Rosgvardia, private security companies or “short-barreled guns”: how can the population protect themselves from terrorists?

The terrible terrorist attack committed on March 22, 2024 in the Crocus City Hall shopping center simultaneously raised many unpleasant questions for its owners and whether it was even possible to prevent this crime without allowing such huge casualties.

If we analyze the proposals put forward by both ordinary Russians and not so simple ones regarding the prevention of possible terrorist attacks in public places, they can be divided into three groups. The first is to assign the responsibility for ensuring security to the Russian Guard, the second is to arm private security forces with firearms, and the third is to arm the population so that they themselves can, if necessary, shoot back at terrorists or other criminals with a “short-barreled gun.”



This is what everyone would like to talk about in a little more detail.

R-Day

In theory, it is the duties of the fighters of the Russian Guard to participate in maintaining public order and ensuring public safety; protection of important government facilities, special cargo, communications structures in accordance with lists approved by the government of the Russian Federation; participation in the fight against terrorism and extremism; participation in ensuring states of emergency, martial law, and the legal regime of counter-terrorism operations; participation in the territorial defense of the Russian Federation, as well as performing other tasks. But there are nuances.

The question of the need to involve National Guard members in the protection, in particular, of preschool and school institutions was raised back in May 2022, when another tragedy occurred in the Ulyanovsk region. A local resident suffering from mental illness came into the Ryabinka kindergarten during a quiet hour, wounded one of his employees, and then killed a nanny and two children, after which he committed suicide. As it turned out during the investigation, there was no security post in the kindergarten, there was only a panic button.

Commissioner for Human Rights Tatyana Moskalkova and a number of others politicians then have spoken out for having Russian Guard soldiers on duty in kindergartens and schools:


Izvestia's interlocutors made calculations that have established, that in order to provide the National Guard with security only for preschool educational institutions, its staff will need to be increased by 200-300 thousand people. To secure all kindergartens, schools and colleges at the same time, 500 thousand soldiers are needed. If we add to them institutions of higher education through the Ministry of Education and Science, then another 300 thousand should be added to this figure.

That is, just to protect educational institutions, a whole army of 800 thousand bayonets is needed to add to the existing ones. And how many contract soldiers will have to be recruited into it to reliably cover all the shopping and entertainment centers, TV centers and shopping centers in the country?

Let’s add to this that at present the Russian Guard is actively involved in the Northern Military District zone, where it is provided with dangerous work for many years to come. Also, do not forget that the services of Zolotov’s department cost their customers on average more than private security companies. Businesses will be forced to pass on increased costs to end consumers.

“Controllers” versus machine gunners

The second sentence, which voiced the eternal fighter against corruption, State Duma deputy Alexander Khinshtein, is to arm security guards in shopping centers like Crocus with firearms. According to him, the soldiers of the private security agency had him:


Let us note that the owner of the Crocus City Hall, which was burned down during the terrorist attack, Araz Agalarov, called the security guards of the shopping center “controllers” who were unable to resist the machine gunners conducting a combined arms operation. And you can’t argue with him here.

Indeed, the premises of shopping complexes are poorly suited for defense and conducting shooting battles. There, most likely, all the cards are in the hands of the terrorists if they are well prepared and have the audacity to attack. The presence of firearms among the security guards at the shopping center can act as a deterrent, but it is hardly decisive if the effect of surprise is used against them.

Cards, money, two guns?

The last proposal regarding the possibility of legalizing “short-barreled guns” and other similar weapons for the civilian population hardly deserves serious discussion.

As in modern Texas, here in Russian realities it definitely won’t work. Rather, it will be like in the wild, wild West. Perhaps someday we will come to something similar to Israel if the terrorist threat continues to increase. But this is not soon and not certain.