The Ministry of Internal Affairs is expected to expand the powers of the anti-drug agency. This is exactly what the leadership of the Federal Drug Control Service, represented by long years. Ivanov, however, was against the transfer of the Federal Drug Control Service to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, but persistently sought that his department be allowed to engage in the rehabilitation of drug addicts in unilaterally, i.e. unite the country's rehabilitation centers under its leadership. The program was never implemented; the Ministry of Finance refused to sponsor the program.
In addition, the Federal Drug Control Service sought the adoption of a service law that would allow the agency to issue orders to businesses to take measures to “prevent drug trafficking.” The bill remained just a draft.
What does the department expect after joining the Ministry of Internal Affairs? Firstly, as reported by RBC, it has already been announced that FSKN employees will receive powers that they did not have before. However, what these powers are has not yet been announced.
It is also unknown whether the Federal Drug Control Service expects a wave of layoffs, and to which unit of the Ministry of Internal Affairs the drug police will move. According to Kommersant, most likely they will be listed in the criminal investigation department.
FMS and FSKN will transfer to the Ministry of Internal Affairs: new news
The FMS, which left the Ministry of Internal Affairs in 2004, also fought for its rights for a long time. Thus, the department sought the opportunity to conduct inspections among legal entities, confiscate work permits from company executives who violate the law, and even use weapons. These powers were not granted to the department.
Now the department is on the verge of another wave of cuts. The workforce is expected to be reduced by about 30%. At the same time, the fate of the head of the department has not yet been decided.
Meanwhile, the fact that the Federal Drug Control Service and the Federal Migration Service were liquidated is logical, says Vyacheslav Postavnin, president of the 21st Century Migration Foundation. As for the FMS. Then he has two ways of development: either he will turn into a kind of Visa Center under the Ministry of Internal Affairs, or will remain a separate unit existing within the structure of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
A good anti-crisis measure
Experts believe that the merger of the Federal Migration Service and the Federal Drug Control Service into the Ministry of Internal Affairs is a good anti-crisis measure. The main consequence of such a decision will be budget optimization. You will be able to save about 30 billion rubles, writes MK.
In addition, now representatives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and employees of the Federal Service for Drug Control will no longer have reasons to shift responsibility to each other
“Communicating with employees of the territorial anti-drug police units, I see that they are not interested in systems development drug dealers. They say: the Federal Drug Control Service is there for that. At the same time, the Federal Drug Control Service believes that it is not appropriate for them to engage in “retail.” Clearly, this situation requires change and the anti-drug units need to be strengthened. The police have everything necessary for this - operational services, special forces, information bases. It’s the same with the FMS. Even now the police are chasing illegal migrants, but the Federal Migration Service says that there are no employees for this. In my understanding, the merger of these structures is reasonable,” notes Anton Tsvetkov, chairman of the security commission of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation.
Mikhail Pashkin, chairman of the coordination council of the police union, shares the same opinion. In his opinion, the Ministry of Internal Affairs will begin to work more quickly after joining the FSKN and FMS departments.
An RBC source close to the leadership of the FMS previously emphasized that the head of the FMS, Konstantin, would also object Romodanovsky . RBC's interlocutor in the Kremlin noted that no decisions have been made.
Later in the Kremlin . One of RBC’s interlocutors in the security forces clarified that Putin instructed the Security Council to further develop the proposal to abolish the FMS. At the same time, the source said, in Security CouncilRomodanovsky can count on the support of his colleague in managing the FSB’s own security - the current director of the Federal Drug Control Service Viktor Ivanov, as well as a permanent member Security Council Boris Gryzlov.
March 31, 2016 that Putin and the Security Council will discuss the issue of abolishing the FMS,. The publication’s interlocutors said that the issue of liquidating the agency was submitted for further consideration to the Security Council in February 2016 and its decision could be announced at the meeting. A source close to the leadership of the FMS reported that the main functions of the department could be transferred to the FSB or the Ministry of Internal Affairs. He also said that it is proposed to establish a three-year transition period for these transformations. The interlocutor noted that main reason the reform being undertaken is the need to save budget funds.
The FMS became an independent unit in 2004, when the agency left the Ministry of Internal Affairs. IN last years the FMS complained that the service is not a law enforcement agency and does not have the functions necessary to work with migrants, explains RBC’s interlocutor at the FMS. Last week about the lack of authority to round table Nadezhda Voronina, deputy head of the monitoring department of the department for organizing work with foreign citizens of the FMS, spoke at the Public Chamber.
The competence of the FMS included issues of granting citizenship, issuing visas to enter Russia, processing and issuing passports to citizens Russian Federation, deportation and entry ban for violators of immigration laws. The leadership of the department consists of representatives of law enforcement agencies. Three of Romodanovsky’s eight deputies come from the state security agencies, like himself, and three more come from the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
President of the Migration 21st Century Foundation, former deputy director of the Federal Migration Service Vyacheslav Postavnin, in a conversation with RBC, noted that the decision to merge departments was long overdue, since recently the Ministry of Internal Affairs has received some of the functions of the migration service. “The FMS has exhausted itself and fallen, like a ripe apple, into the arms of the Ministry of Internal Affairs,” Postavnin said.
State Secretary, First Deputy Head of the Federal Migration Service Ekaterina Egorova, in a conversation with RBC, clarified that the decision to merge departments was predictable, since the issue had been discussed for some time. Egorova noted that to discuss technical details mergers will be possible after the publication of a presidential decree, which will become “the starting point for organizing work.”
Then it will be possible to talk about whether there will be reductions in FMS employees, Egorova emphasized. The main direction of the merger, according to her, will be set by the Minister of Internal Affairs Vladimir Kolokoltsev, and the details will be decided at the working level. The fate of the current head of the Federal Migration Service, Konstantin Romodanovsky, will be decided by Vladimir Putin, Egorova is sure.
The fate of the Federal Drug Control Service
The issue of merging the Federal Drug Control Service and the Ministry of Internal Affairs was also discussed more than a year. According to RBC, citing a source close to the presidential administration, the head of the department, Viktor Ivanov, was against the liquidation of the Federal Drug Control Service. A former deputy head of the presidential administration, Ivanov for a long time tried to defend the right to exist of the service, trying to expand the department’s sphere of influence and expand the specifics of its work.
In particular, in recent years the Federal Drug Control Service has wanted to monopolize the sphere of rehabilitation and resocialization of drug addicts. The department insisted on allocating funds for the implementation of a program for the rehabilitation and resocialization of drug addicts. The program involves uniting under the auspices of the Federal Drug Control Service about 500 existing rehabilitation centers in Russia, which, as planned, will be able to receive grants from the state to help drug addicts. The department received the authority to provide financial and organizational support to rehabilitation NGOs in August 2014 by decree of Vladimir Putin.
Before the creation of the Federal Drug Control Service in 2003, the fight against drugs was the responsibility of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. This was done by the Main Directorate for Combating Illicit Drug Trafficking (GUBNON). After disbandment, an anti-drug department was created within the structure of the Main Directorate of Criminal Investigation and special departments in the regions. As Kommersant wrote, after the liquidation of the Federal Drug Control Service, it is planned to transfer the drug police to the criminal investigation departments. In addition, the possibility of recreating GUBNON is being discussed.
Experts appreciated possible consequences associations of law enforcement agencies
The Federal Drug Control Service (FSKN) and the Federal Migration Service (FMS) may be deprived of their independence due to the financial crisis. According to some sources, the initiative to return these services to the Ministry of Internal Affairs was taken by the Ministry of Finance. The final decision may be made by the President of the Russian Federation in the near future.
According to MK experts, this reform can solve not only financial problems, but also improve operational work.
The initiative to disband services has become relevant in times of crisis. Thus, it is planned to optimize budget expenses by 30 billion rubles. At the same time, it is proposed to dismiss 27 thousand certified drug police officers, and transfer the remaining 7 thousand operatives to units of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. If the FMS is disbanded, from 20 to 40 thousand service employees may go to work in the Ministry of Internal Affairs. It is planned to transfer FSKN employees to the criminal investigation department, and FMS employees to the new passport and visa department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
At the same time, the Ministry of Labor will deal with the problems of labor migration, and the Ministry of Health will control the legal drug trade.
MK experts generally took this news positively. In their opinion, despite the existing criticism, this initiative has more advantages.
Anton Tsvetkov, Chairman of the Security Commission of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation:
I support this initiative because I think this decision is absolutely correct. Today, what has the separation of these structures led to? When communicating with employees of territorial police departments for combating drugs, I see that they are not interested in the systematic development of drug traffickers. They say: the Federal Drug Control Service is there for that. At the same time, the Federal Drug Control Service believes that it is not appropriate for them to engage in “retail.” Clearly, this situation requires change and the anti-drug units need to be strengthened. The police have everything necessary for this - operational services, special forces, information bases. It’s the same with the FMS. Even now the police are chasing illegal migrants, but the Federal Migration Service says that there are no employees for this. In my understanding, the merging of these structures is reasonable. In addition, there are additional advantages - the employees of the Federal Drug Control Service and the Federal Migration Service themselves, when they move to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, will have their salaries increased, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs will overcome the acute shortage of personnel - today there are not enough precinct officers, police officers, criminal investigation officers, and those working to combat economic crimes. But it is very important that during the transition those operational developments that are already underway are not stopped and that jobs are not lost professional staff. So that it doesn’t turn out that careerists and those who care more about themselves and not about work will be taken, but those who don’t have much time to take care of themselves will not be taken. It will be a disaster. As for the possible reduction of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, this, in my opinion, should not be allowed under any circumstances. Even today, local police officers are “sewn up”, and police officers are almost invisible on the streets.
Mikhail Pashkin, Chairman of the Coordination Council of the Police Union:
There are both pros and cons to this idea. Basic positive point is that the services within the Ministry of Internal Affairs will work more quickly. For example, the same district police officers have all the information on illegal migrants. The same applies to drugs - operatives also have a lot of information on local drug addicts.
After all, why in post-Soviet times were the FSKN, FMS, FSIN, and firefighters removed from the Ministry of Internal Affairs? This was done in order to reduce the level of corruption. In Soviet times, the Ministry of Internal Affairs was a kind of monster that worked very harmoniously and effectively. The KGB, in turn, monitored corruption ties in this department. It is worth noting that the KGB coped with its task perfectly - they caught all the dishonest - both relatives of high-ranking officials and ordinary employees.
What now? The Ministry of Internal Affairs has created its own security service to combat corruption. But in my opinion, this service is not engaged in catching dishonest police officers, but in getting rid of unwanted ones. I am afraid that with the merger of the Federal Drug Control Service and the Federal Migration Service with the Ministry of Internal Affairs, corruption will bloom wildly. The way out of this situation is to subordinate the CSS directly to the Minister of Internal Affairs or reassign it to the FSB. Then they will really start fighting corruption and putting people in jail.
By the way, please note that these conversations about the transfer of the Federal Migration Service and the Federal Drug Control Service to the Ministry of Internal Affairs were probably discussed at the top before. It is not without reason that these departments have recently begun to work so actively and express themselves. Either the FMS will come out with an initiative, then the Federal Drug Control Service will begin to fight spice.
Russian President Vladimir Putin subordinated the Federal Migration Service and the Federal Service for Drug Control to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Previously, the media reported on the possible liquidation of the Federal Migration Service and the Federal Drug Control Service
President's decision
Russian President Vladimir Putin subordinated the Federal Service for Drug Control (FSKN) and the Federal Migration Service (FMS) to the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs. He stated this at a meeting with the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Viktor Kolokoltsev, the head of the Federal Drug Control Service Viktor Ivanov, the commander of the Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Viktor Zolotov and the deputy head of the Federal Migration Service Ekaterina Egorova, RIA Novosti reports.
“As for the fight against organized crime in the sphere of drug trafficking, as we said, we are implementing one of the proposals: we are transferring the Federal Drug Control Service to the system of the Ministry of Internal Affairs,” the agency quotes him. “The same applies to the migration service,” Putin added.
At the same meeting, the president announced the creation of the National Guard on the basis of the Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Information that the Ministry of Internal Affairs may transfer powers to the Federal Drug Control Service and the Federal Migration Service appeared at the beginning of last year. On January 30, 2015, two State Duma deputies and an interlocutor close to the Kremlin and the Russian Security Council told RBC about this. At the same time, a project on the liquidation of the Federal Drug Control Service had already been prepared, but in the end Ivanov said that this issue was removed from the agenda.
The fate of the FMS
An RBC source close to the leadership of the FMS previously emphasized that the head of the FMS, Konstantin Romodanovsky, would also object. RBC's interlocutor in the Kremlin noted that no decisions have been made.
Later, the Kremlin abandoned the idea of merging the FMS and the Ministry of Internal Affairs. One of RBC’s interlocutors in the security forces clarified that Putin instructed the Security Council to further develop the proposal to abolish the FMS. At the same time, the source said, in the Security Council Romodanovsky can count on the support of his colleague in managing the FSB’s own security - the current director of the Federal Drug Control Service Viktor Ivanov, as well as permanent member of the Security Council Boris Gryzlov.
On March 31, 2016, the Vedomosti newspaper reported that Putin and the Security Council would discuss the issue of abolishing the FMS. The publication’s interlocutors said that the issue of liquidating the agency was submitted for further consideration to the Security Council in February 2016 and its decision could be announced at the meeting. A source close to the leadership of the FMS reported that the main functions of the department could be transferred to the FSB or the Ministry of Internal Affairs. He also said that it is proposed to establish a three-year transition period for these transformations. The interlocutor noted that the main reason for the reform being undertaken is the need to save budget funds.
The FMS became an independent unit in 2004, when the agency left the Ministry of Internal Affairs. In recent years, the FMS has complained that the service is not a law enforcement agency and does not have the functions necessary to work with migrants, explains RBC’s interlocutor at the FMS. Last week, Nadezhda Voronina, deputy head of the monitoring department of the department for organizing work with foreign citizens of the FMS, spoke about the lack of authority at a round table in the Public Chamber.
The competence of the FMS included issues of granting citizenship, issuing visas to enter Russia, issuing and issuing passports to citizens of the Russian Federation, deportation and entry bans for violators of migration legislation. The leadership of the department consists of representatives of law enforcement agencies. Three of Romodanovsky’s eight deputies come from the state security agencies, like himself, and three more come from the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
President of the Migration 21st Century Foundation, former deputy director of the Federal Migration Service Vyacheslav Postavnin, in a conversation with RBC, noted that the decision to merge departments was long overdue, since recently the Ministry of Internal Affairs has received some of the functions of the migration service. “The FMS has exhausted itself and fallen, like a ripe apple, into the arms of the Ministry of Internal Affairs,” Postavnin said.
State Secretary, First Deputy Head of the Federal Migration Service Ekaterina Egorova, in a conversation with RBC, clarified that the decision to merge departments was predictable, since the issue had been discussed for some time. Egorova noted that it will be possible to discuss the technical details of the merger after the publication of a presidential decree, which will become “the starting point for organizing work.”
Then it will be possible to talk about whether there will be reductions in FMS employees, Egorova emphasized. The main direction of the merger, according to her, will be set by the Minister of Internal Affairs Vladimir Kolokoltsev, and the details will be decided at the working level. The fate of the current head of the Federal Migration Service, Konstantin Romodanovsky, will be decided by Vladimir Putin, Egorova is sure.
The fate of the Federal Drug Control Service
The issue of merging the Federal Drug Control Service and the Ministry of Internal Affairs has also been discussed for more than a year. As RBC wrote, citing a source close to the presidential administration, the head of the department, Viktor Ivanov, was against the liquidation of the Federal Drug Control Service. A former deputy head of the presidential administration, Ivanov for a long time tried to defend the right to exist of the service, trying to expand the department’s sphere of influence and expand the specifics of its work.
In particular, in recent years the Federal Drug Control Service has wanted to monopolize the sphere of rehabilitation and resocialization of drug addicts. The department insisted on allocating funds for the implementation of a program for the rehabilitation and resocialization of drug addicts. The program involves uniting under the auspices of the Federal Drug Control Service about 500 existing rehabilitation centers in Russia, which, as planned, will be able to receive grants from the state to help drug addicts. The department received the authority to provide financial and organizational support to rehabilitation NGOs in August 2014 by decree of Vladimir Putin.