Securitizing Narcotics: The Politics and Prospects of Russian Counterdrug Policies

Abstract Russia is suffering from a serious and worsening challenge from narcotics, with 6% of the population using or addicted to drugs, which is also leading to a growing public health crisis. A particular problem is the growing availability of heroin from Afghanistan, with Russia an increasingly important transit country, as well as market. Efforts to control this have been severely limited by issues of resourcing, political will and turf wars between security agencies. Russia’s growing economic problems have also led to a need for liquidity on the part of many financial institutions that leads them to turn a blind eye to dirty money. However, the fundamental issues are that the Kremlin regards this as a nationalist, securitized and moral problem. The influx of Afghan heroin reflects at best Western failure and at worse a malign attempt to damage Russia. This needs to be considered a security threat and is therefore best addressed through interdiction and punitive measures rather than harm reduction and civil outreach, especially because drug addiction is considered a moral rather than a medical issue. Thus, Russia needs to adopt a more inclusive and comprehensive strategy that balances policing with treatment, prevention and harm reduction methods, in partnership with local governments, communities and NGOs, as well as foreign partners. Not only must law enforcement cooperation not continue to be a hostage to geopolitical rivalries, but policy over Afghanistan needs to be about encouraging productive efforts to reduce production rather than using the issue as a means to asserting regional hegemony.