AFCEA Intelligence’s NightWatch assesses the true function of the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry and its ties with Cuba and Nicaragua:
Russian Emergency Situations Minister Sergei Shoigu arrived in Havana, Cuba, late 10 November to sign an agreement on cooperation for “information exchange and training” for Cuban emergency specialists, RIA Novosti reported 11 November.
Shoigu, who traveled to Cuba from Nicaragua where he concluded a similar agreement, said, “The Russian government has resolved to allocate a substantial sum to buy equipment and to train Nicaragua specialists to remove mines.”
The Western media seems to misunderstand the significance of the seemingly benign Russian agreements on emergency situations. The Emergency Situations Ministry is one of the most powerful in Russia in that it is the conduit for military and paramilitary assistance to nations with whom Russia has agreements, including Serbia. The definition of emergency is rather loose. These agreements are the updated versions of Friendship and Security Agreements arranged by the Soviet Union.
The significance is that Russia uses this Ministry as a substitute for the Defense or Interior Ministries to arrange relationships that in earlier times would have stood out as defense or military assistance agreements. The effects are the same in practice, but the terminology is less likely to receive careful scrutiny or attention by the West. Putin is the genius behind this quite effective subterfuge.
