June 28, 2010

Now THAT'S a Reset Button!


"Excuse me, but haven't we met in California last summer?"
"No, I think it was the Hamptons."

Life is always stranger than fiction, or, in this case, it may have been imitating [bad] fiction. Th above was a coded exchange which one Anna Chapman, an alleged Russian sleeper agent ("illegal") was to use to verify the identity of a person to whom she was to give off a fake passport.

Chapman (not her real name, we assume) is one of nearly a dozen Russian sleeper agents rounded up by the FBI today in a multi-state arrest of illegal agents.

The criminal complaints read not so much like a Le Carre spy novel as something Dave Barry might have written. There are meetings in CVS pharmacies and Russian restaurants, malfunctioning private wireless networks, messages encrypted in photographs [aka steganography], invisible writing, brush switches of bags, trips to South America, envelopes of cash hidden at dead drops, and, yes, an apartment in Hoboken, New Jersey. It has to be read to be believed.

Another identity verification with one Mikhail Semenko:

"Could we have met in Beijing in 2004?" 
"Yes, we might have, but I believe it was in Harbin." 

Apparently, these spies were not trained to introduce variety to their spycraft.

Today's arrests are apparently the culmination of a years-long investigation into the SVR's (Russian foreign intelligence) illegals program, which the FBI asserts was set up to train deep cover agents that would blend in in the US, either individiually or as a married couple, have children, buy a house, have cover jobs, etc., all with the express purpose of "becoming sufficiently Americanized" so as to infiltrate, gathering intelligence on and recruiting other agents in policy making bodies. The main NYT article offers some of the more hilarious exchanges between Moscow Center and the agents, the choicest being two agents arguing with Center about who would own a new house they would be purchasing in New Jersey.

Based on the criminal complaints, it is clear that these characters are not the brightest bulbs in the chandelier (someone wrote down a 27-character password for accessing encrypted data on a sheet of paper and left it lying around), and they are going to race to be the first to cut a deal. So I would expect we will soon learn all of the juicy details of this spy ring, perhaps soon to be known as The Gang Which Couldn't Spy Straight.

I am guessing some people on Lubyanka Square are not going to get a lot of sleep the next few days.

p.s. Meanwhile, in a curious twist of fate, our current issue of Russian Life, which mailed last Friday, has a long story on the little-known private life and history of Russia's most famous illegal in the U.S., William Fisher, aka Rudolph Abel.

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Some of our Books

Faith & Humor
December 01, 2011

Faith & Humor

A book that dares to explore the humanity of priests and pilgrims, saints and sinners, Faith & Humor has been both a runaway bestseller in Russia and the focus of heated controversy – as often happens when a thoughtful writer takes on sacred cows. The stories, aphorisms, anecdotes, dialogues and adventures in this volume comprise an encyclopedia of modern Russian Orthodoxy, and thereby of Russian life.

Little Golden Calf
February 01, 2010

Little Golden Calf

Our edition of The Little Golden Calf, one of the greatest Russian satires ever, is the first new translation of this classic novel in nearly fifty years. It is also the first unabridged, uncensored English translation ever, and is 100% true to the original 1931 serial publication in the Russian journal 30 Dnei. Anne O. Fisher’s translation is copiously annotated, and includes an introduction by Alexandra Ilf, the daughter of one of the book’s two co-authors.

Murder at the Dacha
July 01, 2013

Murder at the Dacha

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin has a problem. Several, actually. Not the least of them is the fact that a powerful Soviet boss has been murdered, and Matyushkin's surly commander has given him an unreasonably short time frame to close the case.

Fish
February 01, 2010

Fish

This mesmerizing novel from one of Russia’s most important modern authors traces the life journey of a selfless Russian everywoman. In the wake of the Soviet breakup, inexorable forces drag Vera across the breadth of the Russian empire. Facing a relentless onslaught of human and social trials, she swims against the current of life, countering adversity and pain with compassion and hope, in many ways personifying Mother Russia’s torment and resilience amid the Soviet disintegration.

At the Circus
January 01, 2013

At the Circus

This wonderful novella by Alexander Kuprin tells the story of the wrestler Arbuzov and his battle against a renowned American wrestler. Rich in detail and characterization, At the Circus brims with excitement and life. You can smell the sawdust in the big top, see the vivid and colorful characters, sense the tension build as Arbuzov readies to face off against the American.

Driving Down Russia's Spine
June 01, 2016

Driving Down Russia's Spine

The story of the epic Spine of Russia trip, intertwining fascinating subject profiles with digressions into historical and cultural themes relevant to understanding modern Russia. 

Survival Russian
February 01, 2009

Survival Russian

Survival Russian is an intensely practical guide to conversational, colloquial and culture-rich Russian. It uses humor, current events and thematically-driven essays to deepen readers’ understanding of Russian language and culture. This enlarged Second Edition of Survival Russian includes over 90 essays and illuminates over 2000 invaluable Russian phrases and words.

Fearful Majesty
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Fearful Majesty

This acclaimed biography of one of Russia’s most important and tyrannical rulers is not only a rich, readable biography, it is also surprisingly timely, revealing how many of the issues Russia faces today have their roots in Ivan’s reign.

Marooned in Moscow
May 01, 2011

Marooned in Moscow

This gripping autobiography plays out against the backdrop of Russia's bloody Civil War, and was one of the first Western eyewitness accounts of life in post-revolutionary Russia. Marooned in Moscow provides a fascinating account of one woman's entry into war-torn Russia in early 1920, first-person impressions of many in the top Soviet leadership, and accounts of the author's increasingly dangerous work as a journalist and spy, to say nothing of her work on behalf of prisoners, her two arrests, and her eventual ten-month-long imprisonment, including in the infamous Lubyanka prison. It is a veritable encyclopedia of life in Russia in the early 1920s.

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