title: Crusaders, Sellswords, and Separatists: The Russian State’s Use of Paramilitaries, Separatists, and Irregular Armies
abstract: Russia currently supports various paramilitaries around the world whether in the guise of separatists, mercenaries, or irregular armies. Using their own military and intelligence operatives and different tactical and religious-ideological means of asserting control over these paramilitaries and the territories they inhabit, Russia seeks to expand the scope of its global dominance and regional influence. Consistent with its long-term goal of weakening NATO and the EU, Russian strategy under Putin
journal: Scholars Crossing (Liberty University)