For those who were born or spent the greater part of their life in America, travel to a European country is considered entirely natural. More often than not, no thought is given to special precautions for foreigners and so for many people the things that happen to them while visiting Russia come as a complete surprise.
Most frequently the unpleasantness does not affect regular Americans arriving, for example, for business. The victims of provocations and other “active measures” of Russian counterintelligence are normally government funds, scholars of the humanities who are studying Russian society, or guest lecturers at higher educational institutions – especially if the subject of their lectures touches upon some social or political theme. Unlike consular officials who are regularly warned of the danger of being baited, those mentioned above more often than not cannot conceive of what awaits them in Russia.
It’s important to remember that in Russia, especially outside the big cities, any American involved in activities connected with society and government are assumed to be intelligence agents. This is especially true for representatives of non-commercial organizations and funds that offer various grants and internships to Russians. Even if the work of a given organization is exclusively charitable, educational, or religious, Russians cling to established stereotypes according to which any fund or non-commercial organization is nothing less than an unofficial branch of the CIA. Should the visiting foreigner meet with human rights advocates or other dissidents it is impossible to escape the attention of the FSB.
It must be noted that many of the problems that crop up are unavoidable, but as a minimum travelers should be prepared for them. Here are a few:
- Provocation. There are different kinds of provocateurs. The first and most common are the brawlers who attend public events: lectures, exhibitions, presentations, press conferences, etc. It’s practically impossible to avoid them, and therefore the only thing that will help is moral preparedness and good defensive measures.
The best advice in such an event is to remain calm and not engage in deep discussions with the provocateurs and to avoid making rash statements in the heat of argument. It’s important to understand that the basic goal of this type of provocation is to capture a “picture” that can be used on a propaganda TV broadcast. It’s also necessary to get used to the fact that in the event one should run into such provocateurs a video will be freely available in which you are portrayed in the most unfavorable light regardless of your conduct. Therefore it’s best to be philosophical about it and do your best to avoid saying things that can later be taken out of context and used against you. However denigrating the resulting propaganda may be, if the subject uses certain words or if such words can be ascribed to him, it will play an important role.
The second type of provocateur is a bit more dangerous in that such people are harder to spot. They operate more like “double agents” with the distinction that their task is not to win your trust over a long period of time, but only to entrap you into a discussion of scandalous topics that later can be used to charge you with “planning sabotage” and the like. We can recall the example of Stepan Chernogubov who had a conversation with a representative of the American Consulate in Yekaterinburg about human rights internships. The conversation was presented as “exposing the CIA rezidentura in the Urals.”
With eyes blazing, such people can propose various radical plans such as training saboteurs, organizing destabilizing activities in various areas, etc. It does no good to explain to them that you have no interest in such things, or try to show them that their plans are unrealistic. Any dialogue on this subject, the slightest hint of interest, can later be exploited against you. In the wake of such a scandal it’s hard to explain that you were interested in the details of the proposal only in order to understand what was expected of you. If you don’t want to harm your reputation, and that of your country, you have to cut off contact with provocateurs immediately. For this reason it’s a good idea to avoid secret meetings on political topics unless they are directly connected with your work.
Of course, it’s important to take into consideration that practically all Russian citizens regardless of their views are to a certain extent susceptible to Russian propaganda. Many truly believe in an “all-powerful America dreaming of destroying Russia,” but they react differently to this myth: some are repelled, and some are favorable. It’s entirely possible that a dissident should take you for a CIA operative and quite sincerely lay out his ideas for “fighting the system.” But if you are not truly inclined toward undermining the Russian regime, it’s best to avoid such discussions – being in Russia, nothing good can come of it, either for you or your interlocutor.
It’s possible to highlight some points for distinguishing a provocateur from a true opponent of the system:
- Lack of fear. A real dissident living in Russia in the recent past has regularly come up against harassment and persecution from the security services. Provocateurs often do not take this into account and fearlessly meet with foreigners, prepared to provide the most “seditious” information via open channels because they know they have nothing to fear.
- Crudity: Russian security services very often believe their own myths about dissidents – for example, that all such people are thoroughly corrupt or hate Russia. True, among rights activists are some who unscrupulously give out Western grants, but such people do not all behave in the same way. Particularly low-level provocateurs often embody these typical FSB myths: they play the role of bold Russia haters, brazenly ask for money, spout pro-Western views, demonstrate cupidity, and sometimes manage all this at the same time. This is should ring another alarm bell: beware of a combination of incongruous characteristics in one person. Yes, personalities are complicated and many-faceted, but in honest people this does not resemble schizophrenia.
- An abundance of pathos: This example is especially hard for Americans to understand. In their culture pathos and honesty go together. Earnestness in the American tradition goes hand in hand with patriotism, and sincere people truly shed tears upon hearing the national anthem. But in Russia where beautiful words were totally discredited even in Soviet times, real dissidents (often harassed and distressed) do not speak in slogans. They strive to express true sacrifice with simple words and are ashamed of excessive pathos.
- Eavesdropping. If you decide to attend a “closed” event where only a small circle of trusted people are meeting, you cannot hope that the content of this meeting will not be known to the FSB, especially if it concerns political or social questions. This in no way signifies that your Russian friends are “double agents.” More likely than not, they are completely honest and respectable people. But the level of surveillance over such people in Russia is such that even the most secret meetings are known beforehand, and even the most private conversations may be recorded on a hidden video camera. In short, if you’re in Russia, forget about privacy.
- Informants. Here we are not speaking of conscious provocateurs or professional “informers.” But it’s important to remember that many dissidents and rights defenders may not be able to withstand pressure from the security services. Anyone meeting with foreigners will likely be interrogated by the FSB (Federal Security Service) and impressed by a certain logic: “The foreigner will go home, but you have to live in Russia.” Not all dissidents reason in such a way, but you will always come across a few people who make compromises that seem small in their eyes. You may be the subject of such a compromise.
I don’t mean to suggest that these warnings mean that in Russia the GULAG or the firing squad await you as in Stalinist times. More likely, you’ll conduct your business and peacefully return home. However, under the current Russian regime it is best to be forewarned and understand that aside from arrests and the camps there are provocations, compromise and possible resulting blackmail which could end with attempted recruitment. Therefore it is best to be careful.
