Putin's National Guard to protect Russian regional leaders

Russian President Vladimir Putin has called for elite soldiers in a new force - the National Guard - to protect the country's regional governors. The National Guard, launched last year, is headed by Mr Putin's ex-bodyguard Viktor Zolotov, a longstanding ally. Mr Putin's bill also calls for the National Guard to protect unspecified "Other figures", besides the governors. Protection by the National Guard is not mandatory, but regional governors are entitled to ask for it. The National Guard - known as "Rosgvardiya" in Russian - has more than 340,000 personnel, about 160,000 of whom come from the interior ministry forces, Tass news agency reports.

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