Cctv newsOn November 4th, the US media released pictures of Russian citizen Bujingna who was involved in the spy storm and was interviewed when she was detained. American citizens detained in Russia after Bujingna’s release — — What will happen to Whelan?
Bujingna: I am a "victim of racial discrimination against Russians"
On October 26th, Bukina, a Russian citizen who was imprisoned in the United States for being convicted of "illegally acting as a foreign agent", returned to Russia. Born in 1988, Bujingna came from Siberia, Russia. In 2018, she obtained a master’s degree in international relations from American University, and was arrested in Washington, D.C. in July of the same year. In April 2019, a federal court in Washington sentenced Bujingna to 18 months in prison. During her detention, Bujingna accepted an interview with the US media, saying that she was "a victim of racial discrimination against Russians".
BujingnaI never wanted to influence your policy. I came here alone because I wanted to learn from the United States and then go back to Russia to make Russia a better place.
According to the American side, Bujingna "conspired" with senior Russian officials and infiltrated into the powerful National Rifle Association of the United States, in order to penetrate into the inner circle of conservatives and Republicans and influence the US policy toward Russia. The National Rifle Association (NRA) is the largest gun owner organization and powerful interest group in the United States. At present, it has nearly 5 million members and has great influence in American politics.
Bujingna told the media that the US federal government wanted to portray her as a "fox" sent by the Kremlin.
The US media said that in the thousands of private tweets that she exchanged with a Russian official, she used words such as "according to our established plan" and "for future battles". However, the Russian side claimed that the prosecution and conviction of Bujingna by the US side was "politically biased" and that Bujingna was convicted only because she was a Russian citizen. The outside world also noticed that the crime of Bujingna’s final sentence did not involve "espionage", but "illegally acting as a foreign agent".
Russian court extended the detention of American citizen Paul Whelan until the end of 2019.
After Bujingna was released, the outside world was also concerned about the fate of Paul Whelan. Whelan, 49, was once a member of the US Marine Corps and was arrested in Moscow on December 28, 2018. The Russian Federal Security Service identified it as "engaged in espionage" in Moscow. At that time, some American media believed that Russia might have arrested Whelan for the sake of exchanging Bujingna.
On October 24th, a court in Moscow, Russia ruled that Whelan’s detention would be extended for two months until December 29th. Whelan insisted that he was innocent when he appeared in court, saying that he went to Russia only to attend a friend’s wedding.
Whelan, an American detained by Russia.Russia said they had caught James Bond, but in fact they just caught Mr. Bean who was on vacation.
The United States asked Russia to provide evidence of Whelan’s misconduct or release him.
According to Russian law, the maximum penalty for espionage is 20 years’ imprisonment. The US House of Representatives also passed a resolution on October 22nd, demanding that Russia provide evidence of Whelan’s misconduct or release him. In fact, this round of "spy storm" is just the tip of the iceberg where the United States and Russia have long been tit for tat. Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov broke the news that American agents tried to "rebel" Russian diplomats.
Russian Foreign Minister LavrovIn April 2016, the United States tried to "poach" the second-ranking official of the Russian Embassy in the United States and demanded his cooperation. The US intelligence department also put $10,000 in cash in the car of a senior Russian diplomat and left a note, trying to buy him off.
Lavrov also said that American diplomats in Russia often appeared in anti-government demonstrations, and some people disguised themselves to hide their eyes and ears.
Russian Foreign Minister LavrovThere was a famous incident. An American diplomat wore a wig and fake eyebrows. He wanted to enter the American Embassy in Russia, but refused to show his identity to the Russian police in charge of entrance control, and then he was beaten. It happened several times, and other American diplomats disguised themselves, including men disguised as women, and then recovered their true colors in public toilets. These were recorded.
Us media: the largest spy exchange between the United States and Russia after the Cold War in 2010
In fact, the spy war between the United States and Russia has been going on. As early as 2010, there was the largest spy exchange event after the Cold War. In June 2010, the US Department of Justice announced that it had captured more than 10 Russian agents who had been lurking in the United States for a long time. The most striking of these agents is anna chapman, a "beauty spy" who was born in 1982 and has a master’s degree. According to the American side, Anna "curve immigrated" to the United States with her British husband, and successfully mingled with the upper class and had contacts with many political and diplomatic figures. It is reported that in exchange for these spies, Moscow released four "heavyweight" personnel who were held in Russia and allegedly provided information to the West, including a nuclear expert.
Special commentator Teng JianqunAfter the end of the Cold War, the US-Russia spy war mainly focused on two levels. On the technical level, US technical reconnaissance against Russia has never stopped, and on the human intelligence level, US-Russia espionage and counter-espionage activities are still going on.