Is This Woman A Russian Spy?

Politico: Prosecutors say accused foreign agent has ties to Russian intelligence, poses ‘extreme risk of flight’

Maria Butina was arrested over the weekend.

WASHINGTON — Federal prosecutors say Russian national and accused foreign agent Maria Butina has been in contact with Kremlin intelligence services and poses “an extreme risk of flight,” according to court documents filed Wednesday.

The documents released ahead of Butina’s scheduled appearance in federal court Wednesday argue for her to be detained before a trial. The reasons given for the flight-risk assessment include what prosecutors say is a history of deception by Butina, a lack of ties to the U.S. that would keep her in the country and connections to Russian intelligence services.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: For a spy she had a very public presence, and she was (and is) not shy to say where she came from and what she believes in. But the law is the law, and if she had registered herself as a foreign lobbyist, she certainly would not be in prison right now. As for the media attention on her .... in my opinion it is way overboard. But the arrest does serve a purpose and it does send a message. Russians in the U.S. need to be beware on how they conduct themselves .... with all of this anti-Russian hysteria right now in the media and voiced by many in the political class .... deportation or arrest could be your fate. And as for Americans who have Russian contacts .... a message is being sent to them .... beware of who you know who is from Russia. You could be dealing with a spy.

More News On Accused Russian Spy Maria Butina

'You've upstaged Anna Chapman': What Kremlin handler told Russian redhead accused of infiltrating the NRA, offered sex for a role, and who was seized by FBI as she 'prepared to flee' -- Daily Mail
Suspected Russian agent Maria Butina to be jailed until trial -- DW
Russian 'agent' faces charges of seeking to infiltrate US govt -- AFP
Russian 'agent' held on charges of seeking to infiltrate US govt -- AFP
Real-life 'Red Sparrow'? Court filings allege Russian agent offered sex for access -- ABC News
Russian Activist Butina Pleads Not Guilty in Washington Courtroom, Bond Denied -- Sputnik
Russian woman arrested in US faces charges with two offenses -- TASS
Judge Orders Maria Butina, Linked To Russian Spy Agency, Jailed Ahead Of Trial -- NPR
Diplomat emphasizes US ‘espionage’ arrest timed to undercut Putin-Trump summit -- TASS
Maria Butina: Alleged Russia agent 'offered sex for job' -- BBC
Mere gun lover, or Siberian spy? Maria Butina’s curious path -- Angela Charlton, AP
Maria Butina: NRA member, lobbyist, and Kremlin spy? -- DW
How Maria Butina, accused Russian spy, worked her way into top US circles -- Jon Swaine and Lois Beckett, The Guardian

How Many Russian Spies Are In The U.S.?

A Russian flag flies atop the Consulate General of the Russian Federation in Seattle, Washington, U.S., March 26, 2018. REUTERS/Lindsey Wasson/File Photo

Reuters: Fewer Russian spies in U.S. but getting harder to track

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. decision to expel 60 alleged spies is unlikely to cripple Russian spying in the United States because others have wormed and hacked their way into American companies, schools, and even the government, current and former U.S. officials said.

Moscow’s spy services still use the cover of embassies and consulates, as Washington does. But they also recruit Russian emigres, establish front companies, dispatch short-term travelers to the United States, recruit Americans, and penetrate computer networks, the officials said.

“Russia used to have one way of doing things. Now, Putin is - let a thousand flowers bloom,” a former senior U.S. official said in a recent interview, describing Moscow’s move to a more multifaceted approach under President Vladimir Putin, a former Soviet spy himself.

The FBI follows the movements and monitors the communications of suspected foreign spies, but the increased Russian presence and the advent of commercially available encrypted communications are an added challenge to the FBI’s counter-espionage force, said the officials, some of whom spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive topic.

Read more ....

WNU editor: According to the above report by Reuters .... a senior U.S. official said there were “well over” 100 Russian spies posing as diplomats in the United States before the expulsion order. Also .... The actual number varies over time, but “it averages more like 150 or so,” the official said.

What Happens When You Find Out From The FBI That Your Parents Are Russian Spies

'Donald Heathfield' with Alex and Tim in 1999. Photograph: courtesy Tim and Alex Foley

Shaun Walker, The Guardian: The day we discovered our parents were Russian spies

For years Donald Heathfield, Tracey Foley and their two children lived the American dream. Then an FBI raid revealed the truth: they were agents of Putin’s Russia. Their sons tell their story

Tim Foley turned 20 on 27 June 2010. To celebrate, his parents took him and his younger brother Alex out for lunch at an Indian restaurant not far from their home in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Both brothers were born in Canada, but for the past decade the family had lived in the US. The boys’ father, Donald Heathfield, had studied in Paris and at Harvard, and now had a senior role at a consultancy firm based in Boston. Their mother, Tracey Foley, had spent many years focused on raising her children, before taking a job as a real estate agent. To those who knew them, they seemed a very ordinary American family, albeit with Canadian roots and a penchant for foreign travel. Both brothers were fascinated by Asia, a favoured holiday destination, and the parents encouraged their sons to be inquisitive about the world: Alex was only 16, but had just returned from a six-month student exchange in Singapore.

After a buffet lunch, the four returned home and opened a bottle of champagne to toast Tim reaching his third decade. The brothers were tired; they had thrown a small house party the night before to mark Alex’s return from Singapore, and Tim planned to go out later. After the champagne, he went upstairs to message his friends about the evening’s plans. There came a knock at the door, and Tim’s mother called up that his friends must have come early, as a surprise.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: I feel sorry for the two boys. They were born in Canada .... and see themselves as Canadians .... not Russian. To adjust to a new life in Russia .... after becoming use to a life in Canada and the U.S. .... it must have been quite a shock .... and one that I am sure is very difficult for them to adjust to even today.

Soviet Spy Kim Philby: 'I Got Away With Treachery Because I Was Upper Class'

Daily Mail: I got away with treachery because I was upper class: New unearthed video shows British traitor Kim Philby revealing secrets of his success as a Soviet agent to an audience of eager Stasi spies in 1981

* Footage sees Philby boast about passing on top secret information to KGB
* He describes evading suspicion because he was part of 'governing class'
* Ex-MI6 officer tells German spies there was no 'proper discipline' in SIS
* Secretly-filmed lecture was unearthed in the official Stasi archives in Berlin

Britain's most infamous spy said he managed to evade suspicion as a double agent for the Soviet Union because he was had been born into the 'British governing class'.

In revealing secret footage of a lecture which he gave to Stasi spies in 1981, Kim Philby - one of the most ruthless of the notorious Cambridge spies - said no one suspected his treachery because they did not think that one of their own could ever be a traitor.

With that cover, the ex-MI6 officer managed to pass on top secret information to Soviet contacts 'year in, year out', spending years rising up the ranks of British intelligence so he could carve himself into a trusted position and betray his country with ease.

Read more ....

More News On Soviet Spy Kim Philby

Kim Philby, British double agent, reveals all in secret video -- BBC
Kim Philby: I got away with treachery 'because I was upper class' -- The Guardian
Kim Philby reveals his secrets in newly discovered Stasi film -- The Telegraph
Kim Philby, Lecturing in East Berlin in ’81, Bragged of How Easy It Was to Fool MI6 -- NYT
Britain’s most infamous double agent talks about his treachery in new video -- Washington Post
Rare Film Emerges Of Double-Agent Kim Philby Speaking After Defection -- NPR
British double agent Kim Philby reveals spy secrets of MI6 and KGB in undiscovered video -- Mirror
Kim Philby, Notorious Soviet Spy, Used Britain’s Ruling Class Against Itself -- Clive Irving, Daily Beast
Kim Philby’s 11 Tips On How To Become A Double Agent And Steal Secrets From The World’s Most Famous Intelligence Service -- Steven Hopkins, Huffington Post

What Happens To Former Russian Spies

Anna Chapman. Wired

Ex-Spy Anna Chapman, From Russia Unloved -- Anna Nemtsova, Saily Beast

With scarlet lips and chemical red hair, the erstwhile agent is still making headlines in the West. She’s put out a film exalting the virtues of the Russian army (even the units in Ukraine). But her audience in the Motherland is negligible.

MOSCOW—Every now and then I run into Anna Chapman at a nail salon called “Little Fingers” on Potapovsky Avenue in downtown Moscow. One would expect a red-haired, red-lipsticked celebrity-ex-spy, wearing expensive designer dresses that are tight enough to sculpt her curves in high relief, to attract attention. But here in the hip Clear Ponds neighborhood, where at any time of the day women are used to seeing and being seen to be cool, glamour is nothing special. It’s rare that another client would turn her head to look at Chapman, and besides, not many people in Moscow actually know who she is.

Most of the times I’ve seen Chapman, she has seemed upset or moody, locked in her own thoughts. Once I asked her if she'd like to be interviewed. She declined, barely looking up as she leafed through a fashion magazine. With a little grin she said she did not like to give interviews: “Why would I need it? My popularity rating is high enough, I don’t need more publicity.”

Read more ....

My Comment: Anna Nemtsova is right that former Russian spy Anna Chapman attracts far more attention from the West .... than from anyone in Russia.

What Do For Russian Spies Do When They Are No Longer Spies

The 31-year-old former spy launched her line of 'casual clothes' at a show in the Turkish resort of Antalya. The range includes colourful dresses and handbags made to resemble Russian books written by radical minds. She claims the clothes can be worn anywhere 'from a big city to a backwater village'. The daughter of an alleged KGB agent, she was arrested in New York in 2010 following accusations she was involved in a sleeper network.

The Spy Who Clothed Me: Former Russian Agent Anna Chapman Launches Her Own Fashion Range -- Daily Mail

* The 31-year-old introduced her range of 'casual clothes' at a show in Turkey
* Includes dresses and handbags made to look like books
* Former spy hired talented young designers from Russian colleges
* Was arrested in 2010 after claims she as part of a network of sleeper agents

Former Russian spy Anna Chapman is launching her own fashion brand, it was revealed yesterday.

The 31 year old redhead - once married to a British man - launched her line of 'casual clothes' at a show in the Turkish resort of Antalya.

Moscow's most glamorous secret agent hired talented young designers from Russian fashion colleges, said a spokesman for Fondservisbank, her main employer.

Read more ....

My Comment: She is keeping herself busy.

What Do Ex-Russian Spies Do When They Return Home

The Spy Who Milked It: Russian Spy Anna Chapman Takes To The Catwalk Flanked By 'Secret Service Agents' As She Continues To Cash In On Notorious Past -- Daily Mail

Ex-spy Anna Chapman has walked a Turkish catwalk in a long red dress at a fashion show.

The sexy Russian was flanked by two men posing as secret service agents in black suit and sunglasses.

Fashion designer Hikmet Eraslan said his Dosso Dossi clothing company donated to Chapman's charity foundation for children with poor eyesight in Volgograd in return for her appearance last Friday.

Read more ....

My Comment: She has certainly milked (and still milking) her past career.

Russia Is Still Spying On Us

Russian Spies Haven't Gone Away -- Michelle Van Cleave, Wall Street Journal

Even when presented with extensive evidence of espionage, this White House looks the other way.

'He acts like he thinks the Cold War's still on," Vice President Joe Biden said when Mitt Romney recently called Russia America's No. 1 geopolitical foe. "I don't know where he's been." Actually, he's been right here—paying attention.

The vice president may be surprised to learn that there are as many Russian intelligence officers operating in the U.S. today as during the height of the Cold War—it is arrests and criminal proceedings that have fallen off.

Read more ....

My Comment: Russian spies have not gone away .... on the contrary .... they are flaunting it when they can.

The Russian Spy Who 'Saved' Churchill, Stalin And Roosevelt From Assassination

Target: The 'Big Three' allied wartime leaders Joseph Stalin, Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill at the Tehran Conference in December 1943

Russian Spy Who 'Saved' Churchill, Stalin And Roosevelt From Assassination Dies, Aged 87 -- Daily Mail

A legendary Russian spy who foiled a Nazi plot to assassinate Winston Churchill, Josef Stalin and Franklin D. Roosevelt has died aged 87, the former KGB announced yesterday.

Gevork Andreyevich Vartanyan, codenamed Amir, ensured the safety of the three leaders by exposing a plot to kill them at the historic 1943 Tehran conference of the 'Big Three' Allies.

He was just 19 at the time but he led a group of young Soviet agents to disrupt a German plot codenamed Operation Long Jump to wipe out the leaders of Britain, the USSR and the US.

Read more ....

My Comment: Of course the Russian government is lauding this spy's accomplishments .... but I wonder how many British agents working in the former Soviet Union were exposed by him, and how many of them ended up with a bullet in the head.

The Life Of A Former Spy Comes Back To Haunt Him

Former KGB employee Mikhail Lennikov takes refuge in the First Lutheran Church in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Darryl Dyck / Associated Press

Former KGB Spy's Past Threatens His Life As A Canadian -- L.A. Times

Mikhail Lennikov is on the brink of deportation to Russia over a Canadian law barring residency to onetime employees of antidemocratic spy agencies. Canadians have rallied to his defense.

Reporting from Vancouver, Canada -- For the last 12 years, Mikhail and Irina Lennikov have lived unremarkable lives, not unlike countless other immigrants who came to Canada from Eastern Europe looking for a fresh start in a prosperous and quiet land.

He found a job as a software developer. She got hired in an insurance office. Their son, Dmitri, who barely remembers Russia, graduated last month from Byrne Creek Secondary School in the comfortable suburb of Burnaby.

Read more ....

My Comment: Many of my father's World War 2 Russian war buddies were in military intelligence and some (I can only presume with about 99% certainty) in the NKVD (which became the KGB later).

They were the most anti-communist group of men that I have ever met. They got their Canadian citizenship .... but in today's world, these men (my father included) would probably be deported.

Sighhhh .... we are repeating history again.

At the end of the Second World War, many Russians in Western Europe were forcibly deported back to the Soviet Union .... which in Stalin's world meant death. This is one of the reasons why my father came to Canada in the late 1940s .... it was to escape this type of death sentence.

Flashback to today .... treason is still punishable by death in Russia .... a fact that former KGB employee Mikhail Lennikov knows to well.