The Covid-19 pandemic has not diminished either the Kremlin’s efforts to influence Estonia or Russian aggressive intelligence services in the country, while communist Chinese special services have become more interested in Estonia and can no longer be viewed purely in theory, said in an annual report on Monday. Estonian Chief of the Security Police (KAPO) Arnolds Sinisalu.
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In his opinion, the restrictions imposed by Covid-19 have forced the Kremlin’s agents and intelligence agencies to reorganize their activities, but it has not been interrupted for a moment and the limited direct contacts have now been largely replaced by operations in the virtual space.
As acknowledged in the KAPO report, the coronavirus crisis has limited Russian intelligence contacts with Estonians or citizens of other countries living in Estonia, including food and entertainment closures and gathering restrictions, but cyber intelligence and cyber-attacks have not stopped.
“Last spring, several units of the Russian Federal Security Service still tried to ignore what was happening, but as the number of infected increased, it was no longer possible. Even the biggest skeptics had to admit that the virus does not take into account nationality, skin color, occupation and in some cases isolation. even whole intelligence units, “the KAPO report said. “Intelligence continued in the early 2020s, as usual, contacts with many Estonians were established on Russian territory or at the border in an attempt to recruit them. (..) Last March, after the borders were closed, methods had to be changed, replacing direct contacts with communication. e-mail or social networks and postpone appointments. “
According to the report, if the situation in many countries starts to return to normal, a new activation of Russian intelligence services is expected.
According to Sinisalu, Moscow has also tried to use these turbulent times to propagate its image through propaganda and at the same time break the unity of the European Union and the West, but the West has remained true to its values and the future of international sanctions.
The head of the Estonian Internal Security Service has pointed out that the closed borders and restrictions on gatherings have also forced local leaders of Moscow’s division policy to switch to online operations. At the same time, the report acknowledges that Kremlin activists talk a lot about the importance of attracting young people to their work, but are not really interested in attracting new activists, as this would jeopardize their own image and small but stable income from Moscow-supported youth projects. only in the family circle, namely the former activists of the pro-democracy group “Night Watch”, their own children take over.
The report emphasizes that the Kremlin has not abandoned its intention to divide Estonian society by advocating a shared bilingual education and seeks to involve young people in divisive policy projects, such as disseminating propaganda on World War II, but has recently shown little interest in Russian-speaking youth. . Estonia has also imported the propaganda project “I Know Russia” created in 2016, which is supported by influential Russian institutions and organizations. Its participants must compete, among other things, by putting together a puzzle from maps of Russia and its regions, in which Crimea is depicted as part of the Russian Federation. The target audience of this project is not only Estonian Russian schools that maintain contacts with the Russian Embassy, but also Estonian-language schools.
KAPO calls on municipalities and schools to carefully evaluate such “humanitarian cooperation offers”, the educational value of which is quite questionable.
According to the authors of the Covid-19 report, the activities of Chinese intelligence services may have affected even more than the activities of their Russian counterparts, however, it can be expected that they will not decrease in the near future.
Recently, the threat they pose has also become a reality for Estonia as a member of the European Union and NATO, as evidenced by two criminal cases, one of which has already been handed down and the other is expected soon.
“Step by step, Beijing is striving to strengthen European politics, economic activity and technology procurement. This must also be taken into account by Estonia, both in cooperation with the People’s Republic of China and in attracting Chinese investment. Since 2017, the Chinese government has encouraged all citizens, businesses and organizations operating in the country. “If the Estonian company intends to seek partners in China, then this measure also includes the interests of the Chinese state,” the document states.
It has already been reported that an Estonian court last month sentenced Tarmo Keuts, a long-term employee of Tallinn Technical University, to three years in prison for espionage in favor of China, recruited by an intermediary by a Chinese military intelligence officer, initially pretending to be an analytical center. Keuts, who, due to the nature of his professional activity, had access to state secrets, met with representatives of this service in various Asian countries and was willing to disclose state secrets, but was detained until he could. Another Estonian citizen has been charged in this case, and his case has also been taken to court.
KAPO warns that foreign intelligence services are not only interested in information containing state secrets and may come to the attention not only of government officials, but also of all walks of life, so all scientists involved in generously paid “research cooperation” should also be especially vigilant. with various analytical centers in China and other countries. The document also calls for caution against offers from low-profile third-country companies for well-paid consultancy services and for reporting to KAPO.
As Sinisalu has acknowledged, in the cyber world, Estonia is also showing interest in countries that do not seem to have anything to do with it, such as North Korea. According to him, the cyber attacks on Estonian officials by this country are apparently explained by the fact that Estonia is currently a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council.
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