The men armed with military hardware who were spotted in central Moscow on October 26 were not, as some residents of the Russian capital believed, terrorists or coup plotters, but members of the Federal Security Service (FSB). Shortly afterwards, the FSO announced that it had organised “tactical exercises to neutralise terrorist threats to protect key state services” in Moscow that day.
Russian news portal The Insider has learned that these exercises are just part of the complex special measures the FSO will take in the event of a state of emergency or war. The Insider also saw a secret document titled “FSO Moral and Psychological Support Plan for Peaceful Transition,” which is divided into four parts, that is, four phases. The first phase lists the measures that will be implemented before the declaration of a state of war, the second phase mentions the measures that will be in force during the period of “heightened” war preparedness, the third phase refers to the preparations for the declaration of a “threat of war”, and the fourth to the eventuality of declaring a state of war, which will require “full military preparedness”. The Insider points out that the FSO’s Directorate of Operations is responsible for protecting the Kremlin and senior government officials, but also performs counterintelligence tasks for the FSO.
During the transition from peacetime to wartime, it is envisaged that the Operations Directorate will prepare to provide moral and psychological assistance to personnel of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSB) and compile reports on the moral and psychological state of personnel. In the second phase, the administration will interview individual officers and brief other FSO personnel on the military-political situation in Russia and the world. In addition, visits to the FSO Hall of Fame and History in the Kremlin and Kazan Cathedral in Moscow are planned. In the third phase, they will conduct socio-state training on a weekly basis for a minimum of 60 minutes and explain what the FSO does. The administration may also be responsible for evacuating family members of Kremlin Guard officers. Individual unit commanders and psychologists would be responsible for lifting the spirits of their subordinates. In the fourth phase, the administration will be asked to explain Russian war crimes laws to all relevant personnel and prevent the creation of confusion and panic among military officers and their families. In addition, they will need to show other FSO members examples of FSO officers’ heroism and bravery.
The secret document says that some officers who will defend the Kremlin may become depressed and melancholy and unsure whether their superiors are doing the right thing. It says they may be afraid and worried. Such feelings should be responded to with ‘counter-insurgency’, ‘counter-suasion’, ‘proactive downsizing’, ‘gear shifting’ and interviews with young officers which should boost their confidence. Younger officers are said to be particularly susceptible to neuropsychological instability. FSOs, who are the politically wisest, will cater to the least qualified. These psychologically vulnerable officers may also be sent to hospital. The leadership says that the Russian enemies are cunning and insidious and that they will first try to lower the psychological resilience of the personnel and confuse them morally so that they cannot resist.
The media of all kinds are considered the biggest threat. It has been pointed out that agents of foreign intelligence services may come into contact with leaders of social movements, NGOs, religious and pseudo-religious organizations and relatives of FSO personnel. Particular emphasis is placed on individuals who are able to “psychologically influence personnel” and who possess “hypnotic abilities.” However, it is not stated who these people would be and how they could hypnotise and weaken the psychologically trained Kremlin guards. The management plan also states that the enemy would also use sophisticated attacks.
Among these attacks, psychocorrective games are also mentioned, which are designed to reduce the fear of preschoolers and increase their attention. Child psychologists do this with the help of human or animal puppets. FSOs did not specify how these methods would be used against them. Russian tabloids also wrote about a so-called psychosis generator or dark matter creator. It was allegedly developed by the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Many proponents of conspiracy theories used these tabloids to spread their propaganda. The plan also mentioned that the Kremlin could be attacked with low-frequency sound generators, but did not explain how these devices would be inserted into the Kremlin.
FSO deputy director Alexander Komov is in charge of implementing the aforementioned secret plan, and the latest version was drafted by the experienced Reshit Bukharin, a member of the FSO Personnel Service. The Insider points out that Bukharin is considered a great intellectual and has published several scholarly articles on the defense of senior government officials.
Little is known about Komov in society. His colleagues secretly tease him about being an “astronomer” because he likes to attend scientific seminars and discussions about space exploration. Komov is said to head a group of independent advisors, including astrologers, black magic experts, and experts on the supernatural. Some of them were advisers to Russian President Boris Yeltsin’s security chief Alexander Korzhakov and his successor Yevgeny Murov. Korzhakov and Murov now write predictions and analysis for FSF leaders.
Komov regularly tells his subordinates about the alleged nefarious plans of Western intelligence and asks them to be conscientious. At the same time, his son Nikita was vacationing in Monaco, Germany, Italy, and France. The latter three are members of the North Atlantic Pact, an organization Russia considers an enemy.
As for the Kremlin Regiment, the segment of the FSO responsible for the Kremlin’s security and for which the aforementioned secret plan was drawn up, it is responsible for uncovering corruption and misuse of public funds and checking the assets of FSO employees. FSO management can order checks on all FSO employees, tap their phones and interrogate them using lie detectors. According to the government’s online procurement portal, the FSO has acquired a lot of equipment to eavesdrop, detect and steal digital data. However, because these devices contain microchips that are manufactured in Western countries, it is unknown how they will continue to be supplied and how they will repair existing inventory./Jutarnji.hr/