee. They also participate in armed conflicts under relevant contracts.

Currently in Russia there is no legal basis for the activities of PMCs. The idea of creating a PMC system in 2012 was supported by Vladimir Putin, who then served as Prime Minister.

The A Just Russia faction introduced the bill “On Private Military Security Activities” in 2014. However, it was later withdrawn from consideration.

Member of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs Anton Morozov believes that Russians working in PMCs should be provided with a number of social and labor guarantees.

“This issue has already been discussed many times, and, apparently, the moment has come when it is necessary to make a decision on this as quickly as possible. In our country, even those who want to go and earn money this way cannot do this - there is no necessary legal framework. Those wishing to work for private military companies should be provided with legal guarantees. This is, first of all, a guarantee of payment of remuneration, accounting of experience, health insurance, payment of compensation to families in the event of a person’s death,” Morozov explained.

Pixabay

The State Duma Defense Committee is ready to get involved in work on a bill on private military companies. The chairman of the committee, Vladimir Shamanov, reported this to RT.

“Over the past year and a half, to one degree or another, individual initiative groups have raised the issue of PMCs, but the matter has not gone further than talk. We see real practice when developed countries, such as America and a number of others, use PMCs to perform tasks outside their country. In our country, this issue, it seems to me, has been somewhat underestimated. Private military companies are already a given, which cannot be ignored... We are ready to get involved in this work,” he explained.

Olga Kovitidi, a member of the Federation Council Committee on Defense and Security, noted that PMCs will create jobs for retired military personnel and help protect Russia’s interests.

“In the context of existing challenges and threats directed against Russia, the definition of a systemic legal regulation activities of private military companies can become an effective tool for realizing Russia’s national interests. With the proper legislative framework, the activities of private military companies can become profitable and useful, providing not only the protection of Russia’s national interests and jobs for retired military personnel, but also being an effective conductor foreign policy state,” Kovitidi is sure.

Meanwhile, according to military expert, commercial director of Arsenal of the Fatherland magazine Alexei Leonkov, the law should exclude the possibility of Russian private military companies working against the interests of the country.

“If we have PMCs, many countries will immediately be interested in them, since the skills and abilities of our military specialists are valued all over the world. Russian PMCs that will operate outside of Russia must obey the laws of the host country. It is necessary to stipulate in the law that private interests should not contradict state ones. So that their activities, for example, in Syria do not come into conflict with the operations carried out by our armed forces. Legalization of PMCs is a whole layer of work,” Leonkov said.

Regulatory documents need to stipulate what weapons and equipment Russian private military companies can use in their work, the expert added.

What is the Wagner group

Wagner’s private military company appeared in the Middle East shortly before Russia began officially deploying its bases in Syria in the fall of 2015, a Defense Ministry officer noted in a conversation with RBC. This information was confirmed by a source familiar with the operation. In total, almost 2.5 thousand people who represented the Wagner group were located near the Syrian Latakia and Aleppo.

Wagner’s group got its name from the call sign of the detachment leader, RBC sources who were personally familiar with Wagner said. Fontanka called Dmitry Utkin the commander of the Wagner PMC: according to the publication, Wagner is his combat call sign. Utkin was at a reception in the Kremlin in December 2016, this information was provided by the press secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov.

Wagner PMC with the owner of the Concord group Yevgeny Prigozhin, the latter in a commentary to RBC, which has nothing to do with the military company.

Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Defense Yuri Shvytkin (United Russia) is convinced that it is necessary to legalize PMCs. “The bill needs to be developed and clearly spell out the issue of social status and protection of this category of citizens, as well as members of their families,” he said, adding that the adoption of the law on PMCs “will increase the significance of the tasks that they perform.”

In protecting the rights of such people, it is worth remembering that the Wagner group is very far from the Western understanding of the term “private military company,” he added. Traditionally, employees of Western PMCs are engaged only in security and training, says Leviev. In his opinion, the conduct of battles and offensive operations, reconnaissance, and acts of sabotage should remain on the shoulders of state structures. “With Dmitry Utkin’s group everything is different. Now Wagner PMC is the main ground tactical force of Russia in Syria. They are conducting combat operations, advancing on enemy positions,” Leviev asserts.

But the more problematic issue is the weapons, and not the recognition of losses, the head of CIT noted. “Private military companies need bases with weapons and armored vehicles to train fighters, and according to modern Russian legislation, a private structure cannot own such an arsenal,” Leviev summed up.

Legal inconsistencies

The editor-in-chief of Arsenal of the Fatherland magazine, reserve colonel Viktor Murakhovsky notes that in practice, the interests of PMCs do not always coincide with the interests of government agencies. “In Syria, for example, the situation is so complex, the forces at work are so different, that theoretically it could happen that a Russian PMC will act in support of an organization that is in conflict with the Ministry of Defense. In this case, there should be some kind of arbitration that, in the image and likeness of the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation, would issue a license for every contract with a foreign state in the area of military cooperation,” says Murakhovsky.

Mercenary Market

PMC costs

After the legalization of private military companies, such as Wagner PMCs, there will be no more than three on the Russian market, Leviev believes. “This is very expensive: you need to maintain a base with a large number of weapons, ammunition, and armored vehicles. We need to find good instructors, qualified former military personnel - the potential personnel supply is also not immense,” he explained.

Allied countries and disputed territories will be interested in the services of Russian PMCs: the self-proclaimed republics of Donbass, Abkhazia, South Ossetia, and the countries of Central Asia, Leviev added.

The question is really ripe. There is still no law regulating the activities of PMCs in Russia, despite the fact that the companies themselves have existed and been operating successfully for many years, although they operate in a “gray” legal zone mainly under subcontracts. Russian PMCs gained the greatest fame thanks to the events in Syria. However, their activities began much earlier than the war in this country. They have long been carrying out their specific tasks in many regions affected by war and unrest: they protect oil fields and various facilities, provide bodyguards and instructors, conduct convoys and ensure the security of missions. Moreover, in the maritime security market, Russian specialists managed to seriously displace the British, who were previously the leaders in it. Our PMCs cost less, but worked more efficiently, even carrying out counter-piracy landing operations, during which captured ships and hostages were freed, and secret bases of sea robbers were destroyed.

In today's world, with its renewed global confrontation, transnational crime and terrorist threats, PMCs are turning into a powerful tool for solving complex geopolitical problems, not only self-sustaining, but also generating considerable profit.

As a matter of fact, Sergei Lavrov simply voiced the work already underway. The first deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on State Construction and Legislation, Mikhail Emelyanov, said in an interview with RT that the Russian parliament intends to consider the issue of legalizing the creation and operation of private military companies. “The bill is planned to be introduced within a month. Lavrov’s speech stimulates us to do this. The situation in Syria has shown the relevance of private military companies - they are excellent for use in such local conflicts. The law will allow PMC employees to participate in counter-terrorism operations abroad and to protect the sovereignty of allied states from external aggression. And also to the protection of various objects, including oil and gas fields, railways,” Emelyanov said.

The State Duma Defense Committee is also ready to get involved in the work. And its chairman, Vladimir Shamanov, believes that this issue was not previously appreciated by Russian legislators and now it is necessary to make up for lost time. New law must determine the relevant departments that will license the activities of PMCs, define the concept and tasks of private military companies, the types of their work and services. And also to secure social guarantees for Russians who work for PMCs in Russia and other countries. Let us remind you that bills on this topic have already been rejected by the State Duma. However, this time the law is likely to be passed.

All about car tuning

Federal Law on Private Military Security Companies. What does the Russian law say about PMCs? Chapter i. general provisions