Four years after launching his full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin remains firmly in control at home. As the war enters its fourth year, the Kremlin’s focus is not only on the battlefield but on regime durability. In February 2026, Vladimir Putin signed a decree restructuring the Russian National Guard, Rosgvardiya. The reform transformed Rosgvardiya’s internal command into a force with its own dedicated parallel “General Staff,” assigning it autonomous