Today a former KGB spy, living in Canada since 1997, has taken refuge inside a church in Vancouver in a desperate move to avoid deportation of himself and his family. The Canadian authorities are seeking to send Mikhail Lennikov, his wife Irina, and 17-year-old son Dmitri, back to Russia for having engaged in acts of espionage and subversion against democratic governments under the Soviet Union (though Lennikov insists that he was a low level translator). To wit, a Federal Court rejected pleas from Lennikov's lawyers to suspend this deportation.Lennikov has rallied a staggering amount of political support, which may not be surprising for Canada given the country's traditionally forgiving stance toward refugees. Over the past six months, the Lennikov case has become a media sensation in Canada, though unfortunately this has very little to do with the family at this point, as the deportation proceedings have become a battleground between the Conservatives and Liberals and a mishmash of cultural politics and memes on Russia.
The Lennikov cause has for the most part been a flag hoisted by the opposition Liberal party, with some 24 members of parliament signing a petition to keep the family in Canada. More often than not, those supporting Lennikov quickly moved from defending his asylum case to using the occasion as a platform to attack Prime Minister Stephen Harper. One blogger has suggested that President Harper, who he says displays "paranoia" over all things Russia, is working behind the scenes to push the Lennikov family deportation as a way of discrediting his opponent, the Liberal party leader Michael Ignatieff, whose father was Russian. (However, anyone familiar with Ignatieff's writings, which are quite good in my opinion, would understand that he is anything but an apologist for the USSR or the Putinite regime).
On the other side of the aisle, Canada has a very large population of Ukranian emigres, many of them members of the Conservative Party, who throughout the decades under Soviet rule escaped the grasp and persecution of KGB agents like Lennikov. Some of these people aren't comfortable having such an individual in their mists, and seem to be encouraging this deportation proceeding.
To generate sympathy to halt the deportation, Lennikov and his supporters have painted an ominous picture of the punishment and violence that would await them upon return to Russia, arguing that because he retired from the KGB, that he would be made a target of political persecution. His son, Dmitri, would also be "obligated" for drafting to the Russian military. A sympathetic segment aired on the CBC last December showed footage of brutal hazings contrasted with the gentle daily life of Lennikov's son.
Though independent of Lennikov's case to stay in Canada, this portrayal is misleading in several respects. The CBC is certainly correct in its description of the brutal hazings which occur inside the Russian military (see HRW), but unless young Dmitri were to become an a youth movement leader like Oleg Kozlovsky, who was illegally and forcefully conscripted to the army, it is more than likely he could easily avoid the draft. Under Russian law, one need only be a full-time student at a University. Beyond Russian law, one need only throw a bribe toward the right official - which is why very few middle- or upper-class Russian young men end up having to serve.
Furthermore, the argument that Lennikov would be branded as a "traitor" and subject to political persecution seems to be stretched. He has no record of engaging in any political activities for or against the current government of Russia, and has never divulged very much information about his former job as a spy (unlike Comrade J and Kalugin, who would indeed be considered as enemies of the state by the siloviki). Lennikov is not a journalist or dissident or challenger to the status quo in Russia, and his claim that he would face violence from the authorities diminishes the claims of many, many others.
The Canadian judge wasn't buying it either, finding that claims of persecution in Russia are not well founded, and nor is the separation suffering claim: "There is no evidence before the court on which I can find that the distress, depression and anxiety that Dmitri and Irina will suffer, on the balance of probabilities, will be significantly greater or of a different quality than the distress, depression and anxiety every family member experiences with the removal of a husband and father."
From a humanitarian perspective, there is no reason to oppose the Lennikovs' request to stay living in Canada - even if their bid to stay the deportation proceedings are misleading. The Canadian government of course has the option of extending compassion to this family and staying the deportation proceedings. It is also difficult to understand why the court is hanging on so firmly to this legal technicality in this case (is it just bureaucrats making a point over those who lie on visa applications?). Certainly there is some confusion over what this move means for Canadian-Russian relations, which were already rocky over the Arctic claims and bombers flying off the coast - though the Lennikov stuff pre-dates the expulsion of two Canadian NATO ministers by Russia. Russia, as far as I know, has completely ignored the case.
Like so many news sensations involving Russians abroad, many people seem to be falling down on either side of the story for the wrong reasons, whether it is to take a shot at Harper, or join in on the mudslinging over the alleged horrors of Russia, past and/or present. Sure, political persecution and repression of freedoms exists in Russia, though not necessarily for former members of the system. Sadly, the family is being used as a vehicle for various people's views on Canadian politics and the Russian government, which makes for a distorted and disappointing misapprehension.
Evidently, memories of the Cold War and Russia's KGB past remain fresh in the minds of many who escaped the Soviet Union to take refuge in the free world. Let's hope that the family can stay where they want to live, even if the Russia they would theoretically be returning isn't as hostile to its former spooks as it is to its journalists.
Image: Former KGB employee Mikhail Lennikov, who is scheduled to be deported to Russia on Wednesday, June 3, 2009, poses for a photograph on Tuesday June 2, 2009 in the room where he will sleep after taking refuge in the First Lutheran Church where he sought refuge in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Nearly two dozen MPs are asking the federal government to halt the deportation of a former KGB employee back to Russia. (AP Photo)
On the other side of the aisle, Canada has a very large population of Ukranian emigres, many of them members of the Conservative Party, who throughout the decades under Soviet rule escaped the grasp and persecution of KGB agents like Lennikov. Some of these people aren't comfortable having such an individual in their mists, and seem to be encouraging this deportation proceeding.
To generate sympathy to halt the deportation, Lennikov and his supporters have painted an ominous picture of the punishment and violence that would await them upon return to Russia, arguing that because he retired from the KGB, that he would be made a target of political persecution. His son, Dmitri, would also be "obligated" for drafting to the Russian military. A sympathetic segment aired on the CBC last December showed footage of brutal hazings contrasted with the gentle daily life of Lennikov's son.
Though independent of Lennikov's case to stay in Canada, this portrayal is misleading in several respects. The CBC is certainly correct in its description of the brutal hazings which occur inside the Russian military (see HRW), but unless young Dmitri were to become an a youth movement leader like Oleg Kozlovsky, who was illegally and forcefully conscripted to the army, it is more than likely he could easily avoid the draft. Under Russian law, one need only be a full-time student at a University. Beyond Russian law, one need only throw a bribe toward the right official - which is why very few middle- or upper-class Russian young men end up having to serve.
Furthermore, the argument that Lennikov would be branded as a "traitor" and subject to political persecution seems to be stretched. He has no record of engaging in any political activities for or against the current government of Russia, and has never divulged very much information about his former job as a spy (unlike Comrade J and Kalugin, who would indeed be considered as enemies of the state by the siloviki). Lennikov is not a journalist or dissident or challenger to the status quo in Russia, and his claim that he would face violence from the authorities diminishes the claims of many, many others.
The Canadian judge wasn't buying it either, finding that claims of persecution in Russia are not well founded, and nor is the separation suffering claim: "There is no evidence before the court on which I can find that the distress, depression and anxiety that Dmitri and Irina will suffer, on the balance of probabilities, will be significantly greater or of a different quality than the distress, depression and anxiety every family member experiences with the removal of a husband and father."
From a humanitarian perspective, there is no reason to oppose the Lennikovs' request to stay living in Canada - even if their bid to stay the deportation proceedings are misleading. The Canadian government of course has the option of extending compassion to this family and staying the deportation proceedings. It is also difficult to understand why the court is hanging on so firmly to this legal technicality in this case (is it just bureaucrats making a point over those who lie on visa applications?). Certainly there is some confusion over what this move means for Canadian-Russian relations, which were already rocky over the Arctic claims and bombers flying off the coast - though the Lennikov stuff pre-dates the expulsion of two Canadian NATO ministers by Russia. Russia, as far as I know, has completely ignored the case.
Like so many news sensations involving Russians abroad, many people seem to be falling down on either side of the story for the wrong reasons, whether it is to take a shot at Harper, or join in on the mudslinging over the alleged horrors of Russia, past and/or present. Sure, political persecution and repression of freedoms exists in Russia, though not necessarily for former members of the system. Sadly, the family is being used as a vehicle for various people's views on Canadian politics and the Russian government, which makes for a distorted and disappointing misapprehension.
Evidently, memories of the Cold War and Russia's KGB past remain fresh in the minds of many who escaped the Soviet Union to take refuge in the free world. Let's hope that the family can stay where they want to live, even if the Russia they would theoretically be returning isn't as hostile to its former spooks as it is to its journalists.
Image: Former KGB employee Mikhail Lennikov, who is scheduled to be deported to Russia on Wednesday, June 3, 2009, poses for a photograph on Tuesday June 2, 2009 in the room where he will sleep after taking refuge in the First Lutheran Church where he sought refuge in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Nearly two dozen MPs are asking the federal government to halt the deportation of a former KGB employee back to Russia. (AP Photo)
Hello...I do hope all will turn out well for this family. The powers that be have their priorities rather confused. Here we have a man who has lived a decent life with his family yet they all have to endure this uncertainity. A few provinces away we have an Asian man who beheaded and cannibalized a young man but may be release into public life without any type of record. I think it would be in the greater public interest and safety to have that individual deported.
Linda
Stephen Harper is the Prime Minister of Canada not President. It amazes me that somebody with your background who runs a website for a CANADIAN Lawyer that you could not get that fact right.
I have corrected the typo - I am aware that Harper is the PM of Canada. No need to get your panties in a bunch there, Paul.
No KGB veteran should ever have been allowed into Canada.
This man is not a refugee, as a competent member of the Immigration & Refugee Board of Canada concluded.
A Federal Court judge upheld the deportation order.
There is no such thing as "sanctuary" in any church in Canada.
This man faces no danger in the Russian Federation. He "quit" the KGB in 1988 and remained in the Russian Federation until 1995, without any problems.
We are already being overly compassionate re his wife and son (neither of whom should have been here given that he was not here legally).
He should be seized and removed as per our laws.
He is flaunting the law and that is a precedent we should not accept.
Anyone who knows anything about the Soviet secret polices (NKVD, SMERSH, KGB) knows that they were responsible for the enslavement and murder of millions of innocents. Anyone who was a member of the Pioneers, Komsomol and then of the KGB either directly or indirectly participated in the repression of those victims and, as such, has no right to call Canada his home or to claim asylum here.
No KGB in Canada, no exceptions, no excuses.
Hate to point it out, but the typo's still there (3rd paragraph, 3rd sentence).
i dont think he should be deported. If the cdn govt have such a "beef" with him being here, they should never of allowed his immigration here in the 1st place!! do they not do a past history check on you, they did on me!!
KGB protect Russia interst like RCMP only dont kill immigrant with taser
[Anyone who was a member of the Pioneers, Komsomol and then of the KGB either directly or indirectly participated in the repression of those victims and, as such, has no right to call Canada his home or to claim asylum here.]
This is just sick! You saying that being a pioneer was so bad; was it so bad to be taught to respect seniors, friends etc. You just show your hatred of anything “soviet”. You can’t judge people with malignity in your heart.
The KGB captain was "forced" to join the organization...Blah, blah, blah! cbc.ca "His son, Dmitri, who has grown up in Canada and is just graduating from high school, would automatically be subject to the Russian draft." So what? "Hazing rituals in the Russian army are notoriously brutal and occasionally fatal." Sounds scary for the naive Canadians supporters! Almost like a death sentence to the poor boy! "They would certainly not be suspended for the son of a traitor — which Dmitri is under Russian law." The the son of a traitor!!! Sounds like it is 1937, not 2009!
"He says he joined reluctantly when recruited in 1982, fearing the consequences of saying no to the all-powerful secret police."
Now the fact:
The KGB had never forced anyone to join their organization! This is a huge BS! They selected only the best of the best candidates. It was really prestigious to work there. And there was no way to reach the rank of the captain without doing at least a good job.
"He will be treated as a traitor in Russia"
If he had told secrets to the Canadian Intelligence Service, yes! How would Canada treat its intelligence officer, who tells all the secrets to the Russians? You know the answer.
There is an old saying 'What goes around comes around'.
He entered Canada with falsified iformation. Check back on the history. He became "honest" when caught. Are we actually to believe he was promoted to the rank of Captain in the KGB as a "clerk". One can only wonder if he ever actually retired or simply changed stations.
He entered Canada with falsified iformation. Check back on the history. He became "honest" when caught. Are we actually to believe he was promoted to the rank of Captain in the KGB as a "clerk". One can only wonder if he ever actually retired or simply changed stations.
"Anyone who was a member of the Pioneers, Komsomol and then of the KGB either directly or indirectly participated in the repression of those victims and, as such, has no right to call Canada his home or to claim asylum here."
You are going to far, mon amis! Every immigrant from the former Soviet republics over the age of 30 was a member of the Komsomol and/or Pioneer organization! Children became pioneers at the age of 9-10. At the age of 14-15 they became the Komsomol members.
I cant believe some of the comments here that want Mikhail deported just because he was an EX-kgb. We have Terrorist living here that blew up an aircraft(air India) the bomb was planted in Vancouver.Did those terrorist say they were terrorist when they entered Canada? We have people here riding motorcycles with turbans instead of helmets they knew our Canadian law before they came here wanting to ride motorcycles instead they changed OUR Canadian law due to their religion Canadians said NOTHING. But now that we have a person that wanted to come to Canada for a change for his family and give his son a better life in Canada some people want him deported. Mikhail came to Canada to change his life not the life's of Canadians. Mr.Lennikov has been a good provider for his wife and son since they landed here and paid Canadian taxes we should grant him his wish to be Canadian and deport the one's that dont want to be Canadian and want to blow up airplanes.
A very well written article, but I think one point that wasn't really touched upon was that Lennikov did not volunteer his KGB background information upon entering Canada and living here for many years. He only admitted it when applying for permanent residency, which is the main reason why he is facing deportation - he lied.
On Sunday, June 4, 2009 at 1:15p.m. I was at the Vancouver airport going through security when I noticed a familiar face 3 persons in front of me.
I had been watching and reading about the Lennikov case the week before while visiting Vancouver.
I was quite shocked to see thi man travelling on his own and only noticed him because he was looking around. He was dressed in jeans with a blur plaid shirt and going through security without a care in the world.
Where was he going by himself? He was supposed to be in the sanctions of a Lutheran church in Vancouver. Was he travelling under his own name?
Someone should look into this. These are typical KGB tactics.
I can't believe all of these people getting behind anyone without being educated on what the true arguement or the basis for the deportation is. Lennikov is working the media into a frenzy to garner support for all of his lies and half truths. Shame on all of you supporting him with no evidence except what Lennikov wants people to know. He needs to be taken out of the church and put on a plane now.
It’s very nice to read about former KGB agent Lennikov's contribution to Canada in different posts (by the way, what exactly this contribution is?). Now if you want to know about KGB’s contribution to my country (former USSA) find time to read The Gulag Archipelago – they killed 30 million of my countrymen – the size of the population of Canada.
It’s very nice to read about former KGB agent Lennikov's contribution to Canada in different posts (by the way, what exactly this contribution is?). Now if you want to know about KGB’s contribution to my country (former USSR) find time to read The Gulag Archipelago – they killed 30 million of my countrymen – the size of the population of Canada.
A nincompoop emailed me the other day.
I’d share his name but I don’t have it. He’s a yellow belly.
In the interests of gender equality I hasten to add that ‘he’ might be a ‘she.’ But since I’m dealing with a lily-livered Lilliputian I’ll pick on my own brand and assume it’s a ‘he.’ A nitwit in either case.
His note arrived only hours after my opinion-editorial was published. Being read is gratifying so I won’t complain too much. There’s also the diversion of getting a rise out of a goof, probably a public service as I suspect this dolt leads an otherwise pedestrian existence.
What got his sphincter moving was a piece I wrote about a KGB veteran who is now a fugitive holed up in some religious sect’s basement. Squatting and claiming “sanctuary” he is apparently unaware of the fact that planting a Porta Potty confers no asylum rights, not even in British Columbia.
Before this ex-apparatchik went subterranean he had a hearing at the Immigration and Refugee Board. It ruled, properly, that he was inadmissible to Canada because of his previous career with the Soviet secret police. Nevertheless, this non-citizen has “rights.” So a Federal Court judge carefully reviewed the case. The deportation order was upheld. That’s when the ex-Commie apparently found Christ.
Just as I don’t want a Nazi next door so too I don’t want the KGB in Canada. Others do. They insist this comrade never harmed anyone, is a family man, has been in-country for years and broke no laws. Not so. He had no right to come here and thus has no right to remain. And now he’s in contempt of court. He even readied his underground lair before the judge’s decision was made, evidence of an intent to ignore our laws if things didn’t go his way. That this fellow still garnishes sympathy confirms that there are a folks out there who “learned” about the KGB by watching Boris and Natasha’s antics on Bullwinkle cartoons. They don’t want to be reminded that the KGB murdered millions more than the Nazis ever did. Instead they want special treatment for this KGB man. I suppose to be fair they’d have to admit that there were some nice Nazis too. Personally I prefer the rule of law: no exceptions and no excuses.
Now I expect flak whenever I write. So it’s OK when someone sends a letter to an editor to disagree with me. Indeed I have friends who chortle whenever I take one on the chops. A clever counterpunch sometimes even provokes a guffaw on my part. I can laugh because I know that before anything appears in print, in this newspaper or any other, whether I write it or you do, an editor (perhaps several) has verified that it is neither bogus nor defamatory and that whoever has written it is who they say they are.
Now that’s critical. Editors aren’t generally censors. They’re gatekeepers. Not everything gets past them and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Their role is not to restrict “free speech” but to ensure that anyone who has something to say also demonstrates the courage of their convictions. A person does that by attaching their real name to whatever they want to share in the public arena.
Many of us have encountered the loudmouth who corners you at a party and then goes on and on about some pet peeve. Try to escape by asking why he doesn’t share his views by publishing them, sweetening your pitch by adding that doing so would edify the otherwise apparently ignorant masses, and you’ll be told that the mainstream media is manipulated by sinister forces that prevent “the truth” from “getting out there.” Actually what happens is that good editors everywhere work hard to ensure that bigots, boors and bastards rarely get published. Which is exactly what they should do.
Alas we now live in a world where those who believe in conspiratorial cabals have access to innumerable “chat rooms” and “blog sites” where they can blow their loads while hiding behind infantile pseudonyms. Obviously underemployed, these troglodytes expend their waking hours vomiting up whatever they want to, without fear of repercussion. Quick to invoke their right to “freedom of speech” these wannabe writers nevertheless refuse to name themselves. I recently encountered their caveman culture when I asked some lout calling himself “the Canadian” (even though he seems to reside in Los Angeles) who he is. Rather than answer he scuttled away, just like one of those saw bugs that cut and run when you turn over a rock.
I loathe those who would restrict free speech. But anyone who “shares their thoughts” on the Internet should be required to identify who they are before they have their say. Hate speech oozes from those who hide in contrast to free speech which arises from those not afraid to tell you what they think because they are not afraid to affirm who they are. That’s why I’ve signed this editorial. Think, say, or write what you will about what I have to say but at least you know I’m no chicken.
A nincompoop emailed me the other day.
I’d share his name but I don’t have it. He’s a yellow belly.
In the interests of gender equality I hasten to add that ‘he’ might be a ‘she.’ But since I’m dealing with a lily-livered Lilliputian I’ll pick on my own brand and assume it’s a ‘he.’ A nitwit in either case.
His note arrived only hours after my opinion-editorial was published. Being read is gratifying so I won’t complain too much. There’s also the diversion of getting a rise out of a goof, probably a public service as I suspect this dolt leads an otherwise pedestrian existence.
What got his sphincter moving was a piece I wrote about a KGB veteran who is now a fugitive holed up in some religious sect’s basement. Squatting and claiming “sanctuary” he is apparently unaware of the fact that planting a Porta Potty confers no asylum rights, not even in British Columbia.
Before this ex-apparatchik went subterranean he had a hearing at the Immigration and Refugee Board. It ruled, properly, that he was inadmissible to Canada because of his previous career with the Soviet secret police. Nevertheless, this non-citizen has “rights.” So a Federal Court judge carefully reviewed the case. The deportation order was upheld. That’s when the ex-Commie apparently found Christ.
Just as I don’t want a Nazi next door so too I don’t want the KGB in Canada. Others do. They insist this comrade never harmed anyone, is a family man, has been in-country for years and broke no laws. Not so. He had no right to come here and thus has no right to remain. And now he’s in contempt of court. He even readied his underground lair before the judge’s decision was made, evidence of an intent to ignore our laws if things didn’t go his way. That this fellow still garnishes sympathy confirms that there are a folks out there who “learned” about the KGB by watching Boris and Natasha’s antics on Bullwinkle cartoons. They don’t want to be reminded that the KGB murdered millions more than the Nazis ever did. Instead they want special treatment for this KGB man. I suppose to be fair they’d have to admit that there were some nice Nazis too. Personally I prefer the rule of law: no exceptions and no excuses.
Now I expect flak whenever I write. So it’s OK when someone sends a letter to an editor to disagree with me. Indeed I have friends who chortle whenever I take one on the chops. A clever counterpunch sometimes even provokes a guffaw on my part. I can laugh because I know that before anything appears in print, in this newspaper or any other, whether I write it or you do, an editor (perhaps several) has verified that it is neither bogus nor defamatory and that whoever has written it is who they say they are.
Now that’s critical. Editors aren’t generally censors. They’re gatekeepers. Not everything gets past them and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Their role is not to restrict “free speech” but to ensure that anyone who has something to say also demonstrates the courage of their convictions. A person does that by attaching their real name to whatever they want to share in the public arena.
Many of us have encountered the loudmouth who corners you at a party and then goes on and on about some pet peeve. Try to escape by asking why he doesn’t share his views by publishing them, sweetening your pitch by adding that doing so would edify the otherwise apparently ignorant masses, and you’ll be told that the mainstream media is manipulated by sinister forces that prevent “the truth” from “getting out there.” Actually what happens is that good editors everywhere work hard to ensure that bigots, boors and bastards rarely get published. Which is exactly what they should do.
Alas we now live in a world where those who believe in conspiratorial cabals have access to innumerable “chat rooms” and “blog sites” where they can blow their loads while hiding behind infantile pseudonyms. Obviously underemployed, these troglodytes expend their waking hours vomiting up whatever they want to, without fear of repercussion. Quick to invoke their right to “freedom of speech” these wannabe writers nevertheless refuse to name themselves. I recently encountered their caveman culture when I asked some lout calling himself “the Canadian” (even though he seems to reside in Los Angeles) who he is. Rather than answer he scuttled away, just like one of those saw bugs that cut and run when you turn over a rock.
I loathe those who would restrict free speech. But anyone who “shares their thoughts” on the Internet should be required to identify who they are before they have their say. Hate speech oozes from those who hide in contrast to free speech which arises from those not afraid to tell you what they think because they are not afraid to affirm who they are. That’s why I’ve signed this editorial. Think, say, or write what you will about what I have to say but at least you know I’m no chicken.
2 davidovich
You know how ridiculous you are? Just spell it: FSB Spy-officer works and spyies in Japan and have his own personal blog. Maybe he send reports to his higher ups trough it?
Seriously , Im Canadian and when I read that Lennikov is a dangerous person for the Canada , I laughted a lot , I mean , where is the danger here? He was only a traductor for the KGB , No More!!! , Leave him alone and give the permission to stay , it's simple! . Don't comments on my post , I think it's just sad for him what's happening to him
Im agree with you Derrell N.