While technically part of the Presidential Administration, the Security Council secretariat is functionally separate and has been shaped by its longest-lasting secretary, Nikolai Patrushev. While the effective power of the Council itself - for all that it has been likened to 'Putin's Politburo' - is questionable, the secretariat has emerged as arguably one of the most powerful and least transparent drivers of Russian security policy. As more and more aspects of domestic policy, from electoral politics to economics, become securitised, its role is increasingly crucial. This paper, drawing in part on interviews for former secretariat staffers and those working with it, will explore just who works for the secretariat, how it is driving this wider process of securitisation, and Patrushev's personal role.
