Viktor Cherkesov, a former KGB agent and now head of the Federal Narcotics Control Service, said the infighting among security officials is based on jockeying for power when Russian President Vladimir Putin steps down next spring because of term limits.

"A 'war of all on all' will result in a complete disintegration of the network," Cherkesov wrote. "We must prevent a scandal and all-out fighting."

Putin has appointed many other former KGB officers to key positions, including First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov, who is seen as a leading candidate to become the next president, a Los Angeles Times correspondent wrote from Moscow.

Olga Kryshtanovskaya, director of the Institute for Applied Politics, a Moscow think tank told the Times the nature of Cherkesov's article was a very unusual political move.

"Cherkesov really did a disservice to Putin because he proved by his article that there is a serious war being waged between various Kremlin clans and groups," she said.