For Soviet and Russian security services, recruitment of foreign nationals was the most important method of work. This practice, which has its roots in the early years of the Bolshevik dictatorship in Russia, remains unchanged today.
Recruited agents form extensive networks of agents, which become a powerful mechanism of espionage and political influence of Moscow.
Their tasks include the collection of secret political, economic and military information, as well as the promotion of Russian interests in various spheres. Such agents infiltrate political circles, business communities, religious organizations, sports associations and social movements, allowing them to influence political processes, manipulate public opinion, destabilize the country and promote Moscow’s interests at various levels.
By skillfully managing these networks, Russian intelligence services achieve their goals without visible interference, creating the illusion of independent activity of the recruited persons.
In Cyprus, Russian special services (FSB, GRU, SVR, Rossotrudnichestvo) have been successfully recruiting businessmen, politicians, police officers, journalists, diplomats, religious figures, students, public figures and even leaders of organized crime using various channels for a long time. The latter serve as a private army for the Russian security services and businessmen associated with them, providing them with force support and security services.
Russia has created and finances numerous front organizations on the island masquerading as public, cultural, sports and educational institutions.
Legal structures act as a cover for espionage, influencing local elites, manipulating Cypriot public opinion and destabilizing the situation in the country. All this has allowed Moscow to achieve impressive results in bringing the Republic of Cyprus into the orbit of its influence.
Such success of Russian security services was the result of long, systematic and purposeful work, which was carried out for more than sixty years, starting from the moment of independence of Cyprus. And even long before that. Moscow has always been well aware of the extreme value of foreign agents and therefore recruited them in advance, long before they were needed. Recruitment was carried out at every opportunity, regardless of the current geopolitical circumstances, which allowed them to create a stock of «dormant» agents ready to be activated at the right moment.
John Barron in his book «KGB Today» wrote about the largest intelligence operations conducted by the NKVD and KGB: «None of these operations would have succeeded if agents were recruited only when they were needed…. identification, recruitment, gradual introduction of agents and their advancement through the legal service is the most important of the tasks facing the staff of the First Main Directorate.»
Dmitry Khmelnitsky, a historian and researcher of Soviet and Russian intelligence services, explains the secret of the success of this strategy: «For Moscow, training new generations of agents of influence and spies from foreign youth is a traditional and long-running program. Who knows what positions, in what countries and in what organizations today’s schoolboy or student will find himself in ten years. The earlier you buy them, the better.»
After the collapse of the USSR, the main recruiting base for foreign youth for the KGB-FSB was Russian-speaking emigrants, tourists and foreign students who came to the country on exchange or simply to study.
After the start of Russia’s large-scale war against Ukraine in February 2022, the situation changed. Tourism has waned, students are few and far between, and there are hardly any from EU countries at all. Direct air service to Europe has been cut off. Quickly orienting themselves in the new situation, Russian security services activated the program of attracting foreign students to Russian universities, which had existed since Soviet times. The Kremlin has significantly strengthened this program, directing huge funds to recruit a new generation of agents.
In August 2022, Deputy Minister of Economic Development Dmitry Volvach announced the creation of a grant support system for talented foreign students studying in Russia.
In February 2022, it was announced that the quota for foreign students would be increased: up to 23 thousand places in 2022, and up to 30 thousand places in 2023. This shows the importance that the Russian intelligence services attach to the recruitment of foreigners.
In Cyprus, as in other countries, the key structure implementing the program of attraction, selection and training of foreign citizens to study in Russia is the Russian Center for Science and Culture (RCSC) in Nicosia. Under the leadership of its director, Alina Radchenko, the center actively promotes educational programs, which at first glance look quite innocent. On closer examination, it becomes clear that they are part of the strategic plan of the Russian security services to form a new generation of agents of influence.For these purposes, social networks are actively used, including Facebook, which is banned in Russia, where the RCSC regularly publishes announcements about the selection of applicants to Russian universities. These posts emphasize «free tuition,» scholarships and other benefits, making them extremely attractive to young citizens of Cyprus and other countries.
Such agent centers of Russia’s intelligence services, operating under the guise of scientific and cultural-educational institutions, play a crucial role in the global system of influence built by the Kremlin outside Russia.
Here are a few examples of the formation of a new generation of agents.
In September 2024, on the pages of several Russian Houses (for example, in Nicosia and Dushanbe) there appears an announcement about the online Olympiad «Themis» for citizens of foreign countries. The Olympiad is organized by the Russian State University of Justice — «The winners and prize-winners of the Olympiad are guaranteed admission to the University within the quota established by the Government of the Russian Federation».
This news has a very characteristic lining. Russia in 2024 is a completely non-legal state. Without justice and many civil liberties, with wild, anti-democratic laws. One can go to today’s Russia to study law with the same success as to North Korea or Belarus. And with the same goals that have nothing to do with education.
A sane foreigner who would go to Russia today to study law is either a complete ignoramus or an already recruited agent of the Russian security services.
In fact, participation in the Olympiad itself is a demonstration of readiness for recruitment. It is curious that the terms of registration of participants in different countries are different. In Cyprus — from September 23 to November 5, in Tajikistan — from November 5 to November 26, which speaks of systematic work with specific countries, rather than one universal program.
Simultaneously with the Themis Award, the Russian House website publishes an announcement about the extension of applications for the III International Media Award «Honest Look«, for which «more than 300 applications from 50 countries have already been registered».
This is a contest for everyone, including foreigners ready to become Moscow propagandists, which more than blatantly follows from the list of nominations and awards:
«Applications are accepted in all languages on the official website of the award honest-view.press from individual journalists, editorial teams and bloggers.
Nominations of the honest-view award:
Grand Prix — the main award of the Honest View Award;
Best material on social and humanitarian issues;
Best material on international cultural partnership with Russia;
The best material in the genre of journalism and documentary;
The best material about Russia by young journalists;
Best material in the partner nomination from RT.
We would like to remind you that this year there is a new nomination for young journalists aged 18 to 25. The finalists will visit Moscow to participate in a two-day Media School, which will be organized on the eve of the awards ceremony. Don’t miss the chance to win a cash prize and attend the award ceremony in the Russian capital.»
The process of selecting and training Putin’s agents of influence is evident here.
Another example. On September 27, the Russian House in Nicosia publishes an announcement: «We invite you to take part in the annual competition for the title of laureate of the International Environmental Prize «EcoWorld-2024«. The founder of the Prize is the public organization «Russian Academy of Natural Sciences». The Prize is awarded for outstanding achievements in environmental protection and environmental safety, as well as in other environmental activities. The selection of the contest participants is based on the submitted applications and documents confirming the implementation of the submitted projects, programs and actions. The deadline for submitting applications for the contest is December 1, 2024″.
The Russian Academy of Natural Sciences, RAEN, (as well as its German offshoot — the European Academy of Natural Sciences, EAEN) is a pseudo-public organization with close ties to the security services, established in 1990 and for many years engaged in the distribution/sale of self-made titles and numerous amusing orders invented by it.
Such «academies», which have nothing to do with science, were invented in Russia in the 90s. It seems that in recent years these formations have breathed new life into them. In any case, RANS is boisterously imitating scientific activity. Invitation to participate in the competition for something completely inarticulate with many nominations, where, for example, there is «Environmental and patriotic activities» in reality means simply an invitation to enter into mutually beneficial contact with the Moscow authorities. Further, competent specialists will deal with who of the applicants is of interest and who is not.»
All these efforts of the Russian Center for Science and Culture (RCSC) in Nicosia are aimed at renewing the agent networks at the expense of Cypriot youth, since the cadre of previous generations of agents recruited during the Soviet era and in the 1990s has noticeably shrunk and does not meet the requirements of modern realities.
It should not be thought that the activities of the RCSC in this direction started only after 2022. On the contrary, work to attract young Cypriots to study in Russia has always been one of the center’s priorities, and it has achieved impressive results in this area.
To better understand the effectiveness of the RCSC’s work in recruiting new agents, it is best to look at the center’s achievements on the example of one of its pupils, Vladimir Gorin, a rising star of the Russian security services’ agents of influence in Cyprus. A special role in his «education» was played by two officers of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR): Denis Borodich, acting under the guise of an advisor to the Russian Embassy, and Igor Melnik, acting under the guise of a specialist of the Russian Center for Science and Culture (RCSC) in Nicosia, responsible for higher education programs in Russia.
Gorin appeared at the RCSC in Nicosia in 2017, immediately after moving from Greece, and began attending classes at the Pioneer Educational and Methodological Center at the RCSC. His possession of EU citizenship and his command of several languages made him a particularly valuable asset for curators from the Russian intelligence services. In 2018 he was made a robotics teacher at this Pioneer Center and in the same year 2018 he became an activist of the Cypriot parliamentary Green Party. Being a member of the environmentalist party gave Gorin access to political and public platforms, allowing him both access to various departments and to represent the party at international conferences. This status gave his secret service handlers the ability to use Gorin to gather information and establish contacts with diplomats and politicians from various countries.
On October 5-7, 2022, the 9th United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) European Environment Ministers’ Conference «Environment for Europe» was held in Nicosia under the motto «Transforming the Planet.» Gorin spoke at the conference as a volunteer and liaison officer recommended by the Green Party. However, in the opinion of some conference participants with experience of working at such events, his actions went far beyond his authority and were more akin to the behavior of a spy seeking confidential information. Gorin took an inordinate interest in discussions and documents of interest to Denis Borodich, the head of the Russian delegation.
Gorin is a member of numerous pro-Russian organizations, including the Youth Club of Russian Compatriots and the coordinator of the «Volunteers of Victory» movement in Cyprus. Gorin has the status of «ambassador of the Russian language in the world». For this purpose Gorin studied in Moscow at the Pushkin Institute under a special program to spread Kremlin propaganda.
In the spring of 2024, Gorin was among the guests of the World Youth Festival in Sochi, where, according to TASS, he applied for Russian citizenship.
Gorin is a constant participant and presenter of all propaganda events organized by the Russian embassy and RCSC in Cyprus. At these events he has repeatedly made anti-Western statements in the spirit of Russian state propaganda.
Here is one of many examples:
On July 8, 2023, a pro-Russian propaganda action was held in Nicosia — a march and rally in defense of traditional family values organized by the pro-Russian party «Active Citizens United Hunters» and the Coordination Council of Russian Compatriots of Cyprus-CCRC.
Vladimir Gorin, a pupil of RCSC, addressed the audience: «Let’s finally, as a nation, wake up from slumber and realize that the country is rolling straight into the abyss, losing its sovereignty. While generally sharing the values of the West, we must not blindly give up the soul of our country for imaginary support. We must fight and realize what is right and what is wrong according to our religion and history. Russia is the first country in the world to fight as a state to preserve traditional values based on the country’s dominant religion, Orthodox Christianity. Russia has defended the right of the family in law, it is the only country that fights against Satanism, for all countries around the world to be able to have these rights.»
There is no need to comment on this insanity, it is obvious. But it is necessary to understand for what purpose it is publicly broadcast in the capital of a European state, a member of the European Union, and by whom.
Love for Russia did not prevent Vladimir Gorin from running as a candidate of the Green Party in the municipal elections in one of the districts of Nicosia in May this year. The leadership of the Green Party is well aware of his close ties with Russian state structures and his contacts with the Russian security services, but prefers to turn a blind eye.This approach is not surprising because, as André Thierryard aptly put it, «the Greens are unripe Reds». Environmental parties, occupying the left flank of the political spectrum, traditionally neighbor communists and radical progressives. This explains their ideological affinity and sympathy for Russia. In this context, Gorin’s choice of the party of which he became a member is not accidental.
On its Facebook page, the CCRC enthusiastically announced Gorin’s candidacy, describing his many strengths and talents, and naming the candidate’s main goals with the utmost candor: «Vladimiros recently returned from the World Youth Festival in Sochi, where he gained many new ideas and skills. He is inspired by this experience and wants to create projects and initiatives that will help our municipality. His proposals include developing educational programs, supporting youth startups and innovative projects, as well as organizing cultural and sporting events.
In addition, Vladimiros is an ambassador of the Russian language in the world and represents Cyprus and Greece. He is committed to promoting Russian culture and language, which contributes to strengthening international ties and cultural enrichment of our society. He understands the importance of strong relations between Cyprus and Russia and will fight to strengthen them.»
Exactly what ideas Vladimir picked up at the Kremlin festival in Sochi and what skills he received from the Russian secret services that supervised the event is quite obvious. These are the ideas and skills of an agent of the Russian secret services
In November 2024 Gorin solemnly announced that he was elected to the European «youth parliament» of Cyprus as a member of the committee on education and culture. It was impossible to understand who chose him there.
The Youth Parliament has been operating in Cyprus since 2004. Its work copies the work of the official parliament. That is, it is an incubator of future Cypriot politicians.
Membership in the youth parliament opened before Gorin and his handlers from the SVR even more prospects for penetration into the political establishment of the country. He has already taken part in events attended by the country’s President Nikos Christodoulidis and the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Republic, Annita Dimitriou.
Gorin with President Christodoulidis
In fact, Gorin is pursuing two careers in parallel — one in the Russian security services and the other in Cypriot politics. That is, the Russian security services are cultivating from him a very rare and extremely valuable for Moscow type of agent of influence.
At the same time, it should be understood that the line between an agent of influence and a spy is often absent.
Kirill Henkin, an excellent expert on the foreign activities of the NKVD and KGB, wrote in his book «The Russians Came»: «Yes, the line between direct Soviet espionage, the activities of paid agents of influence and friendly services to comrades from embassies was very blurred. It never existed. Neither is it now.» Henkin’s «now» refers to the 80s of the twentieth century, but it also lies entirely within the situation of the first quarter of the twenty-first century.
Boris Demash, especially for Cyprus Daily News