In the highest echelons of power in the USSR there were spies who worked for foreign special services, says a veteran of foreign intelligence, General Yuri Drozdov. According to him, a special list was created, which included members of the leadership of the Soviet Union suspected of illegal connections with foreign intelligence, primarily American.
According to Drozdov, who has worked in illegal intelligence for more than 30 years and has gone from an operational commissioner to the head of a department, it was the introduction of spies into the highest circles of power that allowed Washington to learn about the results of many secret operations. The general spoke about this in an interview with Rossiyskaya Gazeta.
"There are some people in the highest echelons of power who should not know about all this, about our results in any case," the intelligence officer notes. He himself says that he feared betrayal, since even undercover materials confirmed the presence of foreign spies in the Soviet regime, writes RIA Novosti.
In general, over the years of successful work in intelligence, General Drozdov has not lost faith in this method of obtaining information. "Because the entire history of the world's existence, man has always been engaged in intelligence … And therefore, without intelligence, if you reread the biblical sources, society cannot live. Intelligence is needed in any state. As for our state, we definitely need it. We want to build ours correctly. relations with the world, to move forward. To do this, we must also have a well-equipped, comprehensively trained illegal intelligence service, "the general explained.
He is optimistic about the future of Russian intelligence, even in the age of computer technology. "Why should we give up what all powerful powers use. We need to have a complete picture of the political landscape, work out a future strategy. Is this possible without intelligence?" - said Drozdov.
Recall that a major spy scandal erupted at the end of June. Then a whole group of illegal Russian intelligence officers was expelled from the United States. Western media wrote about the tremendous decline of intelligence in Russia since the Soviet Union and the degeneration of the FSB, since over the years of espionage, agents have not been able to obtain valuable information that would not be publicly available on the Internet.
However, former British counterintelligence director Stephen Lander, who headed MI5 for six years until 2002, said in August that Russian spies had been laughed at early on. In a documentary about the scandal this summer, he said that the very existence of a network of Russian illegal immigrants - that is, spies working without diplomatic cover - was in no way a subject of ridicule.
In his opinion, the fact that the exposed agents do not look in any way dangerous and seem to be losers is part of the exciting game. "This is why the Russians are often successful in espionage: this image is a kind of cover. They are cogs of a machine, very professional and formidable," Lander said.
The only thing that has changed since the Cold War is the purpose of the spies, experts say. Now they largely lie in the economic plane, since modern Russia wants to strengthen its strategic position in the world at the expense of its energy resources.
Yuri Drozdov - veteran scout
Yuri Ivanovich Drozdov was born on September 19, 1925 in Minsk into a military family. In 1944 he graduated from the 1st Leningrad Artillery School, evacuated to the city of Engels. Member of the Great Patriotic War. He ended the war in Berlin. In 1956 he graduated from the Military Institute of Foreign Languages and was transferred to the State Security Committee.
In August 1957 he was sent to Berlin in the Office of the authorized KGB as an operative. In connection with the arrest in the United States of the later legendary Soviet intelligence officer Rudolf Abel, he took part in intelligence operations to exchange him for the American pilot Harry Powers.
In 1963, after completing a business trip to Germany, he was sent to advanced training courses for operational personnel. In August 1964 he was sent on a long-term business trip to China, where he remained until 1968 as a resident of the foreign intelligence of the state security organs. After working at the Center in 1975, he was appointed a resident of foreign intelligence in New York, where he remained until 1979 under the guise of the USSR Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN.
In November 1979, he was appointed Head of the Illegal Intelligence Directorate of the PGU of the KGB of the USSR, which he headed until 1991. Participant of the Afghan events. Initiator of the creation and head of the Vympel reconnaissance and sabotage unit, designed to conduct operations outside the USSR during the "special period".
Retired since 1991. Major General. He was awarded many orders, and has government awards of the GDR, Poland, Cuba, Afghanistan.
