A service that is not visible. Exclusive report from "News on Saturday" from the SVR headquarters. Russian foreign intelligence: description, composition and history Foreign Intelligence Academy admission

The reporter checked how easy it really is to become a spy

Thanks to Edward Snowden and Anna Chapman, many consider intelligence officers almost media figures. In reality, everything is different: where publicity begins, service ends. But be that as it may, more and more young people now secretly dream of becoming a spy. However, the dreamers are firmly convinced that there is no way a person on the street can get into intelligence. But what if you really want it?

As a journalistic experiment, I decided to get a job in intelligence. I know that since the time of Yevgeny Primakov there has been an unspoken rule - journalists should not be used in “spy business”. But I doubt that it has never been violated, so I certainly have a chance.

There have always been more than enough real intelligence officers among reporters. Just look at Richard Sorge and Ernest Hemingway. The second, by the way, recalled how he had to watch enemy submarines under the guise of fishing. In reality, he did everything the other way around - under the guise of watching the submarines, he simply fished...

“Well, how do I get there?” - I pestered my friends and acquaintances all the last days. They only rolled their eyes in response: “What are you talking about? They don’t just take you there!” But the words of one veteran intelligence officer are etched in my memory: “Your neighbor, your classmate, your boss, your mother, finally, anyone can be connected with intelligence. And if you want to get there, you will get there.” Neither my neighbor nor my mother, alas, helped me. But on the SVR website I found detailed step-by-step instructions on what candidates like me need to do.

Stage one. So, you’ll have to start with the questionnaires that are right there on the website. Let's get started!

In addition to the expected and banal ones (we judge - we don’t judge, whether you have foreign citizenship or not), there are some very original questions there. For example, they need to know whether among my relatives there were people who died as a result of an accident, suicide, or under unclear circumstances? Moreover, it is necessary to clarify who, where, when, under what circumstances. Intelligence is also interested in whether I have endured significant physical or nervous stress in my life. And again, it is necessary to describe when and which ones exactly. Today almost everyone asks about drugs and psychoactive substances, but SVR personnel officers want to know in detail what sensations a person experienced when using them. At the same time, I even need to report to intelligence whether I tried “laughing” mushrooms and what happened to me after that. I'm a little stuck on the issue of diseases. It was necessary to list all the illnesses that she had suffered in her life, indicating her age and circumstances. Well, even if they don’t take you into intelligence, there are a lot of benefits from filling out these questionnaires - thanks to them, I remembered all the illnesses and hardships of life.

One of the main questions in the main questionnaire is why do you want to go into intelligence? And answer options. I checked two boxes next to “prestige of the organization” and “usefulness of the results of work.” I think that with the answers “close to home”, “availability of free time”, “difficult to find another place of work”, my chances of admission would have decreased sharply.

Stage two. The completed forms were to be taken to the specified address - Ostozhenka, 51/10. The specialists will study them and then, if I suit them, they will call me and invite me for an interview.

An old beautiful mansion in the center of Moscow. The SVR press bureau is also located here, and I even interviewed the legendary intelligence officer Gevork Vartanyan here. I remember that after a few minutes of conversation, the thought then occurred to me: “But he can recruit anyone!” Vartanyan (blessed his memory!) was incredibly charming and talked about intelligence with such enthusiastic love that the memories still give me goosebumps...

The gate is locked tightly. I'm calling the intercom.

- I brought application forms for joining the service.

Come in.

Two guards are already meeting me at the threshold. Without further ado, the forms are taken away. Awkward pause.

Something else?

- I would like to ask some questions. Can?

Which ones exactly?

- Well... what salary will I have and what will I do? At least these.

I'll call the duty officer now. He will talk to you.

A minute later the officer comes out. The look is caring and attentive, like a doctor's. Afterwards I understood why.

In this room, future intelligence officers ask “uncomfortable” questions and fill out questionnaires.

Stage three. We are sitting in an elegant office with antique furniture. The officer still looks at him with the same gentle, attentive gaze.

- I’m embarrassed to ask this question...

It's okay, ask whatever you want. In fact, people who are not interested in anything, who do not care who they will be and what they will do, are always more suspicious.

- Then tell me, what position can I count on in the SVR?

I cannot answer this for sure. It all depends on your abilities, and I don’t know them.

- Should I be fluent in several languages?

Not necessary. But at a good level you need at least one. You may need to take a language improvement course from our specialists.

- But does the job require traveling abroad?

Certainly. Scouts work abroad.

- Where exactly can they send me? To what country?

Only you and your immediate supervisor will know this. Nobody else. But if you have a family, then you can go together.

- What salary can I expect?

Worthy.

- Or more precisely?

I can’t name the numbers. But believe me, it’s very good by today’s Moscow standards. And plus the additional care of the state - medical care, comfortable sanatoriums, military mortgages.

A delicate question, but I can’t help but ask. Is it true that women in intelligence can be used in a variety of... uh... different ways?

For example?

- Well... force you to meet someone... marry the right people...

Force?! No, definitely not. This did not happen even in the Soviet years. Sometimes scouts make pairs with each other, but solely of their own free will.

Our conversation gradually became more and more interesting. I relaxed a little (the trembling in my knees subsided), and the officer was convinced that I was serious, so he answered extremely openly - how open intelligence officers can be in principle. Sometimes we were interrupted - one of the employees came into the office, and my interlocutor invariably turned over the notebook that lay in front of him. This is the first rule of a scout - never leave a single piece of paper within the reach of someone else's gaze. Remember how Zheglov taught Sharapov? And also, no real intelligence officer will come close enough to a colleague to look into his computer or documents. But this is so, a small digression.

And then... a terrible thing happened - I failed miserably. The head of the press bureau, Sergei Ivanov, recognized me when he entered the room. He weakly believed that I wanted to become a scout and forced me to confess everything. Thank God that there is no criminal liability for my harmless deception. “Now, if you provided us with false documents, then yes, but otherwise we can only scold you,” said the officer on duty.

“I’ll be useful to you - I can walk through walls.”

Different people come to get jobs in intelligence. Many of them are very strange individuals, from whom you immediately want to ask for a certificate from a psychiatrist. Recently someone came who claimed that he could read thoughts from a distance.

If he had read, he would have immediately understood from my thoughts that he needed to run away from here,” Ivanov jokes.

- What if he turned out to be truly unique?- I ask.

In that case, I would catch up with him and ask him to answer a couple more questions.

A woman came who assured that she could teleport. She was immediately asked to demonstrate this amazing and “undoubtedly necessary” ability for a scout. They offered me a choice of teleporting to China or Africa. The “Flying Lady” hesitated and said that she was not in shape today, but was ready to do it later. She hasn't appeared since then. “Invisible people” and “people who can walk through walls” especially often try to get a job. One, as employees recall, concentrated for a long time, trying to disappear into space before their eyes. At the same time, he loudly suggested that his outlines were blurring, that he was almost no longer visible... It ended with the security being asked to help him disappear outside the building.

Scout and writer Zoya Voskresenskaya at work. Photos from the SVR ARCHIVE

Now I understand why the duty officer looked at me suspiciously from the very beginning. I was waiting for me to start showing miracles...

- But in all this time, was there really at least one person who possessed all these abilities?

And as for the candidates... Among those who came on their own, there are real diamonds. After good cutting, they turned out to be high-quality intelligence officers. Many of them are now extracting valuable information in different parts of the planet.

Some people get into intelligence this way, through the so-called open channels,” says Sergei Ivanov. - Entire groups of schoolchildren came to us and, after watching some film about intelligence, asked to take them. We talked to each one separately. And many quite sincerely want to serve their homeland. So why discourage this hunt? In no case! We say that we will wait until they graduate from school, and then we will take them into our ranks. But there are also individual individuals who pursue exclusively selfish goals and have a perverted idea of ​​intelligence.

By the way, this is calculated quickly. Even if the candidate is chosen, he will have to undergo a medical examination, communicate with psychologists and undergo a polygraph test, where “uncomfortable” questions are asked.

But in general it is difficult to say which qualities are more important in this matter. Sometimes it seems that a person does not fit all the parameters, but they take him. He may be over 35 years old (the age limit when one is accepted into the ranks of intelligence officers), and his eyes are “not like an eagle’s.” But despite all this, he seems to have been created for undercover activity.

There are also absolute contraindications to the service. Guess what's first on the list? Psychological tendency to betrayal. I remember that very interview with Vartanyan. How the legendary illegal intelligence officer’s face changed when I asked about the reasons for Anna Chapman’s failure: “It won’t save anything if a traitor points his finger at you.”

Among the absolute contraindications are poverty of mind, poor memory and slow reaction. There is no intelligence officer with such shortcomings. For this purpose, a triple screening system is provided. They won't hire you to the SVR without a higher education - that's it. During the verification process, you need to pass a special intelligence test - that's two. In practice (by simulating specific situations) they will check how a person behaves if he is confused, severely frightened, etc. - three. Careerists are “declassified” quickly and they try not to hire them, because you can never trust such people 100%. Only out of a desire to get another star can they make some ridiculous mistake. But a scout, like a sapper, makes one mistake. No matter how pretentious it may sound, without a special relationship to your homeland, without the desire to do something for it, you shouldn’t even get involved in intelligence. And if you really want to live abroad and make good money, then there are plenty of other ways to do this.

Soviet illegal intelligence officer Leontina Cohen worked as a liaison for the legendary intelligence officer Abel. Photos from the SVR ARCHIVE

Intelligence doesn't need plumbers?

What if I were hired? What would happen next? I will try to imagine the possible progress along the “spy path”. No matter how talented and beautiful a newly minted intelligence officer is, he cannot do without training. You need to know a bunch of subtleties. “Addresses, passwords, appearances.” But who would teach me all this? It turned out that in intelligence everything is very, very flexible. Perhaps I would be sent to special courses taught by active intelligence officers and service veterans. Perhaps they were assigned to a supervisor who would teach me everything I needed.

But there is that famous Academy of Foreign Intelligence, within the walls of which almost all intelligence officers and such masters as Heroes of Russia V. Barkovsky and L. Kvasnikov studied (however, then it was called the 101st school). It is interesting that each intelligence officer studies at the academy not exactly 5 years, but for as long as “recommended” by the Center.

Entering the service and entering the Foreign Intelligence Academy are completely different things, they explain to me. - Many people get confused. Not everyone we accept goes on to study at the academy. But everyone who enters the academy is already our employee.

Among the special disciplines taught at the Foreign Intelligence Service are international law, the history of diplomatic relations, political science, regional studies, and operational psychology (its emphasis is on the behavior of various types of people who will be encountered in practical work). In general, psychology is the main thing in intelligence. Therefore, the academy studies all the latest achievements of this science and their use in the activities of foreign intelligence services.

A foreign language is the second weapon of a scout; it is the first thing that every student is told at the academy. - Here you will hone it with special care. Master the phonetic course, enrich your vocabulary, accumulate linguistic knowledge in the country where you will have to act in the near future in the interests of your homeland.

Knowing how to use the latest generation of spy technology is a whole science, and you will have to spend a lot of time on it. Although the SVR says that the human factor plays a paramount role. And if you rely only on technology, you will definitely stumble somewhere. Equipment breaks, but you can’t break a person.

I imagine that I am already “savvy”, I know and can do everything. What's next? Employment. This time it’s not quite real, but for “cover.” Those who the management decides will have to work. What if this is the profession of a cleaner or plumber? What if they send you to some canteen to fry donuts?

They explain to me that this does not happen. An intelligence officer usually works in the field of diplomacy, foreign trade, and private business. Cleaners, maids, plumbers, and waiters certainly help the service, and quite often (say, to install listening equipment). But there is no point for a scout to impersonate them, he will simply recruit a person, and that’s all.

"Stirlitz" in a skirt

Despite the fact that more young men are selected for the SVR, I was not the only woman in several months who wanted to get a job in intelligence herself (that citizen who teleports does not count). I won’t give specific figures on how many modern “Stirlitz” men in skirts there are among the scouts - I don’t think even the ordinary scouts themselves know them. And yet intelligence today is not a woman’s business? Not certainly in that way. It’s just that girls don’t delve into intelligence like boys, they are more timid and shy.

But in general, the ladies in domestic intelligence left a very noticeable mark. There are even books and films about them. Unfortunately, for obvious reasons, intelligence only talks about past affairs. There are so few declassified intelligence officers... Why? Because the role of women was not so great and there was nothing special to tell about them? I recently spoke about this topic with a senior government official. And he said quite confidently, they say, what can they do - in intelligence they have only worked and are working in the wings. They say that all they can do is send an encrypted message or give a secret sign at a meeting. I even felt a little offended for our entire female race. How can one not remember the names of Hero of Russia Leontina Cohen, Gohar Vartanyan, Zoya Voskresenskaya, Anna Kamaeva-Filonenko and many others?

It is curious that if in Soviet and Russian intelligence women actually more often found themselves in secondary roles (they almost never rise to high military ranks), then abroad everything is completely different. In the Israeli intelligence service Mossad, British MI6 and the American CIA, women even head entire intelligence services and departments.

It turns out that foreign intelligence officers achieve greater success than ours? Maybe our intelligence officers simply take more care of their women?

But for some reason I want to believe that somewhere out there, in a foreign land, in the interests of Russia, unusually strong intelligence officers are working for you and me. And our children and grandchildren will recognize their names, not us. Intelligence is still not a public profession...

To begin with, it is worth remembering that all intelligence officers do not like to be called spies. And then - nothing is impossible. And even a diploma in a specialty unrelated to intelligence is not an obstacle on the path to your dream.

“The profile of the university is not of great importance, the main thing is the basic level of culture and education, as well as learning ability, including foreign languages,” said AiF Head of the press bureau of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) Sergei Ivanov. Only a Russian citizen, usually aged 22-30, can become a staff member of the SVR. A person must meet the medical and professional-psychological requirements of military service. Anyone who thinks that a “man on the street” cannot get into intelligence is mistaken. The SVR website has detailed step-by-step instructions on what such candidates need to do.

First of all, you need to fill out two forms by hand (available on the website). Attach a color photo, photocopy of your passport, diploma or transcript from your grade book if your studies at the university are still ongoing. The entire package of documents is sent by registered mail to the address: C Foreign Intelligence Service of the Russian Federation, PO Box 510, Main Post Office, Moscow, 101000. Or you can personally deliver it to the SVR press bureau at: Moscow, st. Ostozhenka, 51, building 1. “Materials sent by e-mail, fax, etc. will not be considered,” Ivanov explained. “Personal data transmitted via open electronic communication channels may become known to third parties, including foreign intelligence services.” Those whose documents are of interest to the SVR will receive a response from the personnel service within 30 days from the date of their receipt. Candidates will be invited for an interview.

The questionnaire contains both fairly predictable questions (whether we judge or not, whether there are close relatives who are foreigners, etc.), as well as unexpected ones. For example, for intelligence it is important whether among the relatives of a potential candidate there were people who died as a result of an accident, suicide, or under unclear circumstances. And if a person suddenly used drugs and other psychoactive substances, it is necessary to describe what sensations he experienced.

What checks must be passed?

“Different people come to get jobs in intelligence. There are also some very strange personalities. Then a subject will come who “can read minds.” If I could, I would immediately understand from my thoughts that I need to run away from here,” jokes Sergei Ivanov. - A woman came who assured that she could teleport. She was immediately asked to demonstrate this “necessary” ability for a scout. She hasn't appeared since then. “Invisible people” and “people who can walk through walls” often try to get a job.

But more often you come across those who pursue selfish goals. These are identified immediately. Even if the candidate successfully passed the first stage of selection, he will have to communicate with psychologists and undergo a polygraph test, where they ask “uncomfortable” and tricky questions. Careerists are “declassified” quickly and they try not to hire them, because they cannot be trusted 100%: in pursuit of the next star on uniform, such people can make a fatal mistake.

There are also absolute contraindications to the service. For example, insufficient resistance to psychological pressure. This also includes poor memory, slow reactions, and even poor erudition. Not every profession requires such a broad outlook and flexibility of mind, but a scout has no right to be uninteresting to those people who interest him. So we don’t have slow-witted intelligence officers. A triple filter is provided to filter out such candidates. First, you need to get a higher education. Secondly, you need to pass a special intelligence test. And thirdly, to be tested in practice: specific situations are simulated that make it possible to identify how a person behaves in an extreme situation, if he is confused or very frightened. Also, no matter how pretentious it may sound, without patriotism you shouldn’t even get involved in intelligence. “When we talk about the feeling of patriotism, then, believe me, these are not some lofty words, but an urgent necessity,” explains Sergei Ivanov. “A person must believe in the rightness of his cause, because he goes through difficulties, hardships, and sometimes risks his life for the sole purpose of serving the Fatherland.”

What salary?

No matter how talented and beautiful a newly minted intelligence officer is, he cannot do without training. They can direct you to courses taught by active intelligence officers and service veterans. Or perhaps they will be individually assigned to a curator who will teach you everything. You won’t be accepted into the Foreign Intelligence Academy from school. “Not everyone we accepted goes on to study at the academy. But everyone who enters the academy is already our employee,” explains the SVR. Moreover, they study here not for 5 years, as in a regular university, but for as long as “recommended by the Center.” They teach a lot of different and interesting things - international law, foreign languages, history of diplomatic relations, political science, regional studies, and so on. But first of all - special disciplines in the profession: the theory and practice of intelligence work.

After training, young employees come to service units, where they delve into the situation for some time, and with specific tasks they are sent to the most important place of intelligence work - abroad. If you have a family, then you can go together.

The salary is decent. The press bureau does not give exact figures, since they depend on where you are currently working - here in Russia, in the central office of the service, or on a business trip abroad. And on a business trip, there are differences between countries: it all depends on the complexity of the current situation and the tasks being performed. But they advised to focus on military salaries, since all intelligence officers are officers and have combined arms ranks. They are entitled to all the benefits provided to military personnel - a good social package with free medical care, sanatoriums and a military mortgage.

Intelligence headquarters in Yasenevo. First time filming inside in decades. Why do they keep the windows open there? What kind of notice board is there in the SVR wardrobe and what are the notices about? What, upon arriving in Yasenevo, did the president say unexpectedly about the new director of the SVR and how did he himself comment on it? How to get a job at SVR and what test to take? About the changes and constants of Russian intelligence - in an exclusive report by Vesti v Saturday.

We are interested in everything. For example, why are some windows slightly open? Everything here is prosaic: it turns out that the heating season has begun in intelligence.

It is not surprising that, like any government agency, the SVR has a wardrobe. But in this case, the intelligence officer also stumbles upon a bulletin board. When the SVR delegation goes to the Okudzhava museum, we will not talk, here we will reveal a state secret. But this ad is evidence of intelligence. Another interesting announcement is about standards and physical fitness requirements. For example, you need to run one hundred meters in a maximum of 16.4 seconds, and also do pull-ups on the crossbar.

To the right of the entrance is the dining room. We saw a lot of fish on the menu. That's right: brains require phosphorus. But on the morning of October 5, the canteen was closed. Everyone had no time for food. On the porch, the president was met by the fourth director of the Foreign Intelligence Service, Mikhail Fradkov, who was completing his service, and became one of the only recipients of St. George’s honors in the new Russia. Battle reward!

Contrary to routine practice, the presidential protocol officers are not visible in the frame. So, in Yasenevo, Putin himself knows perfectly well where and what is, from his previous work. Although now there is a new item in the foyer - an exhibition of eavesdropping equipment that the FBI and US CIA installed at the USSR Embassy in Washington. They installed it, but whoever needed to find it and neutralize it. It was a great success, a big “counter operation” of Soviet intelligence. The minds here really have always tried to gather the best, and for intelligence officers, Putin is not only the supreme commander in chief, but also one of their own.

Only in one frame will they flash, active employees, who can only be shown from the back. Putin will treat them as his own. The president said something about the new director, yesterday's speaker of the Duma Sergei Naryshkin, which most of us could only guess about until now.

“I officially introduce you to the new director of the service, Sergei Evgenievich Naryshkin. You all know that he showed himself well both in intelligence when he worked there and in politics. In this sense, Sergei Evgenievich is returning home,” said the head of state.

- You have been declassified, Sergei Evgenievich.

Really?

- It turns out that you served in intelligence after all. And you were dark.

We are all, in a certain sense of the word, in intelligence, as, in particular, are journalists.

Information is indeed collected by both journalists and intelligence officers. But how do they get to work there?

Experiment in the public reception room of the SVR on Ostozhenka. The word "intelligence" is not written anywhere, but on the facade there is a memorial plaque in memory of Kim Philby. So, you have to go here.

Sergei Ivanov, former staff correspondent for Komsomolskaya Pravda in New York. I also worked at Komsomolskaya Pravda. Now Ivanov is the head of the SVR press service. Sergei also has on his shelves spy novels by the Englishman Frederick Forsythe. And in the depths of this pre-revolutionary mansion, where cadres of the INO (foreign department) of the Cheka sat since the 20s, we establish canonical angles from which we can show more of the “blue corps”.

According to legend, the Finns designed the building, thinking that it would be a hotel. Another legend says: Andropov “cut down” the project into two floors - just so that it would not be visible from the Moscow Ring Road.

- Lenin?

Yes, says Sergei Ivanov.

-Still Lenin?

Yes, why not?

- Does he have anything to do with the creation of the INO VChK?

- Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars Lenin.

I think that Felix Edmundovich reported on the need for its creation. And it is clear that Vladimir Ilyich satisfied the request of the head of the Cheka.

Many people live in the forest without interruption from “production”. The second and third directors of the SVR are Vyacheslav Trubnikov and Sergey Lebedev. Both are army generals. Both confirm that with such work it is easier to be five minutes from the service.

“And there were such moments,” recalls Sergei Lebedev.

- And at night?

Yes they were.

- When will something happen eight hours away from you?

That's exactly where it came from.

So the new director Naryshkin is ready to work around the clock.

- Will you live here on the territory now? I heard that sometimes directors live in the forest too?

Yes,” answered Sergei Naryshkin.

But where will Naryshkina go for a walk in Yasenevo? The headquarters of the foreign intelligence service rightly goes under the pseudonym "forest". But there are also apple trees in this forest. And they bear fruit!

These apples make for a very interesting calculation. In general, the SVR traces its history back to the INO VChK - this is 1920 - but the Yasenevo headquarters was built in the 70s. And every year a new apple tree is planted here in the presence of the director of the SVR and graduates of the Foreign Intelligence Academy. Judging by the area of ​​the garden, and for various other reasons, it still needs to grow and grow.

I noticed that you have a well-groomed area. Even from the photographs you can see summer flowers, the lawns are well trimmed. Is this also what people in uniform do?

No, these are civilian people,” explained Sergei Ivanov.

- So you also have civilian people?

Yes, sure.

- But with all types of access?

Naturally.

And if you still want to become an operational officer, then what is expected of you? First: you should not be a closed-minded person. Vyacheslav Trubnikov worked in India for a total of 19 years, and everyone knows how in love he is with it.

- What is it like to be in love with a country, but to work in it, performing very specific functions and tasks?

This may sound paradoxical, but if you love this country, you work, understanding what it represents not only for you, but also for your Motherland,” Trubnikov noted.

What does the Motherland need? It is also necessary not to waste money on dubious foreign policies.

Early 70s. Chile. Pinochet's coup. Soviet intelligence knew about the impending coup. Unfortunately, President Allende, who died in that coup, did not listen to Moscow; he thought that the army was still under his control. But the intelligence forecast allowed the USSR itself to avoid large expenditures on providing economic assistance to this country.

And in 1986, Soviet intelligence promptly identified a split in the leadership of South Yemen, and during armed clashes in Aden, the station took measures to separate the warring parties. What does that matter to an ordinary Russian person? Thus, intelligence also ensured the timely evacuation of eight thousand Soviet citizens from Yemen.

By the way, the president spoke separately about this intelligence function in Yasenevo. “The safety of our citizens abroad must remain under special control, especially in regions such as the Middle East, Africa, as well as in individual countries of Central Asia,” he emphasized.

One can only guess about what else intelligence is tasked with doing now; they still won’t say. But they will still explain something about the rules of the game.

I looked at the materials from recent years. They repeatedly emphasize that the Foreign Intelligence Service is also an integral part of the meeting of intelligence agencies and security services of the CIS countries. And even in past years, one of the meetings was held in Kyiv. Is it now possible to talk about such a single community with Ukrainians?

You're right. Indeed, there is such a partner platform. And if we talk about Ukraine, then, of course, we can’t talk about it now, but time will tell how events will develop,” said Sergei Naryshkin.

At one time there was an agreement within the CIS that the CIS countries would not conduct reconnaissance against each other. In the Ukrainian context, is this an unnecessary question?

This agreement continues to apply.

- And in relation to Ukraine too?

In relation to the CIS countries, this agreement continues to apply.

What about those who are opponents? And who is the enemy? Let us turn again to Vyacheslav Trubnikov, who worked in India. “I can say absolutely unequivocally that not a single action of mine in this country was directed against the interests of this country,” Trubnikov assured.

I understood right away, but I still ask you to translate your thought. That is, sometimes a well-known country is used as a platform for fighting not with it, but with an enemy who is located somewhere else?

Why be shy?! Then we had a very clear term - “GP” - the main enemy. And from all territories we worked against the main enemy.

Trubnikov’s replacement worked right there, in the USA. But as Primakov instructed him, he calls on him to respect even the enemy. “A great nation, a great people with great achievements in science, culture, education, in many areas,” says Sergei Lebedev.

- And there are enough of our people there.

Of course, we also made our contribution.

Coming from the lips of the intelligence officers, the last phrase sounds, of course, somewhat ambiguous. After all, “our people” in America are both Soviet and Russian illegal immigrants there. In the foyer of the SVR headquarters there are portraits of those of them who were later declassified, and what kind of pictures are these!

- Sergey Evgenievich, you have found a talented team.

Amazingly talented,” says Naryshkin.

- This is all the creativity of the Foreign Intelligence Service employees?

Talented and with traditions. The history of the service was written by amazing people.

- Behind you is Gregulevich, who worked as Costa Rica’s ambassador to the Vatican, being a Soviet intelligence officer.

Here is also the illegal intelligence officer Zarubin, the hero of “Tehran-43” Gevork Vartanyan, of course, Abel, and from the British there is also George Blake. Probably, there will soon be another portrait of someone who recently passed away.

“I’ll give you the example of Alexei Mikhailovich Kozlov, a man who, as a result of betrayal, was captured in 1980 in South Africa,” said Sergei Ivanov.

- The one who discovered South Africa's nuclear program?

Absolutely.

- Illegal.

He was tortured for two years. He didn't say a single word. Didn't even say who he was. Only when they showed him a photograph of him in Soviet uniform, in uniform. The leak occurred as a result of Gordievsky's betrayal. Kozlov said: yes, I am a Soviet intelligence officer, but you won’t expect anything more from me.

Kozlov survived. But, unfortunately, many scouts died. So the transfer of cases to the SVR began with Fradkov and Naryshkin laying flowers at the memorial.

We laid our flowers here too. By the way, pay attention to the inscription “to the Chekist intelligence officers who gave their lives for the Motherland,” that is, a sign that is clearly from Soviet times. As a matter of fact, this is evidenced by the symbol with a hammer and sickle - this is the symbol of the KGB of the USSR, the SVR is its former First Main Directorate. But what is noteworthy is that despite all the changes that have taken place in the country, there is not a single specific name on this stele. The secrecy regime here is eternal.

In childhood, each of us knows what he wants to become in the future. Different eras are characterized by certain types of activities. So, in the sixties it was popular to dream of becoming an astronaut, in the 80s every third boy wanted to become a driver, and every second - a football player.

Today, every kid dreams of serving in government law enforcement agencies - it’s not for nothing that seven parts of the James Bond film were released. So, the question is not for boys, but for men about how to get into the FSB - tricky, but solvable.

FSB - idea

The main task of this structure is to ensure the security of the Russian Federation and its inhabitants. Defense of the fatherland is above all. These people work under this slogan. It is no secret that before joining the FSB, each candidate undergoes a thorough check. So, boys and girls who dream of this job, get your notebooks ready - there are unspoken and official instructions for applying for this job.

FSB - structure

You can't glue reality from a simple dream. So you should know which unit you want to join. So, in reality there are such departments:

1. Counterintelligence. This is probably the most interesting thing for boys with a wild imagination. It, in turn, is divided into the main department, a center for coordinating workers and analyzing their activities, counterintelligence at facilities and work on special assignments, information security, and military counterintelligence.

2. The fight against terrorism, which includes the main department for the fight against political extremists and terrorists, the anti-terrorism center, the fight against interstate terrorism, the operational and investigative departments.

3. Science/Technology Center. There are additional departments here that control communications, protect information, supervise the supply of weapons and special equipment, and a scientific development center.

4. Center for the Security of the Country's Economy. There is a department for transport, industry, the credit and financial system, an analytical department, and administration.

5. International contacts and operational information.

6. Personnel department.

7. Department for ensuring the operation of the entire structure.

How to get to the FSB? Practical advice

Of course, it is necessary to undergo a special check. Here you will have to have contact with the central military medical and psychophysiological commission. Today there are certain well-known standards that a person who wants to work in this structure must pass. Of course, if you are thinking about how to get into the FSB special forces, you must understand that the requirements for you will be more stringent. However, the general ones, regardless of whether you want to be an IT specialist or an economist, are as follows: a hundred meters in 14 seconds, a kilometer - 4 minutes 25 seconds, a three kilometer - 12 minutes 35 seconds. So don't forget about sports and training if you dream of this job!

How to get into the FSB - medical dangers

If you are healthy and meet all the parameters (weight, height, etc.), then you will not have problems with enrollment in this regard. However, it is worth remembering that people who have had concussions, scars on the body and moles will either be examined further or (depending on the severity of the situation) not accepted at all. So take care of yourself from a young age, otherwise all the knowledge about how to get into the FSB will be useless.

Conclusion

Note: among other things, if you do not have a higher education or you did not serve/graduate from a military school, then you can forget about this job.

Today's intelligence officers are not like those shown in the movies.

They do not drive expensive cars and do not shoot firearms in the city.

This job is not for those looking for big fame like TV characters.

It should be said that military intelligence is not a job, but a service.

Employees receive a D/D allowance, not a salary.

Salary of secret agents

Everything related to intelligence is shrouded in an aura of mystery.

Official sources do not indicate how much they earn in the Russian intelligence service.

You can judge by the salaries of other military specialties, which are on average the same.

Behind the scenes, intelligence officers report that they receive enough to properly support their family.

It is known that the directors of the FSO, FSB, and SVR receive about 10 million rubles. in year.

On average, as of 2017, intelligence officers receive a salary of 60 thousand rubles.

When completing a task on a business trip, the salary increases to 100 thousand rubles.

Additional payments are also provided:

• 10 - 40% for length of service;
• 5 - 30% per class;
• 65% for secrecy;
• up to 100% - for work in difficult conditions;
• + bonuses every month for maintaining physical level and speaking languages ​​of other countries.

If intelligence officers work abroad, their salary is transferred to their account in Russian banks.

In this case, the state pays all the costs of the task.

Additional benefits

In Russia, in addition to good salaries, the military receives state support:

• vouchers to sanatoriums;
• medical service;
• military mortgage;
• nutrition;
• preferential pension.

Kazakhstan

There are four special forces units in Kazakhstan, which on average receive:

• Arlan - 280 thousand tenge;
• SOBR - 150 thousand tenge;
• Sunkar - 200-300 thousand tenge;
• Golden eagle - 250 thousand tenge.

Ukraine

In Ukraine, an intelligence officer receives on average 10-20 thousand UAH. per month.

They pay extra for participating in special events. operations, rank, length of service.

It's difficult to answer the question of how much senior management actually earns.

It is known that the heads of the Foreign Intelligence and Security Service of Ukraine officially receive a salary at the level 12,000 UAH., plus bonuses 2 times higher than the official salary.

Financial security

Financial intelligence specialists monitor the distribution of finances, as well as everything related to money.

They identify those who launder money and control the owners of large financial resources.

The income of economic intelligence officers is 60-150 thousand rubles. per month.

To work in economic security services, preference is given to people with higher economic education and experience in the banking sector.

It is also necessary to have a good understanding of IT technologies.

How to get to the service

Strict requirements are imposed on candidates due to the specifics of the work.

The employees are recruited from people who have passed a thorough check and are devoted to their homeland and their profession.

There is a biased attitude towards those who are primarily interested in salary.

In intelligence, it is believed that if a person is only interested in money, he will sell out at the first opportunity.

One of the options for entering the intelligence service is to graduate from the Foreign Intelligence Academy.

If you already have a higher education behind you, ideally you speak at least one foreign language and you are between 22 and 30 years old, you can try to pass the professional selection on the website: http://svr.gov.ru/svr_today/sotr.htm