![In the Russian political lexicon, a silovik (Russian: силови́к , IPA: [sʲɪlɐˈvʲik] ; plural: siloviki, Russian: силов](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3c/%D0%92%D1%81%D1%82%D1%80%D0%B5%D1%87%D0%B0_%D1%81_%D0%BE%D1%84%D0%B8%D1%86%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%BC%D0%B8_%D0%B8_%D0%BF%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%BA%D1%83%D1%80%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%BC%D0%B8%2C_%D0%BD%D0%B0%D0%B7%D0%BD%D0%B0%D1%87%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%BD%D1%8B%D0%BC%D0%B8_%D0%BD%D0%B0_%D0%B2%D1%8B%D1%88%D0%B5%D1%81%D1%82%D0%BE%D1%8F%D1%89%D0%B8%D0%B5_%D0%B4%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%B6%D0%BD%D0%BE%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B8_2.jpg/1200px-%D0%92%D1%81%D1%82%D1%80%D0%B5%D1%87%D0%B0_%D1%81_%D0%BE%D1%84%D0%B8%D1%86%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%BC%D0%B8_%D0%B8_%D0%BF%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%BA%D1%83%D1%80%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%BC%D0%B8%2C_%D0%BD%D0%B0%D0%B7%D0%BD%D0%B0%D1%87%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%BD%D1%8B%D0%BC%D0%B8_%D0%BD%D0%B0_%D0%B2%D1%8B%D1%88%D0%B5%D1%81%D1%82%D0%BE%D1%8F%D1%89%D0%B8%D0%B5_%D0%B4%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%B6%D0%BD%D0%BE%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B8_2.jpg "Silovik - Wikipedia")
Silovik - Wikipedia
In the Russian political lexicon, a silovik (Russian: силови́к , IPA: [sʲɪlɐˈvʲik] ; plural: siloviki, Russian: силовики́ , IPA: [sʲɪləvʲɪˈkʲi] ) is a politician who came into politics from the security, military, or similar services, often the officers of the former KGB, GRU, FSB, SVR, FSO, the Federal Drug Control Service, or other armed services who came into power. A similar term is "securocrat" (law enforcement and intelligence officer).[1]
Siloviki is also used as a collective noun to designate all troops and officers of all law enforcement agencies of Russia or Belarus, not necessarily high-ranking ones.
The term siloviki ('siloviks') is literally translated as "people of force" or "strongmen" (from Russian сила, "force"). It originated from the phrase "institutions of force" (Russian: силовые структуры ), which appeared in the early Boris Yeltsin era (early 1990s) to denote the military-style uniformed services, including the military proper, the police (Ministry of Internal Affairs), national security (FSB) organizations and some other structures.[2]
Siloviki often wish to encourage a view that they might be seen in Russia as being generally non-ideological, with a pragmatic law-and-order focus and Russian national interests at heart. They are generally well educated and bring past commercial experience to their government posts.[3] It is assumed that siloviki have a natural preference for the reemergence of a strong Russian state.[3]
