What does silovik mean? Why is Sergei Shoigu called Silovik?

Shoigu, part of the "Silovik" group, known as "strongmen" in Russian, is known as one of the men of former president Boris Yeltsin. Although he did not have an intelligence background, he was a manager whose power was felt in almost all levels of the Russian army, especially in the military intelligence organization. So much so that those who know Russia closely say, "While no one knew Putin's name, Shoigu was a well-known name in the system."

In the Russian political lexicon, a silovik is a person who works for any state organisation that is authorised to use force against citizens or others. Examples are the Russian Armed Forces, the Russian national police, Russian national drug control, Russian immigration control (GUVM), the Ministry of Justice, FSB political police, former KGB, GRU, the Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), and the Federal Protective Service (FSO). This word is also used for a politician who came into politics from these organisations.

It would not be wrong to say that a powerful name like Shoigu convinced Putin in his power struggle with Wagner. It is stated that Shoigu - although he hated the Wagner leader for a long time - knows that the organization protects Russia's interests in many fields with his realistic analysis ability, and therefore he thinks it is not right to completely liquidate Wagner.

His intention was to keep this group under control. That's why he made preparations for the Wagner soldiers to join the Russian army in June and convinced Russian leader Vladimir Putin to do so. The winner in this fight was Shoigu, and the losing side was Prigojin, who said that "there is no question of his soldiers joining the army under such a contract". Prigojin's coup attempt came after that.