leaned on his elbows with his hands clasped together and stared his blank, unblinking stare.
“We need greater cooperation,” he said. “this war between two great services has to stop.”
Viktorov shifted uncomfortably in his seat. The latest skirmish between the SVR and the GRU had occurred just three weeks before, in Germany. The SVR had betrayed two agents of the GRU to the German intelligence service. Their reason was—from the Svr’s point of view—that the GRU was transgressing on the Svr’s own patch.
“We have important work to do,” Putin said. “And I need full cooperation. Your jobs are at stake. Russia’s future is at stake.” the generals inclined their heads. Putin didn’t seek a reply. Then he leaned in closer. “the report,” he said. “read it closely. Elections in Ukraine take place in just over a week’s time. The final runoff is three weeks after that. But the elections are irrelevant. Whoever wins, we want to make our arrangements with our friends in Ukraine. Redress the balance.” He looked severely at them and Viktorov wondered, not for the first time, if Putin actually didn’t have any eyelids, if he was like a snake. Putin leaned back in his chair and stared at the two generals. “We all know, of course,” he said with finality, “that Ukraine is not even a state.”
Acknowledgments
There are many individuals I have to thank for providing me with insight into the rise of America’s private intelligence companies since the 1990s. They work both in national intelligence agencies and in the private companies themselves. I am grateful for their help and for the insight they have given me into the unintended consequences of private intelligence replacing national intelligence agencies.
Also by Alex Dryden
About the author
Alex Dryden is the pseudonym of a British writer who worked for the British security services. He has had extensive firsthand experience with Russia for many years. He is the author of the critically acclaimed
