Russian intelligence isn’t all it’s cracked up to be

Western countries have always had a rather high opinion of Soviet intelligence. British secret services – MI5, MI6 and Special Branch – tended to greatly exaggerate Russia’s successes during the Cold War and even after the collapse of the USSR. But the reality when it comes to Russian secret services is rather different. As the famous Russian satirist Vladimir Voinovich, the author of the dystopian ‘Moscow 2042’, put it: 

‘I am not afraid of the KGB. Either their car will break when they decide to come and arrest me, or they run out of petrol on the way to my home, or they simply forget my address.’

Have things improved in the years since the end of the Cold War? Russia’s bungled invasion of Ukraine suggests not. The debacle is being blamed on intelligence failings, not least by president Putin himself. Once again, it appears to show Russian spies aren’t all they are cracked up to be. Two FSB generals responsible for covert operations in Ukraine are said to have been suspended and are under house arrest.