Executive Summary Between 2014 and 2019, Russian mercenaries and irregulars have been spotted on three continents, and the number of countries where they have carried out operations is growing. Among the newly emerging and potential destinations, the countries of Latin America (Venezuela and Nicaragua), the... MORE

Executive Summary Despite looming socio-economic collapse in the 1990s, Russia’s Kaliningrad Oblast managed—with extensive federal support—to overcome these difficulties. The policies aimed at support and recovery had little to do with concerns about the wellbeing of the locals; rather, the authorities feared that leaving the... MORE

Executive Summary Russia’s “return” to Africa—preceded by a decade of near absence on the continent—is premised on two main aspects: 1) geo-economic interests (notably, securing rare natural resources possessed by African countries and expanding Russia’s export capabilities in non-raw materials), and 2) geo-political calculations (such... MORE

Executive Summary Slavonic Corps Limited became Russia’s first and, in many ways, rather experimental “new type” private military company (PMC), concerned with tasks typically performed by private armies, such as frontal attacks and combat operations—in contrast with Western PMCs, which are mainly assigned auxiliary or... MORE

Executive Summary  The outbreak of instability in southeastern Ukraine witnessed Russia’s increasing reliance on ethnically non-Russian people. Among these, the most important groups included ethnic Serbs (this group primarily participated in hostilities in Donbas); Eastern Slavs (Ukrainians and Belarusians, whose participation, especially the former, went... MORE

Executive Summary The 2011 Arab Spring and the ensuing civil wars in Libya and Syria compelled Russia’s military-political leadership to reassess the role of irregular forces and non-state actors (as well as the principle of tactical and highly maneuverable groups) in so-called new-generation (“hybrid”) conflicts,... MORE

Introduction The collapse of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), in 1991, was followed by a series of intense military conflicts that broke out along the Soviet periphery and across its former sphere of influence. The dire state of the Russian economy, domestic political... MORE

Introduction Russia’s growing employment of non-linear forms of warfare (including private military contractors) has long historical traditions. This paper seeks to discuss the main milestones of historical evolution of Russia’s use of mercenary and irregular forces from Tsarist Russia to the final days of the... MORE

Introduction The employment of private military contractors for achieving specific geo-political/economic objectives is by no means new for Russia: dating back to the 16th century,[1] this phenomenon (while changing names and forms) has accompanied the state throughout its development. Namely, during the pre-1917 period, private... MORE