The German investigative journalist, the bestselling author of “Putinocracy” on the air espresso.TVрассказал about a network of agents of the Kremlin in Western Europe and why Putin wants to weaken Merkel
You are one of the first in the West, who began to talk seriously about a secret network of Kremlin in Western Europe. We see certain symptoms, for example if in Germany the supporters of the NPT dare to walk with flags of the terrorist organization, it means that indeed You were right and it’s bad.
There is evidence that Germany actively operates in the Russian intelligence service, in particular in terms of agents of influence. There are so many lobbyists of the Kremlin, alas, they are quite effective, quite successfully, and it’s very disturbing.
In principle, our counter-intelligence knows about it, but, alas, the counterintelligence was abolished during the reign of Gerhard Schroeder and, I think, I don’t have to remind you that Gerhard Schroeder is now working for Gazprom.
And this so-called “System”, who became famous thanks to your research, organization or network of organizations that exist in the European Union, particularly in Germany, and funded from the Kremlin.
It’s agents, under the cover of the sports federations “System” – they are now simply everywhere – is a Slavic martial art, supposedly ancient, and most likely Sbsee. There are from 250 to 300 people, who were trained special forces who were trained in Moscow diversionary activities, work with weapons, with explosives. Among them, primarily immigrants from Russia with German passports.
For the Germans it sounds crazy, and they don’t want to believe it. They simply do not know the story, because the same someoe was during the Germany – were combat units of the West German Communist party. Our service never got to the core only after the fall of the Wall, in the archives of the Stasi, in East Berlin found out.
If we talk about the Stasi and other former services Eric Honecker, Mielke and so on. How much is left these ties between the KGB-FSB and German East German secret services?
It turns out that I even did not know it, though, and the Germans that the Western network of the Stasi was never disclosed, only the East. The Western network was transferred to Moscow. Putin himself is describing how he participated in this program, as a KGB agent in Dresden.
It’s all in the hands of the Kremlin, the entire residency in Germany. Markus wolf, the head of intelligence, the Stasi ,had often been in Moscow, and even there’s no doubt that this old station is now connected. This explains why, when suddenly a former NATO General sharply changes 180 degrees, its direction and says words that sound like from the propaganda Department of the Kremlin.
When you look at this, you have nothing surprised. There is so much circumstantial evidence that I have no doubt that the old Stasi residency was resumed, of course, there’re many old age out of date, but still it feels very different, the same methods, which were used by the Stasi back then. I liken it – and my hair stand on end.
Recently, these were strange events in Dresden, Cologne and other cities, when someone organized or immigrants, or pseudomagnetic and we saw the wave of propaganda of the Kremlin. As I understand it, the purpose of the attack was Angela Merkel?
This topic is, again, a big taboo. There are leaks that the investigation into these events is conducted with the raised handbrake, that is, on the brakes, and it’s weird. There’s no impression that they are trying to figure out what really happened behind the scenes. Rather, the police are trying, I guess, but there is a feeling that the top is softened.
I think the campaign that we see with the beginning of the year, is a story about allegedly raped a 13-year lease, and the alleged criminality on the part of refugees, create a picture that Germany had become a disaster area. This is largely the handiwork of the Kremlin and indeed the purpose, in my opinion, to overthrow or put in a dangerous situation Merkel, because it is a key player in Europe in terms of sanctions.
I think this calculation, the Kremlin, because without Merkel of Merkel – no sanctions, Crimea you can safely leave yourself, and in Eastern Ukraine can do what I want. But the thing with Merkel, Putin does not take personally. It was a great political game, she’s personal dirty tricks he did, so I think it will be pragmatic to conduct themselves, while Merkel crossed the line of personal grievances, and this has not happened.
Except that she once said that it is divorced from reality, but he also adopts as a political game, so I think such a strong personal resentment, as for example, Boris Nemtsov, he is no Merkel.
That is the phrase of the deceased Nemtsov, “Putin fuck”, played a role in Nemtsov’s death?!
I then personally met with Boris, and he felt it. He told me that probably signed his own death sentence with this phrase and as a former Deputy Prime Minister, as a man perfectly understands these rules of the game, it is this sense of smell had not deceived him and he regretted that so rashly said.
And how, in your opinion, now perceives the situation Putin’s entourage? We understand that on the one hand, is PanAmSat, with other sanctions, with a third – Putin is not confident in their own surroundings and begins to form a National guard, which have to balance the balance of power between the FSB, the military and, personally loyal to Putin, Kadyrov.
Putin raised such a strong wave of nationalism, chauvinism and other passions that she turned into a tsunami. He now sits on top of this tsunami, but is well aware that at any moment it could all crash on the shore and he falls. I think he was scared.
I would have been in his place, scared, because while he’s sitting in this tsunami – it looks proudly and well, but he is aware that all this can break the wall at any moment, and I think he’s scared, respectively. In their environment, he admits, primarily, only the hawks. But, as I told one former member of the Russian government: “not to steal hundreds of millions, and even billions, then to spend it in North Korea or Iran”.
They want a normal, working, pragmatic relations with the West and what is happening now, they went too far. All these bells and whistles, but this “homeland in danger” – for them it was too. As the game is still okay, but when it affects their own wallet, on the assets when some have already can’t go to the West, they are very unhappy about this and Putin is very dangerous. Already the game is outside the window. Yet they are afraid of, including a Palace coup, but the loss may be above fear.
I even scary to imagine how much activated Russian or Soviet agents in Ukraine, if even in prosperous Germany, it solves very serious questions.
It is absolutely accurate. You have all these examples where some Ministers or heads of agencies with Russian passports and then left to Russia. This is very dangerous and it’s a double danger. The only danger is that they influence, but equally dangerous is the universal suspicion.
Need very reasonable, very measured approach to this issue and not to fall from one extreme , like the Germans, who see nothing, the other extreme is everywhere to see spies. I hope that Ukraine, with such historical experience, enough reason to not go to extremes.
The code of the spy, or the code of the KGB, as I understand, is a kind of border they cannot transgress. What do you think, in a critical situation, which now resides in the Kremlin, it can violate the conventional rules of the game? Although, perhaps, in the Ukrainian case, he has long been violated.
The main feature of Putin from traditional KGB, the main feature of this system that Putin has created is a lack of rules, the complete lack of tradition. That’s what scares me so. This shows the Litvinenko case, it shows the case Savchenko
…the murder of Nemtsov and Anna Politkovskaya.
This is the most terrible cases. Previously, there were rules, like in the criminal world, were strict rules – Granny lonely handbag is not selected. It was considered a disgrace. And now scares me most is the absence of these rules, which the Soviet government, I must say, once observed. Now it is not.
