Focus: Russia Internal consolidation Under the leadership of President Vladimir Putin, Russia has been steadily growing in strength and confidence, in domestic as well as foreign affairs, for nearly two decades. Putin's re-election as president creates the conditions for this trend to continue over the next few years. Putin and his regime need domestic stability and continuity in order to be able to pursue an accelerated foreign policy strategy aimed at restoring Russia's role as a major power on the international stage. In order to stay in power, Putin and his cronies from St. Petersburg control Russia's domestic political processes and its economy. Key to this control are the so-called power ministries, the most important state agencies for protecting the regime from internal challenges, in particular, but also from external ones. A selection of these agencies is described below. Presidential Administration One of the most important management and control instruments is the Presidential Administration under the direction of Anton Waino. It consists of a large number of advisers and officials who influence Russia's domestic, foreign and economic policy. For example, important laws are drafted in the Presidential Administration before they are subsequently submitted to Parliament to be debated and voted on. This is often only a matter of form. The Presidential Administration also oversees the state media and gives them regular and detailed instruc- tions on which topics to report on and what guidelines to follow. The key person in the Presidential Administration is its deputy head Sergei Kiriyenko, who was in charge of Putin's recent election campaign. Kiriyenko was Prime Minister for a short time in 1998 under Boris Yeltsin and then for many years Director General of the State Atomic Energy Corporation, Rosatom, of which he remains Chairman of the Board of Directors. Kiriyenko enjoys the support of influential bankers from St. Petersburg and has close links to Putin's immediate circle. National Guard In 2016, Putin created a National Guard, which today has more than 300,000 employees, to secure internal control and his personal power. It reports directly to him. The National Guard was, among other things, responsible for security during the presidential elections and, together with other bodies, will also ensure security during the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The National Guard's main tasks are to safeguard public order in Russia and to protect state institutions and communication facilities, as well as combating terrorism and extremism. The National Guard has a country-wide presence through its seven regional commands, with a particular focus on the North Caucasus. In addition, it has numerous mobile special units in Moscow that can be dispatched to the regions rapidly if required. Its formation was planned far in advance, with the preparatory SIT UAT ION R E PORT 2 0 1 8 | FIS 23