Russia: Re-Empowering the Security Council

Russian President Dmitri Medvedev has ordered a reassessment on the organization of Russia's security systems — specifically the Security Council. Since the Yeltsin era, the Security Council has been purposefully kept weak, with its responsibilities divided among numerous agencies to prevent it from ever threatening presidential authority. It now appears that the Security Council may be taking back its former role as the chief body overseeing security. The council will not be given the power to formally implement its recommendations (those decisions will continue to be made by Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin), but will be the nerve center on security-related issues. However, there is a risk in permitting one body to filter all information on security: allowing biases, personal agendas and bureaucratic infighting to color the advice it delivers, as well as becoming a power center in its own right.