He led the spy agency for only a few months, promising to reduce its size and rein in its excesses. After he left, it bounced back under a new name.
Tag: KGB
A Crumbling Russian ‘Spyville’ Returns to Polish Hands
A Warsaw housing complex built in the 1970s and rented by Russia was reputed to be a nest of spies. The city’s government has seized the site and pledged to hand it over to the Ukrainian community.
How the Ex-Chancellor Gerhard Schröder Became Putin’s Man in Germany
Gerhard Schröder, who is paid almost $1 million a year by Russian-controlled energy companies, has become a pariah. But he is also a symbol of Germany’s Russia policy.
The Hard-Line Russian Advisers Who Have Putin’s Ear
Three reactionary security officials dedicated to “traditional values” and restoring Soviet glory will figure prominently in the decision whether to invade Ukraine.
After Testing the World’s Limits, Putin Steps Back From the Brink
The Russian president pulled back troops from Ukraine’s border and relented on medical treatment for his nemesis Aleksei A. Navalny after a performance blending fear and force to affirm his power.
Russia’s Ties With West Fray Further After Czech Republic Expels Its Diplomats
About 60 Russian diplomats were ordered out of the Czech Republic, which said it had evidence of Moscow’s involvement in an ammunition dump explosion in 2014.
George Blake, British Spy Who Betrayed the West, Dies at 98
He was caught spilling secrets to the Soviets in 1961 and imprisoned. Five years later, he escaped and fled to Moscow, where he was hailed as a hero.
Belarus Protest Leader Vanishes Amid Reports of Masked Abductors
With large-scale demonstrations showing little sign of winding down, President Aleksandr G. Lukashenko’s security forces appear to have shifted from mass repression to more targeted disappearances.
In Russia, They Tore Down Lots of Statues, but Little Changed
“Waging war on bronze men doesn’t make your life any more moral or just,” one observer noted. “It does nothing really.”
Norwegian Spy Jailed by Russia Is Free. He’s Angry, Too, but Not at Moscow.
Frode Berg, a trusting pensioner, willingly worked for Norwegian intelligence. Then, he says, they hung him out to dry.