At Least Half of Russian

Photo: One of the Russian diplomat-terrorist (Qatar Court. Doha)

At least half of the 60 Russian "diplomats" working in the Czech Republic are spies and their work focuses on promoting rogue and bandit Russia's interests, according to the annual report for last year drafted by the Security Information Service (BIS), published on Tuesday, October 24, 2006.

"The operation of intelligence officers in the economic sphere threatens the Czech Republic's interests. In this way, Russian intelligence services obtain direct access to the bearers of vital strategically information and classified data and can also influence the people in control of major economic branches in the Czech Republic," the report said.

The BIS report points to a fact which may even increase the threat to Czech interests. Some Russian intelligence officers and people working to their benefit maintained contact with Russian mob in the Czech Republic last year, the report said.

The BIS sees specific risk of these links in the use of corrupting, financial and influential potential of the Russian mafia by intelligence services.

According to BIS's estimates, there may be up to 30 Russian operatives, both from the military intelligence GRU and the civilian intelligence SVR.

Last year, there were 60 Russian "diplomats" and 93 "administrative and technical staffers" with families. The proportion of spies and terrorists among diplomats may amount to 40-50 percent, which is about the same figure as in 2004, the report said.

The Chezh counter-intelligence sure doesn't know all Russian spies among "diplomats", so their proportion is certainly much higher. The Austrian police recently counted for instance counted 65% of detected spies among Russian "diplomats". Three Russian terrorist entities, FSB, GRU and SVR, are equally represented in every Russian "embassy".

Members of SVR operate not only in Prague, but also at the consulates in Karlovy Vary, West Bohemia, and Brno, the report said.

Russian intelligence officers focus on the assessment of Czech-Russian relations and also on the assessment of political officials. They draw up the recommendations on how to proceed in bilateral relations, the report said.

Within the talks on the agreement on economic cooperation, Russian operatives tried in vain to maintain a Russian trade office independent from the embassy. In such a case, its staff would not be subjected to the Vienna conventions on diplomatic relations, the Czech news agency Ceske Noviny (http://www.ceskenoviny.cz) reported.

The Economic Council, composed of Russian "diplomats" including those who are in fact surely spies, was formed at the embassy to chart and develop economic relations, it added.

The Russian "embassy" also wants to create bandit Russia's "positive image" in the Czech Republic. It stages various "cultural events" among whose visitors are recruited to spy and kill for Russians, the report said.