Some of the results of the case of Mary Butinai
In late October, released one of the most famous Russian prisoners in the United States Maria Butina. The girl was accused of working as a foreign agent in the United States without registering, but as a result it concluded the deal with the investigation in fact, Mary spent behind bars less than a year and a half. However, her case has become resonant not only because of active media campaign raised in its defense, the Russian authorities, but also because the activity of Butynol widely used in the information space of the U.S. as proof of the «Russian intervention».
The case of Maria Butunoi really allows you to do enough serious conclusions not only about the methods of Russian influence in the policies of Western countries, but about the situation inside the United States. List at least some of the facts that has emerged from high-profile process.
Amateurs in the «service of the Fatherland»
First, an example of Butynol showed that Russia actively uses «Amateurs» how to lobby their interests abroad, and to collect information in political circles. Despite naming Butinai «spy» in many American media, one gets the impression that she was not a professional intelligence officer. According to the FBI, she actively coordinated their plans with the Senator Torshin in an unprotected conversation, openly met with persons suspected of working for Russian intelligence, and in an informal setting flaunted their contacts in the Kremlin. Hardly a person passed at least a minimum of intelligence training, he would behave so recklessly. It is fair to say that Butino not officially accused of espionage, and to gain access to classified information the girl wasn’t trying.
However, some connection with the Russian special services she most likely was, as a minimum, because as already mentioned the investigation appears found at Mary house memo on how to answer the question about working for the Federal security service (FSB). Moreover, according to American media reports, Butina, being in an alcohol intoxication, she boasted of his connections with Russian intelligence. Former KGB Lieutenant Colonel Akif Hasanov, who served about 15 years in the Soviet intelligence service, suggests that Butina may have long contact with Russian intelligence services, notably the FSB, living in Russia, I was a counterintelligence agent.
This version could explain many of the contradictions in her biography, in particular, the fact that the plans for the girls promoting this unpopular in a totalitarian state idea as fluency citizens weapons, favored, according to her, personally Vladimir Putin. Moreover, living in Russia, Maria met freely with the Americans cooperated with the opposition, and continued labotatornaya Senator, not having any problems with the FSB. This version explains and found in her apartment a memo, and the fact why, with the successful experience of establishing trusting relations with the Americans, the girl that used to work in their own country, were not trained in safety work abroad, and in this sense remained a layman.
Anyway, the use of the Russian authorities ordinary people, as had never previously had contact with intelligence agencies, have become in recent years a very common practice. Suffice it to recall the numerous revelations of contacts with American politicians «close to the Kremlin» oligarchs, businessmen, lawyers, advocates and so on. Moreover, the role of informal «agents of influence» can be ordinary members of the Diaspora, acting with different degrees of awareness. The first contact with the secret services, such people can be held not to emigration, but during the time of their life abroad – for example, during normal visits to their homeland. This contact may begin with the usual survey or interrogation, and then, depending on the situation to escalate into a closer relationship.
The use of such people entails certain benefits for the Russian intelligence. Western intelligence services can’t track contacts with people «invited to cooperate» during trips to Russia, and because they long time can remain undetected for Western counterintelligence. These people are not staff employees of special services, and often even not among the agents of foreign intelligence, but because the risk of their exposure to defect is minimized.
Besides Amateurs are capable of, what is called, «take a number». Already mentioned Akif Hasanov suggests that the FSB sent to America not only Butino, but other people like it, as they say, «good luck.» It is easy to assume that in this case at least some part of these informal informants can succeed.
Error resident
However, in working with the Amateurs there are tangible downsides. As we have already seen the example of the history with Butynol, ordinary people tend to make mistakes, be careless and tell us about your activities too much. Amateurs often start over actively contact people and gather information, which previously was not interested, allow for inconsistencies in lies, or, as in the case of Butynol, their «legend» may not correspond to the realities of life in Russia. If such people cannot find high-level communication, they will sooner or later come to the attention of counter-intelligence, and then their mistakes become fatal.
In addition, the failure of Amateurs, although not as tangible intelligence as failure of the staff officer also carries a risk of disclosure of important information. It can include ways of intelligence, their goals, methods to achieve these objectives, the objects of interest, professional tricks, and most importantly – to identify the range of people who helped the Russian agents.
In particular, the case of Butynol clearly demonstrated how successfully Russia is acting through conservative organizations, and not only involved in lobbying for the right to arms, but also through Evangelical churches, they organize Prayer breakfasts, conservative politicians and public figures, businessmen and so on. Another consequence of the investigation was the involvement of unimagineably law enforcement and the media to how the Russian government works with foreign universities and organizes the work with young people abroad.
The investigation gave the public what «think tanks», and certain people helped Butinai in its activities in the United States. In particular, the American historian and publicist Yuri Felshtinsky, based on the published in the press the case calls «curators» of the Russians in the United States of Soviet immigrants Dimitri Simes and Anton Fedyashin. In short, «the case of Butynol» revealed a network of Russian influence in America, and given the duration of its cooperation with the investigation, we can assume that Mary herself added very important details regarding the individual elements of the network.
Moreover, the excessive activity of the Russian foreign Ministry in an attempt to protect Butino disproportionate to their efforts to help other Russian citizens imprisoned in the US, only strengthened the American prosecutors in the idea that the accused is of special value in the eyes of Russia. The prosecution even used an indication of the number of visits to Butinai employees of the Russian Consulate as an indirect proof of her guilt.
Image loss
Second, the case of Maria Butunoi revealed the desire and the willingness of some American politicians and public figures to cooperate with the Russian government. It is not only about the Russians, at the time, emigrated to the United States, but «native» Americans. As already noted, Mary is not acting «under false flag» and did not conceal from the American partners of its objectives: to build informal channels of influence American politicians, primarily from the Republican party, with the Russian government. That was her project, «Description of diplomacy», approved by the American boyfriend Butinai Paul Erickson.
The girl organized the travel of delegates to the National rifle Association (NRA) to Russia, where they met with Alexander Torshin and other Russian politicians. The members of the NRA, and other «influential people in the United States,» which dealt Butina and her patrons were aware that they are contacts with Russian officials. However, many of the American friends of Maria reacted positively to the idea of «establishing relations with Moscow,» facilitated the visit of the Russian delegation in the United States and informally communicated with the state Duma deputies at the National Prayer Breakfast. This situation has cast a shadow not only on the NRA and conservative politicians, but also on American justice, in no way affected nor those who helped Butinai in America, nor of those who responded enthusiastically to her offer.
However, later Paul Erickson was charged with fraud, but they officially were not connected with the case Butinai. The congressmen also began to investigate connection to the NRA with Russia. First such initiative was shown by the Democrats of the house of representatives Ted Liu and Kathleen rice, and a few months later a report on this topic was prepared by the Senate Finance Committee. According to the document, senior officials of the organization knew that the Russians used their connections in the Association to gain access to the new US President, nevertheless, encouraged relations with citizens. However, these facts were not reflected in the materials of the investigation of Maria Butunoi, and we can assume that, if not for the initiative of individual congressmen, trying to build a relationship with the Kremlin would have passed for the American «peacekeepers» without any consequences.
Intelligence without spying
As for the trial and sentence, the active support of Mary Butinai from the Russian foreign Ministry, as noted above, had done her more harm. However, the Russian looked on this background quite advantageous, stressing its image as a state that «did not cast his» – even if they are going to deal with the «enemy». Of course, this could not offset losses from imidzhivye already listed information that was revealed in the investigation. However, in the eyes of other Russians, collaborating with the Kremlin, such position of the authorities was perceived as hopeful.
In turn, the U.S. side has given rise to criticism, adding to the Memorandum of the Prosecutor’s office 5-page expert opinion of the former Deputy chief of counterintelligence Department of the FBI Robert Anderson. According to Anderson, the actions of Butynol in the United States was «part of a carefully prepared intelligence operations the Russian Federation». Anderson says that she acted «a pointer» (spotter), which estimated she met American officials to further their recruitment of professional Russian scouts, and then supplied to Moscow information that had «intelligence value to the government of Russia.» In the end, Anderson concluded that qualified scouts «will be able to exploit this information for many years and cause serious harm to the United States.»
Even though the assumptions of Anderson can be far from the truth, from a legal point of view, the fact of the influence of sentence personal opinion of a private person is uncertain. Moreover, in the text Anderson acknowledged that Butina has not committed any «classic» espionage action, that is, in fact, called the criminal those acts which are not formally breaking the law. As for the evaluation made by Butynol damage, such assessment also is usually the result of a complex counter-intelligence work, and even current employees of the security services cannot always with certainty be assessed damages, not to mention the future.
All of the above gave the Russian media an opportunity to claim a «fabricated» the case and the political nature of the persecution of the Russians even though she admitted guilt Butina in activities without registration is very emotional and remorseful. Thus, to endure is actually quite a lenient sentence, the American side is extremely non-winning demonstrated it to the public that not only added to the sympathy of many immigrants to Butinai, but also spawned a number of disturbing issues, in particular: whether there will be from now on, any discussion with the Russians of the political situation or personal acquaintances in the US be considered «criminal,» and where to define the line beyond which even legitimate actions «can be used to harm US»?
Thus, the matter of Butynol revealed a very complex and contradictory trends. On the one hand, the Russian government and even the intelligence agencies do indeed use ordinary people in its operations much more active than their Western counterparts, which in principle is typical for authoritarian regimes. It is logical that amid strained relations with Russia, such actions require a response. On the other hand, this response still looks inconsistent and unexamined as in terms of a legal response, and from the perspective of the explanation for this response of the public in the «information war».
first published on DemCast
