Paper short abstract:

Focussing on state security services in the Russian Federation and Kyrgyz Republic, this paper unpacks the history of Soviet-era state security, its post-Soviet continuation and present-day manifestations to delineate the ‘authoritarian security’ that characterizes political regimes in Eurasia.

Paper long abstract:

Analyses of former Socialist countries’ security apparatuses have remained under-explored in both security studies and Central Eurasian area studies. The proposed paper is situated at this intersection and seeks to unpack the history of Soviet-era state security, its post-Soviet continuation and present-day manifestations. Focussing on state security services in the Russian Federation and Kyrgyz Republic, it offers a case study on (post-)Soviet contexts characterised by centre-periphery relations and is based on relevant English and Russian-language literature while also drawing on available archival and public discourse material. 

The first section examines the building up of the Soviet national security architecture and its specific structures and practices. Section two analyses the developments after 1991 and particularly the divergence between the relative consolidation of the Russian FSB and its political influence vis-à-vis varying degrees of reform and instrumentalization of the Kyrgyz Republic’s GKNB. The third section compares these and other post-Soviet trajectories with Eurasian security apparatuses and their Western counterparts to delineate the ‘authoritarian security’ that is seen to characterize various political regimes in Eurasia. The conclusion maps out further necessary steps in the agenda towards an unpacking of the ethos, imaginaries and cultures of state security in Eurasia and their geographically, culturally and otherwise specific nature.