Security Agencies – Johnson’s Russia List

JRL NEWSWATCH: “A Great Firewall of Russia? Kremlin puts key bricks into place.” – Christian Science Monitor/ Fred Weir

May 3, 2019 JRL Russia List Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime, Media, Internet, Social Media, Television, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Spies, Spy Allegations

File Image of Laptop Computer, Tables and Mobile Device, adapted from image at energy.gov

“Russians have enjoyed a relatively freewheeling internet, but that is likely to change with a new surveillance law. How will the Russian public respond to their online life being closely monitored and constrained?” “Officially, Russia’s new Sovereign Internet Law is aimed at addressing problems that are vexing governments globally: the proliferation of ‘fake news’ and illegal content, the disturbing reach […]

When Intelligence Organizations Make Policy

August 21, 2018 JRL Russia List Spies, Spy Allegations, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

File Photo of Donald Trump Waving Before Large Crowd with Trump Signs, adapted from image at whitehouse.gov

(JackMatlock.com – Jack Matlock – August 16, 2018) Jack Matlock is a career diplomat who served on the front lines of American diplomacy during the Cold War and was U.S. ambassador to the Soviet Union when the Cold War ended. Last night, when I was casually browsing in a copy of my Autopsy on an Empire that I had taken […]

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Leave a comment Russia, Russian News, Security Agencies, Slider, Spies, U.S. Elections, U.S.-Russian Relations

NEWSLINK: “This Russian Spy Agency is in the Middle of Everything; Only a few years ago, the GRU looked like it might be dissolved. But Putin found new uses for it: covert war in Ukraine and ‘active measures’ that helped Trump get elected” – The Daily Beast/Amy Knight

August 8, 2018 JRL Russia List Assassinations, Beatings, Threats, Military, Newslinks, Spies, Spy Allegations, Terrorism, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

Stylized Artist's Depiction of Shadowy Figures in Dark Coats and Dark Hats, One Carrying a Briefcase

“… Russia’s military intelligence agency, known as the GRU‍, is getting blamed for all sorts of things …. Robert Mueller indicted 12 GRU officers for hacking into computers of the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee. The GRU allegedly was behind the recent poisonings of four people in Britain, including former GRU officer Sergei Skripal, who survived, and a woman […]

NEWSLINK: “Factbox: What Do the New U.S. Sanctions on Russia Target?” – Reuters

August 7, 2017 JRL Russia List Newslinks, Sanctions, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

“… * The law establishes a review process that allows #Congress to block any effort by #Trump to ease or lift sanctions on #Russia. Lawmakers passed the bill to punish Russia over its alleged interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, its annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea region and its involvement in Syria’s civil war. * Trump, or any U.S. president, […]

For the Chekists, Navalny is the Yeltsin of 1987, Portnikov says

July 24, 2017 JRL Russia List History, Soviet Union, Spies, Spy Allegations

(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – July 22, 2017) Many have forgotten that in May 1987, Boris Yeltsin, then head of the Moscow city committee of the CPSU, received representatives of the chauvinist and anti-Semitic Pamyat organization, thus sending a signal that he was someone the KGB and its allies could count on to defend their interests, Vitaly Portnikov […]

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Leave a comment Boris Yeltsin, FSB, Government, KGB, Nationalism, Navalny, Politics, Russia, Russian News, Security Agencies, Slider, Spies

NEWSLINK: “Vladimir Putin: From the KGB to president of Russia” – Washington Post

June 23, 2017 JRL Russia List Newslinks, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Spies, Spy Allegations

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Leave a comment FSB, KGB, Politics, Putin, Russia, Russian News, Security Agencies, Spies

TRANSCRIPT: [Putin at] Meeting of Federal Security Service Board

February 17, 2017 JRL Russia List Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Spies, Spy Allegations

(Kremlin.ru – February 16, 2017) Vladimir Putin took part in an annual expanded meeting of the Federal Security Service (FSB) Board to discuss the FSB’s results for 2016 and the priority tasks for ensuring Russia’s national security. President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon. These annual FSB Board meetings give us a chance to meet and not only thoroughly analyse […]

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Leave a comment FSB, Government, Military, NATO, Police, Politics, Putin, Russia, Russian News, Security Agencies, Slider, Spies, Transcripts

New Russian Consensus Reflects National Masochism, Rosbalt Commentator Says

October 6, 2016 JRL Russia List Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections

(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, October 4, 2016) This year has been marked by the rise in Russia of a new “societal agreement” on three points: that the country is in stagnation and will remain so for a long time, that Putin will stay in office “until the end of life (his or ours), and that “after […]

Expert: Putin’s Reported Plan to Restore KGB May Reflect Fear of Overthrow

October 5, 2016 JRL Russia List Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime, Military, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Spies, Spy Allegations

(Voice of America – voanews.com – Jim Kovpak – MOSCOW, September 26, 2016) The consolidation of Russia’s intelligence agencies into a massive security ministry, in effect recreating the old Soviet KGB, is a worrisome prospect for some Kremlin watchers. The plan reportedly under discussion would merge the Federal Security Service (FSB), Russia’s principal security agency, the Foreign Intelligence Service and […]

TRANSCRIPT: [Putin at] Meeting of the Federal Security Service board

February 26, 2016 JRL Russia List Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime, Foreign Policy, Security, Visas, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Spies, Spy Allegations

(Kremlin.ru – February 26, 2016) Vladimir Putin took part in a meeting of the Federal Security Service (FSB) board to review the results of the Service’s work in 2015 and set its priority tasks for 2016. President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon, We are here today to review the results of the Federal Security Service’s work in 2015 and […]

NEWSWATCH: “Countering Putin begins with knowing what his regime is saying” [Bring back FBIS] – The Hill/Stephen Blank, Glen Howard, Enders S. Wimbush, Paul Goble

February 18, 2016 JRL Russia List JRL NewsBlog, Media, Internet, Social Media, Television, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

Recent media accounts have argued that the U.S. government suffers from an absence of high-quality expertise on Russia. * * * One such solution that does not require legislation is directing the intelligence community to resume the daily electronic Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) now supervised by the Open Source Center. … a daily electronic feed of worldwide media, press, […]

NEWSLINK: “Europe’s Extremists Are Not Putin’s Fault. Europeans should look to Brussels – not Moscow – for the source of their extremism problem” – Foreign Policy Magazine/Scott Radnitz

February 16, 2016 JRL Russia List Europe, EU, Military, NATO, Newslinks, Nuclear, Missile Defense, Spies, Spy Allegations

TRANSCRIPT: Dmitry Medvedev’s interview with Euronews TV channel

February 15, 2016 JRL Russia List Assassinations, Beatings, Threats, Britain, UK, United Kingdom, Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Europe, EU, Foreign Policy, Security, Visas, Middle East, North Africa, Military, NATO, Spies, Spy Allegations, Syria

(Government.ru – February 14, 2016) The Prime Minister spoke with Global Conversation presenter Isabelle Kumar on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference Question: Mr Prime Minister, thank you for joining the Global Conversation. The Syrian issue is a priority; it dominates the international agenda. It is now believed that we are approaching a turning point, although it remains to […]

NEWSLINK: “SBU claims finding firearms used against EuroMaidan activists” – Kyiv Post

February 11, 2016 JRL Russia List Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War

U.S. National Intelligence Director Says Russia Is Paranoid, Aggressive

February 10, 2016 JRL Russia List Health, Epidemics, Substance Abuse, Military, NATO, Syria, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

DNI Seal and Smaller Seals of Agencies Related to DNI

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Anna Dolgov – February 10, 2016) Russia is “paranoid” about NATO and is likely to continue “aggressive” actions this year to support its claim to great power status, U.S. National Intelligence Director James Clapper said in Senate testimony Tuesday. In a report on “Worldwide Threat Assessment” that Clapper presented to the Senate, Russia topped a […]

NEWSLINK: “Russia accused of clandestine funding of European parties as US conducts major review of Vladimir Putin’s strategy. Exclusive: UK warns of “new Cold War” as Kremlin seeks to divide and rule in Europe” – The Daily Telegraph

February 4, 2016 JRL Russia List Europe, EU, Newslinks, Spies, Spy Allegations

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Leave a comment EU, Europe, Newslinks, Russia, Russian News, Security Agencies, Security Services, Slider, Spies

NEWSLINK: “How Litvinenko’s poisoning fits into Putin’s power play. Everything Vladimir Putin has done to reassert Russian power has seemed farfetched, outlandish and inconceivable-until he did it” – Maclean’s (Canada)/Michael Petrou

February 4, 2016 JRL Russia List Assassinations, Beatings, Threats, Britain, UK, United Kingdom, Newslinks, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Spies, Spy Allegations

NEWSLINK TASS: “Russia’s ex-PM asks FSB to launch criminal proceedings against Chechen leader”

February 3, 2016 JRL Russia List Assassinations, Beatings, Threats, Chechnya, Dagestan, North Caucasus, Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime, Newslinks, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections

NEWSLINK ReadRussia/Mark Galeotti: “Why the Litvinenko Enquiry Was Not a ‘Farce'”

February 2, 2016 JRL Russia List Assassinations, Beatings, Threats, Britain, UK, United Kingdom, Human Rights, Newslinks, Spies, Spy Allegations

Half of Russians don’t trust conclusions made by British in Litvinenko case

February 1, 2016 JRL Russia List Assassinations, Beatings, Threats, Britain, UK, United Kingdom, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Spies, Spy Allegations, Terrorism

(Interfax – January 31, 2016) Over half of Russians (53%) believe the London court had no real grounds to accuse Russian officials of involvement in the death of former Federal Security Service official Alexander Litvinenko, Levada Center has reported. The poll, which surveys 1,600 respondents, was conducted in 137 populated areas of 48 regions of Russia on Jan. 22-25. The […]

Russians do not want authorities to have access to non-public personal data

February 1, 2016 JRL Russia List Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime, Human Rights, Media, Internet, Social Media, Television, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Spies, Spy Allegations

File Image of Stylized Eye Surrounded by Binary Code

(Interfax – January 31, 2016) Most respondents surveyed by the Public Opinion Foundation (58%) believe the state should not have access to non-public personal data and people’s correspondence on social networking sites and via email, while 24% believe it violates human rights and 22% believe it constitutes privacy invasion and is not ethical. The poll, which surveys 1,000 respondents who […]

NEWSLINK: “All the Russian Words You Need to Discuss the Litvinenko Inquiry” – Moscow Times/Michele Berdy

January 29, 2016 JRL Russia List Assassinations, Beatings, Threats, Britain, UK, United Kingdom, Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime, Europe, EU, Spies, Spy Allegations

NEWSLINK: “Vladimir Putin’s poison tea” – Washington Post

January 26, 2016 JRL Russia List Assassinations, Beatings, Threats, Britain, UK, United Kingdom, Newslinks, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Spies, Spy Allegations

NEWSLINK: “The death of a former KGB operative is a reminder of Vladimir Putin’s past life as a spy.” – Washington Post

January 25, 2016 JRL Russia List Assassinations, Beatings, Threats, Britain, UK, United Kingdom, Newslinks, Spies, Spy Allegations

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Leave a comment Assassinations, Britain, FSB, KGB, Litvinenko, Newslinks, Nuclear Security, Putin, Russia, Russian News, Security Agencies, Spies, UK

Antony Penaud: Reflections on the Litvinenko case

January 25, 2016 JRL Russia List Assassinations, Beatings, Threats, Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Spies, Spy Allegations

Subject: Reflections on the Litvinenko case Date: Mon, 25 Jan 2016 From: Antony Penaud <antonypenaud@yahoo.fr> Antony Penaud completed his DPhil at the University of Oxford in 2000. His essays on Russia and Ukraine are on www/scribd.com/antonykharms. He is French and lives in London. I returned last Thursday from a holiday in Moscow, and on the Gatwick train I picked up […]

NEWSLINK The Independent (UK): “Alexander Litvinenko accused Vladimir Putin of being a paedophile four months before he was poisoned”

January 22, 2016 JRL Russia List Assassinations, Beatings, Threats, Children, Adoptions, Orphans, Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections

VIDEO: What the Litvinenko assassination accusation means for the Kremlin

January 22, 2016 JRL Russia List Assassinations, Beatings, Threats, Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime, Human Rights, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Spies, Spy Allegations

PBS interviews former Ambassador Mike McFaul and Steven Lee Myers of The New York Times about a British investigative report into the assassination of former Russian agent Alexander Litvinenko, including implications for the Russian government and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Video below; click here for original post and transcript. MICHAEL MCFAUL…: … it’s very important, even if nothing more comes […]

NEWSLINK: “Mr. Putin and the Poisonous London Tea Party” – New York Times

January 22, 2016 JRL Russia List Politics, Government, Protests, Elections

NEWSLINK: “The Kremlin’s London Hit Squad. Recommended reading for Donald Trump on Vladimir Putin.” – Wall Street Journal

January 22, 2016 JRL Russia List Assassinations, Beatings, Threats, Britain, UK, United Kingdom, Newslinks, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Spies, Spy Allegations

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Leave a comment Assassinations, Britain, FSB, Government, KGB, Litvinenko, Newslinks, Politics, Putin, Russia, Russian News, Security Agencies, Slider, Spies, UK

NEWSLINK: “Putin’s most aggressive attack dog is unleashed” – Washington Post

January 22, 2016 JRL Russia List Assassinations, Beatings, Threats, Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime, Newslinks, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Spies, Spy Allegations

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Leave a comment Assassinations, Britain, FSB, KGB, Litvinenko, Putin, Russia, Russian News, Security Agencies, Security Services, Slider, UK

NEWSLINK: “So Putin Killed Litvinenko. Carry On. Britain has been cozying up to Russian money for years, and a dead spy isn’t going to change that.” – Foreign Policy magazine/Peter Pomersantsev

January 22, 2016 JRL Russia List Assassinations, Beatings, Threats, Britain, UK, United Kingdom, Newslinks, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Spies, Spy Allegations

British Inquiry Implicates Russia, Putin In Death Of Ex-Agent Litvinenko

January 21, 2016 JRL Russia List Assassinations, Beatings, Threats, Britain, UK, United Kingdom, Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Spies, Spy Allegations

(RFE/RL – rferl.org – January 21, 2016) A British inquiry has concluded that the Russian government was behind the 2006 poisoning death of former Russian security agent Aleksandr Litvinenko and that President Vladimir Putin “probably approved” the killing. The findings, issued on January 21, said that there is a “strong probability” that it was carried out by Russian citizens Dmitry […]

NEWSLINK Russia Today: “UK report points to ‘probable involvement’ of Putin, Russian officials in Litvinenko death”

January 21, 2016 JRL Russia List Britain, UK, United Kingdom, Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime, Nuclear, Missile Defense, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Sanctions, Spies, Spy Allegations

Interfax: Moscow dismisses findings of UK public inquiry into Litvinenko death – source

January 21, 2016 JRL Russia List Assassinations, Beatings, Threats, Britain, UK, United Kingdom, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Spies, Spy Allegations

MOSCOW. Jan 21 (Interfax) – Moscow dismisses the findings of the public inquiry conducted in the United Kingdom into the death of former Russian special services officer Alexander Litvinenko, a source with knowledge of the situation told Interfax on Thursday. “Russia has every reason to declare that it will not accept any verdict handed down following this kind of inquiry,” […]

NEWSWATCH Washington Post/Jim Hoagland: Vladimir Putin, failed spy

August 10, 2015 JRL Russia List JRL NewsBlog, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Sanctions, Spies, Spy Allegations

The Washington Post examines reports that Putin was actually not a successful KGB operative, but rather someone who used connections to boost his professional life with a move into politics. Moreover, Putin reportedly has been said to have presented traits of recklessness out of step with a risk-averse KGB. They … traced a portrait of Putin as a failed spy […]

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Leave a comment Foreign Policy, JRL NewsBlog, KGB, Newswatch, Politics, Putin, Russia, Russian News, Security Agencies, Spies, Ukraine

Moscow Edges Closer to First Referendum Since Soviet Collapse

June 24, 2015 JRL Russia List History, Soviet Union, Human Rights, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Spies, Spy Allegations

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Daria Litvinova – June 23, 2015) Moscow looks set to get its first referendum in post-Soviet times – and one of the burning issues on the ballot will be the restoration of a monument to the founder of the secret police to central Moscow. On June 11, the Moscow election committee approved the Communist Party’s […]

NEWSWATCH BBC: Vladimir Putin’s formative German years

March 30, 2015 JRL Russia List Germany, History, Soviet Union, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Spies, Spy Allegations

[“Vladimir Putin’s formative German years” – BBC News – Chris Bowlby – Dresden, March 27, 2015] The BBC covers some of Vladimir Putin’s experiences earlier in life, including his first foreign posting as a KGB officer, in East Germany during the collapse of Soviet Communism in eastern Europe. They also explore speculation about the lasting impact of those experiences upon Putin’s perspective towards […]

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Leave a comment Democracy, East Germany, FSB, Germany, KGB, Politics, Protests, Putin, Russia, Russian News, Security Agencies, Slider, Soviet History, Spies

Putin marks 15 years in power with harangue against West

March 27, 2015 JRL Russia List Foreign Policy, Security, Visas, NATO, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Spies, Spy Allegations

(Business New Europe – bne.eu – MOSCOW BLOG: Ben Aris in Moscow – March 27, 2015) Russian President Vladimir Putin on March 26 marked 15 years since he was elected as Boris Yeltsin’s successor by summoning the heads of the Federal Security Service (FSB) and warning them sternly that there was a western conspiracy to undermine and contain Russia. Putin struck a dark […]

Moscow Times: Putin Says Russian Intelligence Shows U.S. Is Already Arming Ukraine

February 18, 2015 JRL Russia List Military, Spies, Spy Allegations, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

Column in Maidan Square in Kiev, Ukraine

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Feb. 18, 2015) Russian President Vladimir Putin has claimed the U.S. is supplying Kiev with lethal weapons, telling reporters that the conflict in Ukraine will not be resolved through military escalation. “According to our intelligence, [U.S.] weapons are already being delivered,” Putin was shown on state television Channel One as telling a press conference on […]

Is Putin at Risk of Being Overthrown by a Coup?

April 28, 2014 JRL Russia List Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Spies, Spy Allegations, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War

(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, April 28, 2014) Many in Russia and the West have speculated that the combination of Vladimir Putin’s policies against Ukraine, Moscow’s increasing isolation internationally, and deteriorating economic conditions at home will eventually lead to a Maidan-style challenge to his rule. That is possible, of course, but a man identified as a former […]

TRANSCRIPT: [Putin at] Meeting of the Federal Security Service board

April 8, 2014 JRL Russia List Spies, Spy Allegations

(Kremlin.ru – April 7, 2014) Vladimir Putin took part in an expanded meeting of the Federal Security Service board. The meeting reviewed the results of the FSB’s activities in 2013 and set the priorities for 2014. —– PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA VLADIMIR PUTIN: Good afternoon, At this expanded meeting today, we will discuss the Federal Security Service’s results over the recent […]

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Leave a comment FSB, Government, Putin, Russia, Russian News, Security Agencies, Security Services, Spies, Ukraine

Russian FM Unaware of US Spy Leaker’s Asylum Request

June 12, 2013 JRL Russia List Media, Internet, Social Media, Television, Spies, Spy Allegations, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

(RIA Novosti – RIO DE JANEIRO, June 12, 2013) The head of Russia’s Foreign Ministry said Tuesday that he has no information about US whistleblower Edward Snowden seeking asylum in Russia. “I haven’t heard about there being a formal [asylum] request from Snowden,” Sergei Lavrov said at a press conference in Rio de Janeiro. Russia will review the request […]

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Leave a comment Asylum, NSA, Russia, Russian News, Security Agencies, Sergei Lavrov, Snowden, Spies, U.S.-Russian Relations

Watching the NSA Prism scandal from Russia

June 11, 2013 JRL Russia List Media, Internet, Social Media, Television, Spies, Spy Allegations, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

(Moscow News – themoscownews.com – Natalia Antonova, Acting Editor-in-Chief – June 10, 2013) The NSA Prism surveillance scandal is disconcerting for many reasons – all of which I won’t get into here. What is especially curious about it is how meek other Western governments and even rights organizations are sounding when they talk about it. Amnesty International noted that the […]

Boston’s sobering lessons for Russia and the U.S.

April 29, 2013 JRL Russia List Spies, Spy Allegations, Terrorism, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

File Photo of Boston Bombings Aftermath with Ambulance and Security Personnel

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Mark Galeotti, special to RBTH – April 26, 2013) Looking for the ‘lone wolf’ terrorist has hitherto not been a major part of Russian security services’ strategy but after the Boston bombings, cooperation between the FSB and FBI is crucial. Mark Galeotti is Professor of Global Affairs at New York University. His […]

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Leave a comment FBI, FSB, Security Agencies, Terrorism, U.S.-Russian Relations

Russia Implicated in Litvinenko Death

December 17, 2012 JRL Russia List Assassinations, Beatings, Threats, Spies, Spy Allegations

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Nikolaus von Twickel – Dec. 14, 2012) The dramatic affair about the death of Alexander Litvinenko resurfaced with force Thursday, when a lawyer told a London judicial hearing that an initial assessment of evidence showed that the Russian state is to blame for the mysterious poisoning of the Kremlin dissident. An examination of British government […]

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Leave a comment Assassinations, FSB, KGB, Litvinenko, Security Agencies, Spies