WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) launched an effort to recruit Russian spies, believing that some Russian nationals may have been disillusioned by the war in Ukraine and the government that continues to press forward in the invasion.
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The CIA released the promotional video Monday on various social media platforms, including a new, official CIA Telegram account.
Telegram was used as the primary distribution source as it was the popular social media network for unfiltered news in Russia, CNN reported. However, the recruitment video could also be viewed on YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
The cinematically produced video attempted to appeal to Russian patriotism as the current regime may have seeded “doubt, lack of purpose, and oppression,” CNN stated. It featured direct lines from creative, and widely regarded, Russian figures, including Leo Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky.
“We will live with dignity, thanks to my actions,” the narrator said as a woman used her phone to contact the CIA before the agency’s logo and contact instructions appear. The instructions showed dissenters how to contact the CIA anonymously and securely.
Officials involved in the project said that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine created a historical opening “to have Russians come to us and deliver information the United States needs,” according to CNN.
The continued heavy losses on the battlefield and manpower, the increase in censorship and arrests of political protestors or journalists, and the dissemination of propaganda through the state was expected to have impacted Russians’ views towards their government.
The project hoped to connect with Russians working in sensitive fields with access to valuable information, conveying simply, “We understand you, maybe better than you think.”
The targeted people did not necessarily have to be nationals deep within the spy community, but rather people in cybersecurity, technology, finance, military, and diplomacy.
The video was only an addition to continuing operations by the CIA since the Russian invasion began. As CIA Director of Operations David Marlowe said, the United States intelligence community has been “open for business.”
While the CIA attempted to recruit Russians overseas, the Federal Bureau of Investigation launched a similar project aimed at Russians in the United States. Those targeted were Russians entering or leaving the embassy in Washington, D.C.
The FBI advertisement read, “We’re ready to listen,” quoting Putin.
“We can offer them protection. We can offer them security. We can offer them full anonymity. And we can offer them a package that corresponds to the value of the information they’re providing,” the former CIA Head of Counterintelligence James Olson said.
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