Putin brings back dreaded secretive anti-spy unit as paranoia spreads through Kremlin
A counterintelligence directorate, dubbed “smert shpionam” – meaning “death to spies” – is to make a return as Russia looks to protect itself from the West.
The ruthless anti-spy unit, created by Joseph Stalin was formed to locate Nazi spy rings targeting the Red Army during the Second World War.
It has been claimed that “paranoid” Russia is bringing Smersh back amid concerns over western spies.
A confessional video was posted in Russia on Thursday, which features a young Russian man saying he was prepared to accept any punishment for “wrongly and thoughtlessly” filming an air-defence system in the Belgorod area, bordering Ukraine.
In the video, two men can be seen wearing helmets and jackets with the word “Smersh” printed on the back.
Some have suggested that the men could be from another counterintelligence unit using the term informally or vigilantes.
However, according to Russian politicians and bloggers, an official Smersh-style group is already operating in occupied areas of eastern Ukraine.
The unit was made famous by James Bond where agents of Smersh, including assassin Rosa Klebb, are cold-blooded foes of the 007 agent.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
Putin’s efforts to block Russian defections FAIL as hundreds use army hotline to hand themselves overPutin issues direct threat to ‘deal with’ UK in chilling warning‘Furious’ Putin orders ‘punishment’ for Russian commanders after Ukraine strike on warship
Author Ian Fleming was a former naval intelligence officer and used his experiences to create a version of Smersh.
Member of the defence committee in Russia’s state duma, Andrei Gurulev said that during a meeting, there was a discussion about creating a directorate similar to Smersh.
Gurulev said: “We talked about Smersh and today created a directorate that will work in the same way in the new territories [Ukrainian regions annexed by Moscow]
“A fight against saboteurs and spies is necessary across the whole country: after all, war has come back to bite us across the entire territory of the Russian Federation.”
He added that railways could be targeted by saboteurs and warships in the country’s Far East were vulnerable.
Posting the video, Russian war blogger Vladimir Romanov wrote on Telegram: “I didn’t want to be the first to write about it, but since the lads have appeared on camera — yes, Smersh has been systematically reborn.”
Romanov explained that the agents had located 22-year-old Denis Ivanovich Baban within two hours of his transgression.
“He won’t do it again,” the blogger added.