In Western countries, such a phenomenon as a private military company is actively used to solve military and peaceful tasks. Nowadays it is already quite obvious that it would be time for the CIS countries to think about introducing a similar legal institution into their practice, as well as create a regulatory framework with which it will be possible to regulate this important and necessary sphere.
It so happened that no private military company can appear on the territory of the Russian Federation, since all issues of such activity constitute an exclusive monopoly and the prerogative of our state. However, in fact, many countries of the world annually try to build up and develop the international market for providing private services in this environment. At the same time, it is not only about how much a private military company can help in solving any combat tasks, but also about the social aspect of creating legal acts in this area.
Why is this needed?
First of all, thanks to the emergence of such organizations, it would be possible to eliminate the problem of employment, which is quite common among former officers of the Russian army, since they have nowhere to go after leaving the reserve. A private company could solve a similar situation, but due to reforms by the Ministry of Defense, many professional military personnel who have devoted the majority of their lives to military service are forced to search for jobs that may not be related to their work. direct profession. All this leads to a decrease in their total income and, consequently, to more frequent attempts at illicit enrichment.
On the other hand, private military companies could also help solve the problem of the departure of a large number of specialists who did not manage to find a use after being left in the reserve, as other countries quite often feel the need and express interest in attracting knowledge and professional skills of such experts. Thus, our countries are losing specialists and money, and these finances are far from small.
Financial side
The income that any private military company (PMC) would bring to the country is another reasonably strong argument in favor of adopting a law on their introduction. The country's budget should receive more and more new sources that could replenish the revenue side, while the legal existence of various private structures can bring serious revenues. In addition, few people know that similar organizations already work for us, but they are registered outside the legal field of Russia. This suggests that their income does not in any way affect the state, in contrast to how the same American private military companies work, for example.
What are the prospects?
Not so long ago, the Ministry of Defense launched an initiative regarding the need to create reserve armies in the Russian Federation , and this can already be called the first step to the emergence of such organizations. There are a fairly large number of interesting areas, such as specialized services that private military companies provide. The salary of each specialist here depends on the tasks performed by him: strategic planning, combat operations, data collection, as well as logistic or operational support. That is why the adoption of the law is best carried out as soon as possible, and delaying this would be incorrect.
What are they doing?
Nowadays, there are a huge number of organizations, and if we talk about the CIS countries, the Slavyanskiy Korpus private military company, which is officially registered in Hong Kong, but actually includes mainly former servicemen of various armies and stands out among all, stands out special troops of the countries of the former Union. The scope of activities of such organizations may include the following responsibilities:
- Ensuring armed protection of legal entities and individuals, security of events at which a large number of people gather, as well as the development and further implementation of various measures in the field of information security. Such services, for example, according to some information, are engaged in a private military company in Molkino.
- Professional protection of facilities, reconnaissance, escort of convoys, consultations, military consulting or humanitarian demining activities.
- Maintenance and operation of specialized combat complexes.
- Ensuring safety when transporting or keeping prisoners.
- Advice and training for security personnel or local military personnel.
- Conducting armed defense with full escort of various civilian vessels from pirates, conducting a full security check for gas and oil offshore platforms, guarding piers, ships and platforms underwater.
This is just a short list of what private security companies can do . It should be noted that while with security functions and tasks aimed at escorting goods and ensuring the protection of various objects, everything is very clear, for many the term “military” is unclear. Not everyone who wants to know how to get into a private military company correctly understands how such organizations provide military services.
Legal status
In modern world practice, a fairly large list of private military companies has already been formed, which have become quite large and widespread not only in a particular state, but practically throughout the planet. In Russia, despite the fact that there are no official documents on the organization of such structures, they have already managed to gain a foothold in practice, and in the country you can find a fairly large number of companies that position themselves that way.
From a legal point of view, Russian private military companies can be considered as public-private partnerships (PPPs), since they do not yet exist at the legislative level, but certain projects have already been drawn up. Moreover, in the framework of PPP there is the prospect of a law that will not only ensure the fixation of this mechanism at the federal level, but will also further contribute to its development throughout Russia.
Unfortunately, at the moment, not only at the regional, but even at the federal level, really working legal mechanisms have not yet been formed that would allow such organizations to be consolidated, and a vivid example of this is the head of a private military company Evgeny Wagner, who created his own structure, activity which is largely unresolved. Quite often, such a situation leads to a large number of difficulties, the main of which is the inclusion of participants in such organizations as mercenaries, which in fact has no connection with reality.
What are the differences?
The lack of understanding of this often creates a double reaction in society to what Wagner’s private military company and similar structures do.
On the one hand, if a person is an employee of a private organization and at the same time dies in the process of fulfilling his duties, he is not a soldier of the national army who was involved in fulfilling the order of direct command. On the other hand, he can be called a mercenary who risks his own life for a certain financial sum.
But at the same time, one must correctly understand that a mercenary is absolutely any person who was recruited to take part in a particular conflict, while private military companies of the United States and other countries are full-fledged organizations that perform a much wider range of tasks .
In the vast majority of cases, contracts are drawn up with such organizations for cooperation on an ongoing basis, and the professional here acts only as an adviser or consultant on any technical and military issues. Private organizations have official registration, a charter, as well as a special business structure, and at the same time are elements of transnational corporations, so that the range of their services extends not only to the military industry.
The bill currently being initiated can completely destroy various false interpretations and all kinds of speculations and at the same time help determine the basic principles of what are the differences between mercenary and PMCs in the provision of military services. And, most importantly, it will provide an opportunity to determine the legal basis for the work of private military organizations operating on the territory of other states, in full compliance with generally accepted norms and various international conventions.
How much do they need?
Many people know that the use of private military structures by Western countries, including the United States, is unprecedented, and the total number of employees, as well as the amount of money spent on attracting these organizations, is incredibly large. Also, in addition to Western countries, China is actively developing private structures, so we can safely say that if it is profitable and so necessary for others, it may well be beneficial for us.
Political and social side
The total number of conflicts that have arisen in different countries of the world over the past ten years has risen several times, and this can easily be traced from news reports in recent years. Quite often, the regular army does not have the ability to provide decent resistance, to stabilize the process or to maintain a certain regime. Among other things, resorting to the use of the armed forces, the authorities should be aware that at the same time there is a risk that this can be negatively perceived in society, since many really react violently to the losses of even one soldier. It was precisely such problems that arose during the conduct of hostilities in the territory of Chechnya and Afghanistan.
Due to the fact that PMC employees are involved in the process of conducting operations with the support of regular troops, the overall statistics of injuries and losses are significantly reduced, as well as the potential necessary for various operations that require a higher level of confidentiality. Their application will provide the state with the opportunity to solve foreign policy problems, while avoiding international and public undesirable resonance.
New tools
It is necessary to correctly understand the fact that the techniques and basic working methods of modern PMCs are not limited to the borders of the country. Thus, for example, it provides for the possibility of hiring and further training of specialists in the country where various operations are planned, so that they can perform specific tasks assigned to them by management. A positive effect in this case is achieved due to the fact that the problem of possible negative perception by foreign residents of foreigners is completely eliminated, and at the same time a full-fledged team of local professionals is created, able to quickly orientate in the situation that arose, in fact, in their home . All this greatly increases the likelihood that in the near future local authorities will be able to take control of the situation.
In addition, employees of private organizations, being outside the limits of international law, can use their own unique methods and forms of work, not being limited by anything, since the scope of competencies and the regulation of their work are completely determined by the drawn up contract with the company. To some extent, this allows them to relieve them of any responsibility for various moral and legal costs on the part of the employer and at the same time allows to achieve the highest possible combat effectiveness. Due to the emergence of such an official institution in Russia, not only the approach used in the use of military force in peacetime, but also the very concept of conducting foreign policy will change.
It must be correctly understood that the possibility of using such a wide arsenal of problem solving is a clear advantage in the context of modern global competition, and the presence of various PMCs in the field of operations will significantly expand the interests of the Russian Federation, as well as provide it with a mass of new allies, which ultimately will increase the overall the status of the state.
Another possibility of using private military companies may be the active promotion of domestic equipment in various international markets. Why? In those states that have decided to purchase our military equipment, employees of private organizations can provide its full-fledged service, protection of specialists providing equipment modernization, provision of consulting support, training of personnel and many other tasks.
Economy
The use of PMCs is also cost-effective in the process of conducting confidential and short-term military operations, as its resources and capabilities will be used exclusively upon a specific request. The state does not need to spend a large amount of finances in order to maintain qualifications and acquire uniforms for soldiers in peacetime, if high-level professionals are at its disposal. Unlike standard regular troops, the deployment of which requires the deployment of a sufficiently powerful military infrastructure, the costs required to hire a private military company are much lower, and due to the piecework nature of the work, payment can only be made for the specific implementation of various military operations.
The peculiarity of their application is, first of all, in that the state does not have to be a direct employer. PMCs may well exist separately from government orders and carry out tasks assigned by international organizations or commercial entities. Thus, due to the military services market, a good replenishment of the budget will be provided if all the relevant conditions for its formation and operation on the territory of the Russian Federation are available.