While there has been progress, ranging from anti-corruption campaigns within the police through to efforts to combat a culture of embezzlement and exploitation within the military, the picture is actually less appealing than might be suggested. A culture of criminality is still widespread within the Russian security and for every arrest; many more crimes go unsolved or even unreported. For now and the immediate future, the Russian security agencies will remain comprehensively infected. While the Russian authorities may seek to talk up the role their security apparatus plays in combating organized crime, in fact, they are to a large extent falling prey to criminalization. A culture of corruption and a decade of neglect have combined to create a situation in which not only do police, army, and security officers provide services to civilian criminals but organized crime groupings have actually formed within them. This paper examines criminality among the ranks of the Russian security forces. 68 footnotes