Private military companies or how modern "soldiers of fortune" live. What does the Wagner PMC camp look like near Krasnodar

Private military company (PMC; English Private military company) - a commercial enterprise offering specialized services related to the protection, protection (defense) of someone and something, often with participation in military conflicts, as well as with the collection of intelligence information, strategic planning, logistics and consulting.

The practice of using private power (paramilitary) organizations in armed conflicts, attracting military specialists, advisers and instructors on a contract basis to train police and armed forces has a long history.

First in recent history The private military company Watchguard International was established in 1967 in the UK, its founder was British Army Colonel David Sterling (who previously created SAS).

An increase in the number of contractors was already noted in the mid-1970s. One of the first major contracts in recent history was awarded in 1974, when the private military company Vinnell Corp., owned by the American military-industrial concern Northrop Grumman, signed contracts with the US government for more than half a billion dollars. Its employees were supposed to train the National Guard Saudi Arabia and protection of oil fields in this country.

After the outbreak of the war in Angola, recruitment centers for mercenaries to participate in the war were opened in several countries of the world. At the international level, the private company “Security advisory services” created in the UK, which recruited mercenaries from among the citizens of countries, gained wide popularity. Western Europe, providing them with equipment and sending them to participate in the war. In July 1976, Luanda hosted trial over captured foreign mercenaries, during which it was established that 96 mercenaries were sent from Great Britain (36 of whom were killed, 5 were missing and 13 were wounded during the fighting, and one more was shot by a military tribunal) . The results of the process led to the consideration of the issue by the English Parliament, during which it was found that the activities of the company "Security advisory services" was a direct violation of the law of 1870, which prohibited the recruitment of mercenaries for participation in the war. However, those responsible for violating the law were not named.

In the future, the number of PMCs and their employees tended to increase: “In recent times the number of "white-collar mercenaries" is growing. This is the name given to military and technical specialists from the USA, England, France and other leading capitalist countries who are recruited to work in the military bodies of a number of developing countries, for example, Iran, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt. According to the US State Department, in early 1978, about 11,300 American citizens were working abroad on military programs - three times more than in 1975.

In connection with the increasing cases of the use of mercenaries in military conflicts, in 1979 the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution on the need to develop a convention against the recruitment, use, financing and training of mercenaries; a specialized committee was created, which included representatives of 35 states (however, although six sessions of the committee took place before January 20, 1987, no legal documents on the problem were adopted).

In 1980, the United States openly hosted the first modern history congress of mercenaries, organized by the American magazine "Soldier of Fortune" (Eng. Soldier of Fortune). On the next year, in the city of Phoenix (Arizona, USA) the second congress was held, in which up to 800 people took part.

During the Cold War, private military companies were established in the United States, Great Britain, Israel and South Africa, their activities were carried out under the patronage of the respective states. In the future, the number of PMCs began to increase.

In 1999, the US Army Command adopted a regulatory document establishing the procedure for the interaction of US military personnel and employees of private security and military companies in a combat zone - manual FM 100-21.

Since the beginning of the 2000s, there has been an increase in interest in the services of PMCs on the part of large international corporations, whose business is associated with the presence in points of instability. Cases of use of private military companies by international organizations were also noted (as an example, DynCorp became a UN contractor).

In April 2001, a structure was created to coordinate the activities of private military and security companies at the international level - the Peace Operations Association (POA).

After the start of the war in Iraq, an association of Western private military and security companies was created to coordinate their activities in Iraq - the Private Security Company Association of Iraq (PSCAI), the association included 40 military and security companies.

In 2004, the head of the interim administration in Iraq, Paul Bremer, signed order No. 17 (Coalition Provisional Authority Order 17), according to which US contractors (including employees of military and security companies) received immunity - they could not be held accountable for crimes committed by them in the territory of Iraq in accordance with the laws of Iraq

Private military companies in Russia (PMCs) are companies that perform their statutory tasks in the zones increased risk, in particular in war zones, where the actions of the company itself (its employees) are not attacking, but deterrent, and allowing options for preventive measures. Within the territory of Russian Federation there are about ten private military companies. Some of them have already suspended their activities, but other PMCs were created on the basis of them.

10 E.N.O.T. CORP

E.N.O.T. CORP is a private military company that carries out military-patriotic and humanitarian activities. It was created on the basis of the association of military-patriotic clubs "RESERVE". The military carries out preventive measures against illegal migration, and also takes measures to curb organized crime and drug trafficking. Raccoons regularly escort humanitarian cargo to the hottest spots on the planet.

9 Cossacks

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Cossacks is a private military company in Russia, consisting of Cossack units. The activities of PMCs are under the strict control of the Russian leadership through the Council for Cossack Affairs under the President of the Russian Federation. The support of the Cossacks is based on the principles of Cossack culture, military life and history. The basis of the activities of the Cossack units includes civil and territorial defense, protection of public order, protection of borders, the fight against terrorism, etc. Employees of PMC Cossacks took part in the fighting in such hot spots the globe like Iraq, Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Chechnya, etc.

8 Wagner PMCs

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PMC Wagner is one of the most secret private military companies that operates in Novorossia. The organization prefers not to advertise its activities. Its employees are retirees from various departments and veterans of local wars. PMC Wagner is a numerous professional structure that works for the Russian government. The Wagner detachment takes part in the fighting in many hot spots on the planet. "Wagnerites" undergo a probationary period of training, after which the military is certified or eliminated.

7 Ferax

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Ferax is a private military company in Russia, providing a full range of security and armed protection services, both on the territory of the Russian Federation and abroad. The personnel reserve of PMCs consists of reserve officers who served in special forces of various branches of the armed forces and have combat experience in hot spots of the world. Feraks employees participated in the hostilities that took place in Iraq, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Kurdistan, etc.

6 Tiger Top-Rent Security

5

Tiger Top-Rent Security is a private military company in Russia that was founded to conduct operations in Iraq. It began its operation in 2005, but literally a year later it curtailed its activities. Its former employees, professional military, created other independent PMCs. The short-lived organization managed to perform such tasks as escorting convoys, guarding military installations, as well as protecting the personnel of oil companies and Russian diplomats, missions in Lebanon and Israel, Palestine and Afghanistan. The organization was engaged in sniper (counter-sniper) training of specialists, shooters, sappers, radio engineers, quick reaction fighters in the conditions of the city, etc. After the collapse of the Tiger Top-Rent Security, the Moran Security Group, Ferax, Redut-Antiterror and Antiterror-Eagle were formed.

5 Redoubt-Antiterror

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Redut-Antiterror is a Russian private military company, which is a military-professional union of organizations, which consists of professional military, special forces, airborne forces, etc. All employees of a private organization must have combat experience and are participants in special operations and peacekeeping operations. PMC was founded in 2008, its founders were scouts and paratrooper veterans. The organization has experience in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and Yugoslavia and other hot spots. The range of the main services provided by the company includes security activities, training of personal security groups, certification of specialists for the provision of private security services, protection of PRs according to UN requirements, etc.

4 Moran Security Group

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Moran Security Group is a Russian private military company that provides a range of services in the field of security, consulting, transportation, as well as medical support and cargo transportation. All activities of Moran Security Group are carried out on the basis of the legislation of the Russian Federation. The main functions performed are armed escort and escort of ships, protection of various objects, logistics, intelligence, etc. Moran Security Group is the owner of the naval training center, which is located on the territory of St. Petersburg.

3 Antiterror-Eagle

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Antiterror-Orel is a Russian private military company that has been operating since 1998. The organization was founded by former military personnel. PMC employees are reserve military personnel, as well as veterans of the GRU, VIMPEL and the Navy. Antiterror-Orel is engaged in the protection of facilities, training of military personnel, and also performs sapper work.

2 PMC MAR

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PMC MAR is a private military company of St. Petersburg, which operates on the territory of the Russian Federation. According to IDA, it operates in strict accordance with the laws of the country where its services are provided. PMC provides services of the following nature: technical protection and intelligence, military activities, protection of convoys, individuals, gas and oil pipelines, other facilities, cargo escort, legal / legal support, etc.

1 RSB-Group

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RSB-Group ("Russian System Security") is a private military company in Moscow, which has several directions. It has a division of both land and sea operations. The Maritime Operations Division provides armed protection, escort and security services for civil ships, and auditing the safety of oil and gas offshore platforms. The Ground Operations Division provides armed protection of facilities, conducts reconnaissance, as well as training, etc. The creators of this PMC are reserve officers of the GRU and FSB, professional military who have rich command and combat experience. The activities of RSB-Group are based on compliance with the laws of the Russian Federation. Employees of the RSB-Group do not participate in armed conflicts as mercenaries, nor do they advise organizations and groups that have anything to do with terrorist organizations.

Private military companies are a profitable business that can provide up to 100% profitability. Such structures not only participate in military conflicts, but also carry out security, intelligence, logistics and consulting activities. There are about 3 thousand large PMCs in the world with a turnover of 350-400 billion dollars a year. The proceeds from one military operation can reach $ 20 million. In many countries, their activities are legal and require permission from the military department. In the Russian Federation, the law on non-state military organizations has not yet been adopted, but about 20 such structures operate on its territory.

 

Business on private military companies - main features

When it comes to private military companies in Russia, in most cases the public demonstrates a clear negative attitude towards this kind of activity. However, in reality, employees of such organizations not only participate in military conflicts, but also provide wide range services for the protection of people and values.

Private military companies PMCs (Private military companyPMC) are commercial organizations that:

• provide professional services for the protection, protection, defense of people and objects;
• take part in military conflicts and carry out activities in peacetime;
• ready to carry out strategic planning, intelligence activities, logistics and consulting.

In connection with the active development of private armies, many analysts call the 21st century the “epoch of military entrepreneurship”

There are currently about 3,000 major military companies in the world. Analysts of The Economist magazine note that the approximate turnover of the global PMC market in 2016 amounted to 350-400 billion dollars. It is impossible to accurately calculate the income of this sector of the economy, since many organizations of this kind operate illegally.

Reference! The first private military company was organized in the UK in 1967 by British Armed Forces Colonel David Sterling.

It is not possible to unequivocally assess the need for private military companies and their role.

Table 1. Advantages and disadvantages of private armies. Source: Wikipedia

	"Minuses"
Organizations of professional fighters with a high level of motivation	Have no ideological and ideological motivation
Convenient for countries with weak military institutions	Most PMC contracts list the actions of fighters, which reduces their flexibility in specific military situations.
Capable of rapid deployment	They do not have a single operational control center
Their losses are not taken into account in the official reports of the authorities.	Incomplete information for operational management
Allows to avoid forced mobilization of citizens liable for military service	Inconsistency of actions with the troops of the regular army
Due to the lack of bureaucracy, they are distinguished by flexible operational management	Low equipment of expensive military equipment(the latest tanks, aircraft, etc.)

Reference! On September 17, 2008, the Montreux Document was adopted at the international level, which spells out the rules of conduct, rights and obligations of private military organizations in zones of armed conflict. At present, the declaration has been signed by 17 countries, including the USA, China, France and Germany.

Business model - PMC as a commercial organization

Who benefits from the creation of PMCs?

• For their founders, this is a way to receive large proceeds from participation in military conflicts and the provision of security services (if you calculate the profitability, then for large RMS it reaches 100%).
• For customer states, this is a way to save on the maintenance of a regular army and avoid the mobilization of their own conscripted population to participate in armed clashes.
• For hired soldiers, this is a very risky option, but quick and high earnings.

Reference! The salary of soldiers in private organizations depends on the level of risk to which their lives are exposed, and ranges from 100 to 3 thousand dollars a day. Fighters in hot spots and in countries with unfavorable conditions can count on the highest salary.
Source: Kommersant.Ru

Why can the creation of a private army be considered as a profitable business option?

1. Such structures can enter into contracts with any state, regardless of their country of residence, to provide a wide range of services - from training soldiers to participating in hostilities.
2. The costs of paying salaries to fighters and their maintenance are determined by the owners of PMCs.
3. Non-state companies often take over the functions of regular armies and receive technical and material supplies from the state.
4. Often, international organizations act as customers.

Characteristics of the organization's services

Private military structures not only take part in armed conflicts. In fact, they provide a wide range of services, which is also relevant in peacetime:

1. provide support to internal affairs officers in the framework of operations to capture criminals;
2. ensure the protection of strategic facilities (reserve warehouses, energy facilities, embassies, etc.);
3. organize escort of convoys and movement of vehicles with humanitarian aid;
4. engaged in the training of personnel of the government armed forces;
5. guard prisons and places of detention of prisoners of war;
6. provide military interpreter services;
7. provide demining of territories and their cleaning from unexploded ordnance;
8. organize the rear supply of troops;
9. conduct reconnaissance operations;
10. protect ships from pirate attacks;
11. advise on the preparation of combat strategies, etc.

Customers of services can be individuals, international organizations, governments of individual states, regardless of the jurisdiction of the PMC itself.

What is needed to create a private military company?

1. War Department permission. In addition to the fact that PMCs are registered as commercial organizations, they are also required to obtain permission from the country's Ministry of Defense.

2. Headquarters. The head office of a private military company is not an office for storing papers, but a mini-base with facilities for training soldiers, warehouses for storing military equipment and equipment.

3. Equipment. Employees of private organizations, even within the framework of military conflicts, use their own uniforms, weapons and equipment. In this regard, it is worth thinking about where to get start-up capital, which should be at least $ 1-2 million.

Important point! Private companies purchase equipment and military equipment in small batches from machine-building plants and specialized companies (unlike regular armies) and therefore must expect that their cost will be 5-30% higher.
Source: Soldier of Fortune website

4. Staff. The entire staff of PMCs can be divided into two parts:

• leadership and instructors;
• hired soldiers.

The first group operates on the basis of fixed-term contracts, and the second - on the basis of agreements concluded for each military operation.

Important point! Payment for the services of hired fighters depends on the price of the contract within a specific military or security operation.

Non-state military companies also have to pay for food and accommodation for fighters. In the case when mercenary armies work for a specific country, then these costs, just like the delivery of equipment to soldiers, can be borne by the government.

How much do private military companies earn?

Private military companies are not only very costly, but also highly profitable businesses. The annual revenue of such organizations can range from $100,000 to several tens of billions of dollars. Moreover, the amount of payment for their services depends on the nature of their activities (the most expensive is participation in hostilities in hot spots).

It is known that about 70% of the income of non-state military organizations is generated by government orders, the rest comes from private customers. At the same time, about 60% of the PMC's budget goes to payments to fighters.

Reference! It is known that the soldiers of the mercenary armies always receive a higher salary than the fighters of the regular army. For example, in the United States, the ratio between daily payments in different military conflicts was:

• in the Vietnam War - 280 dollars against 80;
• in the Korean War - $290 versus $50;
• in the war in Iraq - $1,500 versus $200.

Source: Magazine " Military review»

Table 2. Key financial indicators of private military companies, 2016

	Name	Number of employees, people	Annual turnover, mln USD	Average daily salary of a fighter, USD
	Group 4 SecuricorG4S (UK)
	DynCorp International (USA)
	Academi Holdings (formerly Blackwater and Xe Services; US)
	Aegis Defense Services (UK)
	Northbridge Services Group (Dominican Republic)
	Unity Resources Group (Australia)
	Asia Security Group (Afghanistan)

Reference! The cost of one contract with a well-known private firm can reach $20 million. For new PMCs, this figure is $1-2 million.

Now PMCs are working in the "gray" zone

The methods and resources of warfare at the end of the 20th - beginning of the 21st century differ significantly from those used by our grandfathers and great-grandfathers. One of the know-how of the past century was the official appearance of private military companies.

In Russia, such activities are prohibited and fall under two articles of the Criminal Code, although the use of PMCs in armed conflict zones has long been a common practice around the world. And now, when Russia is expanding its presence in other regions, PMCs could become good assistants to the army and promoters of the interests of the state. Of course, like anything, there are pros and cons. Whether Russia officially needs private military companies, which now exist in the country in a very shaky legal status, MK decided to find out from experts.

BlackWater is America's most famous private military company. After the scandal associated with their activities in Iraq, they rebranded and are now called Academy.

Background of the question

The "ancestors" of PMCs can conditionally be considered "soldiers of fortune", who began to operate already in the 50s. These were organized groups mercenaries who went to hot spots for good money and carried out the orders of those who gave them more money. As a rule, these were former military men or people simply interested in military affairs. After completing the mission, such units were usually disbanded. The first PMC appeared in Britain in the 60s. Its creator, a British army colonel, after analyzing the actions of the mercenaries, decided that their activities could, roughly speaking, be put on a conveyor belt. They were mainly engaged in the protection and security of oil companies in unstable regions. Until the 1990s, such organizations operated in the "grey" zone. Western governments used them to achieve their goals where the use of regular troops was impossible.

Gradually, PMCs began to emerge from the shadows after the end of the Cold War. Repeatedly, they tried to drive their activities into some kind of legal framework. After the scandal with the notorious Blackwater in Iraq (murders of civilians, etc.), the question of the responsibility of PMCs became very acute.

On September 17, 2008, the Montreux Document was adopted - a set of recommendations rather than strict rules. He determined that both the "country of origin" of the company and the country with which the PMCs entered into a contract should bear responsibility for the activities of PMCs. According to this document: “PMCs are private business entities that provide military and / or security services, regardless of how they characterize themselves. Military and security services include, in particular, armed protection and protection of people and objects, such as convoys, buildings and other places; maintenance and operation of combat complexes; detention of prisoners; advising or training local military and security personnel.”

In Russia, the activities of PMCs fall under the scope of two articles of the Criminal Code: "Mercenary" and "Organization of an illegal armed formation." Plus purchase military weapons we are outside the law. However, taking into account the global trend of transferring some state functions to private hands, the question of the possibility of legalizing the activities of private military companies is increasingly being raised in our country.

The relevance of the issue is evidenced by repeated attempts to push through a law in Russia that would regulate the actions of PMCs. Now their status is very blurred - and officially they cannot exist, because this is not allowed by law, however, de facto structures that are very similar in their functions to PMCs already exist, they only operate in the "gray" zone.

“If the phenomenon takes place, then it should be controlled”

We asked ourselves the main question: does Russia need private military companies and who should regulate and control their activities? For answers to this question, we turned to Vladimir Neyelov, an expert at the Center for Strategic Market Research.

- You spoke about several bills on the activities of PMCs. Why wasn't one accepted?

— I think that we need to start with a little historical digression. This issue has been discussed in Russia for the past 6 years. The first attempt to pass a similar law was made back in 2012. As prime minister, in his message to the Federation Council, Vladimir Putin said that such a bill was timely. Therefore, in 2012 it was submitted for discussion. Dmitry Rogozin also publicly supported the bill. After several months of wandering through the corridors of the State Duma, the bill was turned down, pointing out that it "contradicts the Constitution." The next attempt to push through a similar bill was made in 2014, after the events in Ukraine. In November 2014, the bill did not go beyond the stage of preliminary consideration by the Council of the State Duma: it was also rejected for the same reason - a contradiction to the Constitution. In 2015-2016, two attempts were made, which were also unsuccessful. I think that the point here is in the position of the main power structures, and the events in Ukraine added fuel to the fire. First, there will be the issue of arms trafficking. However, there is world experience on how this problem can be solved. For example, employees of British PMCs generally do not have the right to walk armed in the UK. How this will be regulated in our country is a question. Plus, as mentioned above, Ukraine has demonstrated to everyone that, having money, a person can create his own army, which, with the proper level of training, can withstand government forces.

- Is there really a need for legal regulation of the activities of PMCs in Russia?

- I am a supporter of the principle that if the phenomenon is already taking place, then it should be controlled. In Russia, in a certain "border" zone, there are, say, "RSB-Group", "Moran Security Group" and some other similar companies. That is, in Russia it definitely makes sense to regulate the activities of PMCs. Here the question of goal-setting should also be raised: if something is being created in the state, then you need to understand why. In the USA, for example, such companies are engaged in a wide range of activities. This includes the protection of ships, energy complex facilities, diplomatic and other missions, logistics, and training. In general, PMCs can be used where it makes no sense to delay the main forces. Why, say, leave a group in the rear to protect the oil infrastructure and thereby weaken the main grouping?

In the form in which private military companies exist in Western countries, this is a fairly effective means of solving specific problems, the range of which is much wider than it is customary to present to the general public. But problems, as Western experience shows, arise a large number of. We must not forget that the owners of private military companies, as in any business, set as their main goal the extraction of profit, which in a certain sense is contraindicated in such a matter as military security.

In Russia, there are a large number of military specialists who, for various reasons, left the power structures. And many would like to continue to engage in military affairs. And PMCs for such people are a great alternative. In Britain, for example, it is not uncommon for such companies to enter into agreements with large oil companies to protect facilities in hot spots. We could act on the same principle - this will not delay the regular units and the money will remain in the country. Moreover, large domestic corporations operating in unstable regions of the world could legally hire Russian PMCs to provide security. Their services, in turn, would be in good demand among many states and foreign businesses, that is, they would bring some income to the Russian treasury (provided that they would not be taken offshore).

But there is a downside to the personnel issue - there may be an outflow of personnel from law enforcement agencies. Indeed, on the example of Western PMCs, they pay more in private companies. In addition to financial, there are other motives. For example, in private military companies there is no such rigid hierarchical structure as in the armed forces, where it is often more difficult for professionals who want to realize their potential to do so than in a private organization.

- How should the state control the activities of PMCs?

- The activities of PMCs, of course, should be controlled. First, there is a licensing mechanism for this. Any PMC, before entering the market, must go through this procedure. Plus, any activity that is related to the circulation of weapons should be under the control of the state.

- What functions can PMCs perform in a combat zone?

- Protection of objects, high-ranking officials, escort of convoys, consulting, moreover, in the broadest sense - from operational-tactical to strategic. There are examples when PMCs help the state in which they work in the development of military doctrine. In Ukraine, for example, employees of PMCs were involved in police reform. In addition, the functions may include logistics, logistics, and training. By training, you also need to understand a very wide range - here the training of personnel and the basics of tactics, and the handling of new types of weapons. Often, PMC employees are also involved as military translators. Private experts can be involved in intelligence gathering. In general, the spectrum is wide.

- What types of weapons, in your opinion, can PMCs use?

- Well, first of all, light small arms, light armored vehicles, armored vehicles. Helicopters and transport aircraft. But the use of heavy armored vehicles is the prerogative of the army.

- Who should be responsible for the activities of PMCs? The company itself, the state or the employer?

Again, it's easier to explain with an example. In 2012, there was a rather revealing story with our Moran Security Group. They signed a contract in Nigeria. And this country is in the zone of interests of Britain, and the queen's subjects did not want to share their "piece of the pie". Therefore, the ship on which the company's employees were sent on a mission was detained for smuggling weapons. For a year and a half, our citizens could not return home. And in such cases, it is necessary to act on the basis of the consideration that these are our citizens. The United States has an ideal model of behavior in such situations - they first take their citizens to their territory, and then deal with them (or do not deal with them, as often happened in Iraq). There is another version of the situation - if a PMC is hired by a corporation. Then it turns out that the employing company should bear the responsibility.

Our citizens Roman Zabolotny and Georgy Tsurkanov are now held captive by ISIS (banned on the territory of the Russian Federation). What happened to them is not known - exactly the same as the way they got to Syria. Perhaps if PMCs were legalized in Russia, then the fate of adventurers would have turned out differently.

"We have a chance to jump on a departing train"

In the West, PMCs have long been familiar organizations. It is quite realistic to look at how they are arranged, what tasks they perform and how they live. A former employee of a Western PMC, who asked not to be named, told MK about his service.

Whose company was it?

- This is a British company.

— Was it a general company or specialized in something specific?

- We were engaged only in the protection of ships. The company specializes in this.

- Compared to official structures, did PMCs pay more?

— I can’t judge everyone, but when I came there in 2010, our salary was quite large — $10,000 a month. Well, then, if you remember the situation with piracy, our type of service was in demand. The pirates were poorly armed, and only a few people on the ship were enough to protect it. At that time, the majority of the company's employees were citizens of Western Europe. There were many British and French.

However, after some time, the pirates' weapons became more modern, and they got the opportunity to go to sea. But by this point, there were enough companies in the market that competed for orders. So gradually the salary began to fall. First, it was cut by 2 times - and the most qualified personnel began to leave the company, but there was no end to those who wanted from the countries of Eastern Europe, the Balkans, and Ukraine. They fought so-so, but were undemanding. Then the money became even half as much, and that's when I left.

— Is it necessary to regulate the activities of PMCs in Russia?

- I believe that if the phenomenon takes place, then the legal framework must be adjusted to fit it. In Russia, as far as I understand, everything that is not explicitly prohibited is allowed. Therefore, some security companies appear, which in essence are PMCs, at least their range of services is approximately similar. But they operate in the so-called gray zone. If the draft law is drafted correctly, the functions of PMCs, their duties and rights are clearly defined, then there will be no problems with this. Plus, this is an injection into the state's economy - they will pay taxes.

— Are you aware of the situation with the Moran Group in 2012? In your opinion, in such conflicts, are PMC employees primarily citizens of the country or mercenaries?

“It is very strange that it took so long to free the people. It is clear that such situations are quite real, but official contracts are concluded for this. Whether this document was in the hands of the detainees is unknown. However, it could well be proof that people did not just come here with weapons to kill civilians, but that they are performing a specific mission at the request of the country's government or a large company. But if the incident has already taken place, then the state whose citizens find themselves in such a situation should, in my opinion, make every effort so that they return home as soon as possible. And only then deal with them according to internal laws. A more slippery situation with Iraq and the Academy (as Blackwater is now called). There was a violation of international law, humanitarian law, civilians were killed, who did not pose a danger to PMC employees. In this case, this conflict is already, in fact, an interstate one, and the International Tribunal should deal with it.

— Do we have a chance to catch up with the West in terms of development of PMCs?

“I think we have every chance. We have excellent military specialists, many of those who have real combat experience, but for some reason cannot serve in the Armed Forces or have been transferred to the reserve - why not give people the opportunity to somehow share their experience. Figuratively speaking, there is a chance to jump into the outgoing train.

https://www.site/2018-03-05/kak_vyglyadit_lager_chvk_vagnera_v_krasnodare

“Everyone lies, son, they share the oil! They make money on the blood of the guys ”

What does the Wagner PMC camp near Krasnodar look like?

Igor Pushkarev

Krasnodar is quite far from the war zones in the south-east of Ukraine or in Syria. But here is probably the most famous private military organization in Russia now - the Wagner PMC, whose fighters have made their mark in the Crimea, Donbass and Syria in just a few years.

The fact that the camp of this PMC is based near the Molkino farm, which is 30 kilometers from Krasnodar to the south along the M-4 Don highway, was written by RBC magazine back in the summer of 2016. The journalists of the publication got to the village and talked with the military personnel of the 10th brigade of the GRU of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation at the first checkpoint. What happens behind him, whether the Wagner PMC camp actually exists and what it looks like - all this remained unknown ..

From Krasnodar to Molkino can be reached by bus, which goes from the bus station towards the Goryachiy Klyuch district center, or by taxi. In one case, the tariff is 80 rubles, in the other - "ruble", that is, 1 thousand rubles. Actually, Molkino itself is a couple of two-story brick apartment buildings, several private ones, one street - Officerskaya and one grocery store with a very modest range of goods. The checkpoint of the 10th GRU brigade is located a hundred meters from the village, on the other side of the M-4 Don highway and the railway, which runs parallel to the autobahn.

The traffic around the checkpoint is quite busy. Some cars constantly drive in and out, people in civilian clothes and uniforms go back and forth. For the most part, they rush to the left - to where the asphalt road goes and where the actual military unit of the Ministry of Defense is located. By the way, at the local training ground, according to open sources, "Tank biathlon" is regularly held, as well as games of reenactors.

The Wagner PMC camp, as far as it is known from the RBC publication, is located in the opposite direction.

“You see, the primer goes to the right. Go along it, you will pass another checkpoint and further, there they are, ”the soldiers admonished me at the first checkpoint. At first, I confess, no one wanted to let in a stranger in my face. But the phrase "to Syria" seems to have a magical effect here. At the “second checkpoint”, another GRU soldier is guarding. Just like his colleagues at the main checkpoint, he is armed with a bayonet-knife, from equipment - a bulletproof vest and a helmet. But he hardly pays attention to those passing by. Quietly sits on a chair in the booth, listens to the radio and drinks tea with cookies.

It takes about 10 minutes to walk to the Wagner camp, about a kilometer. I came across a young man in civilian clothes with a camouflage backpack over his shoulders and wearing headphones, a couple of cars with people in uniform, but without insignia. Approximately 200 meters before the camp, the road makes a sharp turn to the left. From here, two-story houses lined with light green siding, with green roofs, a lattice fence around the perimeter and a parking lot with a dozen parked cars in front of the gate become clearly visible.

Is this the Wagner Brigade? - I ask the man who sits behind the wheel of the "dozens".

— Yes, here. There is a checkpoint, - he pointed to the gate in the fence.

Along the perimeter, by the way, video cameras are installed, but they are all turned with their lenses inward, not outward. Apparently, no one here is afraid of any actions from outside, and it is much more important to control what is happening inside the camp.

Three houses. As it turned out a little later, these are barracks. Judging by the appearance, the buildings are quite new. A little further away, stacks of planks of fresh, whitish-yellow wood can be seen. It seems that despite the fact that in the Syrian province of Deir ez-Zor, no one is going to curtail their activities here. On the contrary, the camp is planned to be completed further.

About two dozen men are clustered in several groups near the barracks. Their affiliation is difficult to establish. All are wearing a mixture of military and civilian clothing. There are several cars - two UAZ and Toyota pickups, as well as a painted Blue colour all-wheel drive KAMAZ - "shift". On the fence there are signs warning that the facility is secure and video surveillance is underway.

I open the gate and go to the green trailer, where the guard is sitting. In front of me is a man in a "green" and again without insignia. Once again I try to make sure I got there: “Is the Wagner brigade here?” In response - only a nod and a counter question: "What did you want?". I catch a tenacious, studying look.

Initially, it was clear that I, a journalist, would not be welcome here. Impersonating someone who wants to serve under a contract is also problematic: I don’t look too much like a military man.

But since I got here, I'm trying to find out at least the fate of those whose names were on the list of the dead on February 7th. In the end, it is still unknown whether these people are alive, missing or dead. My interlocutor with the words "speak, for whom you need to know, bro" writes down the names on a plain piece of paper. A second later, another Wagnerian appears behind me. Steps are not heard, I guess about the second only by the facial expressions of the first, the one in the booth. I leave my contact number and retreat. I suppose that immediately after I left, the sheet with the list of surnames fell into the trash can.

On the way back I meet another one with a duffel bag over his shoulders. I'm trying to talk, but I only managed to find out that tomorrow there will be a departure, so today in the camp there is something like a day. They give you the opportunity to take a break, to put yourself in order. However, very quickly this interlocutor also figures out that this is not a potential colleague in front of him. The look becomes cold, the conversation ends abruptly. I return to Molkino.

Google Maps

The street is deserted. After some time, I managed to talk with one of the residents of the village, an elderly man. The interlocutor introduced himself as Alexander (the name has been changed for the sake of his safety. - Approx. site). He is a former military man, now he constantly lives in the village, contacts and even continues to “work” (he did not specify how exactly) with the military personnel of the military unit. Regularly intersects with the "Wagnerites". According to him, they appeared in Molkino about 5 years ago, "even before Ukraine." In the first year, none of the locals even suspected the existence of this special detachment. Only then did the information begin to somehow seep out.

- Why can't the "Wagnerites" tell their relatives anything, at least send some news?

“They won't say anything. This is such a company that there is a complete *** (end), nothing can be found there. Even I, who live here and work with them, still know little. They have everything set up so that no one has to tell anything. You talk to them, and they pretend that they don’t know anything, they don’t understand anything about what you mean. Although open the Internet - and everything is shown: how they were covered, how many cars, how much. And I even know the guys who were right there at the epicenter.

Website of the Ryazan diocese

- What they're saying?

“You can’t tell such things, especially to mothers. The heart will only break. Better let them hope and wait than that. There is no need for them to know all this, you know?! It is only in Moscow that they say that our people were not there. 87 people died there guys and many more missing - more than 100 people.

- Lost?

- Without a trace. They were torn to pieces right there, the meat was collected across the field and sent here.

- Where were they sent?

- To Rostov (meaning Rostov-on-Don. - Note .. They will now restore who is who according to tokens and DNA.

— And how long will it take?

- O! For a long time. If no one from the house is interested, then they will remain silent. It is beneficial for them - they do not have to pay.

Jaromir Romanov

- How much are they paid?

- At first, they paid 5 million for the deceased, now they have reduced it. I heard that they only give 3 million.

Were the wounded also brought here?

- This time also to Rostov and St. Petersburg. Half there, half here.

- But they haven’t heard of such people, what happened to them: Alexei Shikhov, Ruslan Gavrilov, Kirill Ananiev, Igor Kosoturov, Alexei Lodygin, Stanislav Matveev? (all of them appeared in various lists of the dead, published earlier by the media. - Approx. site).

“No one here knows anyone by last name. Only nicknames, call signs. They are all either "Fox", then "Boar", then who the hell knows who else.

- They and documents, I suppose, they hand over everything there when they arrive?

- Everyone gives up. Passports, ID cards, everything. They are given tokens, and only then will they be identified by them. There are now up to *** (a lot) of these tokens this time collected. Now they will analyze it all. But the fact is that no one was taken prisoner. (Says with pride.)

- They were hollowed out from the air.

Our first ones started. There, first their artillery, that is, ours, *** (hit) the Kurds. And the Kurds walk under the Americans. They also warned you to stop. And ours - no, ***! They also need to take away this oil refinery. That's what we got. First, American artillery completely covered our artillery, completely destroyed it. And then their drones flew in and started bombing. First, the entire site was cleared with bombs and leveled. Then we started with helicopters. Whoever moves, they were immediately finished off. That's the whole story. How many young boys have died, where are they going, *** where?!

- Well, Assad called on Russia for help?

- We need this *** (bad) Kurdistan, or what? For whom did they beat off this refinery, for Putin? These *** lie to us all completely! What the TV says is a complete lie! Bastards! Nobody beats any Russians anywhere, son, they share the oil. On the blood of the guys these *** earn money! Who are these oil rigs for - for me, for you, maybe?

- And in Ukraine, why such a mess?

- Donbass - what do you think? This is coal, the entire main industry of Ukraine is there. Now we are already deep in the ass and we climb even further into it! The whole world has already taken up arms against us, who are they relying on in this Kremlin? Well, Chechnya was - it was our territory, and we cannot allow this to happen with us. In this, Putin was right, I do not mind. With Ukraine, this way and that, too, could turn around. You can still understand. But why now? After all, they put their head in *** he knows where! Through nine seas and ten lands, ***. And these guys, those who go twice, they are already sick in the head. They can't live without it anymore, they're crazy already.

Jaromir Romanov

- Like this?

- Recently, one such person came, who was there in February. Barely escaped, ***. Right next to him, a shell exploded, it was thrown back by the blast wave. He says that the guys who were nearby, about 15 people, were immediately torn to pieces, only shreds flew. And he was only a little hooked, but that was enough. All legs in a sieve! They barely repaired him, he already came here on crutches, fir-trees, sticks, to receive money. He received the money, but he himself says: “Just let my legs heal, I want to get even for my own!” Yes, *** your mother, I say, God saved you! He could, along with those who scattered in pieces, stay there. Stay at home, eat your bread! No, they are already sick. I'm telling you exactly! The psyche is everything.

- Money, maybe?

- Yes, ***. Well, how much will they get there, 200? Only work at home, do not drink and do not be lazy - a man will have 40-50 per month. Runs if, then these 3 million can be earned here in a year. I will never send my children to such *** in my life. I won’t allow it, I’ll rather bang him with my own hands than this! Who did they do well? Gone to the other world for nothing, and that's it!

Interview with the wife of the Ural fighter "PMC Wagner", who died in Syria

- They say that a new batch is being prepared for shipment?

— Today-tomorrow should be sent.

- Do they send them from the port in Novorossiysk?

- From a military airfield. From here by bus to Rostov and from Rostov by plane already there. Those who came this time will go half to Syria, half to another.

— Donbass?

— No, they haven’t sent anyone from here to Donbass for a long time. These will go to Africa. (Earlier it was reported that Wagner PMC will be involved in South Sudan. - Approx. Site).

What about in Africa?

- ***, everyone is silent with us, but they create such *** that *** (end)! In Africa, they will not fight. Not even weapons.

- What will they do then?

- Instructors will train.

- Whom?

- Again, everything is being done against America, we are undermining their interests. They are against us, we are against them. All over again. They used to be paid better.

- How much is better?

- 400 thousand per month with combat and even more. Slowly, slowly, and now they made 200. They cut it in half, count. Although now they are even more fiercely at war than before. This is no longer the Donbass, where they stood still and fired back and forth. There with ISIS (a terrorist organization banned on the territory of the Russian Federation. - Approx. site). These are no longer crests, seasoned guys, ***. It's a pity, of course, for these guys of ours. I knew many of them.

Jaromir Romanov

- There are now about 20 of them in the camp on the street walking.

- It's only on the street. Until a team of 150 people gathers there, they are not sent anywhere. 150 people is the smallest party. This time recruits up to *** (a lot) were recruited. They almost put all the old people there in February. Four days ago, five buses left - the first batch. Now four more buses will be sent. Five or six buses leave, two or three buses return. As long as this Wagner has appeared there, everything goes on like this. Two or three buses will return, and then the wounded, who are being discharged from hospitals, begin to appear in groups of five or six people, up to ten people for money. So it goes.

- How long do they go?

- For six months. This time, some were detained for seven months. Not all specialists, only snipers, for example. Today they have only junior commanders there. You won't get a word out of them. Their security service works very well, you shouldn't joke with them. They can kill themselves if you've done something wrong. They will say later that he died in battle, or they will put him in such a place that you will never return.

- They say they used to have one more base near the village of Veselaya in Rostov.

- No, they always trained and sent from here. And Rostov only accepted, and they were paid money there. Now everything has changed, here they already send and receive money. And what is this money? Hands, legs are missing - and this is already disabled for life. What will he do now? If before that he could, then what *** went there ?! What to do now without legs - stand on a wheelchair in the middle of the road and beg for money? If you, as expected, give your life or health for the country, then this is understandable. A military pension is assigned, care is mandatory. And these, who needs them? This is all an illegal company, and if they even find out that he was there, this is a criminal term. No one tells them that abroad those who were in PMCs are considered murderers and are tried as murderers. They don’t look there, abroad, whether you shot there or didn’t shoot! He worked in a private military company, was there - that's it, the killer.

I return to Krasnodar. On the street plus 15, spring. Everywhere on the lawns green grass is breaking through, in the fields people are getting ready to plant potatoes. There are no hints that there is a war going on somewhere. True, dozens of policemen and Cossack combatants, who have taken the railway and bus station under tight control, are striking. “The homeless are probably being chased again. There are a lot of them again, ”the saleswoman from whom I take a bottle of water suggested in a kiosk on the forecourt.

See the world, visit unusual countries, get to know wonderful people and shoot them, earning a lot of money along the way - the work of a mercenary in a private military company (PMC) is very attractive at first glance. But in fact, everything is much more complicated: some volunteers chasing a long ruble can return home in coffins, while others do not smell gunpowder at all. Special correspondent Alexandra Wigraiser, on condition of anonymity, spoke with an employee of one of the world's largest private military companies and found out why the semi-legendary Wagner PMC cannot be called a private military company, how the "soldiers of fortune" live and what they are afraid of.

Lenta.ru: What do you know about Wagner PMC? How and for whom does it work? Why is their existence allowed in Russia?

All information on the surface. Everyone knows where their Moscow office is located. Yes, this is the structure of Evgeny Prigozhin. Why is this private military company (PMC) allowed to operate? It's hard for me to understand. I can assume that it's all about the relationship of a particular person with a particular president. This practice has no world analogues.

If people are fighting for the country, then these should not be “green”, “yellow” or “blue” men, but military personnel. If people are involved in private security, training or risk analysis, then it could be a private military company. But PMCs cannot fully participate in hostilities. Because PMC employers and the state can have completely different goals. The state, for example, sets some global goals, and a particular businessman is interested in capturing an oil plant. And from whom? The Kurds!

What's wrong with the Kurds? Aren't they just as much of an adversary as any other in Syria and Iraq?

Kurds - the enemy?! Trust me, anyone who has worked in Iraq is praying for the Kurds. Iraqi Kurdistan, for example, looks like an oasis in the middle of the desert. This is an amazing place! dearest, the kindest people without any signs of Islamic fundamentalism. Girls on the streets wear T-shirts and Capri pants, alcohol is sold everywhere, whiskey is openly advertised on the street! These are the most normal, most adequate, most rational allies of any adequate forces in the Middle East.

Offending the Kurds, fighting the Kurds is the worst thing imaginable. Moreover, the Kurds have a great attitude towards Russia, they love it. And now the activity of some chefs leads to the fact that the whole of Kurdistan (the Syrian, Turkish, Iraqi and Iranian parts of it) simply turn away from the partner. Come to Kurdistan and see: they work there, there are Russian guys from PMCs. They do normal work, get normal money. There is cooperation with local security companies. They do a good job there without any "law on PMCs", without presidential chefs.

Kurds have a great attitude towards Russia. In Syria, at the suggestion of some close-minded supply manager, a political crisis is taking place, hundreds of Russian people are dying. This is insanity that needs to be stopped. I have worked in this area all my life and I can say what is happening behind the sign of "PMC Wagner" - this is not normal, this should not exist.

Is it possible, in this case, to call "PMC Wagner", so to speak, the Russian army in a different "clothes"?

This is not the Russian army. There is after all the well-known word "mercenaries". Any army officer is limited by certain laws and command hierarchies. And the Wagner... They just don't have the brakes that a huge inertial war machine has. Any order in the official structure would go through a huge number of instances - yes, stupid, but instances. And the Russian army is not going to fight the Kurds. Then no.

Another sad side: the personnel of the Wagner, to put it mildly, is of a completely different quality. And further on the points: the equipment and weapons are disgusting, the level of training is low, the effectiveness of command also leaves much to be desired - people are constantly dying there. This is well known in our circles. And therefore, the attitude of regular Russian soldiers and officers towards them is appropriate.

But there is another point that cannot be ignored. When a Russian pilot dies, he is buried with honors, broadcast on television, you write panegyrics and obituaries in your newspapers about what he, they say, was a good guy. And it is right. But here - through stupidity, through monstrous stupidity, more than a hundred people die. And what do they write about them? Have you seen this "troll factory"? “Ah, mercenaries, why feel sorry for them” is some kind of fantastic level of hypocrisy, when ordinary guys from the outback are sent to die God knows where for money, and then they are buried in unmarked graves.

And if they were contract soldiers in the army, would it be better?

Of course. First, it's a completely different attitude. Secondly, the army provides a number of bonuses. This includes citizenship, pension, and much more. And most importantly - the status of a legitimate participant in hostilities, as well as some kind of immunity from local laws. soldier Russian army will not be handed over to a Syrian court, a soldier of the French foreign legion will not be handed over to a court in Mali.

And the PMC employee is a civilian. If Wagner employees had full military status, I personally would have nothing against it. For example, a man dies, and the mother can say to his child: “Son, your dad was a soldier, and he died as a hero, fought against terrorists.” Now what? Son, your dad didn’t know who did what, they didn’t tell us, he died when the dumb-headed oligarch wanted to wring out the oil field.

There was a precedent in history when the UAE hired about two thousand Colombians for the war in Yemen. And they even hid - like the Russian authorities - but they took them into the army, paid a very decent salary. And these were official soldiers in the service. So no, "PMC Wagner" is what in Russian is called "an illegal armed group", which is unclear to whom it obeys and is capable of provoking a huge international conflict due to the stupidity of its commanders. As a person who has been working in this field almost all his life, I support its development in every possible way, but such formations are harmful not only for the industry, but also for the image of Russia.

Why do you say that Wagner has a lower level contingent than the army?

Look, every person in our field personally knows someone who serves there, or someone who refused their offer. But nobody does not know a volunteer who would be denied admission by Wagner PMC. They take everyone: people with a criminal record, with alcohol addiction- all in a row.

It is enough to talk with their employees to understand: they are not only up to the level of the Special Operations Forces, they are not always up to ordinary construction battalions. Neither by the level of education, nor by the level of military training, nor by motivation. Again: I have great respect for those who work there. But let's be honest: professionals don't go there. Such a “wonderful” job, such an “amazing” opportunity to die even without a guarantee that your corpse will at least be returned home, they do not need. None of the Russians I know - those who worked in Iraq at the beginning of the 2000s, who are now working with Gazprom in Kurdistan - did not go there, because everyone understands that this, as they say, is a bummer.

Does it happen that a private company conducts full-fledged military operations, and even with such losses? According to various sources, there could be up to two hundred dead among the mercenaries of the Wagner group.

Absolutely not. It is impossible to even imagine that now some Western PMC, an official company, is fighting. This is absolute absurdity. There was a precedent with Executive Outcomes who were involved in several civil wars in Africa, but that was in the early 90s. Since then the world has changed.

South Africans fought in Nigeria a few years ago. But some large international companies were not involved in this. This is a specific situation when specific people are recruited for a specific job, whose activities are initially completely outside the legal field. Therefore, Wagner is, of course, not a PMC. You can call it whatever you like, but in the Russian criminal code it is called an "illegal armed formation." I have nothing against the people who work there - I understand their motivation, I respect them as professionals, but you need to understand that this situation is not normal. Nothing like this can happen in any Western PMC.

Doesn't Wagner PMC work in the Russian legal field?

Of course no. On what basis are people given weapons, on what basis do they conduct military operations? I'm not a Syrian lawyer, I don't know what the laws are. But, in my opinion, the “Wagnerites” do not work either within the framework of Russian law or within the framework of the Syrian one. This is, as you like to say, "an education that has no analogues in the world."

But why do people go there? Working with very high risk, with the ability to corny get a bullet in the forehead or a term for mercenarism?

I have not lived in Russia for a long time, but it is obvious that there is only one answer - despair. The economic situation in your country, especially in the regions, is difficult. Many people have served in the army and believe that they can't do anything else. They don't really know how to serve. But at least they identify themselves as great warriors. Plus, you need to understand that a certain militaristic pumping and propaganda has been going on in society for many, many years.

So desperation, lack of money and qualifications, extremely high housing prices, lack of affordable loans - these are all factors. Even with such losses, I'm afraid there will be a lot of people who want to get a job at Wagner. Especially from small towns. Look at known lists losses: there is almost no one from Moscow or St. Petersburg. These are all small towns where people have lost hope long ago. And the amount of 200 thousand rubles that a dishwasher in Britain receives makes people forget about everything and go nowhere, spitting on the instinct of self-preservation.

Well, with the "Wagnerites" is understandable. And what about normal PMCs? In the Russian media, mercenaries are portrayed as heroes rushing into battle on the most dangerous sectors of the front. How true is this image? What do private military companies actually do?

Completely not true. For a long time there have been no bearded guys with tattoos, dissecting in jeeps through the desert and firing at anything from a machine gun. 80-90 percent of business is absolutely standard stuff. We need to hang cameras, look at monitors, stretch barbed wire, provide drivers, technical intelligence equipment, and engage in analytics. The "bearded thugs" used to represent PMC employees are a minority, and a vanishing minority in this business. In fact, the work of PMCs is the work of watchmen, absolutely devoid of romanticism.

In general, there is a stereotype that the main work of a private military company is armed guards. But this should not be so: this situation has developed only because at one time Iraq and Afghanistan simply did not have a capable government and crowds of adventurers with weapons gathered there.

We have a lot of talk about the need for a law on PMCs, which would normalize their activities ... These conversations make me laugh. In America, which everyone nods at, there is no separate law on private military companies, and they do a good job. I don’t follow what is happening in Russia at all, but I often see what Russian journalists write about PMCs, and I laugh at it. I was taken aback by the recent situation in Syria.

Firstly, people died there, and secondly, everyone immediately began to tell: they say, everything is fine, these are mercenaries and why feel sorry for them. So. All this is said by clowns who have no idea what a PMC is and how it all works. Because nothing like what happened to Wagner PMC employees in Syria could physically happen either in an American, or in a British, or even in an Afghan company.

Let's just open our eyes and look at what a PMC is. I will decipher the abbreviation for those who do not know. PMC is first and foremost company is a private military company. An indispensable condition for its existence is the legality of activity. Now the most important and most needed person for PMCs is not a thug with a cleaver at the ready, but an approval manager - a specialist who monitors that all company activities comply with local laws.

And a PMC, by definition, cannot work outside the legal field, outside the law, because then it is no longer a company. This is a criminal organization, a gang - anything but a PMC. And when we now work in unstable regions and read the stories of various Russian propagandists, it first becomes funny, and then scary.

And hard mode is usually set?

In general, everything is maximally exhaustively described by the contract, which is signed in each individual case. But the main thing: any employee is completely subject to the laws of the country where he works. In fact, this is a four-component system: first, local laws, then the laws of the customer country, then the laws of the country in which the PMC is registered, then the contract. Each layer - additional restrictions.

Now imagine how rigidly this norms any activity, how great is the role of lawyers who must understand all conflicts, what bureaucratic colossus needs to be done in order to start fulfilling contractual obligations.

After all, even a contract is not an agreement on a page where it is written that company "A" protects the employees of plant "B" and there are two signatures. This is a huge, eight-hundred-page Talmud, which puts the performer in an extremely rigid framework. It even talks about standards of behavior, about sexual harassment!

But in Russia everything is still the same. Just one light from said: "During the second assault on the Iraqi city of Fallujah, Blackwater played a key role, in fact, acting first as a barrage detachment, and then as the main force of the breakthrough." Usually I laugh when I read this, but then I wanted to find this person, take him by the scruff of the neck and ask: “Clown, what are you talking about ?!”

However, for some reason, this “four-component system” could not save Iraqi civilians from the tragedy when employees of the American company Blackwater shot civilians in Nisour Square in Baghdad in 2007.

Right. I will not touch on what was there - this is a topic for a separate conversation. But contrary to the tales in the press, the participants in these events were tried, and in 2014 four were imprisoned. One for life, three others were given 30 years each. This is not an isolated case: the British are sitting in India, who simply accidentally swam into Indian territorial waters.

Under these conditions, it is ridiculous to say that PMC employees are "above the law." On the contrary, they are not only forced to comply with all laws, they regularly come up with new restrictions. Now even the language is being revised. For example, the term "rules for opening fire" is abandoned because it sounds too belligerent, it is replaced by the neutral "rules on the use of force."

As I said, the space for activity is constantly shrinking. In 2004, there was complete freedom in Iraq, but now Baghdad is doing everything so that only local mercenaries remain in the country. Now you can freely operate in absolutely non-existent countries such as Syria.

The conversations of our deputies and other experts that Russian PMCs will work somewhere will be frankly confused, but there is a complete misunderstanding of the situation and its context. In a few years, foreigners will remain only on large projects: the protection of embassies, key infrastructure, and then everything, without exception, will go to the locals.

Is hiring local a whim or a necessity?

I will give a simple example. Both in Iraq and in Afghanistan, PMCs always have local drivers. Why? It's simple: if a citizen of another country got into an accident or, God forbid, crushed someone, then they will simply sue him, or even put him in prison for decades. Therefore, they take a local, so that if something happens, they can disown him.

I remember only two exceptions. The period from 2003 to 2006 in Iraq, and from 2001 to 2004 in Afghanistan. Then it was possible to be above local laws, simply because they did not exist in fact. You flew in, there were no visas and passport control, right on the runway you received a machine gun and went to the villa with full “immunity”. But then in Iraq, for example, there was no state. There was the American ambassador Paul Bremer, the head of the occupying government and, in fact, the supreme ruler of Iraq. In that particular historical period, PMC employees could indeed enjoy certain immunity.

Now the situation is fundamentally different. Without permits, licenses do not take a step. They banned the use of the PKM (Kalashnikov machine gun), then they took away the RPK (Kalashnikov light machine gun), we even have two SVD rifles(Dragunov sniper rifle) were confiscated. They left the usual Kalashnikovs and pistols. Only local contractors help out - they have access to government offices, they can avoid prosecution for minor violations, they know the language, local realities. And hiring them is cheaper - banal business logic. They can be paid pennies.

The only exception is US government contracts, which only recruit US citizens, because only they can issue the necessary form of security clearance. Here they have all the employees - Americans, even those who stand at the gate. Only due to this there is some kind of work, because it is simply impossible to hire a foreigner there. If there is no security clearance requirement, then locals will be hired. True, their qualifications, as a rule, are almost at zero.

We see the results, remember the recent attack on a hotel in Kabul (then, as a result of an attack on a hotel populated mainly by Western officials, 43 people died - note "Lenta.ru"). It is obvious that this hotel is the number one target for all the villains, but even it was guarded by local clowns, who fled at the first sound of gunfire.

But a local employee needs to understand: you live there, you have a family. Today you defend some foreigner for money, and tomorrow your family will be slaughtered by the Taliban for this. So even if you are a professional, there is not much to expect from you. The only exception is the Kurds. Here they are really beautiful. Firstly, the society there has a positive attitude towards foreigners. Foreigners bring money, not war. No one will hurt your family if you guard foreigners. Secondly, many of them are really literate guys, they know the materiel, they speak English well. It is a pleasure to work with them.

What is the current ratio of "militants" and organizers, managers, analysts in companies?

It all depends on the specific contract. But in reality, in many countries where there is a severe need for security, it is simply impossible to work with weapons. Nigeria is a monstrous, scary place, but whoever you are, you cannot work with weapons there. Mexico, where the cartels kidnap 50 people every day, you can't. The only way out is if an armed group of Mexicans will work with you, and at a critical moment you will be able to grab a rifle from their hands and begin to administer justice.

But in fact, always with any contract, the number of armed foreigners is less than half, and maybe none at all. Now it’s much easier to hire a local to run around with a machine gun. And the authorities will be grateful. As a result, we have great amount willing to work and a very, very small and ever-decreasing number of vacancies.

How big is the market for private military companies?

The total industry in the world is 171 billion dollars. But it is already divided among very large corporations. All of the significant companies in the field over the past four years have been bought by multinational security players who don't know how to operate in high-risk situations.

Now in the West there are practically no small and medium-sized players in this activity. The market consists of international corporations and local regional contractors. The reality is that the market for armed guards, the one that you journalists love to talk about, is by no means growing.

On the contrary, it is decreasing every year. And the reason is very simple: no normal state will allow the presence of foreigners with weapons on their soil. How often do you see armed citizens of other states in Russia? Foreign guards with machine guns, pistols that protect someone? Not! Any state, even such failed countries as Iraq or Afghanistan, is now bringing foreign PMCs into such a narrow framework that work becomes almost impossible.

Who do PMCs usually work for? To the state?

It's a delusion. Private companies mainly fulfill orders of private business. It is impossible even to imagine that a Western or even an Afghan or Iraqi large company would work only with the state, only for the state, and even in this form, openly participating in hostilities. Although state contracts are always very profitable - it is either the protection of representatives of a particular state, or the protection of embassies, which is very monetary.

What do states usually entrust to private military companies?

Intelligence analysis, risk analysis, protection of embassies and diplomatic representatives, security of various facilities, if we are talking about American contracts. Once there was a case when he instructed the PMC to guard the corps of military engineers of the American army - there were not enough forces in that region. Stories about some political assassinations entrusted to contractors are, of course, fairy tales.

Cannon fodder, assault squads - this is not about PMCs. It was all in the 60s-90s and ended with Sandline and their coup attempt in Papua New Guinea. This was probably one of the last times someone tried to hire PMCs for some semblance of fighting.

Photo: Jean-Christophe Kahn / Reuters

But he was lucky to some extent: Denard did not die in prison just because he had Alzheimer's disease. By the 90s, all state games with mercenaries were over. The old man was dragged through the courts until he died, and no old merits helped. So in Russia, as often happens, they decided to pick up a forgotten trend.

But can't we say that Syria is the same failed state, like Iraq during the period of occupation by the Americans?

Essentially no. There's a funny twist here. If you look from the position of Russia, then this is a fully established country with a government and laws. beautiful state where happy people they idolize the president, they are devoted to him with all their hearts, they are very glad that the war with the Islamic State (banned in the Russian Federation - note "Lenta.ru") is over.

That is, there is no such thing that we came, threw Assad off the throne, put our supreme ruler. No, we supposedly respect Syrian laws and their authority. But if power and law are when "Assad allowed" another state to form illegal armed formations on its territory and use them in a war, then this is just an example of a failed state.

It is unlikely that Syrian law allows the creation of illegal military formations on its territory and the conduct of independent military operations by them. However, I am not a lawyer and I am not going to meddle in Syria.

For many "Wagnerites" the war is just a way to make money. There is information that employees receive three thousand dollars for a month of active hostilities and half of this amount during their stay at the base. How close are these numbers to reality, and how do they compare with typical salaries in the industry?

Let's put it this way: they are close to reality. People from there talk about such amounts. But in general, you need to understand that even in hot spots, it’s not every day that evil terrorists with knives break into your base. The lower the risk level, the bigger idiots you can hire for this job. Therefore, often, when it is possible to hire a person, let's say, with low salary expectations, they will hire him.

It started back in the 2000s, when Chileans were hired for a penny, then it came to Ugandans. I worked with them in one African country - these comrades cannot even shoot normally from a machine gun. If there is an opportunity, and the risks are small, they always hire the cheapest ones.

Therefore, in the field of maritime protection, where everything started with salaries of six hundred dollars or six hundred pounds a day, salaries have fallen to ridiculous figures. Recently I saw an advertisement where Ukrainians were offered a job on the terms: 30 days at sea for $800. Discussed this in Iraq with a colleague from India and he, to tell the truth, almost died of laughter. Because it's funny money. But the Ukrainians go for it. Therefore, it is difficult to talk about some kind of average market wage. It very often falls because they hire locals or representatives of poor countries for pennies, including Romanians, Gurkhas, Indians, Ukrainians, Ugandans.

There are more prestigious contracts, where very high requirements to the personnel. In this case, certain standards of payment are implied: for serious quality work, you can get about 10 thousand dollars a month. Few rise above this bar.

Is it really necessary to compete at a high level?

Recently there was a tender for the protection of the Australian embassy in one fairly "good country". So: just to show up, you need huge investments at the very beginning. Yes, they pay very decently for such a contract, but the problem of Russian companies is that there is no such business in this area that would be ready to go all the way and invest real money. There was an excellent example of the LUKOM-A company, which recruited people and was going to go to work in Iraq. They were simply not given a license to operate.

No one in Iraq or Afghanistan needs new players. It is run by local companies and the largest international corporations that can afford it. So the development of the Russian segment of PMCs will depend only on the development of domestic business. Once there is a critical number of projects to secure, the security business will emerge. You need to understand that there is already a need for it, but it is not fully realized.

Look at the most egregious case - the murder of the Russian ambassador in Ankara. Where were his guards? She just wasn't there. She was in Moscow. The division that deals with the security of the diplomatic corps is simply not able to provide protection to everyone who needs it. All countries employ private security specialists for these tasks.

But our state, instead of supporting the development of a normal healthy industry, is engaged in the creation of pocket illegal formations like Wagner. At the same time, Russian diplomatic representatives in countries with a huge level of danger are simply not protected by anyone. If this crazy practice continues, it will continue to cost the lives of Russian diplomats.