US counterintelligence told the Soviet habits of Russian intelligence officers

After the Cold War, the USA and Russia became partners, and nevertheless, this does not prevent both countries from conducting active intelligence activities against each other. Russia is trying to steal military technologies and collect compromising evidence for politicians.

According to American counterintelligence, today Russia is conducting the same active intelligence against the United States as during the USSR, the American newspaper The Baltimore Sun writes.

“In 1989 and 1990, after the fall of the Berlin wall, we all wanted to sit down at the table, light candles, sing a hymn to the world and wait for the truce to be fruit. But the changes that occurred were not as strong as we expected in 1989,” says James Casey, the head of the Eurasian branch of the FBR counterintelligence department.

According to American journalists, in 1991, under the ruins of the USSR, Soviet intelligence also died, which almost completely ceased its activities abroad. However, already in 1994, under the leadership of Yevgeny Primakov, who headed the foreign intelligence service, and later became the Prime Minister of Russia, intelligence began to regain lost positions.

After September 11, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the beginning of the massive implementation of Russian intelligence officers to the countries of Western Europe and North America, reports Jane's Intelligence Digest. According to experts, it was under Putin that the espionage activities of Russia acquired the same scope as in the Soviet Union.

Now, according to Michael Donner, who heads the counterintelligence unit of the FBI, Russian intelligence officers conduct very active activities in the United States, under a variety of covers, using the growing Russian diaspora of emigrants. “There are still many Russian spies who are doing the same as many years ago. We are trying to provide a decent answer,” says Donner.

The main difference between current relations and working conditions during the Cold War is that Russia and the USA are partners. Says David Zedi, who, until January of this year, headed the counterintelligence of the FBI of the United States: "In the same area we are friends and allies, and in the other we are fighting each other."

According to Zedi, these are absolutely normal and even mutually beneficial relations: "Such relationships are very important. To fight terrorism, cooperation is necessary. But at the same time, everyone has their own needs, intelligence and satisfies these needs."

According to experts, Russian intelligence, as before, collects information about new military and industrial technologies. Russian agents are interested primarily to the US anti -missile defense, and developments in the field of space -based weapons and technologies for invisibility of equipment for radars.

Despite the onset of a new era, some Russian scouts, according to American journalists, use outdated principles of work. So, collecting compromising materials for politicians, they neglect information posted in open sources, such as magazines and newspapers, the Internet.

“This is a Soviet habit: you believe only classified information, information that you stole,” says Dimitri Sayms, an expert from the Nixon center.

According to Western experts, the United States conduct no less active intelligence in Russia. America is primarily interested in the Kremlin’s relationship with Iran, North Korea and China, the economic plans of Russia and its business related to the trade in weapons.

You should not think that there is no cooperation between intelligence of the two countries. After the attacks on September 11, the special services restored the cooperation that had faded in the mid -90s. Security officials are divided by information about international terrorist groups.

Russia is conducting such cooperation with intelligence from other countries. That is why, the author of the article believes, Moscow did not expel from the country of British intelligence officers who were caught in January.