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Foreign Intelligence Service (Russia)

Coordinates:55°35′02″N37°31′01″E/ 55.584°N 37.517°E/55.584; 37.517
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Foreign Intelligence Service of the Russian Federation
Служба внешней разведки Российской Федерации
Emblem of the Foreign Intelligence Service of the Russian Federation

Flag of the Foreign Intelligence Service of the Russian Federation
Agency overview
FormedDecember 1991;32 years ago(1991-12)
Preceding agency
JurisdictionRussia
HeadquartersYasenevo,Moscow, Russia
55°35′02″N37°31′01″E/ 55.584°N 37.517°E/55.584; 37.517
EmployeesClassified;estimated 13,000 in 2010[1]
Annual budgetClassified
Minister responsible
Agency executive
Child agency
  • Institute of Intelligence Information
Websitesvr.gov.ru
Footnotes
Building details
Headquarters of the SVR in Moscow

TheForeign Intelligence Service of the Russian Federation(Russian:Служба внешней разведки Российской Федерации,romanized:Sluzhba vneshney razvedki Rossiyskoy Federatsii,IPA:[ˈsluʐbəˈvnʲɛʂnʲɪjrɐˈzvʲɛtkʲɪ]) orFIS RF(Russian:СВР РФ,romanized:SVR RF) is Russia's externalintelligence agency,focusing mainly on civilian affairs. The SVR RF succeeded theFirst Chief Directorate(PGU) of theKGBin December 1991.[2]The SVR has its headquarters in theYasenevo Districtof Moscow with its director reporting directly to thePresident of the Russian Federation.

Unlike the RussianFederal Security Service(FSB), the SVR is tasked with intelligence and espionage activities outside the Russian Federation. It works together with the RussianMain Intelligence Directorate(Russian:Главное разведывательное управление,romanized:Glavnoye razvedyvatel'noye upravleniye,IPA:[ˈglavnəjərɐzˈvʲɛdɨvətʲɪlʲnəjəʊprɐˈvlʲenʲɪjə],GRU), its military-joint affairs espionage counterpart, which reportedly deployed six times as many spies in foreign countries as the SVR in 1997.[3]The SVR is also authorized to negotiate anti-terrorist cooperation and intelligence-sharing arrangements with foreign intelligence agencies, and provides analysis and dissemination of intelligence to theRussian president.[4]

Any information pertaining to specific identities of staff employees (officers) of the SVR is legally classified as a state secret; since September 2018, the same applies to non-staff personnel (i.e., informers and recruited agents).[5]

History

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Main article:First Chief Directorate

SVR RF is the official foreign-operations successor to many prior Soviet-era foreign intelligence agencies, ranging from the original 'foreign department' of theChekaunderVladimir Lenin,to theOGPUandNKVDof theStalinistera, followed by the First Chief Directorate of theKGB.

Officially, the SVR RF dates its own beginnings to the founding of the Special Section of the Cheka on 20 December 1920.[citation needed]The head of the Cheka,Felix Dzerzhinsky,created the Foreign Department (Inostranny Otdel– INO) to improve the collection as well as the dissemination of foreign intelligence. On 6 February 1922, the Foreign Department of the Cheka became part of a renamed organization, theState Political Directorate,orGPU.The Foreign Department was placed in charge of intelligence activities overseas, including collection of important intelligence from foreign countries and the liquidation of defectors, emigres, and other assorted 'enemies of the people'. In 1922, after the creation of the State Political Directorate (GPU) and its merger with thePeople's Commissariat for Internal Affairsof the RSFSR, foreign intelligence was conducted by the GPU Foreign Department, and between December 1923 and July 1934 by the Foreign Department of Joint State Political Administration or OGPU. In July 1934, the OGPU was reincorporated into theNKVD.In 1954, the NKVD in turn became the KGB, which in 1991 became SVR and FSB.

In 1996, the SVR RF issued a CD-ROM entitledRussian Foreign Intelligence: VChK–KGB–SVR,which claims to provide "a professional view on the history and development of one of the most powerful secret services in the world" where all services are presented as one evolving organization.[4]

FormerDirector of the SVR RFSergei Lebedevstated "there has not been any place on the planet where a KGB officer has not been". During their 80th anniversary celebration,Vladimir Putinwent to SVR headquarters to meet with other former KGB/SVR chiefsVladimir Kryuchkov,Leonid Shebarshin,Yevgeny Primakov,andVyacheslav Trubnikov,as well as other agents, including the British double agent and ex-Soviet spyGeorge Blake.[6]

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The "Law on Foreign Intelligence" was written by the SVR leadership itself and adopted in August 1992. This Law provided conditions for "penetration by checkists of all levels of the government and economy", since it stipulated that "career personnel may occupy positions in ministries, departments, establishments, enterprises and organizations in accordance with the requirements of this law without compromising their association with foreign intelligence agencies."[7]

A new "Law on Foreign Intelligence Organs" was passed by theState Dumaand theFederation Councilin late 1995 and signed into effect by the then-PresidentBoris Yeltsinon 10 January 1996. The law authorizes the SVR to carry out the following:

  1. Conduct intelligence;
  2. Implementactive measuresto ensure Russia's security;
  3. Conduct military, strategic, economic, scientific and technological espionage;
  4. Protect employees of Russian institutions overseas and their families;
  5. Provide personal security for Russian government officials and their families;
  6. Conduct joint operations with foreign security services;
  7. Conductelectronic surveillancein foreign countries.

The SVR sends to the Russian president daily digests of intelligence, similar to thePresident's Daily Briefproduced by theUnited States Intelligence Communityin the US. However, unlike in the US, the SVR recommends to the president which policy options are preferable.[4]

Since 2012, thePresident of the Russian Federationcan personally issue any secret orders to the SVR RF without consulting the parliament of national legislature, theFederal Assembly,which consists of theState DumaandFederation Council.[citation needed]

Command structure

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Russian PresidentVladimir PutinandMikhail Fradkov,head of the SVR RF from 2007 to 2016

According to Article 12 of the 1996 Federal Law "On Foreign Intelligence", "overall direction" of external intelligence activity is executed by thepresident of Russia,who appoints theDirector of the SVR.[8]

The director provides regular briefings to the president. The director is a permanent member of theSecurity Council of Russiaand the Defense Council.

According to published sources, the SVR included the following directorates in the 1990s:[9][10]

  • Directorate PR: Political Intelligence: Included seventeen departments, each responsible for different countries of the world (espionage in the US, Canada, Latin America, etc.)
  • Directorate S: Illegal Intelligence: Included thirteen departments responsible for preparing and planting "illegal agents"abroad," biological espionage ", recruitment of foreign citizens on the Russian territory and other duties.
  • Directorate X: Scientific and Technical Intelligence
  • Directorate KR: External Counter-Intelligence: This Directorate "carries out infiltration of foreign intelligence and security services and exercises surveillance over Russian citizens abroad."
  • Directorate OT: Operational and Technical Support
  • Directorate R: Operational Planning and Analysis: Evaluates SVR operations abroad.
  • Directorate I: Computer Service (Information and Dissemination): Analyzes and distributes intelligence data and publishes a daily current events summaries for the president.
  • Directorate of Economic Intelligence

According to the SVR RF web site,[11]the organization currently consists of a director, a first deputy director (who oversees the directions for Foreign Counterintelligence and Economic Intelligence) and the following departments:

  • Personnel;
  • Operations;
  • Analysis & Information (formerly Intelligence Institute);
  • Science;
  • Operational Logistics & Support.

Each directorate is headed by a deputy director who reports to the SVR Director. The Red Banner Intelligence Academy has been renamed theAcademy of Foreign Intelligence(ABP are its Russian initials) and is housed in the Science Directorate.

Involvement in Russian foreign policy

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During Boris Yeltsin's presidency, the SVR conflicted with theMinistry of Foreign Affairsfor directing Russian foreign policy. SVR directorYevgeni Primakovupstaged the foreign ministry by publishing warnings to the West not to interfere in the unification of Russia with other former Soviet republics and attacking theNATO extensionas a threat to Russian security, whereas foreign ministerAndrey Kozyrevwas requesting different things. The rivalry ended in decisive victory for the SVR, when Primakov replaced Kozyrev in January 1996 and brought with him a number of SVR officers to the foreign ministry of Russia.[4]

In September 1999, Yeltsin admitted that the SVR played a greater role in Russian foreign policy than the Foreign Ministry. It was reported that the SVR defined the Russian position on thetransfer of nuclear technologies to Iran,NATO expansion, and modification of theAnti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.[12]The SVR also tried to justifyannexation of the Baltic states by the Soviet Union in World War IIusing selectively declassified documents.[citation needed]

Sanctions

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Sanctioned in May 2023 by theUnited States Department of the Treasurypursuant to E.O. 14024 for being a political subdivision, agency, or instrumentality of the Government of the Russian Federation.[13]

Operations

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Espionage

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From the end of the 1980s, KGB and later SVR began to create "a second echelon" of "auxiliary agents in addition to our main weapons, illegals and special agents", according to former SVR officer Kouzminov.[10]These agents are legal immigrants, including scientists and other professionals. Another SVR officer who defected to Britain in 1996 described severalthousandRussian agents and intelligence officers, some of them "illegals" who live under deep cover abroad.[4]

Between 1994 and 2001, high-profile cases of Americans working as sources ('spies') for Russian agencies included those ofAldrich Hazen Ames,Harold James Nicholson,Earl Edwin Pitts,Robert Philip HanssenandGeorge Trofimoff.They would be considered double agents because they were working for American intelligence agencies while providing information to Russia. They were not Russian 'illegals' however, because they were American citizens.

Cooperation with foreign intelligence services

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An agreement on intelligence cooperation between Russia and China was signed in 1992. This secret treaty covers cooperation of the GRU GSh VS RF and the SVR RF with the China'sIntelligence Bureau of the Joint Staff Department.[14]In 2003 it was reported that SVR RF trainedIraqispies when Russia collaborated withSaddam Hussein.[15][16]The SVR also has cooperation agreements with thesecret policeservices of certain former Soviet republics, such asAzerbaijanandBelarus.[14]

Assassinations abroad

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See also:Category:People attacked in FSB or SVR operations

"In the Soviet era, the SVR – then part of the KGB – handled covert political assassinations abroad".[2]These activities reportedly continue.[2]It was reported in September 2003 that an SVR RF agent in London was making preparations to assassinateBoris Berezovskywith abinary weapon,which is why Berezovsky had been speedily granted asylum in Britain.[17]GRU officers who killedZelimkhan YandarbiyevinQatarin 2004 reportedly claimed that supporting SVR agents let them down by not evacuating them in time, so they have been arrested by Qatar authorities.[2]

Former KGB agentIgor the Assassin,who is believed to have been the poisoner ofAlexander Litvinenkoin 2006,[citation needed]was allegedly an SVR officer.[18]However, SVR denied involvement in thepoisoning of Alexander Litvinenko.An SVR spokesperson queried over Litvinenko remarked: "May God give him health."[19]The SVR was reportedly involved in the likely assassination of Maxim Kuzminov.[20][21][22]

Special Operations Department of the SVR "Zaslon"

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Zaslon(‹See Tfd›Russian:«Заслон») is a special forces unit in the SVR which was created by secret decree on 23 March 1997, and reached operational readiness in 1998. Units were deployed to the Russian embassies in Iraq at Baghdad,[a]Iran and Syria at Damascus[b]to support protection of diplomats and other tasks.[24][25][26][27][28][29][30]Zaslon was criticized following the19 December 2016 assassinationinAnkaraofAndrei Karlovwho was the Russian ambassador to Turkey.[31]

Internet disinformation

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According to senior SVR officerSergei Tretyakov,he often sent intelligence officers to branches of theNew York Public Librarywhere they gained access to the Internet without anyone knowing their identity. They placedpropagandaanddisinformationon educational websites and sent emails to US broadcasters.[32]The articles or studies were generated by Russian experts who worked for the SVR.[32]The purpose of theseactive measureswas to whitewashRussian foreign policy,create a positive image of Russia, promoteanti-American feelingsand "to cause dissension and unrest inside the US".[32]

Recruitment

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The SVR RF actively recruits Russian citizens who live in foreign countries. "Once the SVR officer targets a Russian émigré for recruitment, they approach them, usually at their place of residence and make an effort to reach an understanding," said former FSB officerAleksander Litvinenko.[33]

These claims have not been confirmed by the official SVR website, which states that only Russian citizens without dual citizenship can become SVR RF agents.

Russian intelligence no longer recruits people on the basis of Communist ideals, which was the "first pillar" of KGB recruitment, said analystKonstantin Preobrazhenskiy."The second pillar of recruitment is love for Russia. In the West, only Russian immigrants have feelings of filial obedience toward Russia. That’s precisely why [the SVR] works with them so often. A special division was created just for this purpose. It regularly holds Russian immigrant conferences, whichPutinis fond of attending. "[34]

Notable Russian intelligence officers and agents

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  • February 1994:Aldrich Hazen Ameswas charged with providing highlyclassified informationsince April 1985 to theSoviet Unionand then Russia. The information he passed led to the execution of at least 9 United States agents in Russia. In April, he and his wife pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit espionage and to evading taxes. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole.[35]
  • November 1996:Harold James Nicholsonwas arrested while attempting to taketop secretdocuments out of the United States. He began spying for Russia in 1994. He was a senior-rankingCentral Intelligence Agencyofficer. In 1997, he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to more than 23 years in prison.[35]
  • December 1996:Earl Edwin Pittswas charged with providingtop secretdocuments to the Soviet Union and then Russia from 1987 until 1992. In 1997, he pleaded guilty to two counts of espionage and was sentenced to 27 years in prison.[35]
  • June 2000:George Trofimoff,a naturalized US citizen of Russian parents, was arrested for spying for theSoviet Unionand Russia since about 1969. Having retired as a colonel in theUnited States Army Reserve,he was the highest-ranking military officer ever accused of spying. He was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment.[35]
  • 1991:Vladimir Gruzdevjoined the SVR. However, Gruzdev stayed in the service for only two years.[36]
  • October 2000:Sergei Tretyakov,an SVR officer working undercover at the Russian UN mission defected to the United States with his family.
  • February 2001:Robert Philip Hanssenwas arrested for spying for the Soviet Union and Russia for more than 15 years of his 27 years with theFederal Bureau of Investigation.He passed thousands of pages of classified documents on nuclear war defenses andSensitive Compartmented Informationand exposed three Russian agents of the United States, two of whom were tried and executed. He pleaded guilty to espionage and was sentenced to life in prison.[35]
  • June 2010: With the breakup of known parts of theIllegals Program,10 individuals who allegedly carried on deep-cover espionage activities were arrested byFBI,and an eleventh was arrested while attempting to transit through Cyprus. These individuals were purportedly working for the SVR on long term covert assignments in penetrating policy making circles in the United States government. An agent going by the name of Christopher Metsos is still being sought by the authorities; the agents arrested on 28 June 2010 include Mikhail Semenko, Vladimir Guryev, Lidiya Guryev, Andrey Bezrukov, Yelena Vavilova, Mikhail Kutsik, Nataliya Pereverzeva, Mikhail Anatolyevich Vasenkov, Vicky Pelaez, andAnna Chapman.[37]A twelfth man, Alexey Karetnikov, was deported later. They were revealed by SVRdefectorDeputy Head of illegal spies, ColonelAlexander Poteyev.[38]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^During the final days of Saddam Hussein’s dictatorship, Zaslon allegedly re-recruited Iraqi agents in foreign countries into Russian intelligence; provided embassy protection; removed the archives of Iraqi Intelligence, Iraqi counterintelligence, and Iraqi security servies; and was present to evacuate Russian diplomats, VIPs and documents to the Russian embassy at Tehran. Allegedly, Zaslon obtained documents which shed light on the volumes and channels by which Saddam financed pro Russia political parties and movements, as well as individual politicians. These documents would allow the Kremlin to manipulate pro Russia entities and individuals freely in the run-up to elections. If the pro Russia documents where in the hands of the Russian diplomats at its embassy in Baghdad with support from Zaslon, then the documents will already be on Russian territory if the situation in Baghdad deteriorated during the final days of Saddam Hussein's regime.[23]
  2. ^Zaslon allegedly only reported to the Russian embassy in Damascus, Syria, located on Omar Ben Al-Khattab Street.[24]

References

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  1. ^"Profile: Russia's SVR intelligence agency".BBC News.29 June 2010.
  2. ^abcdThe Security Organs of the Russian Federation: A Brief History 1991–2004byJonathan Littell,Psan Publishing House 2006.
  3. ^"The Jamestown Foundation".Archived fromthe originalon 25 November 2006.
  4. ^abcdeVasili MitrokhinandChristopher Andrew(2000). TheMitrokhin Archive:The KGB in Europe and the West. Gardners Books.ISBN0-14-028487-7.
  5. ^ Путин засекретил и сделал гостайной данные о всех "внештатниках" Службы внешней разведки (СВР)NEWSru4 September 2018.
  6. ^National Counterintelligence and Security Center (September 2011). Rafalko, Frank J. (ed.).A Counterintelligence Reader, Volume IV: American Revolution into the New Millenium(PDF).National Counterintelligence and Security Center.ISBN9781780392318– viaFederation of American Scientists.
  7. ^The HUMINT Offensive from Putin's Checkist StateAnderson, Julie (2007), International Journal of Intelligence and Counter-Intelligence, 20:2, 258 – 316
  8. ^"Федеральный закон" О внешней разведке "".svr.gov.ru.
  9. ^"SVR Organization - Russia / Soviet Intelligence Agencies".Archived fromthe originalon 28 April 2016.Retrieved16 May2016.
  10. ^abAlexander Kouzminov,Biological Espionage: Special Operations of the Soviet and Russian Foreign Intelligence Services in the West,Greenhill Books, 2006,ISBN1-85367-646-2.
  11. ^"Служба внешней разведки Российской Федерации".Retrieved16 May2016.
  12. ^Whither Russian foreign intelligence?By Victor Yasmann,Asia Times,6 June 2000
  13. ^"With Over 300 Sanctions, U.S. Targets Russia's Circumvention and Evasion, Military-Industrial Supply Chains, and Future Energy Revenues".19 May 2023.
  14. ^ab"PDF volume about SVR espionage activities"(PDF).Office of theDirector of National Intelligence.Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 10 July 2007.
  15. ^Robert Collier; Bill Wallace (17 April 2003)."Russia now admits training Iraqi spies / But it says intent was to fight crime, terror".San Francisco Chronicle.Retrieved21 February2014.
  16. ^"Iraq's Russian Arms Buyer Headed Germ Warfare Program; Russian Spies Unmasked in London Financial System".AFPC.org. Archived fromthe originalon 7 June 2007.
  17. ^ Alex Goldfarband Marina Litvinenko.Death of a dissident:The Poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko and the Return of the KGB,The Free Press (2007)ISBN1-4165-5165-4
  18. ^"Russian Agency 'Led Poison Plot'".Archived fromthe originalon 28 September 2007.Retrieved29 June2007.
  19. ^"Independent Online (South Africa)".www.iol.co.za.Retrieved16 October2022.
  20. ^https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/02/20/spain-russia-ukraine-kuminov-assassination-defector/[bare URL]
  21. ^Schwirtz, Michael; Méheut, Constant (20 February 2024)."Russian Pilot Who Defected to Ukraine Is Believed Dead in Spain".The New York Times.Retrieved5 April2024.
  22. ^"Russian pilot who defected to Ukraine shot dead in Spain - reports".Reuters.Retrieved5 April2024.
  23. ^"Спецотряды СВР" Заслон "прибыли в Багдад"[SVR special forces "Zaslon" arrived in Baghdad].newsru.com(in Russian). 28 March 2003. Archived fromthe originalon 5 September 2012.Retrieved25 September2024.
  24. ^abGaleotti, Mark."Russians In Syria, Zaslon, and the risks of going native".In Moscow's Shadows.Retrieved25 September2024.
  25. ^"The Slavonic Corps – Russian mercenaries fighting in Syria".Phantom Report.16 November 2013. Archived fromthe originalon 12 December 2013.Retrieved28 November2023.
  26. ^"Спецотряды СВР" Заслон "прибыли в Багдад"[Special forces of the Foreign Intelligence Service "Zaslon" arrived in Baghdad].News.ru(in Russian). 28 March 2003.Retrieved28 November2023.
  27. ^"Рогозин опубликовал фото с бойцами «Заслона» в Сирии: Вице-премьер России Дмитрий Рогозин, находящийся с визитом в Дамаске, опубликовал в соцсетях фотографию с бойцами группы СВР «Заслон»"[Rogozin published a photo with Zaslon fighters in Syria: Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, who is on a visit to Damascus, published a photo on social networks with fighters from the Zaslon SVR group.].vz.ru(in Russian). 24 May 2014. Archived fromthe originalon 11 September 2014.Retrieved28 November2023.
  28. ^Центр специального назначения СВР: Седьмой отдел Центра внутренней безопасности СВР или отряд спецназначения Заслон
  29. ^«Заслон»: на что способен самый секретный спецназ России
  30. ^Grove, Thomas (23 October 2013)."Russia Said to Redeploy Special-Ops Forces From Ukraine to Syria: Russian, Western officials say elite units being sent to support Assad forces".Wall Street Journal.Archived fromthe originalon 17 December 2016.Retrieved25 September2024.
  31. ^Виграйзер, Александра (Vigraizer, Alexandra) (22 December 2016)."«Если все виноваты, то никто не виноват» Почему погибшего посла не охраняли: интервью бойца спецназа СВР «Заслон»"[ "If everyone is guilty, then no one is guilty" Why the deceased ambassador was not guarded: interview with a fighter of the SVR special forces "Zaslon" ].«Лента.ру»(in Russian).Retrieved25 September2024.{{cite news}}:CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  32. ^abcPete Earley, "Comrade J: The Untold Secrets of Russia's Master Spy in America After the End of the Cold War", Penguin Books, 2007,ISBN978-0-399-15439-3,pages 194-195
  33. ^"Defence & Security Intelligence & Analysis - IHS Jane's 360".Retrieved16 May2016.
  34. ^Interview with Konstantin Preobrazhensky,27 January 2006
  35. ^abcdeDefense Personnel Security Research Center."Espionage Cases 1975–2004".Archived fromthe originalon 4 February 2006.Retrieved19 February2006.
  36. ^"Груздев Владимир Сергеевич".Ассоциация юристов России. Archived fromthe originalon 15 March 2015.Retrieved8 April2017.
  37. ^McGreal, Chris (29 June 2010)."FBI breaks up Russian spy ring in deep cover".The Guardian.UK.
    "U.S. arrests 10 for allegedly spying for Russia".Reuters. 28 June 2010.
    Shane, Scott; Savage, Charlie (28 June 2010)."US Charges 11 With Acting as Agents for Russia".The New York Times.
    "Cambridge couple linked to alleged Russian spy network".Boston Globe.28 June 2010.
    "Who were the alleged spies working for".CBS news.28 June 2010.
  38. ^"Russian officer guilty of betraying spy ring in US - Yahoo! News".Archived fromthe originalon 30 June 2011.Retrieved28 June2011.
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