Russian Affiliated Private Military Companies in the Syrian Civil War

Abstract

Contemporary conflicts often involve private military companies (PMCs) in addition to national or local armed forces. These groups are used by nations to forward national political or economic interests without direct contribution. The PMCs that have been present during the Syrian Civil War include those that have connections with Russia, represented by the Slavonic Corps and PMC ‘Wagner’. The purpose of the paper is to analyse Russian PMCs operations in Syria in the context of national legislation and as tools exploited by the state. It allows distinguishing if those PMCs are used in Syria for the benefit of Russian political and economy reasons, even though they are not acknowledged according to Russian law. The paper utilises qualitative research as a case study method, comparative studies, and desk research from existing resources and available online sources. It is supported by an analysis of available official documents from official websites. The limited use of quantitative data allows for the validation of the collected information.