October 25, 2023

From Saboteurs to Bureaucrats


From Saboteurs to Bureaucrats
Training of a special force GRU unit. Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation, Wikimedia Commons

Journalists from The Insider analyzed the career progression of operatives from the GRU (Russia's military intelligence agency) special unit, which was involved in acts of sabotage in Europe during the 2010s. Their findings reveal that many of these former saboteurs have, in recent years, assumed high-ranking civilian positions in various regions of Russia.

In particular, Nikolai Yezhov, currently the chief federal inspector of Magadan Oblast, and Rustam Jafarov, Putin's first deputy representative in Russia's Far East region, were implicated in a sabotage operation in Bulgaria in 2011. They were associated with Sergei Chepiga, who was suspected of poisoning former Russian spy Sergei Skripal in 2018. Together, they orchestrated an explosion at an ammunition depot in the mountain village of Lovnidol in Bulgaria. This depot stored over 3,000 Soviet-made artillery munitions, which, it was believed, Georgia might have been interested in acquiring for use against Russia.

In 2015, another explosion took place in a warehouse in Bulgaria, this time in Iganovo, where missiles and grenades were stored for the armed forces of Ukraine. A few days prior, Nikolai Yezhov, along with Ivan Terentyev, who would later become the federal inspector for Sakhalin region, had arrived in the country. All evidence related to this explosion was obliterated in a fire at the Sofia Forensic Medical Center, but the trail leads to a GRU special unit. Another participant in these sabotage operations, Sergei Romanov, later transitioned into a diplomatic role as a member of the Trade Delegation of the Russian Federation in Thailand.

This trend of former military security forces personnel transitioning into public service continues. For instance, ex-military personnel who fought in Ukraine are now considering careers as teachers in schools.

Meanwhile, officials from Russian regions are traveling to front-line areas, where they are being photographed wearing military uniforms and holding weapons.

You Might Also Like

600 Days of War
  • October 16, 2023

600 Days of War

Russia's War on Ukraine has been going on for 600 days. Some Facts & Figures.
Kadyrov: A Medal for My Son
  • October 12, 2023

Kadyrov: A Medal for My Son

The Head of the Chechen State awarded his son a medal after he extrajudicially beat a prisoner accused of burning a Qu'ran.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

Survival Russian

Survival Russian

Survival Russian is an intensely practical guide to conversational, colloquial and culture-rich Russian. It uses humor, current events and thematically-driven essays to deepen readers’ understanding of Russian language and culture. This enlarged Second Edition of Survival Russian includes over 90 essays and illuminates over 2000 invaluable Russian phrases and words.
The Moscow Eccentric

The Moscow Eccentric

Advance reviewers are calling this new translation "a coup" and "a remarkable achievement." This rediscovered gem of a novel by one of Russia's finest writers explores some of the thorniest issues of the early twentieth century.
A Taste of Russia

A Taste of Russia

The definitive modern cookbook on Russian cuisine has been totally updated and redesigned in a 30th Anniversary Edition. Layering superbly researched recipes with informative essays on the dishes' rich historical and cultural context, A Taste of Russia includes over 200 recipes on everything from borshch to blini, from Salmon Coulibiac to Beef Stew with Rum, from Marinated Mushrooms to Walnut-honey Filled Pies. A Taste of Russia shows off the best that Russian cooking has to offer. Full of great quotes from Russian literature about Russian food and designed in a convenient wide format that stays open during use.
Jews in Service to the Tsar

Jews in Service to the Tsar

Benjamin Disraeli advised, “Read no history: nothing but biography, for that is life without theory.” With Jews in Service to the Tsar, Lev Berdnikov offers us 28 biographies spanning five centuries of Russian Jewish history, and each portrait opens a new window onto the history of Eastern Europe’s Jews, illuminating dark corners and challenging widely-held conceptions about the role of Jews in Russian history.
The Little Golden Calf

The Little Golden Calf

Our edition of The Little Golden Calf, one of the greatest Russian satires ever, is the first new translation of this classic novel in nearly fifty years. It is also the first unabridged, uncensored English translation ever, and is 100% true to the original 1931 serial publication in the Russian journal 30 Dnei. Anne O. Fisher’s translation is copiously annotated, and includes an introduction by Alexandra Ilf, the daughter of one of the book’s two co-authors.
Russian Rules

Russian Rules

From the shores of the White Sea to Moscow and the Northern Caucasus, Russian Rules is a high-speed thriller based on actual events, terrifying possibilities, and some really stupid decisions.
Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

A book that dares to explore the humanity of priests and pilgrims, saints and sinners, Faith & Humor has been both a runaway bestseller in Russia and the focus of heated controversy – as often happens when a thoughtful writer takes on sacred cows. The stories, aphorisms, anecdotes, dialogues and adventures in this volume comprise an encyclopedia of modern Russian Orthodoxy, and thereby of Russian life.
The Latchkey Murders

The Latchkey Murders

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin is back on the case in this prequel to the popular mystery Murder at the Dacha, in which a serial killer is on the loose in Khrushchev’s Moscow...
Tolstoy Bilingual

Tolstoy Bilingual

This compact, yet surprisingly broad look at the life and work of Tolstoy spans from one of his earliest stories to one of his last, looking at works that made him famous and others that made him notorious. 
Moscow and Muscovites

Moscow and Muscovites

Vladimir Gilyarovsky's classic portrait of the Russian capital is one of Russians’ most beloved books. Yet it has never before been translated into English. Until now! It is a spectactular verbal pastiche: conversation, from gutter gibberish to the drawing room; oratory, from illiterates to aristocrats; prose, from boilerplate to Tolstoy; poetry, from earthy humor to Pushkin. 

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955