August 2008

Israel ceased its weapons supply to Georgia by Russia’s request

Israeli Foreign Ministry has complied Russia with a request to limit export of military goods to Georgia, the Cursor Information Agency claims.  According to the information the Georgian armed forces won’t get offensive systems, including pilotless spy planes. This limitation was caused by the April situation when Russian Mig-29 shot down a Hermes-450, an unmanned aerial vehicle, which was flying over Abkhazia.  Recently Georgian-Israeli military cooperation has been developing very dynamically. Georgia has been purchasing not only pilotless spy planes but also other kinds of weapons, paying hundreds of million US dollars ……(Russia IC, 7 Aug 08)

Has Berezovsky secretly arrived to Minsk to trial over Zeltser?

Emanuel Zeltser’s brother claims that Russian businessman Boris Berezovsky has given evidence as a witness in Minsk city court.  Mark Zeltser told about that in an interview to BelaPAN. As said by him, it happened on August 5.  Official agencies do not comment on these reports. In particular, Minsk city court representatives told that they do not furnish with information about witnesses invited to testify. The State Border Committee has also refused to say whether Boris Berezovsky had crossed the border, referring to the confidential character of this information. Berezovsky himself is unavailable for comment as well……(Charter97, 7 Aug 08)

Trial of American lawyer Zeltser may last two weeks, defense counsel says

 The trial of American lawyer Emanuel Zeltser and his secretary, Vladlena Funk, may last for up to two weeks, the pair's defense counsel, Dzmitry Harachka, told BelaPAN. According to him, the trial has been held in accordance with the requirements of the Criminal Procedure Code. The closed-door trial of Mr. Zeltser and Ms. Funk (Bruskova), a citizen of Russia, began on July 30. They have been held in custody in Minsk since this past March.

Neither relatives nor American and Russian diplomats are allowed to attend the hearing, which is taking place in the Minsk City Court. Mr. Zeltser and Ms. Funk are facing charges of business espionage and the use of “knowingly false official documents.” The man also is to answer a charge of smuggling illegal drugs into Belarus. The pair deny their guilt…….(Naviny, 2 Aug 08)

Medvedev discusses with Security Council members various aspects of Russia’s home and foreign policy

President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev had a conference with members of the Security Council on Friday. Medvedev and the officials discussed various aspects of Russia’s domestic and foreign policy, the Presidential press service’s official told Tass……(Itar-Tass, 1 Aug 08)

Vladimir Putin Was Granted the Freedom

Yesterday Chairman of the Russian Government Vladimir Putin met with Libya’s Prime Minister Mr al-Mahmudi, and, together with Kommersant special correspondent Andrey Kolesnikov listened to a detective story about LUKoil Overseas employee Mr Tsygankov’s returning home. The Russian Prime Minister received his Libyan opposite number in a mansion in Vozdvizhenka Street, which he appears to like more than the White House. Anyway, the mansion now fully complies with its historical name – the House of Government Receptions. Interestingly, the Prime Minister holds presidiums of the government in the White House, where the ministers are to feel at home, no matter if they really like it or not; whereas guests are received in the House of Receptions……(Kommersant, 1 Aug 08)

July 2008

Lawyer's espionage trial opens in Belarus

The espionage trial of a Jewish American lawyer began behind closed doors in Belarus.  If convicted on the charges of carrying forged documents, drug possession and industrial espionage, Emmanuel Zeltser of New York faces seven years in prison, Reuters reported.  Belarusian authorities arrested Zeltser in March as soon as his plane touched down in Minsk, where he arrived to represent the interests of Josef Kay.  Kay is in a struggle to claim the assets of Arkady Patarkatsishvili, a Georgian billionaire who died earlier this year……(JTA, 31 Jul 08)

Russia shuts down Hamas Web site

…The site of Az-Adin Al-Qassam was taken off its Russian-hosted server last week. In a public statement, the group cited efforts of "the Zionist lobby" that led to the site's demise. The Parliamentary Club of the World Congress of Russian Jewry had discussed the site earlier this month in Moscow. In a meeting with the deputy speaker of Russia's senate, Alexander Torshin, members discussed the terrorist-backed Web site, which was hosted by a Russian company, Data Force. The Web site had been upgraded in June. In a statement, Az-Adin Al-Qassam said the update had increased traffic to the site and drawn the attention of the lawmakers.……(JTA, 31 Jul 08)

New Russian & Chinese Treaty Revisions Hamper US in Outer Space

China and Russia are seeking to update the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, which, in its new form, would serve to hinder the US's space capabilities and ambitions.  This February, China and Russia introduced a draft treaty entitled the 'Prevention of Placement of Weapons in Outer Space' at the 65-member UN Conference on Disarmament in Geneva.   The two countries reiterated their support for the new accord in late May during a summit in Beijing, saying: "The sides are in favor of the peaceful use of space, but are against the deployment of weapons in space or a space arms race." ……(FSM, 31 Jul 08)

Employee Released in Libya, Returns to Moscow

Aleksandr Tsygankov, a representative of the oil company LUKoil in Libya, who was detained in November 2007 and imprisoned in Libya, has returned to Moscow, LUKoil's press service has told the Agency for Oil Information [part of Interfax]. Tsygankov, head of LUKoil Overseas representative office, was detained in Libya on 25 November 2007, but he was not officially charged. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said following his visit to Libya in December 2007: "This issue is an obvious misunderstanding. They assured us that it would be cleared up in the next few days."……(Interfax, 31 Jul 08)

Crimea's port dispute - Ukraine wants Russian fleet out of Sevastopol

Crimea, the peninsula immortalized in the mid-19th-century war pitting Britain and France against Russia, is again at the center of a growing dispute between Moscow and the West. At issue is whether there is enough room, good will or both for naval fleets from NATO and Russia to share the Black Sea. Russia wants its fleet to remain headquartered in Sevastopol beyond May 2017, when its $93-million-a-year lease from Ukraine is set to expire.

Ukraine, which hopes to join NATO within the next decade - a move adamantly opposed by Moscow….(Washington Times, 31 Jul 08)

Envoy turned away from Russian nuclear facility

The British ambassador to Moscow and two of his diplomats were refused entry to a UK-funded nuclear fuel storage facility in Russia when they turned up on a scheduled visit, an embassy spokesman said on Friday. Ties between London and Moscow are at a low ebb, partly because of Russia's refusal to extradite a former KGB agent wanted for trial in Britain for the murder in London of a Russian critic of the Kremlin who had taken British citizenship. (Reuters, 25 July 08)

Russia could place bombers in Latin America, N.Africa

Russian strategic bombers may soon be deployed at airbases in Cuba, Venezuela and Algeria as a response to the U.S. missile shield in Europe and NATO's expansion, Russian daily Izvestia said on Thursday. Moscow has strongly opposed the possible deployment by the U.S. of 10 interceptor missiles in Poland and an accompanying tracking radar in the Czech Republic as a threat to its national security. Washington says the defenses are needed to deter a possible strike from Iran, or other "rogue" states. Moscow has also expressed concern over NATO's expansion to Russia's borders and pledged to take "appropriate measures" to counter the U.S. and NATO moves…..(RIA Novosti, 24 Jul 08)

Four jailed for selling bogus state posts

A high-placed government official and three accomplices were sentenced to up to ten years in prison for their involvement in a scam that had dozens of people forking over money for bogus positions in the Russian government. Yevegeniy Reznikov, the leader of the crime ring, was charging people as much as $1 million (24 million rubles) to be "president of the Maryi El republic" in the Urals, for example, or "vice president of the republic of Kalmykia." Surprisingly, as many as 33 people bought into Reznikov's scam - and actually believed that a government seat was for sale. Altogether, the victims were defrauded of some $3.4 million (81 million rubles). (Moscow News, 24 July 08)

SVR director Mikhail Fradkov may leave post soon

Once again rumors about possible resignation of the Director of Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), former Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov have been circulating across Moscow, daily Vechernyaya Moskva reports. The paper says they are caused by uncooperative relationship between Fradkov and his allies and the grouping of natives of St.Petersburg. In due time Fradkov supported Anatoly Serdyukov’s wish to head the Ministry of Finance that led to strain of relations with the head of the ministry, Alexey Kudrin. Now the Kudrin’s team is using every possibility to weaken influence of competitors. However, there is no serious discussion about firing Fradkov yet, Vechernyaya Moskva expands.Fradkov is a Putins protege and Medvedev does not have so high influence in the intelligence agencies to make similar personnel decisions himself, according to the paper. Moreover, Putin can meaningly keep Fradkov in his current post – to receive independent information on economic activities of Kudrin’s group abroad, Vechernyaya Moskva concludes. (Axis, 24 July 08)

Moscow must answer U.S. shield with Cuban 'spy' site

Russia should respond to U.S. missile defense plans for Central Europe by reopening a 'spy' facility in Cuba to gather intelligence on the United States, a Russian analyst said on Wednesday. The electronic monitoring and surveillance facility near Havana at Torrens, also known as the Lourdes facility, the largest Russian Sigint site abroad, was shut down in October 2001 by then- president Vladimir Putin. "Cuba is a unique place to gather intelligence on the United States. I believe that the reopening of this station is both possible and necessary amid the threat that the Americans are creating for Russia," Alexander Pikayev, head of the disarmament and conflict resolution department at the Russian Academy of Sciences' World Economics and International Relations Institute, told a news conference at RIA Novosti. "Russia has every right to respond," he added. Moscow has strongly opposed the possible deployment by the U.S. of 10 interceptor missiles in Poland and a radar station in the Czech Republic as a threat to its security. Washington says the missile shield is needed to deter possible strikes from "rogue states." (RIA Novosti, 23 July 08)

Islam to become Russia’s predominant religion by 2050?

Islam is likely to become the primary religion in the Russian Federation by 2050 due to the high birth rate in Muslim republics. The current Chinese-led conquest of Russia’s Far East already seems to be a matter of immediate concern for the Kremlin. The ethnic birth rate disproportion in different regions of the country is another problem. The Muslim community may become the largest community by the middle of the current century. Therefore, Islam has all chances to become the predominant religion in Russia.  Ukrainian scientists of politics, Valery Chaliy and Mikhail Pashkov, believe that this is not the only challenge, which Russia has to face nowadays……(Pravda, 21 Jul 08)

US Lawyer Zeltser to learn by experience what Belarusian “justice” is

The criminal case of the US citizen Emanuel Zeltser, who is kept in the remand prison of the Belarusian State Security Committee (KGB) since March 12, is to be tried in the Minsk City court.  “The criminal case of Emanuel Zeltser which has been received by the Supreme Court of Belarus from the General Prosecutor’s office for ruling of jurisdiction has been presented to Minsk City court,” Interfax has been told in the Supreme Court.  As we have informed, on June 27 Zeltser was finally accused. Among other charges, he was also accused of commercial espionage. “At the moment he is charged with committing crimes under part 2 of article 380 (using fake documents, giving rights, by a group of people by previous concert), part 2 of article 228 (narcotic substances smuggling), part 1 of article 328 (trafficking of narcotics, psychotropic substances and precursors), and part 1 of article 254 (commercial espionage) of the Criminal Code of Belarus,” the KGB informed……(Charter97, 18 Jul 08)

Putin's Malkin Gambit

…A famous person signed a major contract and immediately broke it with the aid of a foreign government. There wasn’t much that Russia could do. It could prevent Malkin from playing on their national team, but that would be like cutting off your nose to spite your face seeing as he was now arguably the best hockey player in the world after being named Rookie of the Year in his first season and the NHL’s Most Valuable Player in the second season that just ended.  Kremlin couldn’t win under the old rules, so it decided to change the rules. Gazprom, Kremlin’s main economic arm, would be used to create a new hockey league that would challenge the NHL. The first season of the KHL will include only teams from the countries that used to be part of the Soviet Union. However, the league will soon expand. Swedish teams Frölunda HC and Färjestads BK were offered to join and they have neither accepted nor rejected the invitation. Finland's Kärpät, on the other hand, showed affirmative interest and is hoping to get invited into the KHL during the 2009 expansion. There are also rumors of German, Austrian and Czech teams join the KHL, which named its championship trophy the Yury Gagarin Cup after the first man to fly into space in 1961, an act that so scared the West at the time…..(Analyst-Network, 17 Jul 08)

Resist The Invaders

The Caucasus continues to be a headache, although it's all more of a nuisance than a significant threat. Police and troops are pursuing several Islamic radical gangs in Ingushetia (next to Chechnya). The gangs are often more nationalist, or purely criminal, than into religion. But religion still defines relationships in the Caucasus, where Christians, Moslems and others have clashed for over a thousand years. Christian Georgia, for example, is threatening war with two separatist groups (one Moslem, the other Christian), and their Russian sponsor. In response to Russian diplomatic and military pressure, Georgia is increasing its armed forces 15 percent, to 37,000 troops, and trying to join NATO. About a thousand U.S. troops recently conducted a training exercise in Georgia.

Russia is getting a lot of criticism in Europe over increased espionage efforts. The Russians are seeking to steal business secrets (technology or other useful data) in a big way. The Russian spy agency has been rebuilt and given lots of money. Senior British counter-espionage officials are seeing some familiar Cold War faces, and operations, returning. Some of the Russian agents are also involved in keeping an eye on Russian political exiles, and trying to control them. At least one of these Russian exiles have been assassinated, and others are threatened with the same fate if they do not shut up. British counter-terrorism officials complain that resources needed to deal with increased Russian espionage efforts, are coming out of their budget. Thus Islamic terrorists are having an easier time of it because of the need to deal with Russian spies……(Strategy Page, 17 Jul 08)

Emanuel Zeltser called his case “totally falsified”

A US citizen Emanuel Zeltser and his lawyer Zmitser Harachka have finished to read the criminal case brought up against the American lawyer by the KGB. The lawyer does not comment on the case itself, referring to the fact that a status of a state secret has been given to it. And Emanuel Zeltser’s position after studying the case is the following: “His position remains unchanged: he does not plead guilty of anything, and he says it’s a totally false case,” Zmitser Harachka said in an interview to Radio Svaboda…….(Charter97, 14 Jul 08)

Russian ambassador denies increase in Russian spies in U.K.

The Russian ambassador to Britain denied Tuesday claims by London that Moscow has increased its intelligence activity in the U.K. In early July, British media quoted the country's security service as saying that Russia has flooded the country with secret agents in recent years, making the Kremlin a major menace to national security.

The reports came days before Prime Minister Gordon Brown's first meeting with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev at the Group of Eight summit in Japan, set for July 7-9…….(RIA Novosti, 15 Jul 08)

My warning to Britain: your democracy is under attack from Putin's KGB infiltrators

The Late ALEXANDER LITVINENKO: Putin's strategic about me once spoke to plan for damaging Western democracy and reducing it to the level of what passes for democracy in Russia. I believe that this plan is already being successfully accomplished. For proof, just look at how all Western leaders are today happy to close their eyes on Russia's deviation from democracy - by doing so they are taking the first steps toward ruining democracy in their own countries. Russian agents have a stranglehold on the UK because Putin has modernized the Russian concept of intelligence. Now they are putting emphasis on the use of Russian emigrants and not on the use of leftist or liberal Western intellectuals, whom Lenin once cynically described as his "useful idiots"……(Sunday Herald, 14 Jul 08)

Putin's KGB wages 'spy war' against UK

Hundreds of Russian spies are now operating in the UK - many times more than at the height of the cold war, according to a former KGB lieutenant colonel writing today in the Sunday Herald. Konstantin Preobrazhensky claims Russia is now in the midst of an unprecedented espionage war against British interests at home and abroad, and says it is a spying war for which Britain is wholly unprepared.  Preobrazhensky's comments follow claims earlier this week by Whitehall that the murder of former Russian agent Alexander Litvinenko was carried out with the backing of the Russian state......(Sunday Herald, 13 Jul 08)

Russia accuses British diplomat of spying

Russia has accused a British diplomat based in Moscow of spying.  He was named in media reports as Chris Bowers. A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: "I can confirm that a member of the British staff is suspected of spying by the Russians. He is the acting director of UK Trade and Industry. However we do not comment on intelligence matters." The allegation follows weeks of antagonism and growing tension between London and Moscow. An unnamed source within Russia's intelligence services is said to have accused Mr Bowers of being a high-ranking secret service officer and to have claimed he worked undercover in the 1990s as a BBC reporter in Uzbekistan. Russia news agency Interfax reported the source as saying: "The activities of Christopher Bowers, a counselor at the British Embassy in Russia, and probably, simultaneously a senior officer with British Intelligence, are giving rise to questions among Russian intelligence services."…..(Independent, 11 Jul 08)

British trade official accused of espionage by Russians

…The Foreign Office confirmed the Russians suspected a senior diplomat in the British embassy's trade section of espionage. Local media in Moscow named him as Chris Bowers. "I can confirm that a member of the British staff is suspected of spying by the Russians," the Foreign Office said last night. "He is the acting director of UK Trade and Industry. But we do not comment on intelligence matters." A Russian intelligence source was quoted by Interfax news agency as saying: "The activities of Christopher Bowers, a counsellor at the British embassy in Russia, and probably, simultaneously a senior officer with British intelligence, are giving rise to questions among Russian intelligence services." The accusation came just hours after Russia's ambassador in Britain, Yuri Fedotov, responded angrily to a string of reports quoting unnamed British security officials emphasising the security threat posed by Russian spies in Britain. He singled out a report on BBC's Newsnight, in which a security source said there was Russian "state involvement" in the killing of former KGB officer Alexander Litvinenko in 2006 and an attempt on the life of another dissident, Boris Berezovsky……(Guardian, 11 Jul 08)

Russia accuses a British diplomat in Moscow of espionage

…The Interfax news agency, citing a source in Russia's secret services, reported Thursday that the head of the embassy's trade and investment section, Christopher Bowers, was believed to be a senior British intelligence officer.  The British Foreign Office said the accused diplomat was acting head of U.K. Trade and Investment at the embassy and confirmed his name was Chris Bowers. The former top trade official, Andrew Levi, was one of four British Embassy officials expelled from Moscow last summer……(AP, 11 Jul 08)

Medvedev’s foreign policy adviser denounces BBD report on Litvinenko murder

A report by BBC television news that British intelligence believes the Russian state was involved in the 2006 radioactive poisoning of dissident former Russian security services officer Aleksandr Litvinenko has been harshly criticized by Russia as a deliberate attempt to harm Russian-British relations. In the report, which appeared on the BBC’s Newsnight program on June 7 shortly after Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown met face to face for the first time at the G8 summit in Toyako, Japan, a senior British security official was quoted as saying: “We very strongly believe the Litvinenko case to have had some state involvement.” The BBC also reported it had been told that the Federal Security Service (FSB) had operated during Vladimir Putin’s presidency “with far more autonomy” than the organizations usually entrusted with foreign espionage operations (Newsnight program on June 7). British prosecutors have accused former KGB officer Andrei Lugovoi of poisoning Litvinenko with radioactive polonium-210, but Russia has refused London’s request to extradite Lugovoi, now a State Duma deputy, citing the Russian constitution’s ban on handing over its citizens.(Eurasia Daily Monitor, 9 July 08)

Russia rejects secret service role in Litvinenko death

Russian investigators said on Tuesday there was no evidence of a secret service role in the London killing of ex-agent Alexander Litvinenko, rejecting a claim made in Britain's media.

Russia's own investigation "has made significant progress and has not produced evidence that any secret service was involved in the crime," said the spokesman for the prosecutor's investigative committee, Vladimir Markin, in a statement seen by AFP. The statement said progress had been made despite a lack of full assistance from countries Russia had turned to in its investigation, including Britain……(AFP, 8 Jul 08)

Russia 'backed Litvinenko murder'

The murder of former Russian agent Alexander Litvinenko was carried out with the backing of the Russian state…A senior security official has told Newsnight there are “very strong indications it was a state action”.

Mr Litvinenko, who was a fierce critic of former Russian President Vladimir Putin, was poisoned in London in 2006.

UK investigators suspect former KGB agent Andrei Lugovoi of the murder, but he has always denied any involvement.  The BBC has been told that Russia's internal security organization, the FSB, operated under Mr Putin with far more autonomy than the organizations usually entrusted with foreign espionage operations.

Our source said: “We very strongly believe the Litvinenko case to have had some state involvement.”…..(BBC, 8 Jul 08)

Growing Russo-British Tensions

When former KGB agent and Russian dissident Alexander Litvinenko died after being poisoned with radioactive polonium in November 2006, everyone suspected foul play. But the murder turned political when1 British investigators found substantial evidence that Andrei Lugovoi, a former KGB operative, was responsible for Litvinenko's death. In May 2007, Britain submitted a request to the Russian government for Lugovoi's extradition. Russian officials not only refused to remove Lugovoi, but they also appointed him deputy of the State Duma of the Russian Federation. He was thereby granted parliamentary immunity. As dramatic as this case was, however, Litvinenko's assassination and the subsequent diplomatic fallout was just one in a chain of events that have recently heightened tensions between Russia and Britain. Even as the two countries look to deepen economic relations in the coming years, political divisions between the two are likely to widen…..(Harvard International Review, Elections Vol. 30 (1) - Spring 2008)

Russia seen to back Litvinenko murder

The Russian state backed the murder in London of former KGB agent and Kremlin critic Alexander Litvinenko, according to British security sources quoted by the BBC on Monday. A senior security official, cited by BBC TV's Newsnight, said there were "very strong indications it was a state action". The accusations come on the day that Prime Minister Gordon Brown met Russian President Dmitry Medvedev for the first time since Medvedev took office in May……(Reuters, 7 Jul 08)

Russia supported Litvinenko's murder, says security official

The Russian government supported the murder of the former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko, it was reported last night…Litvinenko, a fierce critic of the former Russian president Vladimir Putin, died from polonium poisoning in London in 2006. Scotland Yard named the former KGB agent Andrei Lugovoi as their prime suspect, but he has always denied any involvement……(Guardian 8 Jul 08)

Russian spies endangering safety

The presence of Russian spies in Britain is undermining the fight against terrorism according to Whitehall Officials.

The distraction created by monitoring the espionage activities of President Dmitry Medvedev's agents, significantly enhances the chances of success of potential Islamist terrorist plots.  Security sources say MI5 has been stretched to the limit for the past few years.  Some sources suggest that one in five Moscow Government officials based in Britain is likely to be an agent……(ITV, 6 Jul 08)

Russians suspect Welsh arsonist stripper could be British spy

A Welsh stripper who set a car ablaze in Moscow "to cheer himself up" is reportedly being investigated for suspected links to British intelligence. Alistair Penney, a 38-year-old dancer from Cardiff, was detained on Wednesday as he ran from a burning Mercedes Benz in a suburb that has seen a spate of arson attacks on parked vehicles. Police have been investigating at least 32 cases of arson against cars in the Yuzhnoye Butovo district of Moscow over the past month… Russian newspapers quoted police sources as saying that they were suspicious of the way Mr Penney had contradicted himself and suggested that there were other indications that pointed to the fact that he could be a spy……(Telegraph, 5 Jul 08)

Russia and Islam: Relations on the Rise

Russia is a multi-ethnic and a multi-confessional country that is home to almost 20 million Muslims. Last week, from June 23 to June 24, the International Scientific and Practical Conference "Russia and the Muslim World" was held in Moscow. At the same time, a press conference was held at the Press center of RIA Novosti at which its participants shared their impressions on the gathering.  But first, let us briefly consider the recent history of relations between Russia and the Muslim nations. Two important landmarks dominate this relationship: First, in August of 2003, then president Vladimir Putin paid an official visit to Malaysia, during which he declared that his country would like to participate in the activity of the Organization of the Islamic Con­ference. …..(Moscow News Weekly, 3 Jul 08)

Russia's Dmitry Medvedev offers olive branch to Britain

Mr Medvedev is expected to have talks next week with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown on the sidelines of a Group of Eight summit on the Japanese island of Hokkaido. Diplomatic ties between Russia and Britain have been strainesd since the murder of Alexander Litvinenko, a former Russian security agent, in London two years ago.

He was poisoned with polonium-210, but Russia has refused to extradite Andrei Lugovoy, the chief suspect. "Of course, Russia is prepared to give some ground, but we expect corresponding steps from our British partners," Mr Medvedev said. "On those issues where we have differences or some kinds of problems, I believe we must simply discuss them eye to eye."…..(Telegraph, 3 Jul 08)

Russians move to end rift with UK

…In a wide ranging interview -his first with foreign newspapers since taking office in May - Medvedev said Russia and Britain had endured worse crises in the past and it was time to move on. "International relations always require people to come towards each other," he said. "There has to be a willingness to find compromises and listen to your partner. Russia is ready to move, but we expect corresponding steps from our British partners." Medvedev said he had "a calm and good conversation" with Gordon Brown on the phone recently and was looking forward to seeing him at next week's G8 summit in Hokkaido, Japan. He has sent a leading adviser to London to prepare for a bilateral Anglo-Russian meeting during the summit which he expected to be "comprehensive and useful". Brown is likely to raise concerns about the treatment of BP and its international staff in Russia. In March the FSB, Russia's post-KGB spy agency, raided the Moscow offices of BP and a joint venture, TNK-BP. The British company has also faced problems with the tax police and the interior ministry……(Guardian, 3 Jul 08)

June 2008

Radio Free Europe contributor arrested and tortured while government promises EU to improve human rights

Reporters Without Borders “strongly condemns” the action of the Turkmen police in arresting and torturing Sazak Durdymuradov in an attempt to get him to sign a pledge to stop working for US-funded Radio Free Europe (RFE). His wife located him by chance in a detention centre used by the national security agency (the former KGB) on 24 June, four days after he was arrested at his home. “The methods used by the security services in this case are unfortunately common,” the press freedom organisation said. “The authorities displayed an appalling cynicism in arresting a journalist just as Turkmenistan was holding talks with the European Union about improving respect for human rights.” Durdymuradov was arrested at his home in Bakharden, 200 km west of Ashgabat, on 20 June and was taken to a psychiatric hospital near the capital. But he was no longer there when his family went to the hospital the next day. His wife finally found him in a detention centre in Bakharden on 24 June. He has now gone on hunger strike…….(RSF, 26 Jun 08)

Russian flights smack of Cold War - U.S. fighters ID bombers near Alaska

Russian bombers have stepped up provocative flight exercises off the Alaskan coast, reminiscent of Cold War incursions designed to rattle U.S. air defenses.  U.S. Northern Command, which protects North American airspace, told The Washington Times that TU-95 Bear bombers on 18 occasions the past year have skirted a 12-mile air defense identification zone that protects Alaska. The incursions prompted F-15s and F-22 Raptor fighters to scramble from Elmendorf Air Force Base and intercept the warplanes. The last incident happened in May…….(Washington Times, 26 Jun 08)

American doctor to examine Zeltser in jail

An American doctor plans to arrive in Minsk to hold a medical examination of US citizen Emanuel Zeltser, who is kept in the KGB jail in Minsk. Interfax has learnt it from Emanuel Zeltser’s lawyer Zmitser Harachka…The KGB reminds E. Zeltser was detained by KGB officers in Minsk on 12 March 2008. He was charged with an offence over part 2 of article 380 “Using of consciously forged document, providing rights, by a group of persons by previous concert” of the Criminal Code of Belarus. In his turn the lawyer noted that “according to the investigation, E. Zeltser “transferred and kept narcotic and psychotropic substances on the territory of Belarus.”…..(Charter97, 24 Jun 08)

Cooperation between Belarus, Russia security services protects Belarus from unfriendly forces

Cooperation between Belarus’ State Security Committee (KGB) and the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) reliably protects Belarus from unfriendly moves on the part of some countries and organisations, head of state Alexander Lukashenko said at a meeting with Russia’s FSB Director Alexander Bortnikov in Minsk on June 24.

The President of Belarus thanked the Director of the Russian security service for the assistance provided to the KGB. “You can always count on our support,”….(National Legal Internet Portal, 24 Jun 08)

How Serious Is Russia's Problem with Islamist Terrorism?

During the decades of the Cold War Russia armed itself for an eventual attack from the outside. Today the threat to Russia's security and stability comes not from the outside, but from within, in the form of radical, militant Islam. The threat of terrorist attacks by fanatical Islamists against Russian cities is as real as the threat against cities in the United States or in Western Europe. The danger for Russia is all the more real given that it has large Muslim populations that are part of the Russian Federation, such as Chechnya and Ingushetia. Russian troops have in the past engaged in fierce fighting with Muslim separatists causing many deaths and much destruction in those autonomous regions……(Middle East Times, 23 Jun 08)

Russia cuts US pastor's jail term

A Russian court has reduced the three-year prison sentence of a US pastor convicted of smuggling rifle ammunition and ordered him set free. The Moscow City Court reduced Phillip Miles' sentence to 10 months and ruled that he should be freed from custody without serving all of it. Miles, who has been in jail since February 3, is likely be set free on Tuesday after the completion of the necessary formalities, his lawyer said, and he will be allowed to leave Russia …..(Press Association, 23 Jun 08)

Russia warns against attacking Iran

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Friday warned against the use of force on Iran, saying there was no proof it was trying to build nuclear weapons. Lavrov said Iran should be engaged in dialogue and encouraged to cooperate with the UN nuclear monitoring agency. He made the statement when asked to comment on Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz's statement earlier this month that Israel could attack Iran if it does not halt its nuclear program.…..(AP/Jerusalem Post, 20 Jun 08)

Three More Charged In Journalist's Killing

Three men were charged Wednesday with involvement in the October 2006 killing of investigative reporter Anna Politkovskaya, but investigators said nothing about who ordered the assassination or why. A man formally identified by authorities last month as the shooter remains at large, as does the unknown person who organized the murder. Politkovskaya, a critic of the Kremlin known for crusading reports on human rights abuses in Chechnya, was shot in the lobby of her apartment building in central Moscow as she was returning home with groceries. Police immediately described it as a contract killing. The murder weapon was dropped beside the body….(Washington Post, 19 Jun 08)

A hidden compliment, and a big question, in Britain's fall-out with Russia.

Red is the color of "From Russia", a raucous new exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts. The dress worn by a Russian peasant woman, the roofs in a futuristic Moscow, the quizzical horse ridden by a lean Russian youth and Chagall's "Red Jew" all blaze red. The main theme, however, is Russia's perpetual, complex dance of envy and emulation with the West. By post-cold-war standards, Anglo-Russian relations are noxious so bad that for a while it seemed that "From Russia" might be cancelled. Though the show went on, British diplomats worry that the relationship might break down altogether, were Russia's Byzantine internal politics to make that useful. Beneath the iciness, however, lies a kind of compliment and a question about Britain's place in the world…..(Ekonom, 19 Jun 08)

Norwegian-Russian cooperation bugged by intelligence

A significant number of the Norwegian business people regularly traveling in Northwest Russia is requested to report to the Norwegian intelligence services, Norwegian broadcaster NRK reports. Both business representatives and regional officials now say they feel increasingly uncomfortable with the pressure from the intelligence authorities. On the one hand, they feel loyalty to their projects and partners in Russia, and on the other hand they do not want to let down the intelligence services……(Barents Observer, 19 Jun 08)

Russian Spies Go For The Money

A manager at Eurocopter recently received a suspended sentence after admitting he spied for Russian intelligence (SVR) between 2004-6. He received $20,000 from the Russians, and supplied them with unclassified documents. He received such lenient treatment because he cooperated with police, and that led to several other arrests, and severe damage to Russian spying operations in Germany…..(Strategy Page, 19 Jun 08)

British Council to challenge Russian tax bill

The British government's cultural arm on Wednesday said it is appealing its Russian tax bill, a dispute that could rekindle a bitter row over the organisation that helped to sour ties between Moscow and London.

Earlier this year the British Council was forced to close its offices in two Russian cities and police questioned its local staff in what Britain's foreign minister described at the time as unacceptable harassment.

Both Russia and Britain linked the closure of the two offices to a diplomatic spat over the 2006 murder in London of former Russian security agent Alexander Litvinenko…..(Reuters, 18 Jun 08)

In Stalin's Bomb Lab, Dreams Of Preservation

Behind a thicket of weeds and broken window panes, one of the former Soviet Union's dark secrets is the laboratory where captured German scientists worked to build an atomic bomb for Josef Stalin. The Sukhumi Institute still exists, in a state of limbo. Limping along under semi-siege in Abkhazia, a breakaway region of Georgia whose existence the rest of the world does not recognize, its Cold War past has been all but forgotten. Once, around 250 German specialists lived here with their families and built centrifuges to separate uranium isotopes. Now a money-making sideline for the few scientists who keep the institute's research going is designing household heaters…..(Reuters, 18 Jun 08)

Promise kept to poisoned ex-spy

As he lay dying in London's University College Hospital in November 2006, exiled former KGB and FSB agent Alexander "Sasha" Litvinenko was being filmed by documentarian Andrei Nekrasov. He told Nekrasov: "If anything should happen to me, I beg you to show this tape to the whole world."  Nekrasov kept the promise he made to his friend, who died three weeks after falling ill from what was later discovered to be radiation poisoning from a lethal dose of Polonium-210 in his tea, believed to have been slipped in during a meeting with two of his former FSB (Russia's modern-day secret police) colleagues. Nekrasov's startling documentary, “Poisoned by Polonium: The Litvinenko File,” opens Friday……(LA Times, 16 Jun 08)

Terrorists fail to make impact in Russia - FSB

Russia's Federal Security Service, the FSB, says the threat from terrorism in the country has decreased considerably. So far in 2008, no terrorist attacks have been reported in Russia……(Russia Today, 10 Jun 08)

Detectives Prevented Terrorist Actions in Moscow Metro

Terrorist actions planned to be staged in the Moscow metro and in the cities and towns of Caucasus Mineral Waters during May holidays have been prevented, Mayak Broadcaster reported today with reference to Alexander Bortnikov, chief of the National Counter-Terrorist Committee. Alexander Bortnikov, who is also the director of the country’s Federal Security Service (FSB), made the respective statement during today’s meeting of the National Counter-Terrorism Committee. …..(Kommersant, 11 Jun 08)

Russia and Britain to look at actual perpetrators behind Litvinenko poisoning

Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) has announced that it now willing to work with British law enforcement agencies after it said Britain withdrew "unfounded accusations" originally leveled against Moscow regarding its alleged role in the affair. Former Russian intelligent agent Alexander Litvinenko died of radiation poisoning from polonium-210 in London in November 2006. A cavalcade of anti-Vladimir Putin Russian exiles in Britain and elsewhere blamed Putin for the murder and they managed to convince the British government of then-Prime Minister Tony Blair of the Kremlin's involvement. British-Russian relations went into a deep freeze as a result……(Online Journal, 10 Jun 08)

True Story of Legendary Soviet Spy to Appear on Screen

Through the agency of Russias Foreign Intelligence Service the First Channel of Russian TV has launched production of a documentary and feature TV series about the Soviet intelligent agent Aleksei Botyan who had saved the Polish city of Krakov from destruction in World War II. The film makers have managed to get Aleksei Botyans consent to participate in the filming and so we will finally learn the true story of rescuing Krakov……(Russia-IC, 10 Jun 08)

BP's Russian oil row intensifies

A row over the management and ownership of a joint venture between UK oil major BP and a group of Russian businessmen has intensified. The boss of the TNK-BP venture, Robert Dudley, defended his leadership at an investor meeting at the weekend. Russian shareholders have called for a shakeup at the firm, accusing Mr Dudley of working only in BP's interests……(BBC, 9 Jun 08)

Russia summons TNK-BP CEO

Russia will question the chief executive of oil major BP's Russian venture as part of a probe into tax evasion at a unit of the embattled company, which many analysts expect to fall under the control of a state firm. TNK-BP said in a statement on Thursday that a local Interior Ministry department has issued a summons to TNK-BP Chief Executive Robert Dudley as part of a tax probe into OAO TNK's activities in 2001-2003… Dudley's summons come on top of other problems at the firm, including the arrest of a TNK-BP employee on an industrial espionage charge, a raid on the company's central Moscow offices and a court injunction to stop it using BP specialists……(Reuters, 5 Jun 08)

Russia's Spy Weapons Catalogue

…Russia's lurch into aristo-capitalism means that the weapons from 007's old adversaries -- which once would have been kept strictly secret -- are now advertised in glossy catalogs like the one on Rosboronexport's web site.  Most of the content is standard military stuff, but the section on Special Weapons has some items which belong more in the hands of 007 than your average soldier. Planning a quiet assassination somewhere? How about the PSS handgun…..(Wired, 5 Jun 08)

Belarusian authorities reject Washington's appeal for release of US lawyer Zeltser

The Belarusian authorities have rejected Washington's appeal to release US lawyer Emanuel Zeltser on "humanitarian grounds," the press office of the Minsk-based US embassy told BelaPAN. The US Department of State twice appealed to Minsk to release the man arrested in the Belarusian capital city this past March, citing his poor health. The Belarusian foreign ministry delivered an "official note" rejecting the appeal to the US embassy on May 30……(Naviny, 4 Jun 08)

Mark Zeltser: KGB investigators colluded with Boris Berezovsky

Brother of arrested in Minsk lawyer Emanuel Zeltser sent a letter to Alyaksandr Lukashenka. Mark Zeltser complains in his letter at actions of KGB investigators, trying the case of his brother Emanuel. According to Mark Zeltser, his brother was “severely beaten in order to coerce him to make a series of phone calls to Joseph Kay for the purpose of luring Kay to Minsk.”….(Charter97, 3 Jun 08)

Viktor Bout is Apparently Worth Quite a Lot to the Russians

…Viktor Bout, in prison in Thailand awaiting extradition to the United State, may not make it back, despite having a long history of providing weapons to terrorists, criminals and some of the world’s most vicious thugs, such as Charles Taylor, Laurent Kabila, the Taliban, the FARC and hosts of others. The reason he may not make it back is that the Russians are far more afraid of his standing trial than was originally anticipated. After several diplomatic efforts to get Bout out of prison and back to Russia, the Russian government, or at least its military establishment, has decided to let some money and hardware do the talking. My sources tell me the Russian ambassador in Thailand has met several times with the Thai prime minister, and has offered sweet heart deals on weapons systems, including fighter jets, in exchange for Bout…The question is, why would Bout be so valuable to the Russians, and what is it that they fear he could or would say in a court? The most obvious answer is that he is deeply in bed and protected by the Russian military establishment and its intelligence services. ….(Douglas Farah, 3 Jun 08)

Indictment: US v. Viktor Bout

Inside the Global Black Market for Antiaircraft Missiles

Shoulder-fired missiles, the meanest weapons in the “small arms” category, keep falling into the wrong hands, despite the U.S. and Russia’s attempts to keep them away from terrorists. Could more militants, from Iran to China, be next in line at the black market?...Victor Bout, alleged to be the world's most notorious black-market arms dealer, was doing what he does best when he got caught: selling illicit arms to whoever wanted them. He saw a good client in the Armed Revolutionary Forces of Colombia (FARC) and was offering the group 100 shoulder-fired Igla antiaircraft missiles, designed in Russia. There were two problems with this. One, the FARC is designated as a terrorist group by the United States. The second problem was that the FARC members he was dealing with turned out to be undercover U.S. federal agents. Arrested this March in Bangkok, Thailand, Bout now faces extradition to the U.S. in connection with this reputed deal…..(Popular Mechanics, 2 Jun 08)

MAY 2008

BP venture in Russia tests move for independence

A joint venture between British giant BP PLC and a group of Russian tycoons known as TNK was billed as groundbreaking for Russia's oil and gas industry. Now security agents have raided the venture's headquarters, and internal feuding has spilled into the open, with the Russian partners calling for the company's American CEO to be ousted. Just weeks into Dmitry Medvedev's presidency, TNK-BP has become a litmus test of Russia's willingness to allow companies in key sectors to operate out of the shadow of the Kremlin......(AP, 30 May 08)

Russian scientists reject Vladimir Putin ally

Russia's most eminent scientists have delivered a rare rebuff against Vladimir Putin when they voted to keep one of the prime minister's most influential allies out of their prestigious academy. The decision by the Russian Academy of Sciences to reject Mikhail Kovalchuk's application for full membership as an academic represented an unusual act of rebellion in the face of intense Kremlin pressure… Observers say the scientists, already angered by the arrest of several colleagues on dubious espionage charges, resented the state's attempts to undermine their authority. The rebellion was all the more startling because Mr Putin appeared in person before the vote to offer a large increase in funding for the Academy……(Telegraph, 30 May 08)

BP, Russian Billionaires Feud Amid Takeover Reports

BP Plc, the largest foreign oil producer in Russia, rejected a demand by four billionaires to fire the head of their TNK-BP venture, intensifying a shareholder dispute amid reports OAO Gazprom wants to buy the company.

Len Blavatnik, Mikhail Fridman, German Khan and Viktor Vekselberg, who control half of TNK-BP, said in a statement today that BP Chief Executive Officer Tony Hayward rebuffed their request to dismiss TNK-BP CEO Robert Dudley for making decisions that they said put BP's interests above their own……(Bloomberg, 30 May 08)

Zeltser’s case: forged documents at first, drugs now?

The Committee of State Security of Belarus (KGB) instituted a criminal case on drug trafficking against US citizen Emanuel Zeltser. Interfax has learnt it from the Belarusian KGB. “A criminal case on part 2 of article 228 (drug trafficking) and part 1 of article 328 (trafficking of drugs, psychotropic substances and precursors) of the Criminal Code of Belarus was instigated against Zeltser,” the KGB said. The case against the US citizen was submitted to court…..(Charter97, 29 May 08)

Russia Scraps Arrest Warrant For Media Campaigner

Russian investigators on Monday scrapped an arrest warrant for the head of a media charity, effectively ending a prosecution that rights campaigners said was a Kremlin attack on civil society. Russia's Constitutional Court ruled on Monday that charges against Manana Aslamazyan were illegal -- a decision she said could signal a less hardline approach to non-governmental organizations (NGOs) under new President Dmitry Medvedev……(Reuters, 29 May 08)

Russian president urges protection of national borders

Russia's president congratulated officers of the Federal Border Service (FPS) Wednesday on Border Guard's Day and urged them to continue to secure Russia's borders from terrorists and drug traffickers. "We are well aware that the border service, especially in remote regions of the country, is one of the most difficult," Dmitry Medvedev told officers at the Kremlin…..(RIA Novosti, 28 May 08)

New charge brought against US lawyer held in custody in Minsk

A new criminal charge has been brought against US lawyer Emanuel Zeltser held in custody in Minsk since this past March…The new case was opened on May 27 under Part 1, 328 Article of the Criminal Code penalizing the carriage and possession of illegal drugs and under Part 2, Article 228 that carries punishment for the smuggling of drugs. He is suspected of smuggling medications containing illegal drugs, which he should have declared when entering Belarus, according to the lawyer. The US lawyer was arrested in the Belarusian capital city on March 12 together with his secretary, Russian citizen Vladlena Funk, upon their arrival….(Naviny, 28 May 08)

Georgia demands Russian apology over spy plane

Georgia demanded on Tuesday that Russia apologize after a U.N. report said a Russian air force jet had shot down a Georgian spy plane last month, but Moscow said it did not trust the report's conclusions… Russia denies any involvement in shooting down the unmanned aircraft, which was brought down on April 20 over Abkhazia, a Moscow-backed separatist region of Georgia. Georgia's leaders, who have angered Russia by trying to join NATO, have described the incident as an act of aggression…..(Reuters, 27 May 08)

U.N. Says Russia Downed Drone

U.N. investigators concluded in a report released Monday that a Russian fighter jet almost certainly shot down a Georgian reconnaissance drone over the separatist region of Abkhazia last month. The finding supports Georgian assertions that Russia is providing military backing to rebels in the Black Sea enclave. Russia, which denies involvement in the incident and says the drone was shot down by Abkhaz forces, maintains a peacekeeping force in Abkhazia to enforce a 1994 cease-fire agreement. The region remains a part of Georgia but has enjoyed de facto independence since routing Georgian forces in the early 1990s……(Washington Post, 27 May 08)

Russia's FSB accuses official with revealing state secrets

Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) has launched a criminal case against a deputy interior minister in Russia's northwest Komi Republic accused with divulging state secrets. "We are investigating a case which involves officials from the Interior Ministry in Komi, including Vasily Lytoyev," the head of the local investigative department, Nikolai Basmanov said. According to the popular business daily Kommersant, Lytoyev is accused of revealing secret information to media sources into an investigation against Syktyvkar mayor Roman Zenishev. In an interview with the daily, Lytoyev said, however, his arrest was linked with his professional activities……(RIA Novosti, 26 May 08)

Russian court: smuggling charge against U.S.-funded NGO head unconstitutional

The former head of a U.S.-funded NGO who fled Russia to avoid what supporters called trumped-up smuggling charges won an appeal in the Constitutional Court on Tuesday. Manana Aslamazyan's lawyer said the ruling that the law under which she was charged was unconstitutional was a sign of the potential for positive change in Russia under President Dmitry Medvedev. The new president has vowed to respect the civil rights that Kremlin critics say were trampled by his predecessor, Vladimir Putin. Aslamazyan, former president of the Moscow-based Educated Media Foundation, was charged with smuggling after she carried a sum of money modestly exceeding the legal limit into Russia without declaring it. The charge, punishable by up to five years in prison, was widely seen as a pretext for a campaign against the non-governmental organization. Aslamazyan took refuge in Paris and the foundation was forced to close by legal pressure including a raid and the confiscation of computers and documents…..(AP, 27 May 08)

Abramovich 'vetted' Putin before he became Russia'sPresident

Russian multi-billionaire Roman Abramovich is known worldwide for his wealth and his ownership of the football team Chelsea, but few would be surprised to know that he played a significant role in facilitating Vladimir Putin's selection as the President of Russia after Boris Yeltsin. According to The Times, the late Alexander Litvinenko, the spy poisoned in Britain in a suspected Russian plot, made the astonishing suggestion that Abramovich effectively vetted Putin on behalf of Russia's powerful oligarchs to succeed Boris Yeltsin as President.Litvinenko also told The Times that the football-loving billionaire controlled so much of Russia's economy that he was in danger of being killed by the Kremlin's special services…..(Top News, 23 May 08)

Lugovoi, Wanted in London Spy Death, to Attend Soccer Final

Andrei Lugovoi, the main suspect in the London murder of fellow former KGB officer Alexander Litvinenko, will attend the first all-England Champions League soccer final in Moscow today… Litvinenko, a critic of Prime Minister and former President Vladimir Putin, died in November 2006 from exposure to polonium- 210, a rare radioactive isotope. British prosecutors asked Russia in May to extradite Lugovoi to face trial for the murder. Russia refused, citing a constitutional ban on extradition. Lugovoi won a seat in the State Duma, the lower house of parliament, in December elections, running on the ticket of nationalist firebrand Vladimir Zhirinovsky's Liberal Democratic Party of Russia…..(Bloomberg, 22 May 08)

BP's Moscow Offices Searched

…The search was part of a spy probe involving an employee of TNK-BP Ltd., BP's Russian joint venture, people close to BP said. They said the officers were looking for documents related to OAO Gazprom, the natural-gas giant. A BP spokesman said the company was fully cooperating with the investigation and denied it was a sign of pressure on BP. A spokesman for the FSB, Russia's domestic intelligence service, which carried out the searches, declined to comment. The FSB action comes amid evidence of growing tensions between BP and its partners in TNK-BP, a group of billionaire Russian businessmen. There is also speculation that the Russian shareholders may be forced to sell out to a state-run company like Gazprom, though they have repeatedly denied any plans to exit from the company…..(Wall Street Journal, 21 May 08)

Israel: Russia may be selling Syria arms

Fearing that Damascus is acquiring advanced military platforms, Israel is closely following meetings being held in Moscow this week between a high-level Syrian military delegation and Russian Defense Ministry officials.

Senior government officials in Jerusalem said they have been aware for several days of the Syrians' upcoming visit to the Russian capital but that it was not yet clear which military platforms Damascus was requesting.

According to reports in the Russian media, the delegation, led by Syrian Air Force commander Gen. Akhmad al-Ratyb, will be in Moscow for five days and meet with Russian Defense Ministry and Air Force officials, as well as visit several military bases and units…..(Jerusalem Post, 21 May 08)

U.S. voices concern over lawyer jailed in Belarus

The U.S. State Department has said it is deeply concerned over the deteriorating health of an American lawyer in custody in Belarus, and urged Belarusian authorities to respond to a release plea. Russian-born lawyer Emanuel Zeltser, known for exposing an estimated $10 billion money laundering scheme between a Russian bank and the Bank of New York in 1990s, was arrested by the Belarusian KGB on his arrival in the country on March 12. Media reports said he had been charged with using forged documents……(RIA Novosti, 20 May 08)

BP says Russian agents search its Moscow office

Russian security service officers were searching the headquarters of oil major BP in Moscow on Tuesday for the second time in the two months, adding pressure on the company amid widely rumored buyout talks.  BP's Russian venture, TNK-BP, is the subject of long-running market speculation that the Kremlin wants a state company along the lines of gas monopoly to buy out the Russian billionaires who own half the company…In March, Russian law enforcement agencies conducted searches at the Moscow offices of BP and at TNK-BP, Russia's third-largest oil producer and which is half-owned by BP.  At that time, a Russian TNK-BP employee was charged with industrial espionage…..(Reuters, 20 May 08)