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Putin's Spies in America By: Jamie Glazov
FrontPageMagazine.com | Friday, June 19, 2009
Frontpage Interview's guest today is Konstantin Preobrazhenskiy, a former
KGB agent who became one of the KGB's harshest critics. He is the author of
seven books about the KGB and Japan. His new book is KGB/FSB's New Trojan
Horse: Americans of Russian Descent.
FP: Konstantin Preobrazhenskiy, welcome the Fronpage Magazine.
Preobrazhensky: Thank you for giving me a chance to address the
realistically minded people.
FP: Tell us about your background and the circumstances under which you came
to the KGB.
Preobrazhensky: I graduated from the Institute of Asia and Africa of the
Moscow University in 1976. Before that, I was an intern at the Tokai
University in Japan . I am a specialist in Japan , a fluent Japanese
speaker. I love Japan very much. And this love has brought me to the KGB.
FP: What do you love about Japan ?
Preobrazhensky: Because it is a fairyland. In its ultra-modern society you
can see the medieval society of "samurai" like through a magic telescope.
This unbelievable combination makes Japan a magic fascination which cannot
be expressed in words. & nbsp;
FP: Ok, so tell us how you ended up in Japan .
Preobrazhensky: Well, if you are a specialist in Japan , you had to travel
to the country that you were studying. And that was possible only if you
were working for KGB. By the way, Soviet specialists in the U.S.A. were in
the same situation. They all were connected to the KGB and most of them were
its officers. There was only one chance to avoid working for KGB: becoming
an officer of the Central Committee of the Communist Party, the member of
the highest elite. But it was very hard to do that.
So I only had one choice: either become a KGB collaborator, whose position
is very dependent, or its staff officer with shoulder-stripes and high
military salary. The second variant was much better.
But it was very hard to do. In the end, my father, the Deputy Commander of
the KGB Frontier Troops, "pushed" me into KGB intelligence, the most
privileged and well-paid job in the USSR.
My work in Tokyo as a spy from 1980-85, was very successful. I was covered
as a correspondent of the Soviet TASS Agency. But it was not a cover for me.
It was my actual job, because I am a born author. My KGB colleagues in Tokyo
called me, with a grin, "An author covered as a spy." And they were right.
While in the KGB, I published a couple of books on Japan :" The Sports
Dressed in Kimono" (1985) and "The Bamboo Sword" (1982). Both were a
success. And two of my short novels, "Karate Begins with Bows" and "Very New
and Old Pagoda" were published by the Soviet Academy of Science in 1987, in
the Academic Anthology, "Soviet Authors on Japan , 1917-87"
In Tokyo , I was spying on China . I recruited a Chinese scholar there. But
Japanese counterintelligence learned about it somehow and caught me in 1985
on my way to contact this new Soviet agent. It became a spy scandal. The KGB
forcibly returned me to Russia and accuses me solely of this scandal, though
nobody knew the real reason. It tragically interrupted my career as a
Japanologist.
FP: So when did you turn on the KGB?
Preobrazhensky: My interviewers always ask me when I got disappointed in the
KGB. Never. Because I came there disappointed. C ontrary to most young
officers, I knew about its criminal and inhumane activities from my father's
colleagues. That is why I began to write a book of revelations about the
KGB from my first day of serving there. It was first published in Tokyo in
1994, soon after I left the KGB in 1991. It was entitled, "The Spy Who Loved
Japan." It became a best seller.
When I left the KGB in 1991, it was dissolving at that time, although under
Putin it has resurged. Immediately I went to the Japanese media in Moscow
and began to publish interviews, articles and even books disclosing the KGB.
I became a security columnist at "Moscow Times" newspaper which made me
world known. "The Spy who Loved Japan" irritated the KGB greatly, but they
could not do anything against me in 1994: it was a short period of Russian
democracy. But finally my anti-KGB activities forced me to run away from
Russia .
FP: So under what circumstances did you come to the U.S. ?
Preobrazhensky: After Putin came to power in 2000, he began the persecution
of all the KGB dissidents. In 2002, Oleg Kalugin was sentenced in absentia
to 15 years, being accused of disclosing the KGB secrets. I knew I was next.
Unfortunately, I20was not "in absentia", but in Moscow . As a professional,
I got a feeling that they were going to arrest me very soon. I urgently went
to the U.S. on a private visit and asked for political asylum. Now I am
permanent resident in the U.S. This dramatic story has been described in my
new book, "KGB/FSB's New Trojan Horse: Americans of Russian Descent."
FP: The American media and literary culture ignored your book. How come?
Preobrazhensky: My book was ignored. Only a few religious writers have
reviewed it as it is devoted to the KGB penetration of America through the
Russian Orthodox Church. It tells how the KGB managed to put Russian
Americans under its control by merging the Russian Orthodox Church abroad
with the Kremlin-controlled Moscow Patriarchate. That is why the laymen
journalists probably did not want to cover such a delicate topic. How is
possible to speak about the Church as a tool of espionage? It would not be
"politically correct." So political correctness has helped Putin to keep his
espionage in America secret. Moreover, it is helping him facilitate it.
Putin knows very well about American political correctness and about the
fact that American counter-intelligence is not eligible to monitor
clergymen. The KGB is doing it in Russia very aggressively in spite of the
fact that Church and State are separate there too.
So we have a situation that Putin is openly spying in the U.S. and Americans
are afraid of writing about it. This idiotic paradox is a symbol of current
American-Russian relations. They bring profit only to Russia .
Just recently, the wall of silence about my book was finally broken. My book
was reviewed by Professor Clare Lopez, published by Gerard Group
International:
Professor Clare Lopez has come to a conclusion which is very important for
me: "For those who think the Cold War ended in 1991, this book will have you
thinking again. Konstantin Preobrazhensky wants Americans to wake up to the
ongoing agenda of the Russian regime, which he says under the rule of
Vladimir Putin and the KGB has reverted to the intelligence-dominated
repressive state of the 20th century."
FP: Can you talk a bit about the growth of leftism in America and the KGB
influence on it?
Preobrazhensky: Well, the KGB has no special need to influence American
leftists any more. Their ancestors in Stalin9s time have done it for them.
They have seeded leftism among the American intellectuals, and today's KGB
is only gathering their crop.
On the other hand, a lot of American leftists were recruited by the KGB in
the Soviet period. They are still working for the Russians. There are many
KGB collaborators in this country.
Also, a lot of Americans have been educated as leftists at the leftist
universities in America . Their professors were contacting the KGB in the
1930s, or were "useful idiots," as Lenin has cynically called the Western
intellectuals devotedly working for Russia . Their successors are teaching
there now. The graduates of such universities are joining the most
important governmental offices, and it might very well affect the American
political course.
But there is one more reason for the growth of leftism. Many people get
disappointed in capitalism. A lot of Americans are still sure that socialism
is better. When I tell them that socialism inevitably brings the GULAG they
do not believe me.
Russian intellectuals of 19th century made the same mistake, but they were
severely punished for it by the 70-years of horrible Communist rule.
Americans have not suffered such a disappointment yet.
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Leftism brings a specific damage to America . Let's not forget that Julius
and Ethel Rosenberg delivered American atomic bomb secrets to Russia not for
money, but because of being leftists.
And the wide spread of leftism in the U.S. alleviates Russian influence here
as Russia is a leftist country.
FP: What is the extent of Russia influence in the U.S. ?
Preobrazhensky: It is very strong. The Russian mechanism of misinformation
and manipulation includes the utilization of some American think-tanks and
political scientists.
Democratic states are much more vulnerable than authoritarian ones. That is
why Putin's machine of lies not only deceives America , but creates an
inadequate and adorned image of Russia , provoking America to make wrong
decisions about this country.
One example is provided by the decision to close Russian Service of the
Voice of America in 2007. Maybe Americans consider Russian Service to be a
mere relic of the Cold War, unnecessary in free Russia , but in fact it has
been one of the last sources of independent information for Russians. It has
irritated Russian authorities. Puti n has managed to close it with the
Americans' hands.
But the Russian propagandist TV channel, "Russia Today," is very active in
America . Nobody is going to close it or transfer to Internet!
The clear one-sidedness of American-Russian relations is also exposed by the
Russian lobbyism here. There are the opened Russian lobbyists in America
like Ketchum Company and others. But are there any American lobbyists in
Russia ? Oh, no.
Any Russian that agrees to become an American lobbyist would be declared a
national traitor. Putin calls such people "the jackals at foreign embassies".
Mikhail Khodorkovsky, a Russian tycoon and the former President of the YUKOS
Company, was said to be a sort of American lobbyist. Where is he now? In
prison, from where he will hardly ever get out. In Russia , it is considered
non-patriotic to be an American lobbyist.
"Do not criticize Russia because it will strengthen the position of the
opponents of its pro-Western course there." Such a phrase is very much used
by both Russian and American authors. It is a very sophisticated piece of
misinformation. It postulates that sti ll not all the people in the Russian
elite are anti-American and they all have a freedom of arguing against
Russian anti-Americanism. Such a notion is very well understood by
Americans. But in fact, there are no pro-American people in the Kremlin.
Hatred of America is symbol of loyalty there. If you love America , you
cannot work in the Russian government.
Sometimes this myth is pronounced in another version:" Oh, do not criticize
Russia or they will make friends with China ." But they are friends already.
It is too late to caution about it. This is the misinformation thesis
invented by Directorate "A" of SVR , that the Russian Foreign Intelligence
Service Directorate "A" is tasked to misinform American and Western public
opinion about. Many journalists are reproducing this false thesis, not
knowing where it was invented. But recently some American politicians began
to pronounce a far more dangerous thesis: "Let's yield Georgia and Ukraine
to Russia , and Russians will help us in Iran ."
FP: The chance of Putin helping the U.S. in Iran ?
Preobrazhensky: Zero. The Russians will never do so. They will never help
the U.S. in any Islamic country. They have developed their own, very special
relations with the Islamic World, based on anti-Americanism.
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Russia has a four-centuries experience of tolerating Islam and does not want
to share it with America . Moreover, Russia 's strategic goal is to display
the U.S. to militant Islam as a scapegoat instead of itself.
FP: What are the methods of Russian influence?
Preobrazhensky: In 2004, Putin revived Stalin's practice of inviting Western
writers directly to Moscow and charming them personally. He has founded the
"Valdai Discussion Club" for them. The club meetings are held at Golitsyno,
one of Putin's residences in Moscow suburbs, and also in other places of
Russia . There Putin is hosting luxurious receptions at which he is
fascinates American intellectuals.
Putin is a good actor. He presents himself as a sole liberal captured by
the conservative KGB surrounding. He portrays this picture: they are urging
him to deviate from democracy, so the West should not criticize him too much
or he will yield to the KGB completely.
Dr. Andrei Piontkovsky of the Hudson Institute has called members of Valdai
Club "a collective Feuchtwanger".
Leon Feuchtwanger was a famous German writer of the 1930s who admired Stalin's
regime. Today, the "collective Feuchtwanger" is propagating an adorned image
of Russia , which affects American policy towards Russia . All this
mechanism of Russian influence in America will be disclosed in my
forthcoming book, "How Russian Federation is Ruling United States".
FP: What can Americans do to protect themselves from these Russian threats
on their own territory? And what U.S. policy do you recommend toward Putin?
Preobrazhensky: America should stop the current abnormal situation which
finds Russian intelligence working here manifestly, being sure that
Americans now cannot afford a spy scandal against its supposed "ally" in
fighting terrorism.
America should stop tolerating Russia by concessions and apologies which
cause nothing but laughter from Russians. Americans should understand that
Putin and other Russian leaders have a criminal psychology as they are
building criminal capitalism. From the point of vie w of the mafia, those
who make concessions are losers and fools. They deserve only further
pressing, which Russia is demonstrating. America should be hard with
Russians. Only after that Russians will respect America.
America should get rid of false expectations about Russia, the most
dangerous of which is the following: "We need each other to oppose China and
militant Islam". Russia does not need America at all in this. Russia
tolerates both China and Islam in a way of betrothal, behind the back of
America and in spite of it.
America should finally comprehend that Russia does not share American
values. That it is not a democracy. America should treat it like it is
treating China and other non-democratic countries.
FP: Konstantin Preobrazhenskiy, thank you for joining Fronpage Magazine.
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Jamie Glazov is Front page Magazine's editor. He holds a Ph.D. in History
with a specialty in Russian, U.S. and Canadian foreign policy. He is the
author of Canadian Policy Toward Khrushchev's Soviet Union and is the
co-editor (with David Horowitz) of The Hate America Left. He edited and
wrote the introduction to David Horowitz's Left Illusions. His new book is
United in Hate: The Left's Romance with Tyranny and Terror. To see his
previous symposiums, interviews and articles Click Here. Email him at
jgl...@rogers.com.