Category: Spies, Spy Allegations

Is There a Feud Over a New Tsar in the Kremlin?

Assassinations, Beatings, Threats, Chechnya, Dagestan, North Caucasus, Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Human Rights, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Spies, Spy Allegations
File Photo of Kremlin Tower, St. Basil's, Red Square at Night

(Institute of Modern Russia – imrussia.org – Donald N. Jensen – April 1, 2015 – article also appeared at imrussia.org/en/analysis/politics/2217-is-there-a-feud-over-a-new-tsar-in-the-kremlin) Vladimir Putin’s ten-day absence from the public eye has become the most discussed event in Russia this past month, and also highlights the country’s crisis of governance. According to Donald Jensen, resident fellow of the Center for Transatlantic Relations, keeping the increasingly […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

NEWSWATCH Interfax-Ukraine: All terrorist attacks in Ukraine coordinated by Russian special forces – Nalyvaichenko

Spies, Spy Allegations, Terrorism, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

[“All terrorist attacks in Ukraine coordinated by Russian special forces – Nalyvaichenko” – Interfax-Ukraine – April 1, 2015] Citing a published account by the “Den” (Day) newspaper, Interfax-Ukraine reports on declarations by the head of Ukraine’s SBU security service that Russian special forces are coordinating terrorist attacks out of headquarters in Luhansk and Donetsk. Russian special forces and their representatives have […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , , , , , ,

NEWSWATCH BBC: Vladimir Putin’s formative German years

Germany, History, Soviet Union, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Spies, Spy Allegations
Vladimir Putin file photo with VOA logo; screen shot from video still

[“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 […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Putin Urges FSB: Harder, Faster, Stronger

NATO, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Russia & the West, Spies, Spy Allegations
FSB Building file photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Ivan Nechepurenko – March 27, 2015) Western governments will attempt to discredit and destabilize Russia, but their efforts will be futile, President Vladimir Putin told Russia’s top security officials Thursday. “We have always had and always will have a proper response to all internal and external threats to national security,” Putin told senior officers of the […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , , , , , ,

Putin marks 15 years in power with harangue against West

Foreign Policy, Security, Visas, NATO, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Spies, Spy Allegations
Vladimir Putin file photo with VOA logo; screen shot from video still

(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 […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , , , , , ,

NEWSLINK Wall Street Journal: How Russian Spy Games Are Sabotaging Ukraine’s Intelligence Agency. Ukraine’s security agency, the SBU, has been riddled with Russian spies, sympathizers and turncoats

Spies, Spy Allegations, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Maidan Square in Kiev, Ukraine

When Moscow-backed separatists were starting their war in east Ukraine last spring, the country’s main security agency sent a covert team to capture a rebel leader. But word of the classified mission leaked out, and three Ukrainian operatives were themselves captured and thrown into a separatist jail. Rebels stripped them to their underwear, bound their wrists and blindfolded them, then […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , , ,

NEWSLINK Moscow Times: Vladimir Frolov, Kadyrov, FSB at War After Nemtsov Death

Assassinations, Beatings, Threats, Chechnya, Dagestan, North Caucasus, Human Rights, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Spies, Spy Allegations
Caucasus Map of Chechnya and Caucasus Environs

The Chechen connection to the assassination of Russia’s opposition leader Boris Nemtsov is pushing Russia’s spooks into political battles they would rather avoid. The FSB appears to have uncovered signs of a conspiracy that implicates Chechen leaders very close to Ramzan Kadyrov. According to Novaya Gazeta, investigators have found a sustained effort by elements in the Chechen security forces to track and target not only Nemtsov, but several prominent opposition figures and public personalities critical […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , ,

Charges dropped against Russian woman accused of treason

Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime, Spies, Spy Allegations, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Map of Commonwealth of Independent States, European Portion

(Interfax – March 13, 2015) Russian prosecutors have dropped their charges against Svetlana Davydova, a mother of seven from the town of Vyazma accused of treason after calling the Ukrainian embassy about Russian troop movements in April 2014, due to the absence of any crime, the woman’s lawyer Ivan Pavlov told Interfax on Friday. “Davydova was cleared of all high […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , , ,

FSB-Kadyrov Power Struggle Eclipsing Nemtsov Murder Probe, Media Says

Assassinations, Beatings, Threats, Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime, Human Rights, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Spies, Spy Allegations
Ramzan Kadyrov file photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Anna Dolgov – March 11, 2015) Russian media has reported that the investigation into the murder of Boris Nemtsov is suffering under a power struggle between President Vladimir Putin’s protege Ramzan Kadyrov and the FSB. The claim that Nemtsov was shot dead by a devout Muslim who reportedly felt insulted by the politician’s support for […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , , , , , ,

Gorbachev: Nemtsov murder a scheme to provoke political trouble in Russia

Assassinations, Beatings, Threats, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Spies, Spy Allegations, Terrorism
Boris Nemtsov file photo

(Interfax – February 28, 2015) Former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev has expressed confidence that Friday night’s assassination in the center of Moscow of opposition politician Boris Nemtsov is a scheme to “provoke aggravation, and maybe even destabilization, of the situation in the country, increase the confrontation.” “It’s hard to say now which side is responsible for this. One mustn’t hurry […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , , , , ,

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

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 […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , , ,

Analyst Provides Insider View of Russian Government Think Tank

Foreign Policy, Security, Visas, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Spies, Spy Allegations
Kremlin and Saint Basil's File Photo

(Eurasia Daily Monitor: Volume 12, Issue 11 – Jamestown Foundation – jamestown.org – Valery Dzutsev – January 20, 2015) The revelations of Alexander Sytnik, who recently left his position as a senior fellow at the Russian Institute for Strategic Research, a government-funded think tank, provides a rare glimpse into the inner mechanisms of policymaking in Russia. In his personal account of the […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , ,

Historian on Spies and ‘Sosedki’ in Soviet 1960s

History, Soviet Union, Spies, Spy Allegations
Stylized Artist's Depiction of Shadowy Figures in Dark Coats and Dark Hats, One Carrying a Briefcase

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Aliide Naylor – December 2, 2014) Historian Sheila Fitzpatrick first arrived in Russia as an Oxford student at the end of the 1960s. Before she and other students went, they had a meeting. “We were all summoned to the [British] Foreign Office to have a briefing. … We were taken down into a basement, with […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , ,

Spy Malware Deployed Against Russia by Unknown Nation, Report Says

Media, Internet, Social Media, Television, Science, Technology, Engineering, Spies, Spy Allegations
File Image of Stylized Eye Surrounded by Binary Code

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Allison Quinn – November 25, 2014) Russian and Saudi Arabian telecommunications and Internet firms are being targeted by highly advanced cyber espionage malware that is likely being controlled by a Western intelligence agency, The Financial Times reported Monday. Leading computer security company Symantec issued a statement Sunday warning about a new piece of malware known […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , , , , , ,

Interfax: “Refusal of U.S. Senate to restrict NSA powers marks decline of democracy – Pushkov”

Spies, Spy Allegations, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Alexei Pushkov file photo

MOSCOW. Nov 19 (Interfax) – Head of the State Duma International Affairs Committee is disappointed that the U.S. Senate decided against considering legislation restricting the powers of the National Security Agency (NSA). “The U.S. Senate turned down the bill limiting the spying activeness of NSA. In this way liberties are sacrificed to total control. The decline of democracy,” he twitted […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , , ,

Stratfor: A Struggle Over Russia’s Interior Ministry Could Emerge

Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Spies, Spy Allegations
Kremlin and Saint Basil's File Photo

(Stratfor.com – November 11, 2014) Summary In recent weeks, rumors that Russian Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev will be replaced have been circulating among Russian media and pundits who watch Moscow. Stratfor has been monitoring the Russian government’s coherence and the strength of its leader, President Vladimir Putin, as the country faces a series of crises involving its faltering economy and tensions […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , ,

NEWSLINK: Alleged Russian intelligence agent caught outside Kyiv claiming to be FSB general

Spies, Spy Allegations, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Stylized Artist's Depiction of Shadowy Figures in Dark Coats and Dark Hats, One Carrying a Briefcase

[“Alleged Russian intelligence agent caught outside Kyiv claiming to be FSB general (PHOTOS)” – Kyiv Post – October 24, 2014] The Kiev Post covers reports that Ukraine captured a Russian operative connected with Ukrainian separatists, posing as a journalist: Ukraine’s State Security Service (SBU) says on Oct. 23 it apprehended a high-level Russian intelligence agent and a commissioned military officer […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , ,

How to Become a Russian Spy

Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime, Spies, Spy Allegations
Stylized Artist's Depiction of Shadowy Figures in Dark Coats and Dark Hats, One Carrying a Briefcase

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Ivan Nechepurenko – October 3, 2014) When a young Vladimir Putin decided to fulfill his childhood dream of becoming a spy, he headed to the local branch of the KGB in Soviet Leningrad. Wary of unsolicited applicants, the KGB officers turned Putin away, but not without some valuable advice: Go get an education, preferably in […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , , ,

What the FSB is doing in Russian universities

Education, Academia, Spies, Spy Allegations
Stylized Artist's Depiction of Shadowy Figures in Dark Coats and Dark Hats, One Carrying a Briefcase

(opendemocracy.net – ALEKSANDR CHORNYKH – September 2, 2014) Aleksandr Chornykh writes for the Russian newspaper Kommersant. He specialises on education in Russia, and is one of the leading experts in his field. In Soviet times, the KGB kept a close watch on intellectuals – they might turn out to be dissidents. Today, the FSB still skulks on university corridors… In the Soviet […]

» Read more
2 comments , , , , ,

Ukraine Looks To Stalin Era To Root Out Spies

Spies, Spy Allegations, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Stylized Artist's Depiction of Shadowy Figures in Dark Coats and Dark Hats, One Carrying a Briefcase

(RFE/RL – rferl.org –  Luke Johnson – September 03, 2014) Kyiv appears to have taken a page from Stalin’s book in a bid to root out pro-Russian spies looking to weaken Ukraine’s defenses from within. Ukrainian Defense Minister Valeriy Heletey has announced the creation of a Special Service, similar to a counterintelligence organization that existed during Josef Stalin’s rule, to deal with subversive […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , ,

RIA Novosti: Russia Deploys Mobile Border Guard Teams to Border With Ukraine – FSB

Spies, Spy Allegations, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
File Photo of Partial FSB Headquarters Building Facade

MOSCOW, August 15 (RIA Novosti) – Russia has deployed mobile teams of border guards to the vicinity of the border with Ukraine, but they are to operate strictly on the Russian side, a spokesman for Russia’s FSB Border Guard Service said Friday. The spokesman said that residents of the border territories are under threat due to increased numbers of Ukrainian […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , ,

Britain Announces Well-Timed Litvinenko Inquiry in Open Snub to Russia

Assassinations, Beatings, Threats, Britain, UK, United Kingdom, Spies, Spy Allegations
file photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – July 22, 2014) Britain is planning to hold a public inquiry into the death of former FSB officer Alexander Litvinenko while in exile in Britain, news agencies reported Tuesday. Home Secretary Theresa May confirmed that the public inquiry will be held, Reuters reported. The inquiry will open the way for an investigation of whether the […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , ,

Interfax: Snowden must apply for extension if he decides to stay in Russia – head of Federal Migration Service council

Foreign Policy, Security, Visas, Spies, Spy Allegations, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Edward Snowden file photo

MOSCOW. June 2 (Interfax) – Former CIA analyst Edward Snowden will have to ask for extension of his temporary asylum if he decides to stay in Russia, Vladimir Volokh, the head of the Public Council of the Federal Migration Service, told Interfax on Monday. “He has to request an extension of his temporary stay. No additional documents are filed if […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , , ,

Media Regulator Could Block Foreign Websites for Failing to Reveal Data

Media, Internet, Social Media, Television, Spies, Spy Allegations
File Image of Stylized Eye Surrounded by Binary Code

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Anna Dolgov – May 27, 2014) Russia’s media watchdog has drafted a resolution that would allow it to block foreign websites in the country for failing to register with the Kremlin’s monitors, a news report said. The proposed government resolution, drafted by media regulator Roskomnadzor, would cover all websites that allow their users to exchange […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , ,

Is Putin at Risk of Being Overthrown by a Coup?

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Spies, Spy Allegations, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Stylized Artist's Depiction of Shadowy Figures in Dark Coats and Dark Hats, One Carrying a Briefcase

(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 […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Moscow Times: Putin Says CIA Created the Internet, Cites Foreign Influence at Yandex

Spies, Spy Allegations, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
File Photo of Vladimir Putin Sitting at Desk

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Christopher Brennan – April 25, 2014) President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that the Internet was a CIA project and that Russia’s most popular search engine Yandex had been subject to Western influence when it started out. The president told a media forum that the Internet “emerged as a special project of the U.S. CIA and […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , , , , ,

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

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 […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , , ,

TRANSCRIPT: Press Conference with President Obama and Prime Minister Rutte of the Netherlands [excerpts re Russia]

Spies, Spy Allegations, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Map of Commonwealth of Independent States, European Portion

(The White House – Office of the Press Secretary – For Immediate Release – March 25, 2014) Gemeentemuseum Den Haag The Hague, The Netherlands Q    Thank you, Mr. President.  You’ve been criticized during this dispute with Russia as not understanding President Putin’s motivations.  As recently as last month, you and others in your administration said you thought Putin was reflecting […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , , , , , ,

Interfax: Head of Ukraine’s SBU provided Ukrainian special service officials’ personal files to CIA – Yakimenko

Spies, Spy Allegations, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Map of Ukraine and Ukrainian Flag

MOSCOW. March 13 (Interfax) – Valentyn Nalyvaichenko, the head of the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU), provided the personal files of Ukrainian special service officials to the CIA during his tenure as head of the Ukrainian Security Service in 2006-2010, Oleksandr Yakimenko, who has recently left the post of head of the Ukrainian Security Service, said. “CIA officials worked in the […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , ,

Anonymous launches cyber attacks in defense of Ukraine

Media, Internet, Social Media, Television, Spies, Spy Allegations, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
File Image of Stylized Eye Surrounded by Binary Code

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Dan Pototsky, RBTH – March 10, 2014) Hackers have taken down several Russian media website in the past week and alleged attacks on defense infrastructure in response to Russia’s actions in Ukraine. On March 7, the website of Rossiyskaya Gazeta, one of the largest Russian dailies, the paper of record of the Russian […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , ,

Moscow Duma Says Dzerzhinsky Will Not Return to Lubyanka

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Spies, Spy Allegations

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – D. Garrison Golubock – February 12, 2014)  A statue of Felix Dzerzhinsky or Iron Felix, a Bolshevik revolutionary and founder of the Cheka, the predecessor of the KGB, will not be restored to its erstwhile location on Lubyanskaya Ploshchad, the Moscow Duma’s committee on monuments announced Tuesday. “Restoration of the monument is impractical at the […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , ,

Black Volgas and the NSA

Spies, Spy Allegations
File Image of Stylized Eye Surrounded by Binary Code

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – George Feifer, special to RBTH – February 10, 2014) George Feifer is the author of many acclaimed books, including “Moscow Farewell” and “The Girl from Petrovka.” Thank you, Edward Snowden, for telling us how badly reform is needed. It would have been impossible without the knowledge you gave us. If Edward Snowden ever […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , ,

RIA Novosti: No Evidence Snowden Spied for Russia – U.S. Senator

Spies, Spy Allegations
Edward Snowden file photo

WASHINGTON, January 28 (RIA Novosti) – A senior U.S. lawmaker said Tuesday that she has seen no evidence that intelligence leaker Edward Snowden was working with Russia when he disclosed troves of documents on classified US spying programs. “I have no information to that effect. I have never seen anything to that effect,” Senator Dianne Feinstein, chairwoman of the Senate […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , ,

Proposed reforms will not stop pervasive NSA snooping

Spies, Spy Allegations
File Image of Stylized Eye Surrounded by Binary Code

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Gevorg Mirzayan, special to RBTH – January 23, 2014) Russian experts say Obama’s initiatives to reform the U.S. surveillance do not go far enough. President Barack Obama has announced reforms at the National Security Agency. He unveiled several changes, which he believes will redress the balance between civil liberties and the need to […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , ,

Interfax: Actions of U.S. special services force Snowden to ask for asylum, Russian special services have nothing to do with it – Kucherena

Spies, Spy Allegations, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Edward Snowden file photo

(Interfax – January 22, 2014) The Russian special services have nothing to do with the flight of former CIA employee Edward Snowden, who has been granted temporary asylum in Russia, Snowden’s lawyer Anatoly Kucherena told Interfax on Wednesday. “All these conversations about the FSB [Russian Federal Security Service] involvement in some special operation related to Edward and his deeds are […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , ,

U.S. Congressman Alleges Snowden May Have Worked With FSB

Spies, Spy Allegations, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Edward Snowden file photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Anna Dolgov – January 20, 2014) The U.S. House of Representatives and Senate intelligence committees will investigate suspicions that intelligence leaker Edward Snowden might have already been in touch with Russian security services while working as a defense contractor on U.S. soil, the committees’ leaders said. Representative Mike Rogers, a Republican from Michigan and head […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , ,

Duma considers expanding security agencies’ surveillance tactics on the web

Spies, Spy Allegations
File Image of Stylized Eye Surrounded by Binary Code

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Marina Obrazkova, RBTH – January 17, 2014) Russian MPs want to step up counterterrorism measures to include more control over what the Internet. The powers of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) will be expanded, electronic payments in the Russian segment of the Internet will come under stricter regulations and, overall, state control […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , ,

CIA Cuts Off Public Access to Its Translated News Reports

Foreign Policy, Security, Visas, Media, Internet, Social Media, Television, Spies, Spy Allegations, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
File Photo of CIA Seal on Floor

(Secrecy News – blogs.fas.org/secrecy – Steven Aftergood – January 8, 2014) Beginning in 1974, the U.S. intelligence community provided the public with a broad selection of foreign news reports, updated daily.  These were collected and translated by the Central Intelligence Agency’s Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS), which was reconstituted in 2004 as the Open Source Center (OSC). But the CIA […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , ,

Orgs Ask DNI to Preserve Access to World News Connection

Media, Internet, Social Media, Television, Spies, Spy Allegations, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
DNI Seal and Smaller Seals of Agencies Related to DNI

(Secrecy News – blogs.fas.org/secrecy – Steven Aftergood – December 23, 2013) More than a dozen professional societies and public interest groups wrote to the Director of National Intelligence last week to ask him to preserve public access to foreign news reports gathered, translated and published by the Open Source Center and marketed to subscribers through the NTIS World News Connection. […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , , , ,

Interfax: Russians stand for collecting intelligence worldwide – poll

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

MOSCOW. Dec 13 (Interfax) – Russians are certain that foreign security services are spying in their home country and support the proportionate actions of domestic security services on a global scale. Two-thirds of Russians (66%) believe that domestic security services should collect intelligence information in other countries: tap conversations, read correspondence and obtain classified materials. Ten percent say this is […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , ,

Russian MP says Europe’s outrage over U.S. phone tapping will not last long

Europe, EU, Spies, Spy Allegations, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Alexei Pushkov file photo

MOSCOW. Nov 7 (Interfax) – State Duma Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Alexei Pushkov believes that the scandal sparked by revelations that U.S. special services monitored European leaders’ phone conversations will soon fizzle out because the European leadership is dependent on Washington. “The administration of [U.S. President Barack] Obama does not seem to be particularly troubled by Europe’s anger over this […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , , , ,

Kremlin Denies Snowden Is Breaking Terms of Russian Asylum

Germany, Spies, Spy Allegations, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Edward Snowden file photo

MOSCOW, November 2 (RIA Novosti) ­ Fugitive US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden will not be permitted to break the conditions of his asylum status in Russia by harming the US, a Russian newspaper quoted President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman as saying Saturday. The Kommersant daily quoted a source in the US White House as saying that Snowden’s activities in Moscow were […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , , ,

Russia Beyond the Headlines: “Kremlin: Spying accusations meant to overshadow U.S.-­EU problems”

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

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Nikolay Surkov, RBTH – November 1, 2013) Security experts in Moscow say Russia already had countermeasures in place. The Kremlin dismissed accusations on Friday that Russia spied on G20 delegates, saying Western media is creating a distraction from the bigger issue of deteriorating relations between the United States and its European allies over […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , ,

RIA Novosti: Russian Government Communications Reliably Protected – Spokesman

Spies, Spy Allegations, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Kremlin and Moscow Environs Aerial View

(RIA Novosti – Moscow, October 30, 2013) The Russian president’s spokesman Dmitriy Peskov thinks that the existing government telecommunications in the country ensure the protection of the security of conversations between the first persons of the country. “We have government telecommunications which ensure the necessary level of confidentiality and security of conversations. And measures to ensure that security is at […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , , ,

Interfax: Lavrov believes most world leaders knew they were tapped by U.S. special services

Spies, Spy Allegations, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Sergei Lavrov file photo

ATHENS. Oct 30 (Interfax) – Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov believes most of the key world political leaders were aware of being tapped by U.S. special services. “I even feel somewhat bored to comment on this. In fact, I am sure that everyone knew everything or at least had such suspicions. And all this fuss is being made now just […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , , ,

On your marks, get set… intercept!

Caucasus, Human Rights, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Spies, Spy Allegations, Sports, Olympics, World Cup, Terrorism
File Photo of Sochi Olympics Banner Near Highway in Warm Weather with Vehicle and Cyclicsts Nearby

(opendemocracy.net – Mark Galeotti – October 29, 2013) Mark Galeotti is Professor of Global Affairs at New York University’s SCPS Center for Global Affairs. He blogs on Russian security affairs at In Moscow’s Shadows and tweets as @MarkGaleotti. His most recent book is Russian Security and Paramilitary Forces since 1991 (Osprey, 2013) Russia is devoting considerable effort to trying to […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , , , , ,

RIA Novosti: Russia Says Snowden Leaks Won’t Hurt US Ties

Spies, Spy Allegations, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Edward Snowden file photo

MINSK, October 25 (RIA Novosti) ­ Leaks by former US security contractor Edward Snowden regarding US intelligence-gathering on Russia will have no impact on relations between Moscow and Washington, Russia’s foreign minister said Friday. Sergei Lavrov said issues regarding Snowden were not high on Russia’s international diplomatic agenda. Emerging allegations that US intelligence operative have spied on the phones of […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , ,

Moscow Denies U.S.-Based Diplomat Sought Young Spies

Spies, Spy Allegations, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Russian Embassy in Washington, D.C., file photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Andrew McChesney – October 24, 2013) Moscow has angrily denied that one of its diplomats in Washington tried to recruit young Americans to spy for Russian intelligence agencies, calling the allegations a “horror story” reminiscent of the Cold War. The spy flap centering around the 59-year-old head of a Kremlin-funded cultural exchange program raises the […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , ,

FSB wants to record Internet communications

Human Rights, Media, Internet, Social Media, Television, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Science, Technology, Engineering, Spies, Spy Allegations
File Image of Stylized Eye Surrounded by Binary Code

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Yaroslava Kiryukhina, RBTH – October 23, 2013) Just several months after granting temporary asylum to NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, Russia prepares to implement electronic surveillance that looks similar to the infamous PRISM. But is it actually the same? Russia’s Communications Ministry has drafted an order that would require Internet providers to install monitoring […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , , , , ,

Snowden – the only Solzhenitsyn we deserve

History, Soviet Union, Life in Russia, Culture, Arts, Media, Internet, Social Media, Television, Science, Technology, Engineering, Spies, Spy Allegations, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Edward Snowden file photo

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Dmitry Babich, special to RBTH – October 21, 2013) Dmitry Babich is a columnist for Voice of Russia radio. Is the former NSA analyst a modern-day dissident? There are many interesting similarities between Edward Snowden and the famous Russian dissident writer Alexander Solzhenitsyn (1918-2008). The most recent example of these is the interview […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , , , , , , ,
1 … 10 11 12 13 14 15