Constant competition and interagency "war" between the MVD and the FSB is traditional for Russia, but in the past the consequences of this competition did not spill out beyond the services themselves. The situation changed as rumors spread that the president was considering uniting security services to reduce duplication of efforts. This was confirmed when Putin publicly reiterated this idea after a Security Council meeting in May, although he remains imprecise about his plans. In a situation where the president apparently had not made up his mind about which services should be eliminated, which entities would lose some of their functions, and which services would be strengthened, the necessity of proving the value of one's service becomes acute.

The biggest players on the security "market" are the defense ministry, the FSB, and the MVD, and these structures cannot be dismantled. Hence each is competing to be the structure on which the president can pin his hopes and ambitions. A variety of factors (historical ties or animosities, corporate loyalty, cadre policy) determine where the smaller agencies fit among the three titans. Roughly, we can say that the Federal Agency of Government Communication and Information (FAPSI), the Federal Messenger Service (FFS), the Federal Guards Service (FSO), the State Customs Committee (GTK), and the Border Guards (FPS) are oriented toward the FSB. The MVD's satellites are the General Procuracy, the Federal Tax Police (FSNP), and the justice ministry.

The appointment of Sergei Ivanov to the defense ministry took the military out of the race. Since Ivanov is considered one of Putin's closest allies, the ministry's access to Putin is assured. At the same time, Ivanov's appointment blocked the ambitions of General Staff Chairman Anatoly Kvashnin, who had spent years intriguing against former Defense Minister Igor Sergeev in the hopes of obtaining his seat. The MVD and the FSB, however, remain in competition and have dragged heretofore relatively neutral security services into the fray. A wave of kompromat -- with accusations of corruption, abuse of office, and breaches of tax and customs regulations spilled out onto the pages of the nation's newspapers. For the first time, the main actors on this stage were highly placed officials of the security services.