This article explores how the segments of the stare police and security org
ans were transformed into a large private security industry in Russia after
1992. As market reforms were launched, the numbers of private property own
ers grew dramatically, but the stare institutions for the protection of pro
perty and dispute settlement were either absent or defunct. This gap was co
nsequently filled with various private institutions, private protection com
panies and private security services being the major ones. The article stud
ies the context of their emergence, their functions and practices as well a
s their relations with the state and the criminal sector.