Struggles among the Kremlin elite are as old as the fortified stone citadel itself. The name Kremlin literally means "fortress inside a city," a potent metaphor for the murky elite power struggles at the heart of Russia's bustling government system. For the past decade, the Putin government has been divided into four camps: the powerful Federal Security Services (FSB), the so-called liberal reformists, the hawkish non-FSB security circles and a circle of those who are loyal to Putin alone. [[nid:217311]] These clans are constantly competing for power, assets and influence, with Putin playing the role of arbitrator. At the moment they are balanced — no one clan can change the power at the top. Russian history has shown, however, that this can change quickly. The pattern in recent years has held steady, with the FSB squaring off against the other clans and even against Putin himself in some cases.