You have commented 339 times on Rantburg.

Your Name
Your e-mail (optional)
Website (optional)
My Original Nic        Pic-a-Nic        Sorry. Comments have been closed on this article.
Bold Italic Underline Strike Bullet Blockquote Small Big Link Squish Foto Photo
Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
Putin, power and poison: Russia's elite FSB spy club
2018-02-03
[BBC] FSB. The letters are not just familiar to fans of spy thrillers. They have come to symbolise Vladimir Putin's grip on power in Russia.

Russia's secretive security agency has gained notoriety around the world with its intelligence and counter-terror operations. But with roots in the Soviet Union's KGB secret police, allegations of state-sanctioned killings and close ties to the president, it faces questions about its true nature and ambitions.

What does the FSB do? Counter-terrorism and counter-espionage.

The Federal Security Service's (FSB) was set up in 1995, and is tasked with tackling perceived threats to the Russian state. Mr Putin ran the agency before he came to power. It co-operates with foreign police forces in fighting jihadists and some organised crime gangs.

Skipping down a bit:

Cyber spying and interference - The FSB is integral to Russia's new doctrine of information warfare, which includes shaping public opinion abroad via social media.

"Shaping public opinion abroad." What an amazing coincidence.
Posted by:Besoeker

#6  There was never any equivalent of the Nuremburg trials (which themselves didn't fully accomplish the job of cleaning up post Nazi Germany) for the former USSR.

And so, here we are.

Of course, the next time the Dems take over and "Muh Russia!" ceases to be useful, all this discussion will be memory holed and America will once again be "flexible" towards Vlad/his successors.
Posted by: charger   2018-02-03 13:16  

#5  Yeah, and the Nazi's were National Socialists...oh, wait
Posted by: Frank G   2018-02-03 12:42  

#4  But... but... I thought the communists were just nationalists at heart, like Our Founding Fathers. Big admirers of Thomas Jefferson etc.
Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain   2018-02-03 11:04  

#3  Sounds like the FBIs wet dream.
Posted by: AlanC   2018-02-03 07:02  

#2  Sounds like Booz Allen.
Posted by: DooDahMan   2018-02-03 04:24  

#1  Begs the question regarding the greater danger; "shaping public opinion abroad" or shaping public opinion domestically ?
Posted by: Besoeker   2018-02-03 03:21  

00:00