Laas Leivat
According to New York University professor Mark Galeotti, a scholar of international crime and Russian security issues, the Russian security and intelligence services are not the all-powerful entities their reputations have maintained them to be. Rather they are internally disunited, harassed by bureaucratic competition which often results in sub-quality intelligence that in essence weakens the pursuit of Vladimir Putin’s personal interests.
In spite of the possible harm that the confrontational nature of the competitiveness of different secret services bring to the job, Putin still owns the security and intelligence apparatus he wanted. Busy engaged in massive and insatiable intelligence gathering, powered by generous financial resources, the agencies often run programs to solve the Kremlin’s suspicions of conspiracies, subversion and enemy penetrations where they don’t exist.
The services have an overwhelming need to please the Kremlin and deliver quick results. This often produces sloppy information gathering and unreliable analysis. In order to ensure their job, the intelligence directors must customize facts to please the president. The agencies have learned to perform to the more suspicious and defensive instincts of the regime. (Pikemalt Eesti Elu 12. augusti paberlehest)
