Why are Russian oligarchs forming private armies? | DW Business

Reports from Russia suggest Gazprom and other Russian firms are setting up their own private armies.
The state oil firm Gazprom has long employed people with military backgrounds to guard its assets around the world. But industry observers claim an armed unit employed by Gazprom is now active on the front line. That appeared to be confirmed by the head of Russia's paramilitary Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, in an interview.
But other Russian oligarchs are reportedly forming paramilitary groups for future deployment. What are they afraid will happen?

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[DarxKies]

The fact that even companies have private armies sums up pretty well the chaos in russia.

[therainbow]

Q. Why are Russian oligarchs forming private armies?
A. Because one day they'll be fighting each other including their head.

[rogergoodman]

This is hilarious to me. Instead of fighting in and for the actual Russian army, these oligarchs are now forming their own private armies under the pretense of helping out in Ukraine because they foresee major political turmoil and a possibility of a future Russian Civil War. Obviously, these men have a tremendous amount of power and money to form them and provide equipment to their soldiers, yet none of them apparently have the balls to remove Putin from the equation before things get that bad. One would think the oligarchs would realize there are many of them, but only ONE Vladimir Putin. 🤔

[gabri]

When the state loses its monopoly on force, thats when you know that state is done for.

[russ]

Getting ready for the civil war after Putin exits at a ninth floor window.

[ronthered]

I think that the historical precedent is Medieval Europe. If Ruzzia unravels, they want protection for their little satraps. They might even adopt titles of "nobility", and Ruzzia regresses 500 years.

[runwiththerunners]

A list should be published of all western companies who do business with Gazprom.

[RainierKine]

History is repeating. When the powerful expects instability, they'll obviously build their own army.

[timogul]

They're probably worried that Putin will have them tossed out a window.

[ChipmunkRapidsMadMan]

Russia is looking at an internal breakup so they'll need it.

[samsungqled]

0:13 Overweight Russian soldier is crying in the back of the bus. He knows he will die soon, we all know it.

[raydunn]

I see three reasons for these personal armies:
1 - Asset protection (as mentioned)
2 - Vanity ("Hey, I have my own army." or "My army is bigger than yours - my yacht too.")
3 - Personal protection (becoming more and more necessary, I think.)

During WWII Stalin, rather than having his armies work together and coordinate their efforts, left the commanding Generals to compete for resources and race each other to reach Berlin. Putin is just using the same tactic. He pits the regular army against Wagner and expects each to want to succeed where the other fails. These corporate army units are little more than another form of conscription and represent only a minor variation of the overall concept.

[wmtrader]

That guy at the back of the bus next to the window doesn't look too happy 0:12 about being sent to fight in Ukraine

[thomasjamison]

If nothing else, it means you have more people to help keep all those very dangerous windows closed.

[lynnoble]

Someone in the back of the bus didn’t look too happy about being on the bus!!

[timothywootton]

When a state enters the warlord phase then that state is most likely going to fracture for a bit.

[paraguard]

The meatgrinder can handle all types of meat and mince it! Be it Wagner meat, Gazprom meat, or just regular Orc

[ronagoodwell]

It sounds like these paramilitaries were already in existence in some form, attached to wealthy individuals and/or companies. This suggests a lack of confidence in the larger state for security. That fits with what we've seen with the Russian army and the endless stories of corruption and incompetence. Russia appears to be a ramshackle constellation of lesser poorly defined states or "statelets" within a larger sprawling state. There is no particular reason to believe that any of these states, large or small, are anything other than loosely organized criminal networks with private "muscle." And trust does not extend from one "state" to another. This is a perfect recipe for a civil war. Once strong man Putin begins to decline in an obvious way everything will unravel quickly. China waits patiently. Xi knows what's coming. It happened in China many times in the past.

[DarxKies]

Imagine being russian and your own government keeps thinking of more evil ways to kill you and you say nothing.

[johnpeterson]

Thanks for giving this man time to talk.