Robert Amsterdam

According to official data, military counterintelligence has neutralized 16 agents gathering information of this kind over the years 2006 and 2007. Interest in the «shield and sword» of the country now can be called unprecedented since the moment of the disintegration of the USSR. According to the data of the FSB, the expenditures of the principal adversaries of Russia in the foreign policy arena annually increase by 15-20%. Amont the countries actively gathering information, - the USA, Great Britain and their partners in NATO – from Turkey to the countries of the Baltic.

There is no need to go far for examples of the manifestation of the elevated attention of Western intelligence towards Russian nuclear sites. In recent years, foreign delegations have begun to make frequent visits under various pretexts to Saratov Oblast. Every time, one comes across in the composition of the delegations some suspicious, from the point of view of Russian counterintelligence, personalities. This is not surprising. After all, nearby Saratov are positioned units, found on combat alert and outfitted with «Topol-M» complexes. In a year, Russia is introducing 6-7 such complexes. In the Saratov region is deployed a robust grouping of «Topols», which it is soon planned to strengthen. Against the strengthening, the infrastructure is being adapted. Of course, there is no way the foreigners can get to the actual launch silos. But they don’t actually need this. The silos can be examined from space with the help of satellites. But more accessible sites of the «missile-hazardous» region interest them very strongly. As does the state of military hardware. “Those data that can be gotten with the help of satellites, for the effective waging of military actions are insufficient”, declared to RBK daily the head of the service of strategic planning of the Association of near-border cooperation, Alexander Sobyanin. “It is important to have a connection to the locale, in which that or the other military base is situated, to study the state of the access routes, to have first-hand information on the technical outfitting of the troops of the enemy, about the anti-aircraft defense systems.” In the year 2007, three representatives of the military embassy [sic] of the USA got so brazen that right during the time of the conducting of training flights, they wanted to penetrate onto the aerodrome of the Engels aviation division next to Saratov. The pretext – “to visit the open-air museum”. The impudent spies were taken right at the security checkpoint. This aerodrome has most-important strategic significance in the context of ensuring conditions for the functioning of local units of missile forces.

On Sunday in Voronezh Oblast a missile division of «Topol-Ms» went on combat alert. Apparently, in the nearest time, counterintelligence will get more work in this region as well. For the duration of six years and then some, Voronezh is regularly visited on exchanges by students from military colleges of the USA. This year – no exception. 15 American students from the Military academy in West-Point, the Military academy of the Air Force of the USA and Baylor university during the course of a semester «guest» in the local university. VGU [Voronezh State University], by the way, cooperates with West-Point on a permanent basis.

They teach the American students the Russian language there, they instruct them in the history of Russian wars. To regularly invite military from the camp of the probable enemy for training in a strategically important region – [this is] a strange approach to cooperation. Perhaps one shouldn’t be speaking about declaring Voronezh Oblast closed for foreigners and terminating any and all international cooperation. But to welcome the future elite of the Armed forces of the USA there, where bases of «Topols» are stationed in parallel – [this is] at the very least not too prudent. After all, it is known that Western intelligence services skilfully and gladly make use of educational programs for espionage. It is sufficient to recall the British council, the functioning of which in Russia in this year was suspended due to the revelation of facts of unlawful activity. Former employee of the special services Andrey Lugovoy, as a party not burdened by diplomatic etiquette, commented on this decision very outspokenly. He directly declared that the organization formally engaging in the teaching of the English language and British culture all over the world is stuffed to the gills with spies. This is a classic of the genre.

By the way, in the words of experts, the Western special services in Russia are now also working out new methods and tactical moves of intelligence-gathering activity. “Spies under the guise of political scientists, economists and entrepreneurs enter into contact with bureaucrats in regions that interest them”, tells RBK daily a former employee of the organs of military intelligence, Dmitry Mordashov. “Under the pretext of economic cooperation and elaboration of projects, potentially interesting for investment from the West, channels for the leakage of information are organized. In particular, under the guise of cooperation in the realm of high technologies. Actively used is the corruptedness of the bureaucratic apparatus.” In addition to this, in the opinion of Mr. Mordashov, agents of intelligence services regularly get themselves included in various commissions, checking compliance with treaties on weapons. This helps them penetrate even directly onto military sites in the status of inviolable figures.

The elevated activeness of the fighting on the invisible front proves that the West is not just afraid of the strengthening of Russia, but is also doing everything in its power to impede this. And a meticulous gathering of information on Russian nuclear weaponry and the infrastructure associated with its disposition points directly to a preparation for possible military actions on the territory of the enemy or preventive strikes on its units. Having lost vigilance, Russia may not only not notice the beginning of a new cold war, but may even fail to notice its transition into a hot phase.