ABSTRACT
After a short hiatus during the 1990s, Russian intelligence and security services are once again prominent in the international political, security and media spotlight. Sources of their recent fame include the arrest of senior Estonian Defence Ministry figure Herman Simm in 2008 and his conviction on charges of treason through spying for the Russian intelligence services, the accusations against and investigation of Katia Zatuliveter of being a spy at the heart of the British parliament, as well as the ‘spy rock’ scandal when the Russian security services exposed a British operation in Russia. Indeed, Russian intelligence and security services are considered to be very active in NATO and its member states – illustrated by the uncovering of the spy network in the US in 2010. According to some, this network was evidence of Russian intelligence activity in the US that was equal to, or greater than, even that of the Cold War. Similarly, the head of MI5 stated in 2007 that the Russian intelligence effort in the UK was equal in scope to Soviet activities during the Cold War.
