A pertinent bill was submitted to parliament on Wednesday.
The new force will take over many of the existing duties of the special police forces thus eliminating the link – that is of Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev — between the President and the head of the National Guard.
The National Guard will be headed by Viktor Zolotov, formerly the commander of the Internal Troops, and the onetime head of the president's personal security detail.
Igor Korotchenko, editor-in-chief of Natsionalnaya Oborona (National Defense) journal, believes that the National Guard will focus on fighting international terrorism.
“The National Guard is being created to prevent and combat existing and future threats, above all international terrorism, which is rearing its head in the South Caucasus and Central Asia. A series of attacks there by the so-called ‘Terror International’ could spill over into Russian territory, and the National Guard will be able to respond to such a threat. This is the main reason it is being established, it is a preventive measure,” Igor Korotchenko told Radio Sputnik.
He also underscored the importance of “concentrating resources in the war against organized crime.”
Alexander Perendzhiev, a Moscow-based political scientist, hailed the proposed reform as means of streamlining state control in the field of national security.
“We need to draw a clear line between police functions and military operations against organized terrorist and criminal groups. The National Guard will be able to fighting organized crime, armed groups and terrorists,” Perendzhiev told Radio Sputnik.
The decree of the National Guard is part of a major reorganization of the security forces.
In addition to the formation of the new service, Putin announced that Russia's Federal Migration Service and the Federal Drug Control Service would be merged into the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which already has ample experience in dealing with both drug crime and issues related to migration.
