REVIEW TOPICS:
Sky News and some others are mistaken about undercover Putin meeting US President in 1988
Russian GRU chief’s term of service extended against background of rumors on dismissal
Lugovoy gives exclusive interview to Moscow radio about Litvinenko murder and running for Sochi mayor
Moscow jury acquitted FSB officers accused of kidnapping and other crimes
Partial deportation reprieve for ex-KGB officer's family in Canada
Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service and Security Service to contest at law
Sky News and some others are mistaken about undercover Putin meeting US
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| US President Ronald Reagan in Moscow, 1988 |
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President in 1988
AIA dismisses speculation that a 20-year old photo taken by Pete Souza, now US President Obama's official photographer, shows current Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in his former days as a KGB officer pretending to be a tourist when the then US President Ronald Reagan, accompanied by the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, took a stroll around the Moscow’s Red Square.
According to the man who took the photo, the picture does capture Vladimir Putin disguised as a tourist. In an interview, Souza recounted being surprised at the "pointed" questions these supposed tourists asked the US leader, Sky News says. The questions included searching inquiries on the human rights situation in the United States. The identity of the man on the left of the photo - complete with camera round his neck - was later revealed and "verified" to Pete Souza as none other than Vladimir Putin, according to Sky News.
The only thing one can agree in this version is that planting of KGB officers as bystanders was a common practice in Soviet times. Andrey Piontkovsky, a Russian political analyst and author of books on Vladimir Putin dismissed Souza's claims as "nonsense", Sky News admits. "Vladimir Putin was a [KGB] Major serving in [the East German city of] Dresden and he
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| Most probably a KGB agent but not Mr Putin |
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wasn't important enough at that time to be brought to Moscow", he is cited by Sky News. He was stationed there from 1985 until the fall of the Berlin Wall.
AIA marks that Putin at that time was, in fact, an average agent who most probably had no knowledge of English. So there was no sense at all to call him to Moscow Red Square from East Germany to simply shake hands with the US President. By more thorough investigation of the picture one can notice that the ‘quasi Putin’ has no wristwatch on his right wrist that, in fact, is his known characteristic. What is more, credibility to the version about Putin is devalued by the existence of a boy, apparently a son of the man with camera round his neck, who was shaking hands with Ronald Reagan. It is known that Putin has two daughters and no son. And the main thing is that by more close scrutiny, the man on the left of the photo only lightly takes after Vladimir Putin who has never had such thick hair.
There is no wonder that the Russian authorities did not confirm the man behind the boy is Putin 20 years ago in this file photo released on March 17, 2009 by the US-based Foreign Affairs Magazine.
Moscow jury acquitted FSB officers accused of kidnapping and other crimes
Jurymen of the Moscow district military court unanimously acquitted several former and operating employees of the Federal Security Service (FSB) of Russia accused of kidnapping and other crimes, news agency ITAR-TASS reports, referring to the press secretary of court Alexander Milchanovsky.
There were five accused in total. Alexei Karamnov was accused of abduction of a person by an organized group, excess of official powers, burglary and predatory. The operating employee of the FSB, Major Sergei Karpov was accused of abduction of a person, extortion and excess of official powers, the same as the former FSB Captain Maxim Boyev. The former Captain of law enforcement bodies Maxim Levitsky was accused according to the same clauses, and also under the Criminal Code clause on illegal purchase and storing of narcotics. The former Drugs Control Directorate Major Alexei Kasatkin was accused of extortion and excess of official powers.
Only one crime was found proved by the jury, however, they found the defendants innocent in this particular episode, news agency cites Milchanovsky. According to investigators, Karamnov in March, 2007, in Moscow created an organized group into which at various times entered the accused and also an employee of the Department of Interior of Moscow area Scherbakov who is in search now. All the crimes committed according to a plan developed in advance, according to which having received data from Shcherbakov on particular persons, presumably engaged in organization of prostitution ring, Karamnov and members of the gang, setting up as the FSB officers, and if necessary showing corresponding certificates, were detaining these persons.
The investigators assume that the persons were abducted sometimes even with use of violence. Under the version of investigation, the accused threatened their victims with bringing them to criminal liability for organization of employment by prostitution and illegal storage of drugs and weapons. They demanded to transfer them large amounts of money in roubles or dollars. According to investigators, the total amount received by the gang members made 2 million 400,000 roubles, and they demanded 3 million 800,000 roubles in total, ITAR-TASS says.
Russian GRU chief’s term of service extended against background of rumors on dismissal
The term of service of the Chief of the Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) of the General Staff of the Russian Army, Army General Valentin Korabelnikov, has been extended by the President of the Russian Federation, for one more year, news agency ITAR-TASS reports, referring to a source in Russian Defence Ministry.
In January, Korabelnikov celebrated his 63rd birthday and immediately reports appeared that the GRU chief could be dismissed from his post due to age limit. He has been heading the GRU for almost 12 years.
The speculations got up yesterday when General Korabelnikov did not show up at the expanded board session of the Russian Defence Ministry with participation of the Russian President
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General Korabelnikov |
Dmitry Medvedev. "General Korabelnikov is on holiday and does not participate at the session of the board", a spokesperson of the Ministry of Defence told news agency Interfax-AVN.
The official did not make comments on the reports of mass media that General Korabelnikov has written an official report on resignation from service because of disagreement with the planned plans of reforming of the Main Intelligence Directorate. The GRU of the General Staff is intended to be reduced from a powerful centralized structure to a set of district departments, as Fibo-Forex online bulletin puts it.
AIA reported yesterday cited the member of Russian parliamentary defense committee Igor Puzanov who stated that Army General Korabelnikov, dissatisfied with the reform, «has already served out his term under the law, law, he was on prolongation and now pensions-off in an absolutely natural way». Indirectly on the website of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation it is regarded as acknowledgement of reports about forthcoming leaving from the post by Korabelnikov, and also that the reforming of special-task divisions has been carried out without his consent.
Lugovoy gives exclusive interview to Moscow radio about Litvinenko murder and running for Sochi mayor
AIA already reported that Andrei Lugovoy, Britain's main suspect in the killing in London of former Russian Federal Security Service officer dissident Alexander Litvinenko, said he would also run for mayor of the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi. Lugovoy, a former Russian security service officer himself, was elected to Russia's State Duma in 2007 as a member of the ultra-nationalist Liberal Democratic Party of Russia.
In an exclusive interview to radio Ekho Moskvy Lugovoy stated that he considered all that “is not serious that the story about polonium has been recollected now”. He added, “All the story connected with polonium, thanks God, this time once again has shown all inadequacies of the British charges”.
Lugovoy marked that his business partner and other murder Kovtun had made a statement that he was ready to take off for Britain, it was declared through The Times in December. “For these 4 months there has been no offer, no calls, no official papers. They are sitting there, having hidden in bushes and snuffling there”.
Asked by the radio how is he going to solve the problem of travel restrictions abroad if he, for example, would like to take on the experience of London Olympic Games of 2012, Lugovoy replied that one British radio company already had asked him the same question. Lugovoy marked that it was possible to exchange information also in China [instead of Britain].
Lugovoy reacted rather nervously when the journalist remarked that he was still in search. Lugovoy asked back how did the interviewer has obtained knowledge that he was in Interpol’s search if he had not seen his name in the Interpol’s list.
The murder suspect answered in the affirmative when asked whether he would be ready to go to London or China if he was elected the city mayor of Sochi, “Certainly! No doubt!”
“There will be nothing good if we each time shall look back at all this public outside the borders of the Russian Federation. We have too long looked back at them, as a result we saw what happened in South Ossetia. If we shall look back further, we shall observe the same things in any other developments”.
“It is necessary to treat more easily everything that is done in the West because there is no need to expect anything good to address of Russia from them”.
Partial deportation reprieve for ex-KGB officer's family in Canada
Irina Lennikov and her 17-year-old son, Dmitri, will be able to stay in Canada as permanent residents, despite being previously told by Canadian immigration officials they would be deported to Russia because of links to the KGB, Canadian media are reporting.
The Lennikovs have been granted permanent residency on humanitarian and compassionate grounds
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| The Lennikovs |
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after a years-long fight with immigration officials. The family has been living in Canada for 11 years. They were ordered deported last fall after officials learned the father, Mikhail, once worked for the Soviet KGB. His application for permanent residency has not been decided upon. A Canadian Border Services Agency spokeswoman said border officials are obligated to deport Mikhail "as soon as possible," according to Canwest News Service.
AIA reported earlier that Mikhail had told the Canadian Security and Intelligence Service about his time in the Soviet spy agency. As a young man in his native Russia, Mikhail was recruited by the KGB to do intelligence work. He also said he was a low-level interpreter who never harmed anyone and the KGB considered him a traitor for resigning in 1988, and he fears he may be killed if he returns to Russia. He said he didn't want the job and left shortly after the collapse of the Soviet Union to start a new life in Canada.
Members or former members of an organization that may present a threat to democratic governments are not eligible for permanent residency in Canada.
Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service and Security Service to contest at law
The Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine (SVR) has accused Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) of lie and is going to address the court. It is a precedent in the Ukrainian history when two security services, subordinated to the President, are going to have legal proceedings against each other, Russian daily Izvestia reports.
The Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine rejected the statement of the SBU head that allegedly carried out investigation on high treason charge of the Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko. Now the representatives of intelligence approve that the SBU did not submit any corresponding materials.
Tymoshenko is Yuschehnko’s rival in the 2009 presidential elections, Izvestia writes. President’s opponents are convinced that treason and corruption charges incriminated to Tymoshenko by the Presidential secretariat, is nothing but political revenge for reaching by the Prime Minister of gas arrangements with Moscow. To cancel them the SBU sent special-task units to the headquarters of the Naftogaz Ukrainy company, intending to withdraw the contract on deliveries of the Russian gas, Izvestia marks.
The former Ukrainian Foreign Minister Vladimir Ogryzko was appointed by the President the first deputy secretary of the National Security and Defence Council, the paper adds.
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