National security

Return of the KGB? Newspaper predicts major power ministry reforms in Russia

The Russian authorities are planning to implement major reforms to law enforcement agencies, merging the federal security, federal bodyguard and foreign intelligence services into a structure similar to the Soviet-era KGB, a business daily reports.

Quoting multiple unnamed sources, the Kommersant newspaper wrote that the reforms are scheduled for the nearest future and will be completed before the presidential elections of 2018.

The planned result is the creation of the Ministry for State Security, or MGB – the agency uniting the currently independent Federal Security Committee (FSB), Federal Bodyguard Service (FSO) and Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR).

In addition, the authors of the plan aim to merge the Prosecutor General’s Office with the federal agency for especially important criminal cases – the Investigative Committee – and dissolve the Ministry for Emergency Situations, splitting its tasks between the Defense Ministry and the Interior Ministry.