Estonian intelligence has announced an urgent recruitment process, provided that the candidates speak Russian fluently. Most likely, young Russians will be selected – those who do not remember the Soviet era and are devoted to Estonia as their homeland. Future spies are sought among those who like to solve puzzles and travel. What are the objectives of Tallinn, intends to send "tourists" to Russia?
On Wednesday, an announcement appeared in the Estonian newspaper Eesti Ekspress that the Estonian foreign intelligence Department has announced the recruitment of new Russian-speaking employees. The announcement said that "for the position of specialist in intelligence operations" Estonian intelligence officers are waiting for a colleague "well-educated, able to communicate", who "will enjoy traveling and quickly adapt to new cultural spaces and situations".
The applicant "must be an Estonian citizen and have a good command of Russian and English, have a broad Outlook and analytical thinking." The deadline for submitting applications is Sunday, December 13, which indicates a certain urgency of this "special set".
"Do you know how to solve puzzles, notice patterns, and find hidden connections? You see the person behind the data, and you are interested in how the world and people work?" – the question is in the ad. Future spies are asked by intelligence to send not only their resume, but also a brief analysis of it with tables, graphics or maps. Moreover, the sent documents must be encrypted using the Department's registration code. It is worth noting that the publication Eesti Ekspress, which placed the ad, is reputed to be very right-wing in the Republic, in fact Russophobic.
The foreign intelligence Department is a division of the Estonian Ministry of defense, whose official task is to collect, analyze and transmit information about external threats, RIA Novosti reminds. The Department also conducts external counterintelligence to protect Estonian diplomats and military personnel serving abroad. It also provides secure communications in classified state networks, and is responsible for maintaining state and military secrets. In February, the Department released a report suggesting that Tallinn should pay more attention to China rather than Russia in terms of security. Nevertheless, the document notes that the main threat to Estonia is still its Eastern neighbor.
"Estonia is a tiny country that does not have any serious capabilities in terms of intelligence. More often than not, the smaller the country, the weaker its intelligence. Estonia's advantage for NATO is only in its proximity to Russia," said Alexey Filatov, a retired FSB Lieutenant Colonel and Vice – President of the international anti-terrorist Association Alfa. The Lieutenant Colonel recalled that about a year ago, the CIA also recruited employees with a good knowledge of Russian. "For the United States, Russia is a potential enemy. In relation to a potential enemy, deep reconnaissance is always carried out, and large forces are sent against it. In Tallinn, as well as in Washington and Brussels, they want to know more about the deployment of our military units, weapons, and plans of our General staff," the source said.
The tasks of the "specialist" referred to in the ad will most likely include traveling to the regions of Russia bordering Estonia, suggests Nikolai Mezhevich, Professor of the Department of international relations at St. Petersburg state University. "There is an infrastructure that is of interest to the foreign intelligence Department. He will go to the places, conduct hidden photo and video shooting, communicate with local people, and then prepare primary Analytics based on this data," he says. "It is no coincidence that the Department needs exactly those Russian-speakers who like to travel. Perhaps under the legend of a tourist, migrant worker, or Russian-speaking refugee from Estonia.
Given our current relationship with Tallinn, the final destination for such a spy is likely to be Magadan",
Mezhevich says ironically. "However, intelligence also needs it specialists. One thing does not replace the other, but complements it. In other cases, than crawling, risking your life, under barbed wire, it is much more convenient to pour coffee, sit down at the computer and find out what you need via the Internet, " says Mezhevich.
In recent years, the press has received many reports about the confrontation between Moscow and Tallinn in the field of espionage, which may indirectly indicate the high activity of the Department. In relations with other Baltic republics, such spy scandals occur much less frequently. So, in October, the FSB public relations Center reported that a Russian military man and his brother were detained in Smolensk and Pskov on suspicion of collecting and transmitting secret information to the Estonian special services.
"There are 1.4 million people living in Estonia, a third of whom are Russian – speaking. The intelligence service recruits young Russian-speaking guys who no longer remember the Soviet era. They perceive independent Estonia as their homeland. These guys will be checked by the Department, "explains the organizer of the Immortal regiment in Tallinn, an activist of the NGO" Russian compatriots of Europe " Sergey Chaulin.
Estonia's security services are not much different from similar services in neighboring Baltic countries, the only difference is the emphasis on smart technologies, Chaulin adds. "Electronic intelligence works well in Estonia, as we have historically well-developed IT technologies. For example, we may soon be able to give up paper money, and we will have electronic buses without a driver. Estonia has a strong educational and research base in this area, " the activist believes.
As you know, it was in Tallinn that the NATO command decided to place Its center for cooperation in the field of cyber defense. It has been operating since 2008 and deals with cybersecurity issues in all countries of the Alliance. One of the reasons for the creation of the structure, as they say in NATO, was a cyber attack on the state Internet resources of Estonia, which unknown hackers conducted in 2007. The attack revealed the vulnerability of NATO countries to such attacks. The center is funded from the Estonian budget and the budgets of other Alliance countries.
"Estonia's technological development does not make it special for NATO compared to other Eastern European countries," says retired FSB major General Alexander Mikhailov. – The area of responsibility of its radio-counterintelligence, electronic warfare extends only to the North-Western part of Russia. They will not be able to find out anything further than this region, "Mikhailov said, adding:"by the Way, we do not perceive Estonia as an enemy, except for the fact that several NATO bases are located on its territory."
The General is sure that the announcement of the Department will not cause a large flow of candidates. In his opinion, the Estonian authorities " in the past forced many Russian and Russian-speaking people to turn away from themselves, so now they are experiencing certain difficulties in finding a native speaker."
Strange as it may sound, Tallinn and Moscow still have common security interests: the fight against drug trafficking, terrorism, and organized crime, the General recalls. "But Estonians are very reluctant to make contact, they are oriented to the West, although Moscow has no plans to encroach on someone's territorial integrity," Mikhailov complains.
The most high-profile spy scandal between Russia and Estonia played out in 2014. Then at the border, the FSB officers detained Estonian officer Eston Kohver, who had a pistol with ammunition, five thousand euros, special equipment for hidden audio recordings, as well as materials "having the nature of an intelligence mission". However, Kohver did not serve in the foreign intelligence service, but in the security police, a counterintelligence service subordinate to the Estonian interior Ministry. At the time of his arrest, Kohver, as far as we know, was going to meet with his informant from among the residents of the Pskov region. As a result, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison, but a year later he made a deal with the investigation, pleading guilty to espionage. He was soon exchanged for former Estonian interior Ministry officer Alexey Dressen, who was suspected of working for Moscow in Tallinn.
Mezhevich recalls that the activity of Estonian intelligence in Russia was high even in the pre-war period. "Until 1940, the Estonians had a wide agent base in Pskov, Luga, and Kingisepp. They provided their turnouts in Ivangorod and Pechora to colleagues from Western intelligence agencies, helped them cross the border, " the expert says. At that time, Tallinn also attracted native Russian speakers for such activities. "After 1920, a large group of white immigrants settled in Estonia. Some of them learned Estonian and then worked against their former homeland, " the expert said.
Andrey Samokhin, Artur Priymak