Nikolai Patrushev, the man dripping poison into Putin’s ear

If I were to have to pick the figure in Vladimir Putin’s inner circle who scares me the most, it would have to be Nikolai Platonovich Patrushev, secretary of the Security Council and the closest thing there is in the Russian system to a national security adviser. Patrushev’s profile has grown steadily as both cause and symptom of the system’s drift towards nationalist imperialism, and he best channels the worst impulses within the id of Putin’s clique. Whenever he speaks, it is sadly worth listening.

After all, he does not just channel but shape those worst impulses. The Security Council itself is not the Soviet Politburo 2.0 that some assume. While it does bring together all key security-related officials, it is not a decision-making body. However, under Patrushev the Security Council secretariat has become one of the most powerful institutions in Putin’s state. Technically part of the Presidential Administration, in practice it is pretty much autonomous within its gated offices on Ipatevsky Alley, and Patrushev bows to no one but Putin.