“Like many fellow KGB veterans who lived through the collapse of the Soviet Union, Putin retains a keen sense of the fragility of the Russian state.”

Read Andrei Soldatov and Irina Borogan on the Kremlin’s ongoing campaign against defectors:
trib.al/4lt8N3V

Read the latest piece of our KCSI members Andrei Soldatov (Andrei Soldatov) and Irina Borogan (@irinaborogan).

'Putin’s Defector Obsession'

foreignaffairs.com/russian-federa…

My friend Vladimir Kara-Murza got the Pulitzer Prize for his columns in the #WashingtonPost . He is still in Putin’s prison. Freedom for Vladimir!

We have one more -ism in our history: Stalinism. Putinism is one more incarnation of Stalinism. He behaves like Stalin. His power is personalised like in Stalin's time. He prefers to use a lot of political repressions.

This must be the first Pulitzer won by someone in IK-7 prison in Omsk, Siberia. Congrats to Vladimir Kara-Murza!

.John Kampfner about Laurie Bristow book on the withdrawal from Afghanistan,

“A new account by the British ambassador at the time, Laurie Bristow, provides important further insights into the disaster as it unfolded.”

The betrayal of Afghans by Trump and Biden, and why it matters now more than ever, even with everyone's attention on Ukraine and Gaza. My latest column Foreign Policy
foreignpolicy.com/2024/05/05/the…

“Even if they look and sound completely insignificant,” the Kremlin targets 'traitorous' individuals out of fear they “might come back to the country and destroy it completely.' Andrei Soldatov Emma Burrows buff.ly/3y43dbI

Putin’s campaign against defectors reflects the lasting impact of his totalitarian twentieth-century predecessors—especially Stalin, who sent assassins after the Russian volunteer troops fighting for the Germans, write Andrei Soldatov and Irina Borogan.
trib.al/BBWHFhq

Moscow’s long history of paranoia about threats from within is fueling Putin’s campaign against defectors, which began in the months after the failure of the initial full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, write Andrei Soldatov and Irina Borogan.
trib.al/dnNBleD

Kremlin critics say Russia is targeting its foes abroad with killings, poisonings and harassment apnews.com/article/russia…

Read Andrei Soldatov and Irina Borogan on the Kremlin’s preoccupation with Ukraine-based Russian rebels—and how Putin’s response to Russian defectors reflects the paranoia of his twentieth-century predecessors.
trib.al/OV0naK8

Fueled by a century of paranoia —and volunteer units in Ukraine — Putin’s campaign against defectors seems likely to lead to further assassinations abroad and more crackdowns at home. Irina Borogan and me in Foreign Affairs on Putin’s Defector Obsession.
foreignaffairs.com/russian-federa…

Putin’s campaign against defectors reflects the lasting impact of his totalitarian twentieth-century predecessors—especially Stalin, who sent assassins after the Russian volunteer troops fighting for the Germans, write Andrei Soldatov and Irina Borogan.
trib.al/RFdqvqj

'For the Putin regime, targeting defectors may likely emerge as one of the key prongs of a Russian counterattack against what is now seen as the CIA’s increasingly aggressive stance toward Russia.' Andrei Soldatov and Irina Borogan for Foreign Affairs buff.ly/3UJI4wo

Even 40 years after his death, #KGB chief Yuri Andropov's family history remains enigmatic.

In the major new biography of Andropov, Nikita Petrov left no archival stone unturned but documenting the identities of Andropov's father & the parents of his mother proved elusive.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has demonstrated a preoccupation with Russians who join the other side—and his open use and threat of assassination resembles Stalin’s approach to defectors, write Andrei Soldatov and Irina Borogan.
trib.al/Yglb5f7

Fueled by a century of paranoia —and volunteer units in Ukraine — Putin’s campaign against defectors seems likely to lead to further assassinations abroad and more crackdowns at home. Irina Borogan and me in Foreign Affairs on Putin’s Defector Obsession.
foreignaffairs.com/russian-federa…

'It is just a completely new level of escalation,' Andrei Soldatov discusses rising spying threats with ido vock. 'These people [allegedly] collected information to help organize sabotage operations against military facilities on German soil.' buff.ly/4aUcul7

More horrible news. A stringer for Reuters in Moscow has been arrested (for some alleged other/prior work) according to the court.

Konstantin Gabov, a journalist and video producer, will now face trial and jail in Russia. Local staff always at highest risk