Russia’s FSB Prepares for Leadership Overhaul, Possible New Director by October

Russia’s Federal Security Service is set to undergo a major reorganization that could see its long‑time director Alexander Bortnikov retire and a new head take the reins as early as October. Sources say Bortnikov has repeatedly requested retirement, while First Deputy Director Sergey Korolev has stepped in more often. Potential successors include Ivan Tkachev, chief of the Military Counterintelligence Department, and Vladislav Menshchikov, head of the Counterintelligence Service. The agency also lost its Economic Security Service chief, Sergey Alpatov, to health reasons, and a replacement has not yet been named. The FSB, now Russia’s dominant security body, runs the Second Service that protects the constitutional order and blocks internet content. A leadership change could shift how the agency enforces internal security and manages online censorship.