Russia’s intelligence services have always enjoyed a privileged position in the country’s ruling hierarchy. This was definitely true during the Soviet period and has been revived since Vladimir Putin’s emergence. Shortly after becoming president in 2000, Putin spoke before a KGB veterans club and said presciently: “Your task has been fulfilled. You have infiltrated the corridors of power.”
But the increased number of spies has not been accompanied by an increase in their competence. A vivid example was the assassination of Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev, acting president of the breakaway Chechen Republic of Ichkeria in 1996-97, in Qatar in 2004. Instead of following orders to pay Palestinian migrant workers to assassinate Yandarbiyev, Lubyanka’s finest might have decided to pocket the money and do the dirty work themselves. It wasn’t difficult for Qatari authorities to single out the Russian agents, who stood out prominently with their Slavic appearance. They were saved from severe Qatari punishment only because Moscow struck a murky deal with Doha that allowed for the agents’ return to Russia.
The only thing topping the Qatari fiasco is the spy scandal that broke out in the United States a week ago. According to media reports, Sergei Tretyakov, a former Russian intelligence officer, may have been the source who tipped off Washington to the purported spy ring when he defected in 2000. When there is evidence that Russia’s undercover agents have been compromised by a deserter, the spies are almost always evacuated. But in this case, they were hung out to dry.
Russia can claim only one small success in the spy farce. Christopher Metsos, the suspected paymaster in the operation, was able to escape after being arrested in Cyprus. Why was Metsos’ bail set at only $20,000 by Cypriot authorities when he was an obvious flight risk? Cyprus is clearly grateful to the more than 20,000 wealthy Russians and 14,000 Russian-owned offshore companies that have invested so much money in the island’s economy. This may explain why the Cypriot court, presumably under strong pressure from political and business interests, was so lenient in setting Metsos’ bail.
During the early Bolshevik period, the popular slogan was: “All power to the soviets.” Under Putin, it should be edited to read: “All power to the spies.” The only problem is that the harm these spies do to Russia’s reputation and interests is far greater than the value of the intelligence they discover.
Valentin Prussakov is a columnist for Zavtra newspaper in Moscow.