Russian Intelligence Services: News & Discussion

This past summer's spy row between Russia and the United States was the result of a betrayal by a Russian intelligence officer, a leading business daily reported on Thursday.

The scandal broke out in late June when 10 people were arrested in the United States. The spies were freed in a swap deal between Russia and the U.S.

Kommersant journalists carried out an investigation and discovered that a certain Col. Shcherbakov, who had long worked for Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), was to blame for the exposure of Russians who were working under cover.

The newspaper reported that Shcherbakov's daughter has long been living in the United States but that the SVR was not too concerned about this.

"It's strange that no one questioned why a person on that level has relatives abroad," an intelligence source told Kommersant. "Such things are strictly monitored even in less secret organizations."

The intelligence service failed to take notice when Shcherbakov refused to accept a career promotion a year before the spy scandal - a procedure that would require him to undergo a lie detector test. This could mean that he actively cooperated with U.S. secret services at the time.

Finally, no one paid attention to the fact that Shcherbakov's son, who had worked for Russia's drug watchdog Gosnarkokontrol, hastily left Russia for the United States shortly before the Russian agents were exposed.

The traitor himself, said a Kommersant source in Russian state power bodies, fled the country three days prior to President Dmitry Medvedev's visit to the United States in June.

The reset of Russian-U.S. relations was threatened following the espionage scandal. However, the two countries pledged the espionage row would not affect bilateral ties.

Kommersant quoted a high-level Kremlin administration official as saying that Shcherbakov's fate "cannot be envied."

"He will carry this with him all his life and will fear retribution every day," the paper quoted him as saying.

A retired senior officer of Soviet and Russian foreign intelligence told RIA Novosti that having an officer handling undercover spies in the United States betraying his network, as the Kommersant daily reported Thursday, is "bad news for the Russian intelligence community."

"It means that things are really bad with the internal security at Yasenevo - they are probably keeping themselves busy with the wrong kind of things," said the source who requested to remain anonymous.

The headquarters of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) is located just outside of Moscow's southern district of Yasenevo.

A spy row between Moscow and Washington broke out in late June when 10 alleged Russian spies were arrested in the United States. The spies were freed in a swap deal between the two countries.

According to a story in the Kommersant, Col. Shcherbakov, who was the chief of an SVR department handling all intelligence sources in the United States, was to blame for the exposure of the Russian intelligence officers working under assumed identities.

The newspaper reported that Shcherbakov's daughter has long been living in the United States but that the SVR was not overly concerned about this.

"Any objective observer would say: How come you have allowed a person who had a daughter abroad to be in such a sensitive position?" the RIA Novosti source said.

The officer also said that having someone like Shcherbakov as a traitor was the worst possible scenario for any intelligence agency because he was a mole at the very core of Russian undercover operations.

Strangely enough, the intelligence service failed to take notice when Shcherbakov refused to accept a career promotion a year before the spy scandal - a procedure that would require him to undergo a lie detector test. This could mean that he actively cooperated with U.S. secret services at the time.

In addition, no one paid attention to the fact that Shcherbakov's son, who had worked for Russia's drug watchdog Gosnarkokontrol, hastily left Russia for the United States shortly before the Russian spies were exposed.

The traitor himself, said a Kommersant source in Russian state power bodies, fled the country three days prior to President Dmitry Medvedev's visit to the United States in June.

The reset of Russian-U.S. relations was threatened following the espionage scandal. However, the two countries pledged the espionage row would not affect bilateral ties.

The SVR has so far refused to comment on the Kommersant report or any other inquiries concerning the betrayal.

A respected Russian business daily revealed on Thursday the biography of one of the 10 Russian spies arrested in the United States in June, Mikhail Vasenkov, aka Juan Lazaro.

Kommersant journalists carried out an investigation into this past summer's spy row between Russia and the United States when 10 people were arrested in the United States and then freed in a swap deal between both countries.

Sixty five-year-old Vasenkov was one of the most experienced spies working for Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR). In the 1960s, the undercover agent started his career as a photographer in Spain and Chile.

"He is a brilliant photographer, this is impossible to imitate. So he made the spy cover from his talent," Kommersant quoted an unknown SVR officer as saying

In the 1970s, already celebrated photographer Juan Lazaro married a Peruvian-born journalist in the New York-based Spanish-language newspaper El Diario La Prensa, Vicky Pelaez. The couple then moved to the United States, reportedly after the SVR's order.

Pelaez and Vasenkov-Lazaro lived in a quiet, upscale neighborhood of Yonkers outside New York City.

"During his work, Vasenkov became so assimilated that he practically forgot Russian," the SVR source said. "He is a high class professional who would never have been exposed if it were not for a traitor."

Kommersant daily said Vasenkov's wife could have been sincere when saying that she had no idea her husband of 30 years was Russian since his biography was absolutely clear for everyone around him.

Numerous friends, university fellows, colleagues as well as his children and wife could confirm under oath any fact from Vasenkov's "life," Kommersant said.

Vasenkov was equally successful in both his roles. As a respected U.S. citizen, Lazaro received three degrees and a PhD in political science. As a Russian spy, Vasenkov once managed to get the U.S. president's foreign trips schedule.

In the 1980s, the Soviet government secretly awarded Vasenkov a USSR Hero badge.

Prior to his arrest in June, Vasenkov was ranked a general (ret.).

Vasenkov's career was put to an end when the Russian double agent identified by Kommersant as Shcherbakov revealed to the United States a dossier on the Russian spy ring.

FBI interrogators were so active making Vasenkov confess in working for the SVR, that they had reportedly broken three of his ribs and a leg, Kommersant said.

"These are Iraqi methods," an anonymous retired SVR officer said commenting on the FBI's interrogation methods. "What comes to mind are the videos we saw from Iraqi prisons. They could not outplay him honestly and resorted to impermissible foul play. Yes, they probably always do that in American football, but this is not American football!"

After being deported to Russia, Vasenkov only said to his employers that he was not going to live in this country and was set to move abroad, Kommersant cited SVR officers as saying.

"Everything that happened is not just a betrayal. To hand a dossier on sleeper agents to the enemies is a clear f**k-up. This had never happened before," the SVR source told Kommersant.

The SVR has strongly denied making any comments on the Kommersant article or any details of the spy scandal.

"I have already said and can repeat: their [the agents'] activity did not cause any damage to the Unites States' interests," Putin said.

"As you know, they belong to a special service - the illegal intelligence [nonofficial cover] service; it has its own tasks, which, as a rule, become relevant during crises, say, when diplomatic relations are severed," the Russian premier told King during a satellite interview aired on CNN on Wednesday.

"Thank God, there is no such state of affairs between Russia and the United States today, and I hope there will never be," he said.

"These people definitely deserve respect," Putin said.

"I think no one doubts that all countries, including the United States, carry out intelligence activities," he said.

President Dmitry Medvedev has congratulated Russian spies on their professional holiday, the 90th anniversary of the country's Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR).

During the ceremony at the SVR headquarters in southwest Moscow, Medvedev said the security service should thoroughly analyze the recently leaked U.S. diplomatic cables and take precautions over its own secret logs.

"The global information flow that the world plunged into has dramatically changed the system of making decisions, creating brand new problems. Some of them have become completely visible over the last months," Medvedev said, referring to WikiLeaks revelations' growing avalanche.

The president praised the Foreign Intelligence's work, saying Russia's security service was effective, quick and reliable.

"This year, even though it is a large anniversary, became troublesome, like perhaps many others," Medvedev said, slightly referring to the July spy row between Moscow and Washington, when 10 Russian spies were arrested in the United States and then were freed in a swap deal between the two countries.

SVR should improve and change its methods in line with growing global threats such as cyber crimes and international terrorism, Medevedev said.

He did not specify, however, on the SVR's staff reshufflings held in the wake of the July spy scandal.

Austin (Thu Dec 16, 2010 6:08 am) wrote:Why didnt they brought the Bhopal Gas Tragedy ( worst industrial tragedy till date ) culprits who are US citizen to justice which killing thousands of Indian in a gas leak while just an oil spill on US coast which hardly killed any one but forced BP to pay hundreds of billions of dollars , why there is two set of rules for US citizen and Indian citizen ?

Austin wrote:

Why didnt they brought the Bhopal Gas Tragedy ( worst industrial tragedy till date ) culprits who are US citizen to justice which killing thousands of Indian in a gas leak while just an oil spill on US coast which hardly killed any one but forced BP to pay hundreds of billions of dollars , why there is two set of rules for US citizen and Indian citizen ?
***OT off****

MOSCOW, December 15 (Itar-Tass) -- Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has congratulated the staff of the Russian foreign intelligence SVR upon the 90th anniversary of the service and awarded to it an honorary certificate of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief.

"First of all, I would like to congratulate all those present upon the 90th anniversary of the foreign intelligence service," Medvedev said at a special meeting devoted to the date.

The president said that he as the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, had signed an honorary the certificate of merit to the foreign intelligence service for its efforts to protect the nation. Medvedev presented the certificate of merit to SVR Director Mikhail Fradkov.

The SVR director said in his return address that his subordinates would invariably stay on guard and be ready to furnish support for the country’s leadership.

"We shall always stay on alert ... Each of us is ready to perform a feat, but in our current everyday work we are perfectly aware of what is required of us. We are always ready to offer our shoulder to the country's leadership to rely on, and we are always ready to act on the nation’s orders," Fradkov said.

At the beginning of the special meeting the president and participating government members were shown a nine-minute documentary highlighting some activities of the foreign intelligence service.

"The foreign intelligence service must keep a very low profile, but we shall pull the veil of secrecy from it somewhat for the inner circle that has gathered here,” SVR director said in the video film.

Currently, the SVR is staffed by professionals in 546 specialties, including experts in the field of international relations, political scientists and sociologists. Also, the SVR has specialists in 76 languages.

"The video that we have just seen began with the words: ‘And so it will be as long as the Motherland needs the foreign intelligence.’ And it ended with the statement this is the way it will always be. I believe this is an absolute, obvious statement," the president said.

For anyone not prone to illusions, he said, it is clear that the intelligence will serve as one of the most important state institutions in any situation, under any political regime, and under any leadership.

“The tasks of intelligence will remain the same by and large. Methods change, people change, officials come and go, but the end tasks and functions will stay," said Medvedev.

The SVR director said that Russian intelligence agents were present “around the world."

"We are really interested in getting pre-emptive, reliable information. Forms and methods of work have been studied, the skills do exist, and the continuity of generations has been maintained. You may be sure that the intelligence service is in a position to cope with the tasks within its range of competence," said Fradkov.

He thanked the president for his considerate attention.

"We shall keep the flag flying," the SVR director said.

PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA DMITRY MEDVEDEV: Comrade officers, comrade generals,

Russia’s Federal Security Service is receiving an important military symbol today – the FSB banner - and the service’s director is receiving a special honorary symbol – the personal standard.

This tradition began many years ago and has historic roots and symbolic significance. After all, your mission is one of the most complex and responsible in our country. From the day it was formed, our security service has always defended our homeland and stood guard over our national interests. It was so during the Great Patriotic War, in the post-war years, and it is so now too, when you are fighting terrorism, organised crime, and drugs trafficking, and keeping watch over our country’s borders.

Many of the details of your organisation and work are not the subject of public discussion, and this is normal, but sooner or later people will always learn about the heroes, who have carried out missions for their homeland, and these heroes are many in number.

You have the operations and technological capability you need today to neutralise internal and external threats, and you are responsible for overall law enforcement coordination and the special services’ counterterrorism work. The FSB has always played the biggest part in these key areas and will continue to do so.

The fight against extremism must also be systemic in nature. Russia established itself as a strong country with the largest territory in the world and a powerful economy only thanks to the solid unity of its multiethnic people. We therefore must take an absolutely firm and clear stand towards any manifestations of ethnic intolerance and any attempts to instigate unrest and incite interethnic and religious strife. Identifying the organisers of these kinds of provocations is also one of the Federal Security Service’s tasks.

Counterintelligence activity remains a relevant task too. In the world this kind of activity is going on constantly of course, and so our strategic sites and scientific developments – everything that counts as classified information – must be reliably protected from those who do not have the right to know these secrets. Our society and our people also expect to see results from you in looking after our country’s economic interests and fighting corruption.

Comrades, today’s ceremony will become a special page in the Federal Security Service’s history, considering that it is not an event we see often.

I am sure that the ceremonial presentation of this banner and standard will mark another step in strengthening the glorious traditions of our security service and raising your professionalism and your service’s prestige at home and abroad.

I wish you all successful work, new achievements, and good health.

* * *

I congratulate you all once more. This is without question a milestone event of great symbolic importance. But we need not only material encouragement in our lives of course. We must preserve in our lives the perhaps high-flown but absolutely essential concepts for any person that are love for one’s motherland, a sense of duty, and being part of history. This standard presented just now to the FSB director, and the banner that the FSB has just received, symbolise this being part of history and symbolise too our national unity and the sense of professional duty of all working in the FSB.

Once more, I congratulate you on receiving this banner and standard.

PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA DMITRY MEDVEDEV: Friends, I want to congratulate all of you on the Foreign Intelligence Service’s 90th anniversary.

The film that we just watched began with the words “And so it will remain as long as our Motherland needs a foreign intelligence service,” and ended with the assertion that this will always be the case. I think this assertion is absolutely correct.

If we look at the world without illusions about humanity’s development, it is clear that the intelligence service will always be an important state institution no matter what the situation, political regime, or leadership in place. The intelligence service’s missions remain essentially unchanged. Methods and people change, directors come and go, but the tasks and missions remain. This is cause for neither sadness nor surprise, but is simply the way our world is.

Our foreign intelligence service, if we take its development from the start of the Soviet period, has gone through many stages in its evolution and is today one of the strongest and most competitive in the world. I think this is something that not only we here in this hall or our country’s people know, but something that our partners and our potential competitors also realise.

The service’s task now is to preserve these qualities in the face of the huge number of global challenges before us today. We all know these challenges. They include international terrorism, drug trafficking, global competition on international markets, cybercrime, and a mass of new threats not yet so clearly defined. Although the intelligence service’s missions remain essentially the same as in the past, and I think this will be the case for a long time yet to come, its methods must continually improve and change.

The global information flow that has spread across our entire planet has substantially changed the way decisions are made and created new problems. Some of these problems have been evident over recent months. Is this a good or a bad thing? In some ways it is good, for the intelligence service at least. It creates new analytical opportunities and the possibility of seeing how potential competitors view us. But at the same time, it also creates new difficulties. No one is guaranteed against these problems, and this is something you also need to take into account in your work.

This year is a big anniversary for the Foreign Intelligence Service, but it has not been an easy year. I think, however, that our service still has all the possibilities it needs for timely, professional, and most importantly, effective resolution of the tasks before it.

The tasks and duties of the state authorities, President and Government are to ensure decent living standards for those working in our foreign intelligence. This is a vital aspect for the service’s effective work, because no matter how exceptional its personnel often are in many ways, they are nonetheless ordinary people with ordinary needs such as home, their immediate environment, housing conditions, and wages. There is no getting away from these issues. Conviction and heroism will always play a part of course, but other basic motives must be satisfied too.

One other thing I wanted to say today is that the state must take a responsible attitude towards any of our citizens who end up in various, often complicated situations, and this applies fully to those who work for our Foreign Intelligence Service too. You can rest assured of this.

Friends, it is a real pleasure to be here today and congratulate you, although these kinds of congratulations are never particularly public in nature. But I want to express at least part of my congratulations with the media present. I want to inform everyone here that as Commander in Chief I have signed an Honorary Certificate that I present to the Foreign Intelligence Service for its work in defence of our country. I offer you my warmest congratulations on this.

I want to say too that I will present state decorations to a number of the service’s officers.

MOSCOW, May 3 (RIA Novosti) - A former Russian intelligence officer who helped the U.S. authorities uncover a Russian spy ring last summer has been charged with high treason and desertion, the Federal Security Service (FSB) said on Tuesday.

Ten Russians, including media star Anna Chapman, were arrested in the United States in June 2010 on suspicion of espionage. They plead guilty to conspiring to act as unregistered foreign agents and were returned to Russia in exchange for four men accused by the Kremlin of spying for Britain's MI6 and the CIA.

"The FSB investigation department has completed an investigation into the case to charge Russian national Alexander Poteyev with committing high treason by divulging state secrets," the FSB said in a statement.

It said the indictment against Poteyev was sent to Moscow's main military court on April 21.

Poteyev fled the United States with his family shortly before the arrest of the sleeper agents was made public. His case will be heard in absentia.