International Journal on Criminology Volume 7, Number 2, Spring 2020 | Page 60

The Security Foundations of Jair Bolsonaro’s Electoral Breakthrough
The Russians employed several medium-term mechanisms to achieve these
results. They actually went a little further than the Brazilians in strengthening the
authority of the central state, since it is the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Moscow
which controls all the police forces. With the tightening of this control and
waves of appointments of trusted men in the most remote provinces, it managed
to reduce in a rather clear-cut manner the level of police corruption that often
prevailed in the provinces.
The FSB, Russia’s famous internal intelligence agency, also saw its missions
extended in the early 2000s to cover many common-law crimes, provided that
they were considered to constitute an attack on the authority and security of the
state. The investigators and intervention forces of the local branches of the FSB
are heavily involved in combating drug and arms trafficking and all smuggling activities.
They also provide assistance to the traditional police forces upon request.
Moscow has of course provided the FSB with a budget and human resources commensurate
with its missions.
In situations deemed out of control, as was the case in early 2018 in Dagestan,
the central government employs federal emergency legislation and appoints
an emissary with wide-ranging powers to undertake a “clear-out” of local political
and administrative authorities. This emissary, Vladimir Vasilyev in the case
of Dagestan, takes his orders and directives from Moscow until order is fully restored.
He is supported by an extensive administrative team and an ad hoc force
consisting of a mix of police officers specialized in maintaining public order (the
OMON) and FSB special forces (the Alpha and Beta Groups of the Spetsnaz).
Russian prison policy also took a particularly repressive and deterrent-focused
turn during the 2000s. The most violent offenders and repeat offenders are
thus systematically assigned to penal colonies in the most isolated areas of Russia.
Discipline there is more than draconian, and the cells are never shared by more
than two inmates, with no contact with the rest of the prison. Guards’ salaries have
been substantially increased in order to discourage any potential bullying or racketeering
of prisoners and to attract high-quality staff.
In cities, especially larger ones, the police can rely on private security companies,
with whom they cooperate extensively. Since the end of the 2000s, the
Ministry of Internal Affairs has made a point of encouraging the consolidation of
these private companies and revoking the operating licenses of those it considers
unreliable. Most of the staff of these companies are now former military or police
officers, which facilitates interactions.
Possible Applications in Brazil
Without going so far as to demand the centralization of the command of
the Military or Civil Police of the Brazilian federated states, it must be
pointed out that the Russian model provides some excellent avenues
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