Russian Intelligence-Driven Technopoly: Efficiency, Positivism, Governance by Data in an Authoritarian State

Russia is often characterized as a ‘KGB state’, not only due to the repressive nature of the regime and the political influence of former intelligence officials, but also as a way to classify its intelligence services as old-fashioned and politicized. Observers juxtapose this to the Western ideal of apolitical intelligence services ‘speaking truth onto power’ as well as their positivist model of the ‘intelligence cycle’. By contrast, this contribution will focus on Russian ‘new intelligence’ that despite progressive slogans coexists with and even supports the KGB state. Globally, practices previously conducted mainly by state intelligence services in the name of state security in the narrow sense have spread to ever-new spheres. Surveillance, threat assessments, behavioural analysis, and suspicious activity reports are normalized and part of everyday life rather than reserved for extreme cases. Many of these activities are also privatized, outsourced, or simply expected to be done by every entity or even individual citizens. Intelligence-based or intelligence-driven actions or policies are presented as ideal, optimized, and apolitical solutions. Central to this tendency is the widespread conviction, especially among top Russian technocrats, that if only one possesses more and ‘better’ data, the solutions will present themselves almost magically. Using a critique of traditional Anglo-American intelligence theory’s positivist-antipolitical ideals, this paper will demonstrate how intelligence-driven technopoly has become an ersatz ideology for intra-regime ‘liberals’ who despite their personal anti-war views have become crucial supporters of the war.