The two faces of Russian secrets: attack in Moscow was not anticipated, but in Europe they use advanced technology, traps and bribes

If the Russian secret services failed to predict the attack on Crocus City, in Moscow, in which at least 137 people died, in several other European countries their secret activity continues at full steam, having intensified in recent months. “Because it’s not the same thing: one thing is to conduct offensive operations, another is to prevent terrorist attacks from happening – for the latter, it is necessary to have a very effective intelligence gathering agency”, explains Andrei Soldatov to Expresso.

“Russian espionage operations are very intense today; we are almost back to the beginning of the Cold War, the late 1940s or early 1950s”, says the Russian investigative journalist and secret expert who lives in the United Kingdom. There are several signs that demonstrate this: “The increasing frequency of operations, conventional espionage applied to assassinations – in Spain – and physical attacks, in Vilnius”.

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