Three separate Russian intelligence organizations operate actively in Finland, says an intelligence expert Mikko Porvali.
Intelligence officers and spies gather information in many different ways. According to the protection police’s estimate, up to a third of the diplomats of the Russian embassy in Helsinki are actually on intelligence missions.
Officially, the officers are part of the embassy staff, but in reality they work under the SVR of Russia’s foreign intelligence service, the military intelligence GRU or the Federal Security Service, or FSB.
The reports made by ‘s MOT and Spotlight departments are part of a joint project of the Nordic broadcasting companies.
In this article, we will tell you what the three intelligence organizations operating in Finland do.
SVR, one of the world’s largest intelligence services
The Russian foreign intelligence service Sluzhba Vneshnei Razvedki, or SVR, is one of the largest intelligence organizations in the world. SVR employs approximately 13,000–15,000 people.
– The SVR’s main method in Western countries and other parts of the world is long-term and goal-oriented personal intelligence under diplomatic cover, Mikko Porvali, who teaches the history of intelligence at the University of Jyväskylä, told .
According to Porval, persons operating with the status of a diplomat receive diplomatic immunity, which means that they are not in danger of being subject to any kind of criminal process.
For SVR’s personal investigators, life stories are invented and documents, personal papers and fake personal histories are organized for that purpose.
Such persons are called “illegal” in the intelligence world.
When the decision about the need for the necessary information has been made in the intelligence organization, the circle of people who have the information or have access to it is outlined.
According to Porval, it can take half a year to two years for the illegal to approach the target persons.
– SVR is without a doubt present in Finland. They collect political-scientific-economic-technical intelligence information, Porvali says in an interview with MOT.
According to Porvali, the everyday life of those working in intelligence services is often a normal office job from eight to four.
– Admittedly, people whose goal is to recruit human resources meet a lot of people, but the meetings may be quite few.
FSB, Russian Federal Security Service
The FSB, i.e. Federalnaja Služba Bezopasnosti, is the Russian federal security service that operates primarily within Russia. It has the right to operate outside of Russia as well, but its task is to be responsible for the security of the Russian Federation.
The Russian border guard service is part of the FSB, says Mikko Porvali.
According to Porvali, the danger of persons engaging in espionage activities targeting Russia is having to deal with the FSB.
According to Porval, the FSB’s role in foreign espionage is limited.
Russian military intelligence GRU
The GRU, i.e. Glavnoje Razvedyvatelnoje Upravlenije, is the Russian military intelligence, which, according to Mikko Porval, has many levels.
According to Porval, the GRU has, for example, combat units involved in Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine.
– For example, in the special forces of the Russian military side, many are subordinate to the GRU, Porvali says in an interview with MOT.
According to him, the GRU officially operates in Finland, for example in the form of Russian defense agents, but they also have other activities in Finland.
GRU also works in data networks. Malware has been traced back to GRU operations that spread effectively across national borders.
The latest MOT tells how Russian intelligence works in Finland. See it in Areena.
The war has made intelligence more difficult
According to Porval, Russia’s intelligence capability in Western countries has decreased as a result of the war in Ukraine.
In April of last year, Finland expelled two people belonging to the staff of the Russian embassy, while the EU countries expelled more than 200 Russian diplomats or embassy employees in two days.
– Western authorities are probably better informed about Russian intelligence activities than before, says Porvali.
Listen from Areena An episode of the World Politics Everyday program, published in May 2022. The program discusses the internal security situation in the North and how the Russians can approach for intelligence purposes.
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