ABSTRACT
In November 1999, Russian officials and private citizens were still bemused by the spectacular, decade-long growth and activities of private security firms around the country. The existence of these security businesses–dubbed by the Russians as “private protection organizations” (chastnoye okhrannoye predpriyatiye–ChOP)–had, of course, been unknown in Soviet times when the state controlled all dimensions of public and national security. But, by the end of 1999, the disarray in former Soviet law enforcement institutions and the rise of the most disparate, pernicious, and violent forms of organized crime, had seen the establishment of all manner of ChOP regimens to fill a law enforcement vacuum, buttress business agendas, and provide personal protection for those who needed and could afford it. Legislation intended to oversee and monitor ChOP activity, promulgated in 1992, scarcely reflected the coming pace and diversity of development. The Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD)–specifically the Main Directorate for the Maintenance of Public Order–estimated at the time (late 1999) that there were some 11,000 ChOP’s Russia-wide employing more than 165,000 personnel and possessing about 71,000 weapons. 1 Legislation and MVD oversight mechanisms that had been created in an effort to oversee their activities were universally recognized as ineffective or worse. The association of ChOPs with activities that challenged the bounds of legality and, not infrequently, were judged blatantly criminal had become part of the public safety environment.
