Retired SVR Colonel Elena Vavilova told KP about how our agents worked in the USA, how they were exchanged for a traitor, and what Moscow and Washington should prepare for next

“You don’t have to take pictures of me wearing orders, it’s immodest,” protests the mistress of the house, who, at our request, shows her awards for 25 years of service.

And it’s a shame for us that pseudo-stars climbing everywhere desperately remind us of themselves, and the country often doesn’t know the real heroes...

Elena Vavilova worked abroad as an illegal intelligence officer for a quarter of a century, performing serious tasks with her husband Andrei Bezrukov and supplying the Kremlin with important and timely information. A tense life under the guise of foreigners (or under false names) ended in 2010 due to betrayal. As part of a group of 10 Russian intelligence officers, she was exchanged for Sergei Skripal and several citizens convicted in Russia of espionage. The vamp girl Anna Chapman then drew all the attention, and her colleagues lived in their homeland again in the shadows. And now, 9 years later, Elena Vavilova, in collaboration with writer Andrei Bronnikov, published a fiction book inspired by her story, “A Woman Who Can Keep Secrets,” and invited Komsomolskaya Pravda to visit her.

BEAUTIES AND THE INVISIBLE

- Elena Stanislavovna, somehow it is generally accepted that intelligence does not have a feminine face. It's a delusion?

Intelligence has different faces. It doesn't matter at all whether it's a man or a woman. In the history of our intelligence there are a lot of wonderful women who did work on an equal basis with men. The profession is complex; many people associate it with such masculine qualities as endurance, courage, courage. But women are also quite courageous by nature and can perform difficult tasks. Having been at work for many years, I was convinced by my own example that anything is possible.

Feminine qualities - intuition, understanding of a person's character - help.

Is your bright appearance a positive or rather a negative quality in intelligence? You immediately attract attention.

I thought I had average appearance. When recruiting for a job, it is customary to proceed from the fact that a person with striking external characteristics is not worth hiring. These are the ones who are remembered.

- How then did they take Anna Chapman?

This means she had other good qualities that may have outweighed her striking appearance. In general, each person can be used for a specific task. In some cases, an attractive woman can perform a task better.

In some cases, you need to be more inconspicuous, remain invisible. I think standing out too much is bad. But there must be a certain charm and attractiveness, because you need to be able to win over your interlocutor and develop normal relationships. You can't go anywhere without this.

- Is it rare for illegal immigrants to have love marriages like yours?

If the marriage is for love, so much the better for work. Bonds of mutual support are important. My husband and I met during our student years, before we were accepted for training. This is what happens to most couples. And what was shown in the TV series “The Americans” (based on the story of our illegal immigrants. - Author), where future spouses are introduced to each other and announced about working together, this option is not very suitable, because such people trust each other less . We had to get married twice: the first time in Tomsk, and then abroad under other names. The option when people love each other is the most reliable.

AMERICAN SMILE WAS NOT EASY

The work of an illegal intelligence officer is probably the most difficult - you are trying to get used to the role of a foreigner and live someone else's life for years. And there are so many small moments that threaten failure. Veteran of the Foreign Intelligence Service Lyudmila Nuikina told me that she was identified abroad by the buttons on her bra. You wrote in your book that Russians bend their fingers when counting, but foreigners do the opposite. How to take into account all these little things?

Certain skills are taught, of course. You need to develop manners characteristic of a non-Russian person. Along with the language of the country, a person adopts its culture. Many behavioral features had to be observed and repeated. For example, we did not immediately master the famous American smile, their ability to always express optimism. But gradually, when you start imitating people, it comes.

FIRST TASK - PASTOR

In the book, the heroine's first task was to get closer to a Catholic pastor in Vancouver. For this reason, she even organized a wedding. If you had a similar situation, were you a believer at that time or was this sacrament (even Catholic) just a service necessity for you?

We were trained as Catholics and attended church. It is impossible to say that they were religious at that moment. We just knew how to behave in the Catholic Church. There was no wedding in real life, but I had to sing in the choir in Latin and French. Religion carries universal human values ​​that every person should have and cultivate in their children. It was part of our life, the life of the society where we were. Everything was quite natural.

- Which task was the most difficult or memorable for you?

You can't single out just one. There were tasks that we could not complete for some reason or complete in a short time. There were ups and disappointments. But the work consists of many elements. You can’t go and immediately, like James Bond, find and defuse a mock bomb. Work is constant work. Sometimes monotonous, sometimes not so interesting. But there were useful sources of information, there was important information obtained that came to our leadership in a timely manner and, I hope, helped make the right decisions. In order for the reader to understand the role of such intelligence information, the novel describes precisely situations that could well occur (for example, about an upcoming operation in Yugoslavia or plans to merge oil companies led by Khodorkovsky’s Yukos and under the control of the United States. - Author).

Scout is not James Bond. However, in preparation you practiced shooting and karate. Have you ever used these techniques in your life?

Mandatory training for a person who must work abroad for a long time included many elements: language, special training, technical skills. You had to be in good physical shape and be able to defend yourself, for example, from a street attack. Self-defense was one of the important disciplines and we acquired these skills through karate. And through shooting too, although it was not useful to us abroad.

In 2010, the President of Russia awarded Vavilova the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, IV degree. Photo: Mikhail FROLOV

EVEN THE ASHES WERE DESTROYED

- What did your typical working day look like in the USA?

Like the working day of any ordinary person living there. Moreover, we had a family. In the morning I took the children to school, in the afternoon I picked them up and took them to classes. They played sports and music. During the day, I worked at a real estate agency, but I could also have some activities related to my work as a scout. I can't talk about this in detail. We worked two jobs: we earned money in American companies, and as part of the most important work for us, we obtained useful information, processed it and forwarded it to the Center using certain methods.

-Destroying even the ashes...

Undoubtedly. Our safety and success of our work depended on such minor touches. The working day was double workload, so it turned out to be long. We didn't rest on weekends either.

OBAMA'S BUG

- What circles did you move in in America? Have you met those whose names the whole world knows?

Yes they were. I can’t explain this specifically, but living in a suburb of Boston, which is famous for the fact that many famous politicians, leaders of American thought and scientists work there, we met interesting people through whom we could get valuable information.

In the book, your heroine bugged Barack Obama's assistant when he was a senator from Illinois and was just thinking about the presidential election...

The novel is a work of fiction and this episode, again, is included in the narrative in order to clearly illustrate the type of information an illegal immigrant can obtain. Information about potential presidential candidates is certainly important. It helps to assess the balance of political forces, predict the future course of the leadership of a particular country and prepare for it in a timely manner.

Visiting former intelligence officer Elena Vavilova.“The American smile was not easy”: Komsomolskaya Pravda visited former illegal intelligence officer Elena VavilovaMikhail FROLOV

CHILDREN CONSIDERED THEMSELVES AS CANADIANS

In 2010, everything ended abruptly. The FBI arrested you at home during your eldest son's birthday party. Have you rehearsed a scenario with your spouse where someone breaks in on you with weapons, you end up in a cell, and they force you to confess?

We did the work and believed that everything was done taking into account all the necessary conditions of security and secrecy. No one expected such an outcome, when everything would end at one moment and your efforts would come to naught because of the actions of one person. In our case it was betrayal. This is a risk in our profession, but one we are never prepared for. And it is very difficult to predict how you will behave. But after something happens, you already begin to mobilize your internal resources and think about how to get out of the situation with fewer losses.

All this happened before the eyes of your children Tim and Alex, who considered themselves Canadians and had no idea about anything (the couple had previously worked in Canada and, according to legend, were Canadian citizens, their children were born there . - Author). Did you manage to say a word to them when they took you away?

Our children were shocked when they saw their parents being led out in handcuffs. At that moment it was impossible to explain anything. Our meeting took place the next day, when they were present at the court hearing where we were given a preliminary charge. I managed to tell them in French to leave the city. They didn’t believe everything that was happening and couldn’t imagine that we had Russian roots...

- How did they survive it? Was it accepted? Have you been forgiven for deceiving?

It was a difficult period for them due to the sudden change in the situation and the move to Russia. It took time to comprehend the situation. We talked for a long time with our sons, trying to explain our position, why we made such a choice in our youth, why we did this work. And gradually, thanks to the fact that we had close relationships with them, we managed to find a common language. They understood us and accepted our choice. But they themselves wanted to make decisions on their own in the future and not have anything to do with our profession.

Family photo with husband Andrei Bezrukov and sons Tim and Alex.

HOW THEY EXCHANGED FOR SKRIPAL

How did the exchange itself take place? Was it similar to what we saw in Dead Season or Spielberg's Bridge of Spies?

The exchange was organized quickly, for which we are grateful to our government. We were taken to Vienna airport. Instead of a bridge, there is an airfield on which two planes landed: one from Russia, the other from the USA. We went down the ramp and saw people coming out along the ramp opposite. But we didn't see them close. We moved to the Russian plane by bus and were greeted by friendly people. The planes also took off at the same time. I couldn’t imagine in prison that everything would be so good!

I was ready for a long prison sentence. I thought about how and how I could help the children. In Moscow, she appeared before them in prison uniform. Some managed to change clothes because the jailers kept their clothes. In my case this was not the case. So she arrived.

How did the Americans treat you in prison? How was the decision to exchange you for Sergei Skripal and several other spies announced?

We obeyed all the necessary conditions of detention. It was not very pleasant, but bearable. The attitude was quite correct. The solitary cells have very strong air conditioning, it was cold and lonely. But these tests can be withstood, there is nothing terrible here. There was no pressure or serious interrogation, because they had already received everything they needed from the traitor. One day, a lawyer arrived at the prison along with a representative of our embassy, ​​and he announced that an agreement had been reached at the highest level, and we would soon be released. This was incredible news.

- Did you know Skripal personally?

No. We learned about all the individuals we were exchanged for upon returning from the press. Before that, I had no idea who these people were.

- Are you following the ups and downs of his case now? What was it?

We are monitoring, but I cannot express any opinion, because there are not enough specific facts that could lead to unambiguous conclusions.

Some of your colleagues expressed the opinion that perhaps this was revenge on Skripal from those whose careers he ruined. Is it generally customary to take revenge on traitors? Nobody touches the defector Gordievsky.

I don’t think that such methods are used by Russian organizations.

The owner of the house with the donated book "Komsomolskaya Pravda" about the Cheka. Photo: Mikhail FROLOV

IS THE TRAITOR POTEEV ALIVE?

- What happened to SVR Colonel Poteev, who betrayed your network? Is the information about his death in the USA reliable?

Again, lack of information. In many matters related to our profession, everything is usually shrouded in secrecy. What we heard about his residence in the USA, death, then “resurrection” may be speculation or a hoax. Therefore, I cannot say with certainty. I don't think anyone can. No one provided any specific facts or evidence.

- Did you know him?

Yes unfortunately.

- Did your intuition not work?

We did not have long-term communication with him. And we could judge some of his human external manifestations only from a few episodes. To my husband, he seemed not very professional compared to others who surrounded us and who worked with us. Didn't make a very good impression...

- What motivated him?

It is very difficult to judge the motives of a person who committed such a crime. There may be a combination of several reasons: thirst for profit, living conditions that were promised to him, blackmail, dissatisfaction with his career, friction with colleagues. A whole tangle of motives can push a person to betrayal. But he also had another choice: he could simply leave the organization and do something else, but not take such a step when he betrayed the people with whom he worked.

- And the failures of illegal immigrants mainly occur precisely because of betrayal?

Almost exclusively yes...

Cover of the book "The Woman Who Can Keep a Secret" published by EKSMO publishing house.

“PARENTS DIDN’T KNOW WHERE WE LIVED”

Do you still have any friendly contacts after you left the West? Or are your former friends shocked and no longer in touch?

Of course, most are shocked. Even if they respected us as ordinary people, many were afraid for their reputation. I don't blame them for this. But there are also those for whom our personal qualities are more important than our profession, and they understand that every country has professionals who work for intelligence. We exchange news in a friendly manner with those who have decided not to break off relations with us.

- In encrypted chats?

No, absolutely openly. But there are few of them. Of course, most people are subject to propaganda in their own country. Especially now.

- Did your loved ones in Russia even guess about something?

It was a shock for everyone, including the parents. They had no idea that we were in the USA, and even at first they did not attach any importance to the news about the arrest of Russians there. To them we were in a completely different place.

You have been living your real life for 9 years now. How accustomed are you to this, what do you do and why did you decide to write a book?

I thought about this idea for a long time, but didn’t know how to approach it. Then there was a push from the writer Bronnikov, who turned out to be my fellow countryman. We started working together. Why was it easy for me to write this story? Because a lot was felt. I changed some points so as not to decipher what we did and where we lived. I also wanted to write about a woman. It seemed to me that in modern literature and cinema the image of a woman who, on an equal basis with men, serves the interests of the Motherland as an intelligence officer is not sufficiently represented.

- Did you first see the rest of the intelligence officers only at the trial or did you know each other before?

The work is always carried out separately from each other and intelligence officers, especially illegal immigrants, should never intersect. But the uniqueness of our story is that we met. For the first time before the final court hearing, I saw my female colleagues in the pre-trial detention cell. This is an unprecedented case. Because many of those intelligence officers who successfully worked and returned do not know their colleagues. It turned out that we met married couples who had children, and continued to communicate after arriving in Russia. It helped us get through the drama and support each other. We remained friends.

WHAT TO PREPARE FOR

What conclusions have you come to about the sentiments of American society and elites towards Russia? Can we still be partners and not opponents?

This requires the desire of the leadership and sufficiently favorable geopolitical conditions. The Americans and I are different in mentality, in approaches, in the conduct of politics. But in purely human, cultural terms, we could be closer. After the collapse of the Soviet Union there was such a surge, and even we thought that now the world was opening up, globalization would lead to the unification of nations, including through cultural, universal ties. Unfortunately, politics and differences in national interests of countries sometimes do not contribute to maintaining these friendly ties. This is what we are seeing now.

- What is your forecast for relations between Moscow and Washington, taking into account the Mueller report, which acquitted Trump?

I hope there will be a new reset and relations will improve. But for this we need to wait for the arrival of a new generation of politicians on both sides, not overshadowed by what is happening now. In ten years the situation may change.

HELP "KP"

Elena Stanislavovna VAVILOVA born on November 16, 1962 in Tomsk, graduated from Tomsk State University with a degree in history. Since the 1980s - in illegal intelligence together with her husband Andrei Bezrukov. On June 27, 2010, she was arrested in Boston under the name of real estate agent Tracy Lee Ann Foley and then, along with 10 colleagues, was returned to Russia. Currently working in one of the large companies.

Retired Colonel of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service. She was awarded the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, IV degree, and other military orders and medals.

Yes. This is the husband's last name.

He's not in now?

Is your husband also a doctor?

Colonel?

Yes, Colonel.

Are you a lieutenant colonel?

Five years?

How did you study?

We met with Lyudmila Ivanovna Nuikina just the other day. A well-dressed, pleasant lady, who every now and then switched to French in conversation, least of all resembled a scout. We talked for two hours. And it became clear: Lyudmila Ivanovna is a real colonel.

Tell me, is Nuikina a real name?

Yes. This is the husband's last name.

He's not in now?

He left a long time ago, back in 1998. I would like to tell you a little about him.

We have been friends with him since we were 16 years old. True, I lived in the village of Shemonaikha, more precisely, in the village of Verkh-Uba. She worked in the taiga for five years as a paramedic-midwife. There the trees converge at the top, so that the sun is not visible. We met in Ust-Kamenogorsk, this is in Eastern Kazakhstan, where I studied at a medical school.

Is your husband also a doctor?

No, he graduated from MGIMO. My husband was great. He and I worked together for so many years. This was my immediate boss.

Colonel?

Yes, Colonel.

Are you a lieutenant colonel?

No, Colonel, but she received it when her husband was no longer there. He left in 1998 due to a heart attack. We are used to holding ourselves in any situation. He had a heart attack at the airport, but he forced himself to get behind the wheel of his car, drive to our clinic, stand in line for a medical card, and then relaxed a little. And clinical death occurred. It took him five hours to resurrect him and save him. After that he lived for another year.

And I worked for a long time. At the age of 70 she retired, and then for eight years she helped and continued the same work.

How did you get into intelligence in the first place?

When my husband was studying at MGIMO, people from the First Main Directorate contacted him, now called the Foreign Intelligence Service of the Russian Federation.

I don’t know the details, I never asked, it’s somehow not customary here. So in 38 years I haven’t asked. But I can tell you how our services find the right people. They look, get to know each other, observe. Then they talk and, if suitable, offer this kind of work. And they see whether he will turn out to be a scout or not. Once, when I was still working on my medical line, my husband somehow casually asked me: would you like to work with someone else’s passport? And I say: why do I need someone else’s, I have my own good one. And we never talked about anything like that again. My husband was confident in me that I would follow him. My son, who was born here, is already 3 years old, and I started training. And we studied for a long time.

Five years?

Even longer than usual. It happened that way. But I learned many wisdoms, learned several languages, without which I would be nowhere.

How did you study?

With the teacher and by myself. I read English books. I watched TV all day in English and French. And when we arrived there, I already had a base of both French and Spanish. To begin with, we practiced our biographical legend in a French-speaking country. Yes, and they trained him too.

But it must have been dangerous, right?

Not really. Not so much then. If something happened to me, I would say that I am Russian.

And you've never been scared?

Yes, it’s scary in any country. We were trained in one that was not entirely capitalist, rather socialist. And we had to get married quickly. Everywhere it takes three months: submit an application, wait. And then our colleague suggested: why are you hanging around here, why do you need to waste these three months, move to another state, and everything will be done in three weeks, even in two. That's what we did. And immediately an announcement appeared in the local newspaper that Mr. So-and-So and Mademoiselle So-and-So were going to tie the knot.

What was your name?

My name is Erica, and my husband, for example, is Karl.

Where did they get the witnesses?

It worked out: the lawyer already had two at the ready. But then the notary suddenly puzzled us and asked my husband: what is his mother’s last name? There was half a second of confusion, no more, and the lawyer noticed and said: Mister, don’t worry, I understand that you have such an event today, but calm down, everything is going fine, we all go through this. And my husband immediately remembered. But the very fact that a stranger noticed and there was a hitch was unpleasant. This was, perhaps, the only place where we made a slight mistake.

I also had to get used to their life. We were taught one thing here - there it was often completely different. There’s no need to be nervous or feverish, you need to get used to this mundane and everyday thing. I seem to have gotten used to it, and suddenly this is nonsense. Remember when we had problems with toilet paper? And when I saw huge packs in the supermarket, I filled the entire cart with them. My husband told me right away: what are you doing? Put it in place now.

Did you only speak the language of the country where you lived?

You know how it was. Very early in the Moscow morning we were escorted to the plane. We got into the car, and the Russian language no longer existed for us. Honestly, I speak as if in front of an icon. Even when occasionally there were some small disputes or quarrels, they never switched to Russian.

Some illegal immigrants told me that when they really wanted to, they went into the forest and chatted in their native language.

We've never had anything like this. The further you are from Russian, the easier it is. But there were some things that came from somewhere involuntarily from the soul. We are walking in one country with a stroller, and in it is our little Andre, who was already born there. In no country in the world did we even know and did not want to know where our embassy was. It was better for us and for everyone who worked with us. And then I saw a building, so beautiful, we had already passed it, and for some reason I felt a slight tug. I returned with the stroller, and at that moment some guy was walking towards me, either with a bucket or with a basin, and it turned out that we had an instant moment.

Does this mean that one could suspect that one of you two passed something on to someone?

It accidentally happened. I turned around with my stroller, and this one was here, and we met on some line. It seems to be invisible to us, but to those who know. And there was a building opposite the embassy, ​​and there, of course, they sat. And this service of theirs kept an eye on everyone who passed by the embassy.

We managed to quickly move away. But there is already someone behind us. We are trained for this, we studied: they are behind. Follow us. The husband understood everything. Let's go and talk in our French. We move on. Husband: calm down, don’t be nervous. We didn’t bother them, didn’t do anything and weren’t going to do anything. And there is a baby in the stroller, and this is very good for outdoor activities.

So this is a solid couple. And then the husband decided to exchange dollars for local currency. I stayed with Andre for a walk, and he went to the bank across the street. And I see that they followed him. This is the advantage of our work, working as a couple. You can always look after each other to see who is following you or not. And when we were still studying, we always did this, we checked. My husband in Moscow told me: Red (that’s what he called me, at home he called me Red), today you are free. No checks. And I'm his Red too. Well, okay, that's true, by the way. And then I look, and the outdoor equipment is already in position there. Maybe we will have some kind of meeting or transfer of something else. And behind him. He changes dollars, and the guy from the outdoor surveillance looks over his shoulder to see what kind of passport his husband has. My husband felt it, let him look, changed it, came back, and moved on. We chat in French and discuss the restaurant where we will feed our baby. We know for sure that they are nearby, so let it be, for God’s sake. The most important thing is not to be nervous. And this is the law.

We appear as if out of thin air. Out of nowhere. We are nobody, and there is no way to call us

And have you always followed the law?

Yes, although it was sometimes a little unpleasant. In one country they went ahead with the transfer of documents. The very ones for whom they were in this state and who got it. You go up the road, you go down.

The route was specially selected. If someone was watching us, they would not have noticed that we were passing by a telephone booth and for several seconds, not even seconds, but at some point, the person who was following us would not have been able to see that we were in this dead zone. And at that moment we did exactly what we needed to do for our work. This was specially worked out, worked out, and tested.

And then, when we passed by the embassy and went to the restaurant, what happened next?

Never mind. We sat and talked. They still followed us and fell behind.

But after that I never came close to any embassies.

Has it ever happened that you, young and beautiful, were noticed by foreigners? We tried to get to know each other, and this also made us uncomfortable.

It happened once. Once at the airport a young Italian got attached. He called me mademoiselle all the time. I even missed the flight to the country I was supposed to go to, but my suitcase flew away. And there our man should meet not only him, but me too. He didn’t know that the suitcase had arrived, and when he didn’t see me, he became alarmed. The next flight of this airline is in a week. And I raised such a high note: wait seven days, and I’ll blow up your entire stand with a Molotov cocktail if you don’t send it with any other one. So they put me on Aeroflot, which also flew to where I desperately needed to go, once a week. Well, I had to take a risk and get into Aeroflot territory. How I felt that I had to hurry: two days later, a revolution happened in the country from which I had so successfully escaped. And who knows what would have happened to me next. I would have been stuck there. And so I flew away at three o’clock in the morning and all the way I listened to the chatter of the artists from the Bulgarian folk ensemble, who amused each other.

Have you visited many countries?

In many. But the main thing is not only this. Do you know what “settle” means? This means legalization in the country where you came. It's so easy to settle down. After all, we appear as if out of thin air. Out of nowhere. We are nobody, and there is no way to call us. Yes, you have a document, but this main document is also issued by the Center.

Was the passport real?

But what? We had both a father and a mother. We were not originally born on our own.

But all this is a legend. Because this is where the most difficult part of our service begins - settling. Everyone is looking at you warily. Even when we got married, when the baby was born. For many, it’s strange that young people came here, but why? What will they do? Do they have money? But in this country we found something with which we could open our, well, let’s say, representative office.

It’s not entirely clear which one?

And you don’t need to understand too much, it’s like my husband represents some company in that country, where we came from. We don't have a permanent address. And even when we got married, my husband indicated the address of the country where we were supposed to move. And the clerk who prepared the document drew attention to this. He asks: why, are you in a completely different place? The husband was ready and answered: we decided to live there. And here it is, work. You accept us with love, as if you were your own. And all this as a joke, with a smile. But, really, when you come, you have to justify your existence, show what you live on. We call this “covering”. And there was such a cover: we are representatives here from Europe, and our company is such and such.

Okay, my husband was selling something, and you?

And I studied.

And what was your specialty?

Well, I could be a secretary-typist. Stenographer. By the way, one day I was amazed at my literacy. When I was studying, the French director gave us a very difficult dictation. I was the only foreigner in the group and wrote excellently. And how the headmistress scolded everyone else. Here, a person from another country wrote in French without a single mistake. How ashamed I am for you. Well done, Erica.

Lyudmila Ivanovna, dear Erica, how did you get to that very important thing, for the sake of all these settlings and all these moving? What did you have to convey, get, and before that get to know people?

We were prepared for this. And we knew our business. Dating is also difficult.

If you are a simple cleaner or a porter, then you cannot approach these tall ones. It was necessary to find those who had the information. In institutions of this kind, for example, I could not work officially.

There is a local population there, which was also divided into whites and blacks. And women in this region do not work. In Southeast Asia and Africa it is very difficult for a white person, and even a woman, to get a job. This is rare; when they can’t find one among the locals, only then will they hire a foreigner.

But I still had to communicate somewhere, get acquainted.

My husband had to flee to the Soviet embassy. Then he was taken out on a ship. And the ship miraculously did not sink

But how?

That's why there are clubs there, where the wives of bankers, civil servants, in a word, people invested with trust come. The poor won't go there. Firstly, there you have to pay fees, and secondly, they would hardly be accepted even with contributions. And thirdly, you need to dress appropriately. I met ladies at the club. Naturally, they bragged to each other about who had the coolest husband. I was wondering who, what and where. I told my husband. He listened, analyzed, advised. Try to get closer to this one and that one. And when they became girlfriends, they introduced their husbands to each other. And the husband is on his own, at his underground job, where he needs to do a lot, contact someone. This way. People talk to each other, communicate. And you will learn a lot that is necessary for your country.

Didn't you do any recruiting?

It was not our task. Recruitment is very serious. You never know who you can get your hands on here. If you get caught, we need to get home quickly.

Let's say we noticed someone interesting for our service and transferred all his data to the Center: weaknesses, what we can take, crush or buy. One, let’s say, a German divorced his wife, helped his beloved son and built a huge house. A useful man who desperately needed money. Moreover, he was leaving our country of temporary residence for another state. We report him to the Center, and then it’s up to our service to recruit him, isn’t it? And when we more or less settled in this country, we were already hooked, we had a good environment, pleasant acquaintances. But no luck. This idiot is gone.

Lyudmila Ivanovna, I know who you are talking about. Hero of Russia Alexei Mikhailovich Kozlov, who spent several years on death row in South Africa because of the traitor Oleg Gordievsky, hated him.

Can you imagine, he visited us at home. I studied with my husband. Fortunately, he didn’t know my information. But I understood that I would work together with my husband. I won’t go into details, but he even remembered our Moscow coordinates. I was so upset that Gordievsky ran away. I don’t know all the details, but how he looked for us. At that time, our boss was Yuri Ivanovich Drozdov.

A legendary man, he led illegal intelligence for 11 years.

And this one asked Drozdov where exactly we were. That’s why they searched for us for a long time and didn’t have time to arrest us. Yuri Ivanovich, an experienced man, told him: don’t worry, they are not far from you, from your England. What's nearby? This means we are somewhere in Europe. This is what saved me. They've been looking for us for 13 years. If we had been in Europe, we might have found it earlier. If you could only imagine how much I hate traitors.

Can you tell me frankly, before the troubles that finally came, did you feel some kind of tension around you?

Yes. There was an English couple living next to us in Southeast Asia. Although they presented themselves as husband and wife, it seems that it was all fake.

One day they invited me to their home for dinner. Suddenly both, as if on command: excuse me, we’ll go out and change clothes. She turned around, and on the table there was a book in Russian - “Anna Karenina”. I'm visiting my husband. He tells me: we look at the paintings. Their walls are full of paintings. How to react here? And they stood somewhere nearby, maybe there was a hole in the wall. Perhaps they took a photo.

We reacted and, having had a “wonderful” lunch, parted. Then some strange phone calls began to be heard. Some people tried to get into the apartment and even plant a bug. Luckily, they didn't take me seriously. They thought it was his wife, an unprepared person. And I felt everything. In this job, everything is heightened for you. All the feelings.

Vision. You run like a horse, but you look not only forward, but also to the right, and to the left, and almost back. What else is difficult for one, that you can’t be in such tension all the time. And when we are together, you somehow make each other’s existence easier and help. An actor spends three to four hours on stage, okay, maybe more. I went out and forgot. And we can’t play 24 hours a day. But it’s impossible to play for months. We must live, get used to the image. When you work for a long time, you become that person from the legend. Everyone remembers the radio operator Kat, who screamed in Russian during childbirth. But I was not afraid of this, I was so prepared that I shouted only in my native language, at that moment it was French.

Lyudmila Ivanovna, what exactly are your and your husband’s orders and medals for?

How can I explain it to you... For specific results that contributed to the technological breakthrough of our country, including in the defense sector.

Have I confused you? This is only what can be said. Let the rest remain behind the scenes.

Key Question

But what happened in the country where you were bugged?

Let's keep it short. I left and had to return there again from Moscow. But something happened. My husband had to flee to the Soviet embassy. He was taken out in a car and put on a ship that was being repaired in a foreign port. The whole operation. Details later.

The husband spent several difficult days in unbearable conditions. Otherwise, they could find foreign services searching the ships. And they were caught in a storm. And it seemed the end was near. Because the captain of the Soviet ship warned his husband: do you have clean clothes? My husband didn't understand at first. And here a telegram came to me in Moscow for the first time in so many years. This is from him. Then the second one. I have never made myself known in this way.

Never! But the entire ship was saved. Hooked on a cable - and off to Vietnam. And so he flew out of this terrible heat in shorts, but with an expensive attache case, to Moscow at 6 am.

And no more property was seized?

No, what should I do? I got a call at 6 am: “Red, where are you?” I say: “I’m at home, and where are you?” My husband told me: “I’m in Moscow, we’ve arrived. Do you have money? Take 10 rubles, go downstairs, I took a taxi.” That's it, thank you, Lord, everything ended well. Such a service.

Knowledge of the smallest nuances of everyday life and customs of a particular country where illegal intelligence officers work is necessary for them to carry out their tasks, Russian illegal intelligence officer and SVR veteran Lyudmila Nuikina said in an interview with the media on the eve of International Women’s Day.

Together with her husband, Nuikina worked illegally abroad. The details of their work are not disclosed. “Our difficulty at first was related to our Soviet upbringing. Everything is different.

This is how our women put on a dress? Over the head. And there - only from below. And you need to know all these little things,” said the intelligence officer.

“All old habits, all home skills had to be removed,” she emphasized.

Once she made a mistake of a domestic nature. “When we had already settled quite firmly abroad, we went to the store. And there I collected a bunch of rolls of toilet paper. We remembered how bad it was with her at home. I took it mechanically in reserve,” recalls Nuikina.

“The husband came up and quietly said, “Well, what are you doing?!” I had to put everything back out of the cart before anyone saw it. He, of course, then scolded me, saying, “I have to think,” she added.

And once the husband unwittingly made a mistake. “We were taught to save money. And one day, while going on a business trip for the company he worked for, my husband bought himself an economy class ticket.

So his boss then called him in and said: “Why are you doing this? There will be rumors that our company is going bankrupt! Don’t do that again,” Nuikina said.

From the life of a scout: “With one hand you give the child a bottle, with the other you reach into the hiding place”

On the eve of the Day of the Security Service Worker of the Russian Federation, which is celebrated on December 20, Komsomolskaya Pravda found out how our illegal intelligence officers live and work abroad

We know about the lives of these people in foreign countries mainly from movies. And then only performed by actors, with a large amount of artistic imagination. Real intelligence officers, even after retiring, remain silent. On the Day of Security Agencies Workers, celebrated on December 20, Komsomolskaya Pravda managed to talk with veteran of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service Lyudmila NUYKINA, which lifted the veil of secrecy. As much as possible.

This was the most unusual interview I have ever had the opportunity to do. An absolutely European lady who spoke Russian with a slight accent and every now and then English and French words bursting into her emotional speech. There were so many emotions from what she had experienced over decades that at the very first personal question (well, where would we be without it), Lyudmila Ivanovna could not hold back her tears.

THE FAMILY GUESSED IT THANKS TO STIRLITZ

- Lyudmila Ivanovna, how did you get into this profession?

I, like a Decembrist, came after my husband. When you don’t yet know what you should do, you’re scared. We already had a 4-year-old son, Yura, who had to be left in the Soviet Union with his grandmothers. My own Old Believer grandmother could not understand at all how a mother could leave her child. This decision was very difficult for me, but a wife follows her husband like a thread follows a needle - that’s how I was raised. Our relatives didn’t know anything about our mission; they thought that we were working at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and we couldn’t take Yura with us on a business trip because of the bad climate. Only when the film “Seventeen Moments of Spring” was released did they begin to compare facts and guess something.

- It’s probably harder for a woman because she’s first and foremost a mother?

This was the hardest thing for me. At first we didn’t see each other for a year, then the period of separation increased. I was very worried. I was drawn to children Yura's age. And abroad they kept asking us why we don’t have children.

- And what did you answer?

At first, my husband said that he was the reason. The men began to egg him on, and then I took the “blame” upon myself. This gave me the opportunity, under the pretext of treatment in other countries, to secretly visit the USSR. These were infrequent and much-anticipated trips to see family. And in between, every news about my son was worth a lot.

- Were they transmitted orally or in writing?

We received a radiogram. Most of it was work, but about personal things they said: everything is fine with you, your son has grown up. It's very rare that more will be written. My husband and I will go to the ocean shore and begin to imagine what he looks like, what he thinks. One day we received a message that Yura had gone to study ballroom dancing. We fantasized about how our bumpkin son (he was chubby because his grandmothers took pity on him and fed him) danced. I gave birth to my second son Andre abroad.

- Weren’t you afraid, like in the movies, to scream in Russian during childbirth?

I made my native language my enemy number one. When we were getting ready to go on a business trip, we already started speaking a different language at home. That’s why that episode with radio operator Kat in the film seemed strange to me personally. During the birth, my husband was nearby, but then he felt bad, and the doctor said: take him away, I don’t know who to help. Andre was born and screamed in such a real Russian Siberian voice. And we had a new concern - after all, we could be arrested at any moment, and we were already with a child. Although personally I tried not to think about it.

- Are marriages between people of your profession based on love, or is yours rather an exception?

We went now as husband and wife. Of course, not every woman can agree. Or for some other reason something won’t work out - because of the language or some special disciplines. But when you have a full family, there is less attention to you. And the child even helps in the work to some extent. You walk with a stroller, in the right place you give him a bottle with one hand, and with the other you reach into the hiding place.

CALCULATED BY BRA WITH BUTTONS

- How did you prepare for life in the West? How did they copy a foreigner?

You can’t copy and play a role all the time - otherwise you’ll go crazy. You have to live the life of the madam you imagine. The first time we went abroad “for testing” was still as Soviet citizens, and in one country I went to the store. I communicated with sellers in French, there was no suspicion that this was not my native language. But they figured out my nationality by... my underwear when I tried on clothes - Soviet bras had buttons, not hooks.

And then, after a long preparation, we found ourselves abroad under the guise of foreigners. The escort simply left us on the street, saying goodbye: that's it, guys, you're on your own now. The first time was very difficult. We appear as if out of nowhere. You need to arrange things yourself, no one will help you. The country was small, we knew when the plane was arriving from our homeland. They looked at the passengers from afar, listened to their native speech and quickly left. Actually, this was a violation of the instructions - you never know who will find out.

- And at home, you also couldn’t afford to speak Russian among yourself?

No. But at first we had misfires. When I traveled as a foreigner to socialist countries, border guards boarded the train, and I said in Russian: “Again?” I blushed, hid in a corner, I felt so scared. But it worked out. I remember how in one small country there was a cafe on the beach, which, in my opinion, was run by the American intelligence services. A well-drunk black man became attached to my husband: you are Russian. He says: I can tell you too that you are Russian. You don’t have to show it, but in your heart you immediately begin to think where you screwed up. It was hard when our athletes arrived - we couldn’t root for them. And once the Soviet football players in the hotel were discussing me, and I smiled sweetly. Although I really wanted to punch it!

- What if you met acquaintances from your previous life?

My husband was once standing at the airport in one of the countries, and then a classmate from MGIMO ran towards him across the entire hall shouting: “Vitaly!” The husband replies in French that he was mistaken. He doesn’t lag behind, they say, why are you pretending? At such a moment, this acquaintance could ruin our entire career. As a result, he left, and then complained to our ambassadors that Vitaly was completely arrogant...

EXPOSURE DURING WASHING

- When did the children learn about your profession?

In 1985, when we were forced to return due to the betrayal of Oleg Gordievsky (former colonel of the First Main Directorate of the KGB of the USSR, sentenced to death in absentia for working for British intelligence - Ed.). I remember how, during the preparation period, he was at our house, I treated him to coffee and cognac... Then, following his tip, they looked for us for a long time, he believed that we were in Europe, but we were already in Southeast Asia. And at the very end of our work abroad, I had a dream that my husband and I were arrested and they organized a date for us. And I tell him: “Don’t worry, because Andre is not with us, and they won’t get anything from me personally.”

- When did you realize that it was time to go home?

Actually, I was already at home, on vacation - in my homeland, in a Kazakh village. I’m washing, and suddenly they shout: urgently run to the village council, they’re calling you!

- To the village council?!

There was a call from Moscow to the capital of Kazakhstan and further along the chain. The first thought was: something happened to Vitaly; at that moment he remained abroad. But it turned out that it was a message that my husband had been urgently evacuated, and our many years of work was coming to an end. Although, of course, it was already very hot.

- Have your foreign friends found out who you really are?

If they see my interview and recognize me at that age, then of course it will be hot too (laughs).

“HUSBAND SHOWED PRISON SO I WOULD NOT RELAX”

Has it become easier or harder for intelligence officers to work in the digital age? Maybe the need for illegal immigrants is no longer so great if, as we read today, it is possible to wiretap even foreign leaders and use hackers?

I am already retired and have no right to know the details about these new technologies. On the one hand, it is probably easier, but on the other, even more attention and caution is needed. An agent is always afraid that he might be exposed. One of our couples was betrayed by a housekeeper. When they received the radiogram, she opened the door and let in the secret service officers. One day my husband told me: “Let’s go, I’ll show you one place to live just in case.” And he showed me the local prison. I asked him why he did this. “Just so you know,” he replied. “Always remember who we are and don’t get complacent.”

VERY PERSONAL

Don’t be offended by obscene offers

- Which female type is preferable in your profession - inconspicuous or, on the contrary, attractive?

It’s generally difficult for a woman to work alone; men are always looking at you. They think singles are available. Morals were free in the West even then. I really didn’t like going out alone, although I don’t want to say that I’m beautiful.

- But in vain.

Well, I don't know, maybe. They even pestered me in front of my husband. I aged myself - I wore a scarf so that no one would pay attention. You have meetings, something needs to be given or, conversely, taken, and when someone gets attached, unnecessary problems arise. There was such a case: I was traveling alone as an unmarried person to the Union through one country, and an Italian picked up at the airport. He delayed me so much in the cafe that I missed my plane. I made such a fuss that they let me board a night Bulgarian plane.

Or another story: we knew a French banker in Africa. I noticed the beautiful carpet in his home. And he says: “Erica (one of my names at that time), you and I would like to lie down on this carpet.” This offended me - a strict Soviet upbringing, after all. And he was very surprised: a Western woman would not react like that. And once I gave myself away in the cinema by saying that I understood Bulgarian speech. She looks like Russian. Two women, seeing my reaction, said: she understands us. But I was still in the “break-in” period, so it wasn’t so scary.

Russian intelligence officer Nuikina admitted that she would scratch out the eyes of the head of the station in London who betrayed her.

The fate of all defectors is constant fear. Such people are not loved anywhere, and they are forced to be afraid. This is what Russian intelligence officer and SVR veteran Lyudmila Nuikina thinks.

Together with her husband, she worked for USSR intelligence and was on assignment abroad. She does not disclose the details of that case, but the mission was abruptly interrupted due to the betrayal of the head of the foreign intelligence station of the USSR KGB in London, Oleg Gordievsky. Nuikina admitted that if she had met this man, she would have scratched out all his eyes.

According to her, a lot of effort and work was invested in that task. It was supposed to be a “long stay abroad.” She and her husband barely had time to settle down and acquire connections when everything went down the drain because of one person - Gordievsky. Fortunately, both she and her husband returned safely to their homeland.

Nuikina noted that she does not envy the fate of the defectors. Nobody trusts such people, because the one who betrayed them can do it again one day. As a result, such people are forced to spend the rest of their lives in fear.

Retired SVR Colonel Elena Vavilova told KP about how our agents worked in the USA, how they were exchanged for a traitor, and what Moscow and Washington should prepare for next.

“You don’t have to take pictures of me wearing orders, it’s immodest,” protests the mistress of the house, who, at our request, shows her awards for 25 years of service.

And it’s a shame for us that pseudo-stars climbing everywhere desperately remind us of themselves, and the country often doesn’t know the real heroes...

Elena Vavilova worked abroad as an illegal intelligence officer for a quarter of a century, performing serious tasks with her husband Andrei Bezrukov and supplying the Kremlin with important and timely information. A tense life under the guise of foreigners (or under false names) ended in 2010 due to betrayal. As part of a group of 10 Russian intelligence officers, she was exchanged for Sergei Skripal and several citizens convicted in Russia of espionage. Vampire girl Anna Chapman then drew all the attention, and her colleagues lived in their homeland again in the shadows. And now, 9 years later, Elena Vavilova, in collaboration with writer Andrei Bronnikov, published a fiction book inspired by her story, “A Woman Who Can Keep Secrets,” and invited Komsomolskaya Pravda to visit her.

BEAUTIES AND THE INVISIBLE

- Elena Stanislavovna, somehow it is generally accepted that intelligence does not have a feminine face. It's a delusion?

Intelligence has different faces. It doesn't matter at all whether it's a man or a woman. In the history of our intelligence there are a lot of wonderful women who did work on an equal basis with men. The profession is complex; many people associate it with such masculine qualities as endurance, courage, courage. But women are also quite courageous by nature and can perform difficult tasks. Having been at work for many years, I was convinced by my own example that anything is possible.

Feminine qualities - intuition, understanding of a person's character - help.

Is your bright appearance a positive or rather a negative quality in intelligence? You immediately attract attention.

I thought I had average appearance. When recruiting for a job, it is customary to proceed from the fact that a person with striking external characteristics is not worth hiring. These are the ones who are remembered.

- How then did they take Anna Chapman?

This means she had other good qualities that may have outweighed her striking appearance. In general, each person can be used for a specific task. In some cases, an attractive woman can perform a task better.

In some cases, you need to be more inconspicuous, remain invisible. I think standing out too much is bad. But there must be a certain charm and attractiveness, because you need to be able to win over your interlocutor and develop normal relationships. You can't go anywhere without this.

- Is it rare for illegal immigrants to have love marriages like yours?

If the marriage is for love, so much the better for work. Bonds of mutual support are important. My husband and I met during our student years, before we were accepted for training. This is what happens to most couples. And what was shown in the TV series “The Americans” (based on the story of our illegal immigrants. - Author), where future spouses are introduced to each other and announced about working together, this option is not very suitable, because such people trust each other less . We had to get married twice: the first time in Tomsk, and then abroad under other names. The option when people love each other is the most reliable.

Elena and Andrey got married for the second time abroad, under false names. Photo: Personal archive

AMERICAN SMILE WAS NOT EASY

The work of an illegal intelligence officer is probably the most difficult - you are trying to get used to the role of a foreigner and live someone else's life for years. And there are so many small moments that threaten failure. Veteran of the Foreign Intelligence Service Lyudmila Nuikina told me that she was identified abroad by the buttons on her bra. You wrote in your book that Russians bend their fingers when counting, but foreigners do the opposite. How to take into account all these little things?

Certain skills are taught, of course. You need to develop manners characteristic of a non-Russian person. Along with the language of the country, a person adopts its culture. Many behavioral features had to be observed and repeated. For example, we did not immediately master the famous American smile, their ability to always express optimism. But gradually, when you start imitating people, it comes.

FIRST TASK - PASTOR

In the book, the heroine's first task was to get closer to a Catholic pastor in Vancouver. For this reason, she even organized a wedding. If you had a similar situation, were you a believer at that time or was this sacrament (even Catholic) just a service necessity for you?

We were trained as Catholics and attended church. It is impossible to say that they were religious at that moment. We just knew how to behave in the Catholic Church. There was no wedding in real life, but I had to sing in the choir in Latin and French. Religion carries universal human values ​​that every person should have and cultivate in their children. It was part of our life, the life of the society where we were. Everything was quite natural.

- Which task was the most difficult or memorable for you?

You can't single out just one. There were tasks that we could not complete for some reason or complete in a short time. There were ups and disappointments. But the work consists of many elements. You can’t go and immediately, like James Bond, find and defuse a mock bomb. Work is constant work. Sometimes monotonous, sometimes not so interesting. But there were useful sources of information, there was important information obtained that came to our leadership in a timely manner and, I hope, helped make the right decisions. In order for the reader to understand the role of such intelligence information, the novel describes precisely situations that could well occur (for example, about an upcoming operation in Yugoslavia or plans to merge oil companies led by Khodorkovsky’s Yukos and under the control of the United States. - Author).

Scout is not James Bond. However, in preparation you practiced shooting and karate. Have you ever used these techniques in your life?

Mandatory training for a person who must work abroad for a long time included many elements: language, special training, technical skills. You had to be in good physical shape and be able to defend yourself, for example, from a street attack. Self-defense was one of the important disciplines and we acquired these skills through karate. And through shooting too, although it was not useful to us abroad.

In 2010, the President of Russia awarded Vavilova the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, IV degree. Photo: Mikhail FROLOV

EVEN THE ASHES WERE DESTROYED

- What did your typical working day look like in the USA?

Like the working day of any ordinary person living there. Moreover, we had a family. In the morning I took the children to school, in the afternoon I picked them up and took them to classes. They played sports and music. During the day, I worked at a real estate agency, but I could also have some activities related to my work as a scout. I can't talk about this in detail. We worked two jobs: we earned money in American companies, and as part of the most important work for us, we obtained useful information, processed it and forwarded it to the Center using certain methods.

-Destroying even the ashes...

Undoubtedly. Our safety and success of our work depended on such minor touches. The working day was double workload, so it turned out to be long. We didn't rest on weekends either.

OBAMA'S BUG

- What circles did you move in in America? Have you met those whose names the whole world knows?

Yes they were. I can’t explain this specifically, but living in a suburb of Boston, which is famous for the fact that many famous politicians, leaders of American thought and scientists work there, we met interesting people through whom we could get valuable information.

In the book, your heroine bugged Barack Obama's assistant when he was a senator from Illinois and was just thinking about the presidential election...

The novel is a work of fiction and this episode, again, is included in the narrative in order to clearly illustrate the type of information an illegal immigrant can obtain. Information about potential presidential candidates is certainly important. It helps to assess the balance of political forces, predict the future course of the leadership of a particular country and prepare for it in a timely manner.

Visiting former intelligence officer Elena Vavilova.“The American smile was not easy”: Komsomolskaya Pravda visited former illegal intelligence officer Elena VavilovaMikhail FROLOV

CHILDREN CONSIDERED THEMSELVES AS CANADIANS

In 2010, everything ended abruptly. The FBI arrested you at home during your eldest son's birthday party. Have you rehearsed a scenario with your spouse where someone breaks in on you with weapons, you end up in a cell, and they force you to confess?

We did the work and believed that everything was done taking into account all the necessary conditions of security and secrecy. No one expected such an outcome, when everything would end at one moment and your efforts would come to naught because of the actions of one person. In our case it was betrayal. This is a risk in our profession, but one we are never prepared for. And it is very difficult to predict how you will behave. But after something happens, you already begin to mobilize your internal resources and think about how to get out of the situation with fewer losses.

All this happened before the eyes of your children Tim and Alex, who considered themselves Canadians and had no idea about anything (the couple had previously worked in Canada and, according to legend, were Canadian citizens, their children were born there . - Author). Did you manage to say a word to them when they took you away?

Our children were shocked when they saw their parents being led out in handcuffs. At that moment it was impossible to explain anything. Our meeting took place the next day, when they were present at the court hearing where we were given a preliminary charge. I managed to tell them in French to leave the city. They didn’t believe everything that was happening and couldn’t imagine that we had Russian roots...

- How did they survive it? Was it accepted? Have you been forgiven for deceiving?

It was a difficult period for them due to the sudden change in the situation and the move to Russia. It took time to comprehend the situation. We talked for a long time with our sons, trying to explain our position, why we made such a choice in our youth, why we did this work. And gradually, thanks to the fact that we had close relationships with them, we managed to find a common language. They understood us and accepted our choice. But they themselves wanted to make decisions on their own in the future and not have anything to do with our profession.

Family photo with husband Andrei Bezrukov and sons Tim and Alex. Photo: Mikhail FROLOV

HOW THEY EXCHANGED FOR SKRIPAL

How did the exchange itself take place? Was it similar to what we saw in Dead Season or Spielberg's Bridge of Spies?

The exchange was organized quickly, for which we are grateful to our government. We were taken to Vienna airport. Instead of a bridge, there is an airfield on which two planes landed: one from Russia, the other from the USA. We went down the ramp and saw people coming out along the ramp opposite. But we didn't see them close. We moved to the Russian plane by bus and were greeted by friendly people. The planes also took off at the same time. I couldn’t imagine in prison that everything would be so good!

I was ready for a long prison sentence. I thought about how and how I could help the children. In Moscow, she appeared before them in prison uniform. Some managed to change clothes because the jailers kept their clothes. In my case this was not the case. So she arrived.

How did the Americans treat you in prison? How was the decision to exchange you for Sergei Skripal and several other spies announced?

We obeyed all the necessary conditions of detention. It was not very pleasant, but bearable. The attitude was quite correct. The solitary cells have very strong air conditioning, it was cold and lonely. But these tests can be withstood, there is nothing terrible here. There was no pressure or serious interrogation, because they had already received everything they needed from the traitor. One day, a lawyer arrived at the prison along with a representative of our embassy, ​​and he announced that an agreement had been reached at the highest level, and we would soon be released. This was incredible news.

- Did you know Skripal personally?

No. We learned about all the individuals we were exchanged for upon returning from the press. Before that, I had no idea who these people were.

- Are you following the ups and downs of his case now? What was it?

We are monitoring, but I cannot express any opinion, because there are not enough specific facts that could lead to unambiguous conclusions.

Some of your colleagues expressed the opinion that perhaps this was revenge on Skripal from those whose careers he ruined. Is it generally customary to take revenge on traitors? Nobody touches the defector Gordievsky.

I don’t think that such methods are used by Russian organizations.

The owner of the house with a donated book "Komsomolskaya Pravda" about the Cheka. Photo: Mikhail FROLOV

IS THE TRAITOR POTEEV ALIVE?

- What happened to SVR Colonel Poteev, who betrayed your network? Is the information about his death in the USA reliable?

Again, lack of information. In many matters related to our profession, everything is usually shrouded in secrecy. What we heard about his residence in the USA, death, then “resurrection” may be speculation or a hoax. Therefore, I cannot say with certainty. I don't think anyone can. No one provided any specific facts or evidence.

- Did you know him?

Yes unfortunately.

- Did your intuition not work?

We did not have long-term communication with him. And we could judge some of his human external manifestations only from a few episodes. To my husband, he seemed not very professional compared to others who surrounded us and who worked with us. Didn't make a very good impression...

- What motivated him?

It is very difficult to judge the motives of a person who committed such a crime. There may be a combination of several reasons: thirst for profit, living conditions that were promised to him, blackmail, dissatisfaction with his career, friction with colleagues. A whole tangle of motives can push a person to betrayal. But he also had another choice: he could simply leave the organization and do something else, but not take such a step when he betrayed the people with whom he worked.

- And the failures of illegal immigrants mainly occur precisely because of betrayal?

Almost exclusively yes...

Cover of the book "The Woman Who Can Keep a Secret" published by EKSMO publishing house.

“PARENTS DIDN’T KNOW WHERE WE LIVED”

Do you still have any friendly contacts after you left the West? Or are your former friends shocked and no longer in touch?

Of course, most are shocked. Even if they respected us as ordinary people, many were afraid for their reputation. I don't blame them for this. But there are also those for whom our personal qualities are more important than our profession, and they understand that every country has professionals who work for intelligence. We exchange news in a friendly manner with those who have decided not to break off relations with us.

- In encrypted chats?

No, absolutely openly. But there are few of them. Of course, most people are subject to propaganda in their own country. Especially now.

- Did your loved ones in Russia even guess about something?

It was a shock for everyone, including the parents. They had no idea that we were in the USA, and even at first they did not attach any importance to the news about the arrest of Russians there. To them we were in a completely different place.

You have been living your real life for 9 years now. How accustomed are you to this, what do you do and why did you decide to write a book?

I thought about this idea for a long time, but didn’t know how to approach it. Then there was a push from the writer Bronnikov, who turned out to be my fellow countryman. We started working together. Why was it easy for me to write this story? Because a lot was felt. I changed some points so as not to decipher what we did and where we lived. I also wanted to write about a woman. It seemed to me that in modern literature and cinema the image of a woman who, on an equal basis with men, serves the interests of the Motherland as an intelligence officer is not sufficiently represented.

- Did you first see the rest of the intelligence officers only at the trial or did you know each other before?

The work is always carried out separately from each other and intelligence officers, especially illegal immigrants, should never intersect. But the uniqueness of our story is that we met. For the first time before the final court hearing, I saw my female colleagues in the pre-trial detention cell. This is an unprecedented case. Because many of those intelligence officers who successfully worked and returned do not know their colleagues. It turned out that we met married couples who had children, and continued to communicate after arriving in Russia. It helped us get through the drama and support each other. We remained friends.

WHAT TO PREPARE FOR

What conclusions have you come to about the sentiments of American society and elites towards Russia? Can we still be partners and not opponents?

This requires the desire of the leadership and sufficiently favorable geopolitical conditions. The Americans and I are different in mentality, in approaches, in the conduct of politics. But in purely human, cultural terms, we could be closer. After the collapse of the Soviet Union there was such a surge, and even we thought that now the world was opening up, globalization would lead to the unification of nations, including through cultural, universal ties. Unfortunately, politics and differences in national interests of countries sometimes do not contribute to maintaining these friendly ties. This is what we are seeing now.

- What is your forecast for relations between Moscow and Washington, taking into account the Mueller report, which acquitted Trump?

I hope there will be a new reset and relations will improve. But for this we need to wait for the arrival of a new generation of politicians on both sides, not overshadowed by what is happening now. In ten years the situation may change.

HELP "KP"

Elena Stanislavovna VAVILOVA born on November 16, 1962 in Tomsk, graduated from Tomsk State University with a degree in history. Since the 1980s - in illegal intelligence together with her husband Andrei Bezrukov. On June 27, 2010, she was arrested in Boston under the name of real estate agent Tracy Lee Ann Foley and then, along with 10 colleagues, was returned to Russia. Currently working in one of the large companies.

Retired Colonel of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service. She was awarded the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, IV degree, and other military orders and medals.