KGB, Paradise in the USA by Konstantin Preobrazhensky

More articles by former KGB Lt. Colonel Konstantin Preobrazhensky

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KGB, Paradise in the USA

Published by Gerard Group International. October 11, 2007

From 1976-91 Mr. Preobrazhenskiy served as an officer in KGB Intelligence. His last position was as personal advisor on China, Japan and Korea to Major General Leonid Zaitsev, the Head of the Scientific and Technical Intelligence (Directorate "T"), Deputy Head of the KGB Intelligence (The First Chief Directorate).He was also the senior officer at the KGB station in Tokyo, Japan where he was ostensibly the correspondent of TASS, Telegraph Agency of the Soviet Union.

"Chinese and Russian spies are stalking the United States at levels close to those seen during the tense Soviet covert espionage duels of the Cold War." This was testimony by Director of National Intelligence Michael McConnell during a House of Representatives hearing on September 18, 2007, and he called their intelligence network among the most aggressive in the world.

But McConnell did not say a word about how Russia has modernized its intelligence methods since the Cold War, nor about how it is able to carry out espionage against the United States so successfully. America's preoccupation with political correctness may have constrained him from mentioning one of the most egregious methods - the use of its own churches as a cover for its espionage activities. It might be understood as a violation of the principle of separation of Church and state. Moreover, American counter-intelligence is even said to be prohibited from investigating clergymen as possible foreign spies!

And this is just what Russian intelligence needs! American political correctness opens a doorway to the US through the Moscow Patriarchate, which has been a tool of KGB intelligence since it was founded by Stalin in 1943. The principle of separation of church and state, a basic component in American law and tradition, is proclaimed by Russia too, but only on paper. Russians are not devoted to political correctness as Americans are.

Here then is the story of how Russia uses America's own sensitivities to forward its espionage program.

On May 17, 2007, Russia gained a historical victory over America. It opened its province here, called the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Of Russia. On this day it had formally recognized Moscow's superiority by signing an Act of Canonical Community with the Moscow Patriarchate, controlled by the Russian government.

Though a part of the Russian Church Outside Of Russia has refused to come under Moscow's rule and retained its independence, many thousands of Russian-Americans and their children are now nourished in the spirit of loyalty to authoritarian Russia, which is becoming more hostile to America every day. Their churches have become insidious fronts for Russian state interests. No matter how our relations evolve in the future, the churches will remain a stronghold for Russian intelligence.

In preparation for the seizure of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Of Russia, the KGB has been infiltrating it for over 70 years. And since 2000, this mammoth KGB operation has been guided personally by President Putin himself.

This operation has succeeded, to the accompaniment of America's recognition of Russia's "democracy", though, in fact, Putin has trampled its first weak roots. Russian espionage is not driven by America's behavior at all, but rather is directed from inside Russia, according to a Russian agenda. Putin is putting the screws to it there by provoking anti-Western hysteria. Interestingly, a lot of Americans are not familiar with this fierce state-run anti-American campaign in Russia, which is even stronger than it was during the Cold War. Anti-Americanism has become an ideology of post-Communist Russia.

Did America think that by displaying unfounded delight in Russia's democracy it could manage to keep good relations with Russia? In fact, that delight has been returned to America in a form of aggressive Russian espionage.

In March 2003, the famous Russian human rights activists, Elena Bonner and Vladimir Bukovsky, wrote in their open letter to President Bush the following: "The danger of 'partnership' with criminal regimes is that they never stop until they make you an accomplice of their crimes. Slowly but surely, the Russian rulers force their Western partners to accept their crimes in Chechnya as a part of their common struggle with terrorism".

Unbelievably, their prediction has begun to come true. President Putin has succeeded, to some extent, in making President Bush an accomplice of Russia's crimes in Chechnya! In March, 2007, he provoked President Bush to accept a notoriously known Russian General, Vladimir Shamanov, accused of committing military crimes in Chechnya and other violations of human rights, into the Oval Office.

This meeting caused a squall of indignation by both American and Russian human rights activists. The White House said it was not aware of the allegations against General Shamanov. But how could this be possible? They openly discussed the subject with the Russian media while it was still relatively free. It is impossible to believe that America was unaware of this discussion.

General Shamanov was presented to President Bush as a co-chairman of the U.S.-Russian commission on missing soldiers. But I am sure that President Putin appointed him to this post in 2005 with only one aim: to sully President Bush by creating a situation that would cause him meet with General Shamanov on multiple occasions.

Russian intelligence has never been as self-confident and unrestricted here since 1945, when it succeeded in having a Soviet agent, Alger Hiss, promoted to the position of the first Secretary General of the UN. At that time, Russia was enjoying America's full trust and respect as an ally in the Second World War. But this fact did not prevent Russia from spying on its ally, while America did not spy on Russia during the war.

Nowadays, Russia enjoys a similar privilege as America's ally in the war on terrorism, though in fact their cooperation in this war is mostly rhetoric, because world terrorism was invented by the KGB and has been consistently backed by it.

The success of Russian espionage against the US today has been facilitated by the following conditions:

Widespread liberal and leftist political views, inherited from the period of popularity of socialist ideas initiated by Moscow after World War II.
An inaccurate perception of Russia as a free, democratic country, propagated by some American specialists on Russia, journalists, and think-tanks. This image induces America to make faulty decisions in its politics and policies concerning Russian.
Widespread anti-American movements all over the world allow Russian Intelligence to recruit en-mass from the enemies of the U.S.A. and facilitates anti-American espionage in the "third world" countries.
The great influence which has been retained by Communists in all Russian top ministries. It facilitates cooperation with China in anti-American spy activities.
The KGB (now known as the FSB) is not restricted by any laws in or outside Russia. Nobody controls the KGB in their home country and it enjoys the ownership of state power. While their American counterparts are dependent on their government and are obliged to follow laws, the KGB's privileged position in Russia gives it unrestricted freedom to maneuver all over the world.
Today's Russia, following the tradition established during the Second World War, continues spying on its American ally, using the dynamics of the 21st century to advance their espionage program against us.