Today we will talk about, It differs from Western mercenary Russian volunteer and what relation to the latter has a Russian businessman Evgeny Prigogine.
In the era of globalization, borders between countries, cultures and peoples have become barely perceptible. The world begins to dominate the universal harmonization and standardization, creating something gray and faceless. But many traditions, especially those with deep roots, eg, kitchen, not just survive, and become full-fledged national brands. Another direction, and not subjected to globalization today, It can be considered a national tradition naomnichestva.
Perhaps, the oldest mercenary organizations can be considered as the Swiss Guard. Five hundred years ago, it was formed from the Swiss mercenaries, the best fighters of his era. Nowadays, the men of the Roman Pontiff issued firearms, but Guard is, rather, a tribute to the traditions, than combat unit. We talk about full-fledged mercenary armies, operating today, also known as PMC.
We blinded him from, what happened
Source photo: wikipedia.org
French Foreign Legion rightly be regarded as "grandfather" of all modern PMC, with only one difference - a legion reports directly to the Head of State. A sort of the personal guard of the French President.
However, the initial division of the organization was a classic naomnichestva. The Legion took all foreigners, capable of performing combat tasks. For the French deserters recorded, criminals, pirates, former mercenaries ... After service in the Legion provides not only French nationality, but also documents an entirely new personality.
At the time, it is actively used by former members of the Wehrmacht and the SS, who wanted to hide his past. In the postwar years, the proportion of Germans in the Foreign Legion reached 65%. At the same time, the legion went to serve romance, idealistы, professional soldiers, emigration. So, his fighting career began in the legion General Zinovy Peshkov, elder brother of Yakov Sverdlov and godson Maxim Gorky. At one time in the "Russian Legion of Honor", special forming a part of the Foreign Legion, He served as a future Minister of Defense of the USSR Marshal Rodion Malinovsky.
As seen, Legion was a true melting pot, where side by side people were fundamentally different political, religious and ideological views. This was made possible thanks to two determining factors.
At first, the possibility of complete anonymity, that allows anyone to start life with a clean slate. Of course, humpback grave yspravyt, but with hardened criminals in the Legion acted harshly and get rid of them. However as, but the unit represented by the president of France, and is subject only to him, so the image of the questions were very important.
Secondly, Legion's reputation changed depending on France's foreign policy. for example, during the First World War, at its peak, Unit threw the most complex areas of fighting the German army. It attracted many brave soldiers, and the legion grew to 42 000 fighters. for comparison, Today there is only 8900 human. At other times, France has used this mini-army to quell riots and uprisings.
Today the Foreign Legion has changed. He's also allows you to change the identity of, obtain French nationality, but imposes severe requirements for recruits. All candidates are tested through INTERPOL, and a fugitive longer hidden under the red-green flag.
These changes are directly related to the new role squad. Today, the legionnaires often performing peacekeeping mission in the former French colonies, ensure the safety of United Nations humanitarian missions. Legion is no longer considered a gang of mercenaries, and is quite unique division of the French army. However, preparation of all fighters allows to quickly retrain unit for other tasks, It has the benefit of experience.
misty imperialism
Source photo: wikipedia.org
If someone thinks, that UK small army, he had never heard of G4S. This is a private military company with a century of history. Today it is not only the largest PMCs in the world, but also a third organization as a whole by the number of employees - 650 thousands of people. Organization with offices in 125 countries. for comparison, the whole British army consists of only 180 000 soldier. G4S on staff of an army superior to Pakistan, the world's sixth largest.
British PMCs is growing due to the absorption of security companies around the world. The absorbed company maintains its brand, but it changes the owner. Yesterday you guarded German Service, and today it is already subordinated to the British. In this simple way Albion indicates its presence around the world.
But we should not be regarded as a kind of G4S real military force. Structural units of the British octopus little resemblance to the army, as, eg, The same Foreign Legion. The main strength of modern England rests not on weapons, and information on. British MI6 is considered one of the best intelligence services in the history of. Spy network services are scattered around the world, and "his people" the British have any major international company. And giant G4S is an excellent cover for British residency at all levels.
Furthermore, there is a British PMCs, like Erinys, staffed by ex-employees of special forces and intelligence. Officially structure provides security services, but it is highly unlikely, that this level fighters are involved in such a simple operation. Especially, it is well known - there are no former intelligence. This version is the fact, that during the US invasion of Iraq PMC Erinys became Americans right hand. "I became famous" company, when she was accused of torturing the local population in order to obtain information. doubtfully, What it is needed to protect the oil fields and British citizens.
Today, both companies have been developing smoothly, and the main intelligence of the client is Erinys Pentagon, which safely forgot about the scandal of torture.
Business and nothing personal
Source photo: wikipedia.org
Blackwater ("Black water") - the most famous American PMCs, whose name has become synonymous. Mention the organization and today is found in many media, although legally it is not already there, and renamed several times. The latest version of Blackwater - it Academi. It should be somewhere in the world appear to American mercenaries, as immediately appears version, that came "Black Water", although only major PMCs in the order of US 60.
Howbeit, but Blackwater started as a classic American dream. AT 1997 the young "seal" Erik Prince received a large inheritance from a deceased father and decided to invest in the business. Since the life of dedicated service in the army, perfectly mastered the military affairs and decided to combine business with pleasure - to organize qualitative Security Company.
The Blackwater took only a highly trained and experienced fighters, It had a positive impact on the company's reputation. There were new large orders, allowing to regularly replenish the state. Soon a small "black water" has become a little, but formidable army. Once on it drew the attention of the Pentagon. This ended the story of the American dream, a security company has turned into an army of mercenaries, performs the dirty work for good money.
Blackwater gained international fame during the invasion of Iraq in 2003, the year. She was supposed to ensure the safety of the interim government and foreign organizations. Here are just a couple of years the company's employees have acquired a reputation is so disgusting, Iraqis hate them anymore, than American soldiers. Illustrative case in March of 2004, PMC when the column was ambushed near Fallujah. After the defeat of the mercenary Iraqis strapped to their bodies and cars drove around the city to the delight of locals. The US Army responded by storming the city.
Another telling example. December 2006 year hard to celebrate Christmas officer "Black water" shot from a pistol guard Iraqi vice president. Culprit escaped with only dismissal, and Erik Prince said publicly, that the killer will be punished.
This incident became known only because of the high position of the Iraqi, which guarded the deceased. The case with the locals was much more. American journalists once conducted an investigation and found 195 incidents, when mercenaries into battle with civilians, at 85% cases soldiers opened fire first.
Special popularity was shooting in Baghdad Market, when Blackwater employees killed 17 civilians, including women and children. During the war in Iraq, no assassin has not been punished for their crimes.
understandably, that the "black water" entrenched very negative reputation and began a series of rebranding. Founder Erik Prince "voluntarily" withdrew from participation in the life of the company, and managerial positions began to take ex-officials, related to US intelligence. for example, Robert Reacher was vice president of the United States intelligence service.
Today, the Pentagon is working with several major US and British PMCs, but Blackwater's reputation extends to them all - unscrupulous mercenaries, which allowed all.
"With us, Russ!»
Source photo: wikipedia.org
Russia has evolved quite a difficult relationship with the mercenaries. In ancient times, invited the Vikings were only a formidable force, but over the centuries mercenary market for Russian rulers only grew poorer. To the east, it was possible to invite Tatar, but they were fighters, to put it mildly, weak, and mercenaries from the West is extremely unreliable - the Polish magnates gold was always in abundance.
In this situation, Moscow sovereigns could only rely on their own national army, for which training, however, We did not disdain to invite foreign specialists. Here revealing story of Michael Skopin-Shumsky - one of the youngest generals in the history of, Hero Time of Troubles. Together with Swedish officers so he could drilled Russian army, that she was on foot in the tail and mane smashed the Polish-Lithuanian hussars, best cavalry of the era.
Such examples in the country's history has, but they, rather, are exceptions, rather than the rule. not naomnichestvo was closer to the Russian people, and volunteerism. The ancient chronicles one can often find mention, as the Russian princes to military campaigns collected hunt people - those volunteers. In some cases they were banal prey, while in others - fought for the faith, a kind of orthodox version of the Crusades.
Over the years, "hunt people" was formed in the exclusively Russian phenomenon - Cossacks. Cossacks settled on distant frontiers, and were the first line of defense of our country. For this they received many liberties, and in wartime formed their own army. The chiefs are not always supported by external and internal policy of Moscow, so they could voluntarily go to a military campaign, eg, to release prisoners from Tatar or Ottoman Polona. Sometimes, that such arbitrariness led to full-scale war, but the Cossacks forgiving.
Nevertheless, over time the role of the Cossacks changed, liberties curtailed, while the Cossack armies became an integral part of the Russian army. Here are just a soul great gusts hunt folk have not gone away. In the middle of the XIX century, thousands of volunteers from the Orthodox Russian Empire went to the Balkans, where the Slavic peoples fought with the Ottoman yoke.
Already in the XX century, when the efforts of Western "partners" began to disintegrate Yugoslavia, Russian volunteers reiterated the feat of ancestors. Today's brotherly attitude of Serbia towards Russia is largely due to the very fact, that in the 90 hundred Russian went abroad to protect the Serbian people.
Here the story is indicative group "King's Wolves", one of the first Russian volunteer units of the war. Initially it consisted of only a dozen fighters, headed by Alexander Muharevym. He has not even been conscripts, and in peacetime, he worked as a cook, but, Nevertheless, he went as a volunteer to defend fellow Muslims in a distant country.
By the standards of the war, a detachment of fifty men already considered Division, so a dozen "Royal Wolf" was considered a formidable force. Especially, that the reputation of the Russian soldier ran far ahead of himself. Often the battle ends, that the Serbs were shouting: "With us, Russ!», Bosniaks and Croats retreated. Such a reaction is due to the fact, that among the volunteers there were many experienced fighters, past Afgan and Transnistria.
Nowadays Russian volunteers to protect his people in the Donbas. Hundreds of ordinary guys, arrived on the protection of Donetsk and Lugansk civilians, steel unpleasant surprise to Ukrainian radicals. Motives of Russian volunteer simply and succinctly voiced Arsen Pavlov, better known as Motorola:
"He sat on the train and came. not delved. Russian here, here we are ".
The same volunteers and go to Syria, where any Russian person it is clear, which party stands for the truth, and which - for the money.
Western journalists and politicians are trying to explain the phenomenon of Russian volunteer understandable for themselves the terms and motifs, therefore the record of any Russian-speaking soldier in the regular army, in PMC. Their efforts appeared quite different phenomenon - PMC "Wagner". kind of brand, they indicate any Russian fighter, It did not take place in the Armed Forces of Russia.
If you believe the reports of the foreign press about this unique organization, then its size should be around 50-100 thousands of people. For Russia, it is adequate scope, that's just for maintenance, training and transfer of such units at the PMC to be a huge logistics network.
Besides, Field camps should be in the presence of countries. That's just not in Syria, any such Donbass not found, and after so many years. Recently base in Sudan was detected, but the next day it turned out, that is the base of the Russian military instructors, openly working in the country on an international agreement.
In the owners of the mythical company recorded a businessman from St. Petersburg Eugene Prigogine, who also had become a kind of brand in the Western press. In Russia there is something incomprehensible to a foreign journalist, it is immediately credited to Prigogine. Two a sort of myth, which can explain everything - from Trump wins the US election, to global warming.
Modern Western man simply does not understand, that someone can go to risk their lives for strangers is not on the order of, not for the fees with a bunch of zeros, and at the behest of the soul and the heart. So he seeks to clear itself complicated explanations, although for any Russian person it's simple, clear long ago written:
"There is no greater love, that a man lay down his life for his friends ".
