The Siloviki Who are they? Putin's old friends from the intelligence services, now in the FSB, defence ministry and presidential security service. They oppose neo-liberal policies, and want a strong, protectionist, authoritarian state. The liberals label them anti-capitalist, anti-democratic ex-KGB stooges. The Siloviki see themselves as patriots.
Who's in the clan? Viktor Ivanov and Igor Sechin, deputy heads of the presidential administration; FSB head Nikolai Patrushev; Yury Zaostrovtsev, deputy head of the FSB in charge of "economic safety"; Vladimir Chernov, chairman of the State Investment Company; Mikhail Prusak, governor of Novgorod Oblast region.
Who are their business allies? Alexei Miller, CEO of Gazprom; Sergey Pugachev, former CEO of Mezhprombank; Sergey Bogdanchikov, CEO of Rosneft state oil company; Nikolai Tokarev, general director of the Zarubezhneft oil company and former vice-president of pipeline monopoly Transneft.
The Liberals Who are they? Reformers in the Kremlin and oligarchs outside it. They advocate liberalization, through privatization, WTO accession, and a smaller state. They support more business transparency, further integration with the global economy, and foreign investment. The Siloviki consider them robber barons. They see themselves as liberal reformers, saving Russia from its Soviet past.
Who's in the clan? Prime minister Mikhail Kasyanov, trade & economy minister German Gref, finance minister Alexei Kudrin, presidential economic adviser Andrei Illarionov.