US Embassy in Moscow Faces Cold War-Era Harassment
One American diplomat's tires were slashed. Another's personal email was hacked. Still others reported mysterious break-ins.
The incidents are all signs, U.S. officials and experts said, that aggressive, Soviet-era counterintelligence tactics are back in fashion in Russia.
The number of incidents targeting American diplomats in Moscow has increased in recent years to levels not seen since the Cold War, officials said. Taken together, they paint an escalating pattern of intimidation and harassment that is believed to be led by Russia's Federal Security Services (FSB), a successor to the Soviet KGB.
The trend has alarmed officials back in Washington, who have complained about the treatment to Russian officials at the highest levels, including President Vladimir Putin.
Officials said the level of harassment increased sharply this year as U.S.-Russia relations plunged to their lowest level in decades amid the Ukraine crisis. They, and others interviewed for this article, spoke on the condition of anonymity in order to discuss sensitive diplomatic and security matters.
http://abcnews.go.com/International/exclusive-us-embassy-moscow-faces-cold-war-era/story?id=26425902
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