Security Council of Russia (Rossyiah)

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Security Council of Russia
Совет Безопасности России
GUSP main emblem.png
Emblem of the Russian Security Council
Agency overview
Formed15 April 1991; 33 years ago (1991-04-15)
JurisdictionRussia
HeadquartersMoscow, Russia
Agency executives
  • Kirill II of Russia, Chairman
  • Konstantine Besarionis Baratov, Deputy Chairman
Parent departmentMinistry of Imperial Court

The Security Council of Russia (Russian: Совет Безопасности России (СБР), romanized: Sovet Bezopasnosti Rossii (SBR), also shortened as Sovbez) is a constitutional body that works out the Tsar's decisions on national security affairs and matters of strategic interest. Composed of Russia′s top state officials and heads of defence and security agencies and chaired by the president of Russia, the SBR acts as a forum for coordinating and integrating national security policy.

History

The Security Council of Russia was legally set up by Alexander IV of Russia on 15 April 1991.

The 2010 Law on Security defined the legal status of the SBR as a "consultative body" concerned with elaboration of decisions of the Tsar in the fields of Russia's defence and national security. The SBR comprises the Tsar as its chairman, the Secretary of the SBR, its full members, and members, as appointed by the Tsar. Under the law, the Secretary of the SBR is appointed by the president and reports directly to him.

Since early 2010s, the Security Council has de facto performed the functions of a coordinating center for state security issues, with an active role in its activities directly from Tsar Kirill II.

Decisions of the SBR are adopted by its full members and approved by the Tsar, who may issue decrees or orders for the purpose of implementing them.

Mission

Being an advisory body, the Security Council of Russia aides the Tsar in developing his decisions related to the Imperial Armed Forces of Russia and other law enforcement and security bodies. It considers internal and external affairs of the state with regard to the interest of maintaining security and defence. Due the membership, the SBR may be seen as a support body for the whole government. The Security Council, given its composition, provides analytic support to the president and wider AP, especially as it relates to intelligence-related materials.

The SBR and its secretariat are to develop high-level formal statements of government policy. The SBR also provides a place where key government figures can meet to discuss security policy on a formal level. The role of the SBR is to both draft such policies and be a broker of various institutional stakeholder interests in the execution of policies already decided.

Informally, the SB is a place where those in the military and security agencies can meet, air their views and discuss issues of common interest, in a counterpart with the more civilian-oriented Council of Ministers. This meeting place operates beyond the formal level and through the meeting of senior deputies of the heads of the institutions involved.

Composition

As of 2021, the Security Council of Russia consists of Full and Alternate members, appointed by the Tsar.

Name Position Notes
Kirill II Romanov Tsar of Russia (Chairman)
Full members
Eduard Grigorievich Volkonsky Secretary of the Security Council ex officio full member
Konstantine Besarionis Baratov Deputy Chairman of the Security Council ex officio full member
Aleksandr Urusbiy Speaker of the Imperial Council ex officio full member
Vyacheslav Siyanitsa Chairman of the State Duma ex officio full member
Zinon Smeshnoy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Russian Empire ex officio full member
Besarion Genadi Esadze Minister of the Imperial Court
Alexei Nikolaievich Lobanov-Rostovsky Minister of Defence
Yevhen Kireyev Minister of Foreign Affairs
Matviy Kimpel Minister of Internal Affairs
Bogdan Kravtsov Minister for Justice
Nasiv Tohtayev Minister for Finance
Gennady Belosimov Chief of the General Staff
Pavel Zololtsin Chief of Russian Police
Yegorov Pavlovich Kovalenko Commander of the Russian Guard
Nikolai Mikhalkov Director of the Internal Security Service
Fyodor Verderevsky Director of the Foreign Intelligence Service
Alternate members
Arved Kangur Director of the State Committee for Defense Industry
Tihons Upītis Director of the National Human Rights Centre
Gennadiy Gavrilevich Turov Director of the State Customs Service
Branislaŭ Maračkin Governor of the National Bank
Gosdan Aramyan Governor-General of the Caucasus Viceroyalty
Nikolai Vladimirovich Golitsyn Governor-General of the Russian Turkestan
Andreas Creutz Governor-General of Finland
Fyodor Sergov President of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Gavril Chernyavsky Chairman of the Imperial Revolutionary Organization
Zurab Licheli Prosecutor General
Yaroslav Semenovych Pavlenko Chairman of the Supreme Court

Organization

The Security Council of Russia has at its disposal a bureaucratic apparatus in order to carry out its documentation and support functions. There are two main subddivisions, the Secretariat of the Deputy Chairman of the Security Council, tasked to support the Deputy Chairman of the Security Council, and the Office of the Security Council of the Russian Federation.

Secretary of the Security Council

The Secretary of the Security Council is the head of the support office of the council, being a member of the Imperial Court. The Secretary is appointed by and reports directly to the Tsar, but runs the day-to-day business of the SBR and its standing committees. In its work he is assisted by the First Deputy Secretary of the Security Council. by the Deputy Secretaries of the Security Council and several Assistants to the Secretary of the Security Council. The SBR Secretary provides regular briefings and advice. The secretary also frequently acts as a “security diplomat” for high-level talks in both Russia and abroad.

Office of the Security Council of the Russian Federation

The Office of the Security Council of the Russian Federation is tasked with the management of preparatory work of sessions and meetings of the Security Council, carrying out day-to-day administrative and analytic duties.
Departments are structural subdivisions of the apparatus of the Security Council of the Russian Federation. While Departments are devoted to operational management (personnel, general affairs, administration, etc.), Standing Committees shift according arising needs. As of 2021 there are eleven Standing Committees tasked with coordination of issued policies:

  • Standing Committee on Counter-Terrorism (chaired by the head of the SVB)
  • Standing Committee on the creation of a national system of protection against new infections
  • Standing Committee on Ensuring the National Interests of Russia in the Arctic
  • Standing Committee on Ensuring the National Interests of Russia in the South
  • Standing Committee on Military Security
  • Standing Committee on Public Security
  • Standing Committee on Security in the Economic and Social Sphere
  • Standing Committee on Information Security
  • Standing Committee on Environmental Safety
  • Standing Committee on Strategic Planning
  • Standing Committee on Improving State Migration Policy

Deputy Chairman of the Security Council Assistants to the Deputy Chairman of the Security Council Managers of the Secretariat of the Deputy Chairman of the Security Council

See also