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Decoding the Wagner Group: Analyzing the Role of Russian Private Military Security Contractors in Russian Proxy Warfare
86 pages, ebook
Published November 1, 2019
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March 8, 2023
Very interesting read. If it weren't for some of the elements that plague majority of Western works when it comes to Russia I would give it 4 stars. Unfortunately it would never be 5 stars because report produces no information on actual Wagner PMSC but reveals plethora of information on rest of Russian PMSCs and how they evolved, merged, split and so on in circles and in that way how they relate to Wagner PMSC (which in my opinion is very far fetched conclusion, especially when one considers very specific (not to say exotic) nature of PMSCs world-wide and that of their personnel, usually veterans from intelligence and combat units (special forces but also regular army units that saw extensive combat) - these are closed societies, not unlike jewelry makers or diamond sellers or shady/illegal organizations, no matter the size of respective armed forces these people know each other if not personally but then definitely by renome and their paths constantly cross).
So lets start with good stuff.
Author provides great deal of information on PMSCs from early 1990s 'til 2019. We are shown how various veteran groups organized themselves first into protection services (which of course means racket for each and every of these groups if you ask the author) and then into private companies providing everything from intelligence, security, extraction to actual combat. Author brings to light all the organizations that pop up lately in the news like Rusich, Slavonic Corp and how they are interlinked not only between themselves but with Russian security services. It also shows how all of these companies find work acting as enforcers for big corporations and state enterprises all around the world.
Were they involved in murky or illegal activities - sure. Name one band of soldiers from the time of Great Companies and tell me they did what they did out of altruism. They are fighting men, usually parties requiring their services are not exactly spotless angels, as a matter of fact all clients use them to achieve goals of their own, and ultimate goal is always profit. Private military looks for immediate profit, their clients for long term profit.
This part was very informative, both from listing participants on political scene and how they mix with the military/security forces scene.
And now to the bad stuff......
First, West truly has complex (huuuuuge complex) when it comes to Russians. Just look at the style - data about Russian PMSCs is not collected, it is culled, Wagner's chief is "seller of hot dogs" that managed to get rich, in general Russia always supported tyrannies (somehow I cannot remember who supported Pinoche..... will try to remember), Russian PMSCs are privateers (what? they are given marque for their actions? please..... in modern times as in the past PMSCs live by the will of the states, if you do not believe just check the history of South African EO, moment they crossed US they were gone), was always creaking and in semi-messed-up state but always a danger to conquer the world (I gotta admit that whoever teaches these people at the universities they did magnificent job - use of these contradictory positions is becoming more and more regular occurence). So standard work when it comes to Russia (if this was Mark Galleotti I would not be surprised, I think he was so upset after publishing book on Storm 333 where he slipped and said that operation was well planned and executed).
Second, mentioning proxy wars USSR fought in Middle East, Africa, Asia and South America (focus in the book is Middle East and Africa) as precursor for something unique related to Russia is ridiculous. First those were not PMSCs, but soldiers working under cover as advisors. You are telling me this is different from US military advisors say building Iran's military during Shah's rule, building whole cities in Saudi Arabia during Arabian's military buildups and at the same time fighting opposition in direct actions like in Congo and Angola? And this is just to name the few and US only, where is UK and their participation in combat in Aden? Keenie Meenie Services?
Third, to constantly speak about financial interests and political connections as something so evil and [implicitly] so Russian .... give me a break. Look at the greatest businesses in last 30 years called war in Balkans, war in Iraq and war in Afghanistan. Halliburton, DynoCorp, MPRI, G4S just to mention old guard (Blackwater, probably the most offensive oriented one came very very late to the party although today afaik it is the largest organization of this type). These companies (and myriad smaller ones in the same business) are employed by all "reconstruction" companies that plan to reconstruct what US and their allies will blow up and they need private forces to secure their investment. How they get the business opportunities? Tenders? Haahahhahaa, right..... I think it is called connections in the business world. So to say Russian PMSCs are special in this regard is ridiculous.
Fourth, Russian intelligence services are tightly coupled with the Russian PMSCs and they are used as additional forces in war theaters. Same as above to say Russian PMSCs are special here is crazy notion. I will just say that because of private contractors hired by CIA there was almost complete break in relationship between US and Pakistan. International contractors are even now fighting in Ukraine (dont tell me they are paid by Ukraine alone, that's a joke). Also it is known foreign contractors are training Ukraine's soldiers and operating more advanced weapon systems (remember Mozart group?). Similar example would be MPRI that trained Croatian army during Balkan wars in 1990's, they were provided via US government and with specific goals in mind. So to say that only Russian PMSCs are involved in this is hilarious. Mercenaries (and lets be honest PMSCs are just the latest iteration of this profession) are always used as proxy's by the respective governments - this was case in 20th century in Africa, Asia and now (in 21st) extensively in Europe.
Fifth, I think I will be extremely happy when military theorists stop using phrase "hybrid warfare". You know, if this is not coming from the authors coming from countries that staged astonishing number of coup d'etats using combined internal subversion, paramilitaries and outright military strikes coupled with total media blockade and economic sanctions, I would say .... okk, makes sense. I mean please leave these buzzwords that have no meaning except sounding cool (like euphemism kinetic action ....... stop, just..... stop). To say this is something specific to Russians (in approach and in scope) is hilarious. I mean to think that is direct insult to people who fought behind enemy lines in WW2, SOE, Jedburgh, OSS agents, or troops funded by US and fighting deep in China territory, those participating in Iran Contra scandal, and finally those funding and arming guerillas in places like Afghanistan (OK, this backfired but you understand what I mean). Also the initial mention of the Battle of Kasham fails to mention that combat lasted for 4 hours. It took 4 hours for US artillery and fighter bombers to force the pro-Syrian force to retreat. Four hours under intensive bombardment from all over the place. Think about it. Sean McFate has a very interesting comment on this battle in his book about private military contractors.
So to sum it up - if it weren't constant mentioning of the West's boogeyman, Russian president Putin, and presentation of Russian PMSCs as some ominous forces used in a way never before seen by the West and the world in general, this would be more interesting book. Author should have taken step in presenting this in more stable way and not from the perspective "they bad, pooh, pooh". Not to mention that book did not age well in just these 3 years from publishing (starting from that 2016 election and whole spin on who did what for who and what).
Very interesting read, definitely not balanced and with extreme political bias present, but does provide a lot information about Russian private military companies (although as I mentioned it provides not a iota of information about Wagner PMSC itself).
So lets start with good stuff.
Author provides great deal of information on PMSCs from early 1990s 'til 2019. We are shown how various veteran groups organized themselves first into protection services (which of course means racket for each and every of these groups if you ask the author) and then into private companies providing everything from intelligence, security, extraction to actual combat. Author brings to light all the organizations that pop up lately in the news like Rusich, Slavonic Corp and how they are interlinked not only between themselves but with Russian security services. It also shows how all of these companies find work acting as enforcers for big corporations and state enterprises all around the world.
Were they involved in murky or illegal activities - sure. Name one band of soldiers from the time of Great Companies and tell me they did what they did out of altruism. They are fighting men, usually parties requiring their services are not exactly spotless angels, as a matter of fact all clients use them to achieve goals of their own, and ultimate goal is always profit. Private military looks for immediate profit, their clients for long term profit.
This part was very informative, both from listing participants on political scene and how they mix with the military/security forces scene.
And now to the bad stuff......
First, West truly has complex (huuuuuge complex) when it comes to Russians. Just look at the style - data about Russian PMSCs is not collected, it is culled, Wagner's chief is "seller of hot dogs" that managed to get rich, in general Russia always supported tyrannies (somehow I cannot remember who supported Pinoche..... will try to remember), Russian PMSCs are privateers (what? they are given marque for their actions? please..... in modern times as in the past PMSCs live by the will of the states, if you do not believe just check the history of South African EO, moment they crossed US they were gone), was always creaking and in semi-messed-up state but always a danger to conquer the world (I gotta admit that whoever teaches these people at the universities they did magnificent job - use of these contradictory positions is becoming more and more regular occurence). So standard work when it comes to Russia (if this was Mark Galleotti I would not be surprised, I think he was so upset after publishing book on Storm 333 where he slipped and said that operation was well planned and executed).
Second, mentioning proxy wars USSR fought in Middle East, Africa, Asia and South America (focus in the book is Middle East and Africa) as precursor for something unique related to Russia is ridiculous. First those were not PMSCs, but soldiers working under cover as advisors. You are telling me this is different from US military advisors say building Iran's military during Shah's rule, building whole cities in Saudi Arabia during Arabian's military buildups and at the same time fighting opposition in direct actions like in Congo and Angola? And this is just to name the few and US only, where is UK and their participation in combat in Aden? Keenie Meenie Services?
Third, to constantly speak about financial interests and political connections as something so evil and [implicitly] so Russian .... give me a break. Look at the greatest businesses in last 30 years called war in Balkans, war in Iraq and war in Afghanistan. Halliburton, DynoCorp, MPRI, G4S just to mention old guard (Blackwater, probably the most offensive oriented one came very very late to the party although today afaik it is the largest organization of this type). These companies (and myriad smaller ones in the same business) are employed by all "reconstruction" companies that plan to reconstruct what US and their allies will blow up and they need private forces to secure their investment. How they get the business opportunities? Tenders? Haahahhahaa, right..... I think it is called connections in the business world. So to say Russian PMSCs are special in this regard is ridiculous.
Fourth, Russian intelligence services are tightly coupled with the Russian PMSCs and they are used as additional forces in war theaters. Same as above to say Russian PMSCs are special here is crazy notion. I will just say that because of private contractors hired by CIA there was almost complete break in relationship between US and Pakistan. International contractors are even now fighting in Ukraine (dont tell me they are paid by Ukraine alone, that's a joke). Also it is known foreign contractors are training Ukraine's soldiers and operating more advanced weapon systems (remember Mozart group?). Similar example would be MPRI that trained Croatian army during Balkan wars in 1990's, they were provided via US government and with specific goals in mind. So to say that only Russian PMSCs are involved in this is hilarious. Mercenaries (and lets be honest PMSCs are just the latest iteration of this profession) are always used as proxy's by the respective governments - this was case in 20th century in Africa, Asia and now (in 21st) extensively in Europe.
Fifth, I think I will be extremely happy when military theorists stop using phrase "hybrid warfare". You know, if this is not coming from the authors coming from countries that staged astonishing number of coup d'etats using combined internal subversion, paramilitaries and outright military strikes coupled with total media blockade and economic sanctions, I would say .... okk, makes sense. I mean please leave these buzzwords that have no meaning except sounding cool (like euphemism kinetic action ....... stop, just..... stop). To say this is something specific to Russians (in approach and in scope) is hilarious. I mean to think that is direct insult to people who fought behind enemy lines in WW2, SOE, Jedburgh, OSS agents, or troops funded by US and fighting deep in China territory, those participating in Iran Contra scandal, and finally those funding and arming guerillas in places like Afghanistan (OK, this backfired but you understand what I mean). Also the initial mention of the Battle of Kasham fails to mention that combat lasted for 4 hours. It took 4 hours for US artillery and fighter bombers to force the pro-Syrian force to retreat. Four hours under intensive bombardment from all over the place. Think about it. Sean McFate has a very interesting comment on this battle in his book about private military contractors.
So to sum it up - if it weren't constant mentioning of the West's boogeyman, Russian president Putin, and presentation of Russian PMSCs as some ominous forces used in a way never before seen by the West and the world in general, this would be more interesting book. Author should have taken step in presenting this in more stable way and not from the perspective "they bad, pooh, pooh". Not to mention that book did not age well in just these 3 years from publishing (starting from that 2016 election and whole spin on who did what for who and what).
Very interesting read, definitely not balanced and with extreme political bias present, but does provide a lot information about Russian private military companies (although as I mentioned it provides not a iota of information about Wagner PMSC itself).
Displaying 1 of 1 review