Security Council of Russia

The Security Council of the Russian Federation (SCRF) (Russian: Совет Безопасности Российской Федерации) is a consultative body of the Russian President that works out the President's decisions on national security affairs. Composed of key ministers and agency heads and chaired by the President of Russia, the SCRF was established to be a forum for coordinating and integrating national security policy. It is the successor of the Security Council of the USSR.

History

Since its formation, it apparently has gradually lost influence in competition with other power centers in the presidential administration. However, the June 1996 appointment of former army general and presidential candidate Alexander Lebed to head the Security Council improved prospects for the organization's standing. In July 1996, a presidential decree assigned the Security Council a wide variety of new missions. The decree's description of the Security Council's consultative functions was especially vague and wide-ranging, although it positioned the head of the Security Council directly subordinate to the president. As had been the case previously, the Security Council was required to hold meetings at least once a month.

After President Medvedev removed Yuri Baluyevskiy as chief of the General Staff and appointed him to the Security Council, several Russian analysts suggested that the Security Council was a sinecure for military and security officials on their way to retirement. Its limited role also may have been indicated during the 2008 South Ossetia war, when the Security Council met on the second day of warfare, after Medvedev had already directed the engagement of Russian forces against Georgia.

Role

File:Senate Palace - Room of the Security Council.jpg

Meeting place of the council in the Kremlin Senate in the Moscow Kremlin

The Security Council draws up crucial documents defining conceptual approaches to national security. Regular meetings of the Security Council are held according to a schedule set by the Chairman (the President of Russia); if necessary, the Council can hold extraordinary meetings. The Chairman defines the agenda and order of the day based on recommendations by the Secretary of the Security Council. The Chairman presides over meetings, while the Secretary holds working meetings with Council members on a regular basis.

It has been argued that the coordinating role defined for the Security Council in the National Security Strategy to 2020, published in May 2009, represents a strengthening of its influence and importance within Russian governance under its new Secretary Nikolay Patrushev.

A Presidential decree on the Security Council issued by President Medvedev in early May 2011 appeared to strengthen the role of the presidential administration in overseeing military affairs. The edict clarified that the Security Council examines issues and prepares "presidential decisions" on the "organization of defense, military organizational development, defense production, and military and military-technical cooperation of Russia with foreign states", as well as the formulation and implementation of foreign policy, and the monitoring of public expenditure on defence, national security and law enforcement. The Secretary will also make proposals to the Secretary Council for coordinating the work of federal and regional executive bodies in national emergencies.

Composition

As of 2015

Name	Post
Vladimir Putin	President of the Russian Federation
Sergey Naryshkin	Speaker of the State Duma
Nikolai Patrushev	Secretary of the Security Council
Sergei Shoigu	Minister for Defence
Sergei Lavrov	Minister for Foreign Affairs
Vladimir Kolokoltsev	Minister for Internal Affairs
Mikhail Fradkov	Director of the Foreign Intelligence Service
Valentina Matviyenko	Chairwoman of the Federation Council
Rashid Nurgaliyev	Deputy Secretary of the Security Council
Alexander Bortnikov	Director of the Federal Security Service
Sergei Ivanov	Kremlin Chief of Staff
Boris Gryzlov	Chairman of the Supreme Council of the United Russia Party
Dmitry Medvedev	Prime Minister of Russia

Secretaries of the Security Council

• Yury Skokov (1992–1993)
• Yevgeny Shaposhnikov (1993)
• Oleg Lobov (1993–1996)
• Aleksandr Lebed (1996)
• Ivan Rybkin (1996–1998)
• Andrei Kokoshin (1998)
• Nikolai Bordyuzha (1998–1999)
• Vladimir Putin (1998–1999)
• Sergei Ivanov (1999–2001)
• Vladimir Rushailo (2001–2004)
• Igor Ivanov (2004–2007)
• Valentin Sobolev (2007 – 12 May 2008)
• Nikolai Patrushev (since 12 May 2008)

External links

• Official Site (in Russian)
• Agentura.ru (in Russian)
• Information in English