Posted on 12/19/2003, 10:11:10 PM by witnesstothefall
MOSCOW -- The head of Russia's Federal Security Service, the main successor to the Soviet-era KGB, said Friday that five foreign intelligence officers had been "caught red-handed" this year.
"Espionage and other subversive activities of 14 other career spies and of 37 agents of foreign governments, including two Russian citizens, have also been stopped," said security service head Nikolai Patrushev.
He did not indicate the nationalities of the other alleged spies, according to Russian news reports.
The two Russian citizens included Anatoly Babkin, a technical university professor who was given a suspended eight-year sentence for spying for the United States. He was convicted for providing sensitive information about a high-speed torpedo to American businessman Edmond Pope, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison in December 2000 but pardoned by President Vladimir Putin.
The other Russian Patrushev mentioned was Alexander Zaporozhsky, a former Foreign Intelligence Service officer who had emigrated to the United States. He allegedly worked for both the FBI and the CIA, and was sentenced in June to 18 years in prison for espionage on behalf of Washington.
The Interfax news agency said that over five years, Zaporozhsky had revealed secret information about Foreign Intelligence Service agents working under cover in the United States and about three American sources working for Russian intelligence.
The Russian Supreme Court upheld Zaporozhsky's sentence on Friday, Interfax reported.
Patrushev said that a number of Russian servicemen had been convicted for revealing state secrets.
Despite the end of the Cold War and the general warming of relations between Russia and the West, the espionage trade remains alive and well with Russia and the United States frequently trading accusations of spying.
However, Patrushev said Friday that his agency exchanges real-time information with the CIA, FBI and other foreign intelligence services in a total of 62 countries.
Unilaterally ended (by the West) Cold War I would say.
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