Everything you need to know about silovarchs — Russia’s security elites — and the power they wield

• Russia’s security elites are silovarchs, a term combining “oligarch” and “siloviki” (“people of force.”)
• Daniel Treisman, who coined the term, told Insider about their influence and power. 
• Analyst Hugo Casthwaite said silovarchs are closer to President Vladimir Putin than oligarchs. 

In recent weeks, oligarchs, some of the world’s wealthiest individuals, have been under intense scrutiny.

They have been hit by a series of sanctions amid Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, which the US government has accused Russian forces of committing war crimes. 

Back in the 1990s, a new business elite, known as silovarchs, sprung up. This is an umbrella term coined in 2006 by Daniel Treisman, a professor of political science at the University of California, Los Angeles.

The term combines the words oligarch and siloviki. The latter translates as “people of force” and encompasses leading officials from the security services and law enforcement. 

According to Treisman, oligarchs do not hold such a great deal of political influence, contrary to what is believed. Silovarchs are somewhat more powerful, he said.

Hugo Crosthwaite, a lead analyst for Eurasia at security intelligence firm Dragonfly, told Insider that siloviki are essentially part of Putin’s close circle. And as a former member of the KGB, now known as Federal Security Service (FSB) — Russian Federalnaya Sluzhba Bezopasnosti – the argument logically follows that the president himself would be a silovik, he

“I think the important point with siloviki is that they are part and partial of President Putin’s regime and not a separate group aside from it,” Crosthwaite added. “Siloviki are ultimately closer to the president than oligarchs are.”

Who are the silovarchs?

Some of the most well-known silovarchs are general directors and veterans of the KGB, per Treisman and Costhwaite.

Alexei Miller, however, despite not coming from a security background, is a silovarch due to energy supplier Gazprom, for which he is the CEO, belonging to the silovarch empire.

Considered the strongest influence in Russia after Vladimir Putin and a close confidant to the president, Igor Sechin is Rosneft’s CEO, an oil company used as one of Putin’s key geopolitical tools. In the mid-1980s, Sechin served as a military interpreter in Mozambique and Angola.

Vladimir Yakunin, a former general and one of the most ideological silovarchs, called for closer ties between the Slavic nations and a revival of Orthodox Christian values, per Treisman. He is the former president of Russian Railways and previously worked in the Transport Ministry. 

The son of FSB chief Nikolai Patrushev, FSB captain Andrei Patrushev was appointed Sechin’s personal adviser at Rosneft and is now Gazprom Neft’s CEO. 

Here’s a list of all other individuals that would be considered silovarchs — after cross-verification of their implications in the armed forces, and based on Treisman’s research. 

How powerful are silovarchs? 

The silovarchs control companies through positions in management or on supervisory boards. Per Treisman, the siloviki see their mission as precisely to fix the problems the oligarchs created — to restore respect for law enforcement, enhance presidential powers, and clean up the media, and political parties. 

Silovarchs see themselves as protectors of the Russian state. “When we look at the overall positions that they occupy, we can say with some confidence that they clearly have a considerable amount of sway within the Russian state – and the overall system that person sits at the top of,” Crosthwaite said. 

According to Crosthwaite, the system that Putin has constructed means that “proximity to him is vital to safeguard one’s own interests as a member of the siloviki.”

He concluded: “Essentially, it’s a very narrow, small decision-making group around the president that is ultimately the source of power.”