The Correlation of the Concepts “National Security” and “State Security” in Law. The Place of the Federal Security Service of Russia in Ensuring State Security

The analysis of the legal basis of the activities of the bodies of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (hereinafter – the FSB of Russia), in particular the security objects in their view, requires a clear understanding of each key term. Legal documents do not define all these terms, and theoretical studies propose different approaches to their interpretation. In particular, the theory is ambiguous as to the limits of the extension of the powers of the FSB of Russia. As a consequence, there is no consensus on the legal status of the Service. It is proposed to be considered either a state or national security body. The purpose of the study: to compare disparate theoretical views on the problem and to determine the place of the FSB of Russia in the security system. Methods: systemic and structuralfunctional analysis, comparative-legal and formallegal methods. Results: the article establishes differences between some similar concepts that are used in scientific literature to designate security objects falling under the authority of the FSB of Russia (constitutional and state system, territorial and state integrity, sovereignty and independence, etc.); it identifies the characteristics of such security objects. The article concludes that the FSB of Russia is vested with a strictly defined scope of powers that do not exceed the limits of one of the strategic directions of ensuring security, highlighted in the National Security Strategy of the Russian Federation, namely ensuring state and public security. At the same time, ensuring state security is a priority. The public component of ensuring security by the Russian FSB system arises in cases of cumulative effect.