The Daily Feed

Russian Spies Arrested in Arlington

Photo courtesy of
‘DSC_4600’
courtesy of ‘bhrome’

The FBI and the Justice Department brought down 10 suspected spies this afternoon across the country, including three from right here in Arlington. Several sources are reporting the details, including this article from CNN, and talk to the fact that these Russian secret agents were reportedly sent to the US for long-term operations and were to fully adapt to our way of life (marriage, kids, house, mini-vans…and the true American dream of  balloon mortgage payments says Wonkette). The article also includes details of some of the intercepted and decrypted messages that Russia reportedly sent to these agents.

Your education, bank accounts, car, house, etc. — all these serve one goal: fulfill your main mission, i.e., to search and develop ties in policymaking circles in U.S. and send intels (intelligence reports),” the document said.

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The Daily Feed

The “White House” in Kiev

Is that the White House… by a river? Nope, look again — it’s the Senator’s Park Hotel in Kiev, Ukraine!

Built to closely resemble DC’s own White House, Senator’s Park is “committed to providing visitors with an authentic and luxurious American experience without ever having to leave Ukraine!” There’s even a Barack Obama cutout by the door to make the experience even more authentically American.

(Hat tip to English Russia. Спасибо.)

The Daily Feed

Cold War, Revisited

Photo courtesy of
‘KGB / FSB Headquarters’ courtesy of ‘rodc’

Need a lunchtime diversion? How about a history lesson…from the other side’s point of view?

Spymaster: My 32 Years in Intelligence and Espionage Against the West
Thursday, 30 July; 12 noon – 1 pm at the International Spy Museum
Cost: FREE!

He was the youngest general in the history of the KGB, and his intelligence career spanned the better part of the Cold War. As deputy chief of the KGB station at the Soviet embassy in Washington, DC, he oversaw Moscow’s spy network in the United States, and as head of KGB foreign counter-intelligence, he directed the KGB’s most valuable clandestine agents inside the United States. In his memoir, Spymaster, KGB Major General Oleg Kalugin (Ret.) provides an unparalleled look at the inner workings of Moscow’s famed spy agency. Join Kalugin to hear firsthand how he became disillusioned with the Soviet system, about his falling out with Russian president Vladimir Putin, and what he thinks of recent intelligence-related incidents with Moscow ties, including the death of Russian intelligence defector Alexander Litvinenko in London in 2006.

And if you can’t make it during lunchtime, check out the two “spycasts” (podcasts) that Oleg did for the Museum a couple of years back.

Co-sponsored by The OSS Society.