The most powerful private armies in the world. Africa is the birthplace of PMCs
See the world, visit unusual countries, get to know wonderful people and shoot them, earning a lot of money along the way - the work of a mercenary in a private military company (PMC) is very attractive at first glance. But in fact, everything is much more complicated: some volunteers chasing a long ruble can return home in coffins, while others do not smell gunpowder at all. Special correspondent Alexandra Wigraiser, on condition of anonymity, spoke with an employee of one of the world's largest private military companies and found out why the semi-legendary Wagner PMC cannot be called a private military company, how the "soldiers of fortune" live and what they are afraid of.
Lenta.ru: What do you know about Wagner PMC? How and for whom does it work? Why is their existence allowed in Russia?
All information on the surface. Everyone knows where their Moscow office is located. Yes, this is the structure of Evgeny Prigozhin. Why is this private military company (PMC) allowed to operate? It's hard for me to understand. I guess it's all about the relationship specific person with a specific president. This practice has no world analogues.
If people are fighting for the country, then these should not be “green”, “yellow” or “blue” men, but military personnel. If people are engaged in private security, training or risk analysis - then this may be a private military company. But PMCs cannot fully participate in hostilities. Because PMC employers and the state can have completely different goals. The state, for example, sets some global goals, and a particular businessman is interested in capturing an oil plant. And from whom? The Kurds!
What's wrong with the Kurds? Aren't they just as much of an adversary as any other in Syria and Iraq?
Kurds - the enemy?! Trust me, anyone who has worked in Iraq is praying for the Kurds. Iraqi Kurdistan, for example, looks like an oasis in the middle of the desert. This is an amazing place! dearest, the kindest people without any signs of Islamic fundamentalism. Girls on the streets wear T-shirts and Capri pants, alcohol is sold everywhere, whiskey is openly advertised on the street! These are the most normal, most adequate, most rational allies of any adequate forces in the Middle East.
Offending the Kurds, fighting the Kurds is the worst thing imaginable. Moreover, the Kurds have a great attitude towards Russia, they love it. And now the activity of some chefs leads to the fact that the whole of Kurdistan (the Syrian, Turkish, Iraqi and Iranian parts of it) simply turn away from the partner. Come to Kurdistan and see: they work there, there are Russian guys from PMCs. They do normal work, get normal money. There is cooperation with local security companies. They do a good job there without any "law on PMCs", without presidential chefs.
Kurds have a great attitude towards Russia. In Syria, at the suggestion of some close-minded supply manager, a political crisis is taking place, hundreds of Russian people are dying. This is insanity that needs to be stopped. I have worked in this area all my life and I can say what is happening behind the sign of "PMC Wagner" - this is not normal, this should not exist.
Is it possible, in this case, to call "PMC Wagner", so to speak, the Russian army in a different "clothes"?
This is not the Russian army. There is after all the well-known word "mercenaries". Any army officer is limited by certain laws and command hierarchies. And the Wagner... They just don't have the brakes that a huge inertial war machine has. Any order in the official structure would go through a huge number of instances - yes, stupid, but instances. And the Russian army is not going to fight the Kurds. Then no.
Another sad side: the personnel of the Wagner, to put it mildly, is of a completely different quality. And further on the points: the equipment and weapons are disgusting, the level of training is low, the effectiveness of command also leaves much to be desired - people are constantly dying there. This is well known in our circles. And therefore, the attitude of regular Russian soldiers and officers towards them is appropriate.
But there is another point that cannot be ignored. When a Russian pilot dies, he is buried with honors, broadcast on television, you write panegyrics and obituaries in your newspapers about what he, they say, was a good guy. And it is right. But here - through stupidity, through monstrous stupidity, more than a hundred people die. And what do they write about them? Have you seen this "troll factory"? “Ah, mercenaries, why feel sorry for them” - this is some fantastic level of hypocrisy, when ordinary guys from the outback are sent to die God knows where for money, and then they are buried in unmarked graves.
And if they were contract soldiers in the army, would it be better?
Certainly. First, it's a completely different attitude. Secondly, the army provides whole line bonuses. This includes citizenship, pension, and much more. And most importantly - the status of a legitimate participant in hostilities, as well as some kind of immunity from local laws. soldier Russian army will not be handed over to a Syrian court, a soldier of the French foreign legion will not be handed over to a court in Mali.
And the PMC employee is a civilian. If Wagner employees had full military status, I personally would have nothing against it. For example, a man dies, and the mother can say to his child: “Son, your dad was a soldier, and he died as a hero, fought against terrorists.” Now what? Son, your dad didn’t know who did what, they didn’t tell us, he died when the dumb-headed oligarch wanted to wring out the oil field.
There was a precedent in history when the UAE hired about two thousand Colombians for the war in Yemen. And they even hid - like the Russian authorities - but they took them into the army, paid a very decent salary. And these were official soldiers in the service. So no, "PMC Wagner", this is what in Russian is called "illegal armed formation", which is unclear to whom it obeys and is capable, thanks to the stupidity of its commanders, to provoke a huge international conflict. As a person who has been working in this field almost all his life, I support its development in every possible way, but such formations are harmful not only for the industry, but also for the image of Russia.
Why do you say that Wagner has a lower level contingent than the army?
Look, every person in our field personally knows someone who serves there, or someone who refused their offer. But nobody does not know a volunteer who would be denied admission by Wagner PMC. They take everyone: people with a criminal record, with alcohol addiction - everyone in a row.
It is enough to talk with their employees to understand: they are not only up to the level of the Special Operations Forces, they are not always up to ordinary construction battalions. Neither by the level of education, nor by the level of military training, nor by motivation. Again: I have great respect for those who work there. But let's be honest: professionals don't go there. Such a “wonderful” job, such an “amazing” opportunity to die even without a guarantee that your corpse will at least be returned home, they do not need. None of the Russians I know - those who worked in Iraq at the beginning of the 2000s, who are now working with Gazprom in Kurdistan - did not go there, because everyone understands that this, as they say, is a bad idea.
Does it happen that a private company conducts full-fledged military operations, and even with such losses? According to various sources, there could be up to two hundred dead among the mercenaries of the Wagner group.
Absolutely not. It is impossible to even imagine that now some Western PMC, official company, was in combat. This is absolute absurdity. There was a precedent with Executive Outcomes who were involved in several civil wars in Africa, but that was in the early 90s. Since then the world has changed.
South Africans fought in Nigeria a few years ago. But some large international companies were not involved in this. This is a specific situation when specific people are recruited for a specific job, whose activities are initially completely outside the legal field. Therefore, Wagner is, of course, not a PMC. You can call it whatever you like, but in the Russian criminal code it is called an "illegal armed formation." I have nothing against the people who work there - I understand their motivation, I respect them as professionals, but you need to understand that this situation is not normal. Nothing like this can happen in any Western PMC.
Doesn't Wagner PMC work in the Russian legal field?
Of course no. On what basis are people given weapons, on what basis do they conduct military operations? I'm not a Syrian lawyer, I don't know what the laws are. But, in my opinion, the "Wagnerites" do not work within the framework of Russian law, nor within the Syrian. This is, as you like to say, "an education that has no analogues in the world."
But why do people go there? A job with a very high risk, with the possibility of getting a corny bullet in the forehead or a term for mercenarism?
I have not lived in Russia for a long time, but it is obvious that there is only one answer - despair. The economic situation in your country, especially in the regions, is difficult. Many people have served in the army and believe that they can't do anything else. They don't really know how to serve. But at least they identify themselves as great warriors. Plus, you need to understand that a certain militaristic pumping and propaganda has been going on in society for many, many years.
So desperation, lack of money and qualifications, extremely high housing prices, lack of affordable loans - these are all factors. Even with such losses, I'm afraid there will be a lot of people who want to get a job at Wagner. Especially from small towns. Look at known lists losses: there is almost no one from Moscow or St. Petersburg. These are all small towns where people have lost hope long ago. And the amount of 200 thousand rubles that a dishwasher in Britain receives makes people forget about everything and go nowhere, spitting on the instinct of self-preservation.
Well, with the "Wagnerites" is understandable. And what about normal PMCs? In the Russian media, mercenaries are portrayed as heroes rushing into battle on the most dangerous sectors of the front. How true is this image? What do private military companies actually do?
Completely not true. For a long time there have been no bearded guys with tattoos, dissecting in jeeps through the desert and firing at anything from a machine gun. 80-90 percent of business is absolutely standard stuff. We need to hang cameras, look at monitors, stretch barbed wire, provide drivers, technical intelligence equipment, and engage in analytics. The "bearded thugs" used to represent PMC employees are a minority, and a vanishing minority in this business. In fact, the work of PMCs is the work of watchmen, absolutely devoid of romanticism.
In general, there is a stereotype that the main work of a private military company is armed guards. But this should not be so: this situation has developed only because at one time Iraq and Afghanistan simply did not have a capable government and crowds of adventurers with weapons gathered there.
We have a lot of talk about the need for a law on PMCs, which would normalize their activities ... These conversations make me laugh. In America, which everyone nods at, there is no separate law on private military companies, and they do a good job. I don’t follow what is happening in Russia at all, but I often see what Russian journalists write about PMCs, and I laugh at it. I was taken aback by the recent situation in Syria.
Firstly, people died there, and secondly, everyone immediately began to tell: they say, everything is fine, these are mercenaries and why feel sorry for them. So. All this is said by clowns who have no idea what a PMC is and how it all works. Because nothing like what happened to Wagner PMC employees in Syria could physically happen either in an American, or in a British, or even in an Afghan company.
Let's just open our eyes and look at what a PMC is. I will decipher the abbreviation for those who do not know. PMC is first and foremost company is a private military company. An indispensable condition for its existence is the legality of activity. Now the most important and most needed person for PMCs is not a thug with a cleaver at the ready, but an approval manager - a specialist who monitors that all company activities comply with local laws.
And a PMC, by definition, cannot work outside the legal field, outside the law, because then it is no longer a company. This is a criminal organization, a gang - anything but a PMC. And when we now work in unstable regions and read the stories of various Russian propagandists, it first becomes funny, and then scary.
And hard mode is usually set?
In general, everything is described as exhaustively as possible by the contract, which is signed in each separate case. But the main thing: any employee is completely subject to the laws of the country where he works. In fact, this is a four-component system: first, local laws, then the laws of the customer country, then the laws of the country in which the PMC is registered, then the contract. Each layer - additional restrictions.
And now imagine how rigidly this norms any activity, how great is the role of lawyers who must understand all conflicts, what bureaucratic colossus needs to be done in order to start fulfilling contractual obligations.
After all, even a contract is not an agreement on a page where it is written that company "A" protects the employees of plant "B" and there are two signatures. This is a huge, eight-hundred-page Talmud, which puts the performer in an extremely rigid framework. It even talks about standards of behavior, about sexual harassment!
But in Russia everything is still the same. Just one light from said: "During the second assault on the Iraqi city of Fallujah, Blackwater played a key role, in fact, acting first as a barrage detachment, and then as the main force of the breakthrough." Usually I laugh when I read this, but then I wanted to find this person, take him by the scruff of the neck and ask: “Clown, what are you talking about ?!”
However, for some reason, this “four-component system” could not save Iraqi civilians from the tragedy when employees of the American company Blackwater shot civilians in Nisour Square in Baghdad in 2007.
Right. I will not touch on what was there - this is a topic for a separate conversation. But contrary to the tales in the press, the participants in these events were tried, and in 2014 four were imprisoned. One for life, three others were given 30 years each. This is not an isolated case: the British are sitting in India, who simply accidentally swam into Indian territorial waters.
Under these conditions, it is ridiculous to say that PMC employees are "above the law." On the contrary, they are not only forced to comply with all laws, they regularly come up with new restrictions. Now even the language is being revised. For example, the term "rules for opening fire" is abandoned because it sounds too belligerent, it is replaced by the neutral "rules on the use of force."
As I said, the space for activity is constantly shrinking. In 2004, there was complete freedom in Iraq, but now Baghdad is doing everything so that only local mercenaries remain in the country. Now you can freely operate in absolutely non-existent countries such as Syria.
The conversations of our deputies and other experts that Russian PMCs will work somewhere will be frankly confused, but there is a complete misunderstanding of the situation and its context. In a few years, foreigners will remain only on large projects: the protection of embassies, key infrastructure, and then everything, without exception, will go to the locals.
Is hiring local a whim or a necessity?
I will give a simple example. Both in Iraq and in Afghanistan, PMCs always have local drivers. Why? It's simple: if a citizen of another country got into an accident or, God forbid, crushed someone, then they will simply sue him, or even put him in prison for decades. Therefore, they take a local, so that if something happens, they can disown him.
I remember only two exceptions. The period from 2003 to 2006 in Iraq, and from 2001 to 2004 in Afghanistan. Then it was possible to be above local laws, simply because they did not exist in fact. You flew in, there were no visas and passport control, right on the runway you received a machine gun and went to the villa with full “immunity”. But then in Iraq, for example, there was no state. There was the American ambassador Paul Bremer, the head of the occupying government and, in fact, the supreme ruler of Iraq. In that particular historical period, PMC employees could indeed enjoy certain immunity.
Now the situation is fundamentally different. Without permits, licenses do not take a step. They banned the use of the PKM (Kalashnikov machine gun), then they took away the RPK (Kalashnikov light machine gun), we even have two SVD rifles (sniper rifle Dragunov) were seized. They left the usual Kalashnikovs and pistols. Only local contractors help out - they have access to government offices, they can avoid prosecution for minor violations, they know the language, local realities. And hiring them is cheaper - banal business logic. They can be paid pennies.
The only exception is US government contracts, which only recruit US citizens, because only they can issue the necessary form of security clearance. Here they have all the employees - Americans, even those who stand at the gate. Only due to this there is some kind of work, because it is simply impossible to hire a foreigner there. If there is no security clearance requirement, then locals will be hired. True, their qualifications, as a rule, are almost at zero.
We see the results, remember the recent attack on a hotel in Kabul (then, as a result of an attack on a hotel populated mainly by Western officials, 43 people died - note "Lenta.ru"). It is obvious that this hotel is the number one target for all the villains, but even it was guarded by local clowns, who fled at the first sound of gunfire.
But a local employee needs to understand: you live there, you have a family. Today you defend some foreigner for money, and tomorrow your family will be slaughtered by the Taliban for this. So even if you are a professional, there is not much to expect from you. The only exception is the Kurds. Here they are really beautiful. Firstly, the society there has a positive attitude towards foreigners. Foreigners bring money, not war. No one will hurt your family if you guard foreigners. Secondly, many of them are really literate guys, they know the materiel, they speak English well. It is a pleasure to work with them.
What is the current ratio of "militants" and organizers, managers, analysts in companies?
It all depends on the specific contract. But in reality, in many countries where there is a severe need for security, it is simply impossible to work with weapons. Nigeria is a monstrous, scary place, but whoever you are, you cannot work with weapons there. Mexico, where the cartels kidnap 50 people every day, you can't. The only way out is if an armed group of Mexicans will work with you, and at a critical moment you will be able to grab a rifle from their hands and begin to administer justice.
But in fact, always with any contract, the number of armed foreigners is less than half, and maybe none at all. Now it’s much easier to hire a local to run around with a machine gun. And the authorities will be grateful. As a result, we have a huge number of people who want to work and a very, very small and ever-decreasing number of vacancies.
How big is the market for private military companies?
The total industry in the world is 171 billion dollars. But it is already divided among very large corporations. All of the significant companies in this area over the past four years have been bought by multinational security players who don't know how to operate in high-risk situations.
Now in the West there are practically no small and medium-sized players in this activity. The market consists of international corporations and local regional contractors. The reality is that the market for armed guards, the one that you journalists love to talk about, is by no means growing.
On the contrary, it is decreasing every year. And the reason is very simple: no normal state will allow the presence of foreigners with weapons on their soil. How often do you see armed citizens of other states in Russia? Foreign guards with machine guns, pistols that protect someone? No! Any state, even such failed countries as Iraq or Afghanistan, is now bringing foreign PMCs into such a narrow framework that work becomes almost impossible.
Who do PMCs usually work for? To the state?
It's a delusion. Private companies mainly fulfill orders of private business. It is impossible even to imagine that a Western or even an Afghan or Iraqi large company would work only with the state, only for the state, and even in this form, openly participating in hostilities. Although state contracts are always very profitable - it is either the protection of representatives of a particular state, or the protection of embassies, which is very monetary.
What do states usually entrust to private military companies?
Intelligence analysis, risk analysis, protection of embassies and diplomatic representatives, security of various facilities, if we are talking about American contracts. Once there was a case when he instructed the PMC to guard the corps of military engineers of the American army - there were not enough forces in that region. Stories about some political assassinations entrusted to contractors are, of course, fairy tales.
Cannon fodder, assault squads - this is not about PMCs. It was all in the 60s-90s and ended with Sandline and their coup attempt in Papua New Guinea. This was probably one of the last times someone tried to hire a PMC for some semblance of hostilities.
Photo: Jean-Christophe Kahn / Reuters
But he was lucky to some extent: Denard did not die in prison just because he had Alzheimer's disease. By the 90s everything state games ended with mercenaries. The old man was dragged through the courts until he died, and no old merits helped. So in Russia, as often happens, they decided to pick up a forgotten trend.
But can't we say that Syria is the same failed state, like Iraq during the period of occupation by the Americans?
Essentially no. There's a funny twist here. If you look from the position of Russia, then this is a fully established country with a government and laws. beautiful state where happy people they idolize the president, they are devoted to him with all their hearts, they are very glad that the war with the Islamic State (banned in the Russian Federation - note "Lenta.ru") is over.
That is, there is no such thing that we came, threw Assad off the throne, put our supreme ruler. No, we supposedly respect Syrian laws and their authority. But if power and law are when "Assad allowed" another state to form illegal armed formations on its territory and use them in a war, then this is just an example of a failed state.
It is unlikely that Syrian law allows the creation of illegal military formations on its territory and the conduct of independent military operations by them. However, I am not a lawyer and I am not going to meddle in Syria.
For many "Wagnerites" the war is just a way to make money. There is information that employees receive three thousand dollars for a month of active hostilities and half of this amount during their stay at the base. How close are these numbers to reality, and how do they compare with typical salaries in the industry?
Let's put it this way: they are close to reality. People from there talk about such amounts. But in general, you need to understand that even in hot spots, it’s not every day that evil terrorists with knives break into your base. The lower the risk level, the bigger idiots you can hire for this job. Therefore, often, when it is possible to hire a person, let's say, with low salary expectations, they will hire him.
It started back in the 2000s, when Chileans were hired for a penny, then it came to Ugandans. I worked with them in one African country- these comrades cannot even shoot normally from a machine gun. If there is an opportunity, and the risks are small, they always hire the cheapest ones.
Therefore, in the field of maritime protection, where everything started with salaries of six hundred dollars or six hundred pounds a day, salaries have fallen to ridiculous figures. Recently I saw an advertisement where Ukrainians were offered a job on the terms: 30 days at sea for $800. Discussed this in Iraq with a colleague from India and he, to tell the truth, almost died of laughter. Because it's funny money. But the Ukrainians go for it. Therefore, it is difficult to talk about some kind of average market wage. It very often falls because they hire locals or representatives of poor countries for pennies, including Romanians, Gurkhas, Indians, Ukrainians, Ugandans.
There are more prestigious contracts, where very high requirements are put forward for personnel. In this case, certain standards of payment are implied: for serious quality work, you can get about 10 thousand dollars a month. Few rise above this bar.
Is it really necessary to compete at a high level?
Recently there was a tender for the protection of the Australian embassy in one fairly "good country". So: just to show up, you need huge investments at the very beginning. Yes, they pay very decently for such a contract, but the problem of Russian companies is that there is no such business in this area that would be ready to go all the way and invest real money. There was an excellent example of the LUKOM-A company, which recruited people and was going to go to work in Iraq. They were simply not given a license to operate.
No one in Iraq or Afghanistan needs new players. It is run by local companies and the largest international corporations that can afford it. So the development of the Russian segment of PMCs will depend only on the development of domestic business. Once there is a critical number of projects to secure, the security business will emerge. You need to understand that there is already a need for it, but it is not fully realized.
Watch the most egregious case - murder Russian ambassador in Ankara. Where were his guards? She just wasn't there. She was in Moscow. The division that deals with the security of the diplomatic corps is simply not able to provide protection to everyone who needs it. All countries employ private security specialists for these tasks.
But our state, instead of supporting the development of a normal healthy industry, is engaged in the creation of pocket illegal formations like Wagner. At the same time, Russian diplomatic representatives in countries with a huge level of danger are simply not protected by anyone. If this crazy practice continues, it will continue to cost the lives of Russian diplomats.
We have already entered a new phase in world military history. Political interests today are defended by private, not national armies. Relying on the strength of the military departments and the capital of corporations, they are ready to serve where they are ordered.
Blackwater
Blackwater is today one of the main partners of the US Department of Defense in the supply of equipment and training of army personnel. According to 2007 data, it has about 2,300 professional mercenaries in active service and about 25,000 soldiers in reserve. It is engaged in the production of armored cars and owns its own aviation. The organization took part in military conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq. world fame she was brought high-profile scandals that accompany the actions of Blackwater employees in hot spots. In 2007 they shot 17 civilians Iraq, who allegedly prevented the movement of a motorcade with American diplomats. Around the same time, one of the Blackwater soldiers killed the security guard of the Iraqi Vice President. During the investigation, it was possible to establish that employees of the Prince company since 2005 have participated in almost two hundred shootings and, without hesitation, opened fire to kill, despite the right to use weapons only for the purpose of self-defense.
MPRI
There is a demand - there is an offer. The laws of the market also work when it comes to international militarism. It is much more convenient to spend money (colossal money) through one's own hands, and not through the sieve of the state apparatus. This must have been the logic of the US Army officers who founded the Private Military Company (MPRI) in 1987. The MPRI today includes about 340 former American generals. Its employees took part in the preparation of the Croatian army and the fifth corps of the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina before Operation Storm, which ended in the destruction of the Republic of Serbian Krajina and the Republic of Western Bosnia.
"Workers" of the company took part in wars around the world. Characteristically, before working with the US Department of Defense, MPRI took orders from the military departments of other countries. This is a typical feature of all "private armies". According to rough estimates, today the profit of MPRI is estimated at 150 billion dollars against 100 billion in 2001. The increase in the number and cost of contracts is primarily due to the military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, in which MPRI is directly involved. This private agency has approximately 3,000 employees.
"Group" R (Firm FDG)
The American private military company FDG was founded in 1996 by Marine Lieutenant Colonel Andre Rodriguez. A few years later, former Russian officer Dmitry Smirnov joined him. Their activities are concentrated in the "hottest" regions of the world - the Gulf of Aden, Somalia, Guinea-Bissau, Iraq and Afghanistan. They provide various military services: ship security, military consulting, special forces training. A special role in the organization is played by the FDG SEAL unit, consisting of security swimmers capable of countering terrorism at a high level, both on and under water.
The company is known for its operations guarding checkpoints in the Iraqi province of Anbar (2006-2007), escorting US missions in the Gaza Strip (2007), providing security for a delegation of veterans of the war in Afghanistan during the installation of a memorial to the 9th company in 2011.
Aegis Defense Services
Aegis is a British PMC that makes a living by providing armed personnel services for private clients, in particular for UN missions and the US government. Its geographic interests lie in Iraq, Afghanistan and Bahrain, Kenya and Nepal, where they are involved in rapid response, risk assessment and oil advocacy. The number of employees of the company is estimated to reach five thousand people. Aegis for a long time managed to avoid such disastrous media attention until 2005, when a video appeared on the British channel Channel 4 in which Aegis employees shot Iraqi civilians, more precisely, at their overtaking cars. The company did not admit guilt, but they failed to get out of the water, like Blackwater, - the Pentagon refused further cooperation.
Erinys International
Erinys International was founded in 2002 by former British officer Jonathan Garratt and is registered in the British Virgin Islands, with many subsidiaries in Britain, South Africa and the Republic of the Congo.
Their activities include all types and methods of "okhrana", especially in areas with difficult natural conditions, such as Central Africa. They successfully proved themselves during the conflicts in Iraq, when 6.5 thousand soldiers were sent to guard important resource sites. The company came under the spotlight for abusing a prisoner in 2004.
According to the British newspaper The Observer, the company's employees violated the human rights convention - during a military investigation, a 16-year-old native of Iraq was subjected to severe torture, which was aggravated by the daily deprivation of the prisoner of food and water.
Northbridge Services Group
Northbridge is a US-British PMC with a base in the Dominican Republic and branches in Britain and Ukraine. For political reasons, the company works only for Democrats. The organization became famous for rescuing 25 oil workers who were held hostage on an oil rig for two weeks in 2003. Northbridge also played a significant role in resolving the civil conflict in Liberia in 2003 by siding with the rebels (LURD). The result was the overthrow of the official government of the country and the introduction of UN peacekeepers into Liberia. Northbridge even offered "for an additional fee" of $4 million to kidnap disgraced President Charles Tayler from his hideout and hand him over to the rebels for "trial". But the initiative was rejected as "absurd and provocative."
"White Legion"
The "White Legion" learned its name during its African operations. That's what the locals called them. The number of the "White Legion" at the time of its participation in the conflict in Zaire was about three hundred people. They arrived at the war suddenly, on January 3, 1997, in order to support the regime of the dictator Mobutu, "black Bonaparte", "The Greatest, and therefore always invincible." The legion was multinational, included two corps and a unit (Colonel Tavernier's Corps, Slavic Corps, Captain Dragan's Unit). As you can understand, it consisted of the French and Slavs (Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians, Serbs). Communication between the legionnaires mainly took place on French. Tellingly, not every soldier clearly understood the commands spoken in another language. For this reason, the legionnaires did not always "work" in a coordinated manner. Mikhail Polikarpov: “Dragan had a Russian with his right hand - named Vasily, later in the same 1994, while conducting reconnaissance in the rear of the Croats, he was blown up by a trip mine and terribly cut by fragments ...”. Belarusians and Ukrainians were pilots, former officers of the Soviet Air Force. Of the ten Legion helicopters, four were Soviet, Mi-24. Of course, the Legion's ranged weapons were almost entirely Soviet-made: “M53 light machine guns; grenade launchers RPG-7, M57; 60 mm mortars; MANPADS "Igla". In the legion, Russian legionnaires distinguished themselves with a special grip. When everyone had already begun to retreat, only the corps of Lieutenant Misha remained to fight the advancing forces. They stopped the enemy and launched a counteroffensive on February 17, inflicting air strikes using the IL-76 as a bomber. The cities of Vukavu and Shabunda occupied by the enemy were subjected to blows. A daring breakthrough and a special operation became famous for several units of the Slavs in the town of Valikale. The Slavs fought for Kisangani until May, fighting fierce defensive battles, mixed with fierce counterattacks.
As the legionnaires quickly appeared, they flew away with the same lightning speed. They flew away smoothly, on airplanes, in full uniform and with special equipment. Most likely, to Serbia, where the legion was supervised by Soviet committee members. There is no other explanation for their free flight in a plane full of armed men.
A few weeks ago in social network"Vkontakte" an announcement appeared: "Guys, there is an option to work for the Motherland!" - said the first line. Salary "at the base" - 50 thousand rubles a month, "for exit" - from 80 thousand rubles plus bonuses. In terms of this is from 700 to 1150 euros. The announcement ended with the words: "Good fight, soldiers of fortune!"
The user who posted the ad calls himself Ilya Ivanov. His job is to recruit fighters for PMCs, the so-called private military companies. And there are many indications that last days he succeeded greatly in the formation of a private army. He is looking for men who are ready for money in 2017 to protect Russian interests on new battlefields.
Automobile convoy at the training ground in Molkino. The only soldier we managed to talk to replied that they were "going from the exercises"
Ivanov is not the only recruiter currently recruiting fighters, but perhaps one of the most experienced. Back in 2014, he wrote on his Vkontakte page that he was looking for people who were ready to "tie their fate with adventures in hot countries." At that time, the public did not yet know anything about Russian soldiers in Syria, and Ilya's activities were illegal. For recruiting mercenaries, he faced up to eight years in prison. Now everything has changed.
Little-known amendments to the law
Since many men in Russia have completed military service, the amendments to the law affect almost all Russians. Now, if they fight terrorists, they are considered military personnel, even if they do not officially belong to any part of the Ministry of Defense. In other words, changes in the Law on Military Service allow the use of Russian mercenaries around the world and legalize the activities of PMCs. On January 9, 2017, the law came into force.
Blackwater is one of the most famous private military companies that has done part-time criminal assignments for the US Army, for example in Iraq. When Blackwater's actions became known to the public, a global debate unfolded about the legality of such firms. Russia did not stand aside either. So, RT asked the question in its materials: Private military companies: a new method of warfare?
However, today, when this topic has touched upon their own country, the pro-Kremlin media remain silent.
How do legal PMCs function? How do recruiters like Ivanov work? To respond to the ad, ZEIT ONLINE creates a fake account of Pavel Nikulin on Vkontakte. Pavel is 27 years old and works as an electrician in Volgograd. In 2010 and 2011, he did military service as a driver-mechanic of the T-72 tank.
Conversation with a recruiter
Pavel Nikulin exists only as a virtual page on a social network. His biography and fake Vkontakte profile help to find out details about the recruitment and training of PMC fighters. Nikulin and Ivanov exchange several messages on the social network and call each other twice by phone.
Nikulin: Hello, my name is Pavel. I'm talking about the announcement "Vkontakte".
Ivanov: I understand at work. Pavel, tell me, what is your nationality?
Nikulin: Russian.
Ivanov: Finally. So. Do you have a military ID? By position who?
Nikulin: Tank driver.
Ivanov: Great! Look Pavel. Let me tell you about the case first.
Ivanov says that the tankers are in great demand. In addition, doctors, sappers and competent signalmen are needed. They are also looking for helicopter pilots - they are out of competition. All other applicants must first pass the tests and provide the required documents. The most important, it is also the most difficult condition is the presence of a passport and the absence of loans and criminal records.
Whether Ilya Ivanov is the real name of the recruiter cannot be certain. However, two other sources who tried to get a job as fighters in PMCs confirmed to ZEIT ONLINE that they also communicated with Ivanov. In addition, Ilya described in detail the path and terrain near the training ground where the PMC is training. The correspondence of the description to reality was later confirmed by ZEIT ONLINE's own source.
Polygon in Molkino
According to Ivanov, the training base for PMC fighters is located near the Molkino farm in the Krasnodar Territory. Ukrainian Donetsk is about 500 kilometers from here, and about 250 kilometers to the Russian resort of Sochi. In 2015, the site in Molkino was modernized, for which more than 50 million rubles were spent. Officially, three military units are deployed in Molkino: the 1st Guards Rocket Brigade (military unit 31853), the 10th separate special-purpose brigade of the GRU of the Ministry of Defense (military unit 51532), as well as the 243rd combined-arms training ground (military unit 55485) .
Highway M4. The car column is returning from the exercises back to the training ground in Molkino
Legal PMCs existed in Russia before. The most famous are Moran Security Group and RSB-Group. Like Academi, Blackwater's American successor company, these Russian firms offer security, consulting, and armed defense services. While the companies declined to respond to ZEIT ONLINE's request, they claim on their official websites that they do not engage in mercenarism or combat operations abroad. Oleg Krinitsyn, CEO of RSB-Group, told the Fontanka newspaper that his company was not tasked with sending anyone to Syria, but if there were such proposals, he would be ready to discuss them.
Dmitry Utkin and PMC Wagner
One of former employees Moran Security Group later founded its own PMC, which is called the "Wagner Group". It's about about Dmitry Utkin - aka Wagner. Utkin served in the GRU special forces, after his dismissal he worked under a contract with the Moran Security Group, guarding ships in dangerous areas from pirate attacks. After his dismissal in the fall of 2013, he was in Syria with about 250 "contractors". Six months after the Syrian trip, he created the so-called "Wagner Group", which participated in the hostilities in eastern Ukraine and later in Syria.
In December 2016, Utkin even appears at a reception on the occasion of Heroes of the Fatherland Day in the Kremlin. Among the invited heroes of the Soviet Union and Russia, Utkin was one of the few guests who did not have such high merits. The fact that Utkin was nevertheless invited to the celebration may indicate that Wagner PMC fighters carried out important operations in Syria for the Russian army.
All hostilities, regardless of whether they began on Russian initiative or not, Putin used for domestic political rating. Thanks to the positive presentation of the army and military successes by the pro-government media, patriotism and pride in the country and its president grew in Russia. In addition, with the help of the production of weapons, it was possible to support the weakened domestic economy. In addition, when a country is involved in a war, problems like corruption no longer seem so significant. All this could also play an important role if new conflicts arise abroad with the participation of Russia.
Ukraine, Syria - Afghanistan?
However, not all so simple. The first hitch has to do with people. It's hard for Putin right now to find enough people to fully fight, said Stefan Meister, a Russia expert at the German Foreign Policy Society. According to him, Russia this moment involved in two conflicts in Syria and Ukraine, which requires a lot of soldiers and weapons. Even if we take into account that the troops have been modernized since 2008, their resources are not unlimited.
Meister believes it is likely that in 2017 Russia will enter into new military conflicts - in addition to the existing ones. First of all, in terms of the fight against international terrorism unleashed by Donald Trump, new brigades of mercenaries can help in this process, he says. Mercenaries are contracted differently than conscript soldiers, as they will be hired by private military companies. According to Meister, this will make it easier to prevent the public from gaining access to this information. This problem arose especially often in Ukraine, when the government had to explain why among the killed "volunteers" were Russian soldiers. If a PMC fighter dies, the Ministry of Defense can easily dispute its involvement.
The second snag is related to possible battlefields where PMC fighters fight.
Nikulin: Is this Syria?
Ivanov: It's already old topic. Now it will be ... I can’t say that, I think you can guess: in the 80s the army was there. Understood? There are also sands and mountains. There, then, a peacekeeping operation is the protection of ambassadors and so on. They even give you a medal for a feat of arms. They won't give you more, because you won't shine on TV.
Afghanistan? In addition to Syria, Ukraine and unstable regions like Libya, Russia may also intervene in the conflict in Afghanistan in 2017. But the negative image that is associated in Russian society with losses in Afghanistan, sits deep. As Meister says, this image is comparable to the "Vietnam trauma" of the United States. Today, even with the support of the propaganda machine, it will not be possible to persuade the Russian population to participate in a ground operation in Afghanistan.
The most important thing is money
"Today, only technicians and instructors are in Afghanistan, which are required, in particular, for the technical support of Russian helicopters," says Meister. Thus, in January 2016, an intergovernmental agreement was signed on the provision of military-technical assistance to Afghanistan.
"If NATO withdraws its troops from Afghanistan in 2017, then Russia may indeed be seized by fear that terrorism will spread throughout the country. The Taliban can greatly destabilize the Central Asian neighbors of the Russian Federation, and this is already a real threat, including for Russia," Meister said.
Most applicants for PMCs do not care where they are sent to fight. The most important thing is money. According to Ivanov, the prices in PMCs today are as follows: 50,000 rubles during training at the base, from 80,000 to 120,000 "at the exit", in addition to bonuses. By Russian standards, this is a lot of money. "The tank burned down - I got a denyuzhka. Got it? I scored some firing point, I got more money if the commander confirmed it," Ivanov explains.
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In Russia, these are commercial organizations that enter the market with specialized services. They are primarily associated with the protection, protection of a particular person or object. In world practice, such organizations, among other things, participate in military conflicts and collect intelligence information. Provide consulting services to regular troops.
Background
Private military companies in Russia appeared relatively recently - in the 90s, while they have been operating in the world for several decades.
For the first time such a concept appeared in the UK in 1967. The private military company was founded by the famous English Colonel David Sterling.
By the mid-70s, there were a large number of contract soldiers in the world who wanted to earn money in near-military structures. One of the first major agreements in this area was signed in 1974. It was concluded between a private military company and the US government. Mission - training of the national guard of Saudi Arabia and the physical protection of oil fields in this state.
Due to the increased number of mercenaries in the world in 1979, it adopted a resolution on the development of an appropriate convention. It was necessary to prohibit the recruitment, training and financing of mercenaries.
If during the Cold War such companies were created in many states to participate in hostilities in third countries, then in the 2000s new trend. The services of private military companies began to resort to large interests which are located in countries with an unstable political situation.
Market volumes
To date, the market volume of these companies is about 20 billion dollars. Private military companies in Russia are also making their contribution.
According to experts, in the 21st century, this narrow and specialized market has become a global sector of the economy with a multibillion-dollar turnover. This opinion is shared by economists around the world.
Most often, governments turn to the services of such organizations. Western countries to represent their interests in third countries. Some of the largest representations are in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Company services
Private military companies in Russia provide a wide range of diverse services. A similar list is provided by other international companies around the world. This is the protection of objects of strategic importance. Most often, mercenaries are used to protect oil fields and oil bases, energy systems.
Also these organizations offer their services as private in foreign countries. For example, they can protect embassies, escort humanitarian convoys and United Nations representatives.
In third world countries where hostilities are taking place, these companies often train local officers and soldiers of government armed forces, train police officers, and other members of the security services.
Private military companies sometimes guard prisons, such precedents were in Iraq and Afghanistan. Participate in demining operations, perform the functions of military translators. Conduct aerial reconnaissance, carry out armed escort of ships to protect against pirates. This type of service has become extremely popular after the activation sea robbers in Somalia.
Advantages
Almost every private military company in Russia offers financial stability. How to get there? Today, many of those who have military service behind them are interested in this issue. First, let's take a look at its benefits.
Firstly, the use of mercenaries instead of the regular army does not cause discontent among the population. In addition, in states with weak political institutions, they represent a real opposing force to local law enforcement agencies, and sometimes to regular troops. They are mobile, the management of these units is very flexible, there is no bureaucracy at all. Compared to the regular troops, which serve many conscripts who have recently learned about the hardships military service, in these companies - only professionals. People who have devoted more than one year to military affairs.
Flaws
Despite a large number of positive aspects, there are also disadvantages.
The most serious of them is that the employees of such companies work solely to earn money. They have no other motivation - ideological or ideological. And this is very important in critical and extreme situations.
In addition, the contracts do not provide for all the conditions that may arise in the course of hostilities. Therefore, it is not always possible to predict how contract mercenaries will behave. After all, they are not directly subordinate to the military authorities. These factors significantly reduce their flexibility and efficiency.
Also, there is no clear relationship between the troops and military companies, there is no single control center and general coordination of all available forces.
Legal status
The legal and legal status of contractors is most often not defined. Even despite the fact that their activities are regulated by a large number of norms of international and national law.
It is worth noting that it is impossible to call all employees of these companies mercenaries. Most often they do not take a direct part in hostilities. In addition, they are not included in the official statistics of the armed formations of the state involved in the conflict.
At the same time, mercenarism is officially prohibited in Russia. There is a corresponding article in the Criminal Code, which provides for punishment for this from three to seven years.
The law on private military companies in Russia was actively discussed in the federal parliament in 2015. It was supposed to adopt a special bill that would allow the Russian Federation to protect its economic interests in the Middle East and the Arctic. However, it was never accepted.
"Russian security systems"
Private military companies in Russia, the list of which is headed by the most famous - "RSB-Group", today offer a wide range of services.
"RSB-Group" is a serious organization that is an official partner of the UN in Russia. Works within the framework of Security Council resolutions, the UN Charter, the Red Cross Code.
The company provides support on land and at sea, technical protection, training and consulting. Engaged in demining territories, guarding facilities within the Russian Federation.
"RSB-Group" can also offer very exotic services. For example, conducting intelligence and analytics. In the interests of the customer, information is obtained about customers, competitors or suppliers. The only exceptions are industrial espionage and information that is a state secret.
All these services can be offered by many private military companies in Russia. How to get into them? For example, RSB-Group currently has vacancies for an active sales manager for security and marine security services, a project development manager.
IDA
Another major organization engaged in such activities is the IDA. It is based in St. Petersburg.
Specializes in organizing legal investigations and security. Carries out the protection of individuals, motorcades, oil and gas pipelines, escort of cargoes of particular importance.
And this is not all the services that private military companies in Russia can provide. Training of employees, security of ships, military and business consulting, security of mass events, as well as the preparation and exchange of information on such events - all this is within their competence.
We list some other private military companies operating in the Russian Federation:
- Cossaks.
- "Ferax".
- "Redoubt-Antiterror"
- "Antiterror-Eagle" and others.
Creation of a military company
In Russia, this type of business has been developing for a relatively short time. Undoubtedly, a private military company in Russia brings good profits. How to create such a structure, and most importantly, what will be its advantages? Today, many people are thinking about these questions.
When creating such an organization, it is important to comply with all the requirements of the law, and also in future activities not to provide services that may cause problems with law enforcement agencies.
A factor in favor of the creation of such firms is the reduction. Now the army cannot perform the functions assigned to it earlier, in Soviet time. As a result - the reduction of a large number of officers, which had a negative impact on the overall level of army training.
All this makes the creation of private military companies in Russia a successful and profitable business.
The first mention of mercenary armies dates back to the time of existence ancient rome and Carthage. Professional hired soldiers replaced the militias and the slave militia. Discipline in the mercenary army was supported solely by salaries and fear of punishment (methods of physical coercion).
The present tense can rightfully be considered finest hour mercenary armies. This successful business is associated with the following circumstances:
- mercenary armies are private military companies (PMCs) and build their business without regard to international agreements on the movement of regular military units across the territories of foreign states;
- PMCs have the right to conclude contracts with any country in the world to perform a wide range of works and services: from security services to participation in hostilities;
- PMCs have the right to hire employees of the required qualifications and setting their salaries significantly lower than those of the regular army;
- customers of services (state, non-state and private forms of ownership) do not need to provide social protection and payments (pension, insurance), mercenaries - these duties are performed by the PMC management;
- the material and technical supply of hired units is carried out exclusively at the expense of the PMC's own resources;
- PMCs can partially delegate the functions and powers of the regular troops of the customer state;
- international organizations attract PMCs to perform dangerous tasks in the territories of countries with a difficult military and economic situation.
It is known about the existence of about 3 thousand private military companies operating in 60 countries of the world.
PMCs offer a fairly wide range of services:
- examination of the system of national security and defense;
- Recruitment for international missions and management of these operations;
- protection of strategic objects (airports, sea harbors, etc.);
- protection of oil infrastructure facilities;
- protection of energy facilities;
- security public institutions and embassies and government leaders;
- escort of cargoes, convoys;
- training of military units of regular troops;
- services of translators specializing in military translation;
- implementation of prison guards (as an example, Iran, Afghanistan);
- implementation of demining fields and objects, as well as the destruction of ammunition;
- protection against fires;
Performance of work on the material and technical supply of troops;
- reconnaissance, including air reconnaissance;
- protection of ships from pirate attacks.
PMCs are able to carry out not only the purchase of weapons created using high technologies, but also to train military specialists of the highest qualification.
Mercenary units can make up for the lack of necessary military units in any country. For example, mercenary units of the Israeli company Levdan allowed the President of the Congo to eliminate a military bloc hostile to his government.
Private military companies are closely associated with Western intelligence agencies and, above all, American and British ones.
It is hard to believe, but the basis of the military-industrial complex of the United States of America is precisely the many private military companies, whose responsibility is to comprehensively service the army, participate in the development of new types of weapons and assist state intelligence services.
But no matter how large a PMC is, it would be difficult for it to perform all types of services. Therefore, there is a division of functions between PMCs. For example, XE Services and Erinys Iraq Limited are professionally involved in the protection of oil infrastructure facilities. Escort of convoys in Afghanistan and Iraq is carried out by Kroll. Qualified military interpreter services are provided by CACI. The supply of troops is professionally handled by KBR.
In the United States, the very first company providing professional mercenary services was Vinnell Corporatio, established back in 1931. She worked for the US Army during World War II. It was the offices of this alleged construction company that were used for cover by the CIA in Africa and the Middle East. For assistance to the special services, the company received contract work at oil industry facilities in Iran and Libya. In Vietnam, the employees of this organization were not only engaged in the construction of military facilities, but also participated in military operations and reconnaissance raids. The asset of this organization is the training of soldiers of the National Guard of Saudi Arabia and participation in military operations against the rebels in Mecca.
The opinions of specialists on the issue of the efficiency of the performance of works and services transferred by state authorities to private companies are divided. Many believe that the delegation of powers of the military-industrial complex to mercenaries infringes on the interests of the state, and is also a rather expensive service.
But these experts do not take into account that, as a rule, mercenaries operate in high-risk areas. Also, in order to fulfill the assigned tasks, they attract highly professional specialists not only of military qualifications, but from almost any branch of science, production, security systems, etc.
To perform joint operations, PMCs unite in associations: for example, the International Association of Peacekeeping Operations (IPOA).
In Iraq, according to agreements with the United States, about 100,000 people from the Association of Private Security Structures in Iraq are employed. Since the concluded contracts regulating the presence of private military units in Iraq did not take into account the laws of this country, many scandals of mercenaries with local authorities and the population often arise around PMCs. In particular, armed clashes between Iraqis and mercenaries lead to significant casualties on both sides.
The US military department believes that in the future, with conflict situations, the main fighting force will be mercenary armies formed by private companies - that is, a course has been taken towards the so-called "privatization of modern warfare." Consequently, an outflow of military specialists from the regular army to the PMC network is expected.
However, the use of mercenary services to work on behalf of the government has significant flaws:
- in the first place for PMCs is not the fulfillment of military duty, but making a profit;
- PMC, as an independent business entity, is not subject to command;
- since it is impossible to provide for all options for the development of the situation in contracts with PMCs, this reduces the possibility of making flexible decisions - which significantly reduces the combat effectiveness of the mercenary army;
- PMC management personnel do not have comprehensive military training and therefore will not be able, if necessary, to join the ranks of combat units.
Repeated attempts have been made to control the functioning of mercenary armies - from introducing a licensing system and organizing independent oversight to creating a code of conduct, but so far there is no effective control over combat-ready private military units. The fact that mercenaries are able to solve the most difficult combat missions in various regions of the planet confirms the seriousness of the situation of uncontrollability of private military companies.
For example, the MPRI company is the largest among PMCs. She has close ties to the Pentagon and the CIA. It was the fighters of this organization who not only took part in the training of the Croatian army, but also subsequently participated in Operation Storm, as a result of which Serbian units were defeated. It is this company that protects the interests of the United States on the African continent. MPRI provides armament and training for the Georgian army, and also developed plans for military operations against Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
It should be noted that MPRI is not the only PMC that provides paid services to the Georgian government. The American company CAI renders services to the General Staff of Georgia in reforming the Georgian army. PMC Kellog Brown and Root also did not stand aside from a profitable contract with Georgia - it was engaged in the reconstruction of military facilities on its territory.
In the 1990s, the American-British company Halo Trust trained Chechen fighters in subversive activities and carried out reconnaissance on the territory of Chechnya. Its fighters took part in the fighting in Chechnya against the Federal troops.
At a closed meeting of the US Department of Defense, it was noted that in the near future, mercenary armed groups will become the main tool for supporting and promoting Washington's policy outside America's borders.
