Spotlight | Russia
Brain drain stymies Moscow city council's security plans

Russia
Presidential administration steps up its covert mobilisation effort

Despite official assurances that the mobilisation campaign is over, the Kremlin is making use of its regional administrative resources to bring in more troops. Different forms of pressure are being used to recruit at state-owned and parastatal companies and among vulnerable sections of the population.

Russia, Vietnam
Russia lobbying hard for its Mir payment system, from Moscow to Hanoi

Moscow is ramping up efforts to convince Vietnam to adopt the Mir payment system, citing the Vietnam-Russia Joint Venture Bank as an early adopter. Russia's objective is to guarantee its hydrocarbon contracts are paid, but Hanoi, currently rethinking its geopolitical position, is being cautious.

Russia
Ex-FSB officer Anton Nemkin acts as middleman between Duma and cybersecurity sector

The investor and Duma cyber security specialist acts as the industry's advocate in the lower house of the Russian parliament, in order to deal with the shortage of personnel faced by many cybersecurity companies.

Russia
Sergey Plugotarenko, a key link between the Kremlin and Russian digital industry leaders

The government's determination to speed up Russia's drive for digital self-sufficiency has led to a series of deals being struck between the state and the industry's leading players. The man orchestrating this process is the digital sector's new rising star, Sergey Plugotarenko.

Russia
Foreign ministry picks new Asia relations deputy

After weeks of rumours and whispers in the corridors of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Andrey Rudenko, we have learned, should shortly be in charge of handling Russia's relations with Asia.

Russia, Ukraine
War in Ukraine puts Russia's Jewish Chabad-Lubavitch community under pressure

European branches of the Orthodox Jewish Chabad-Lubavitch religious community are very actively engaged in Ukraine, putting the movement's Russian branch in a tight spot with the Kremlin.

The Intelligence Gazette
French DGSI's new hiring cell, Rosgvardia's deputy directors, Tel Aviv boosts Albanian cyber, New York jet-setter wins case against Moscow

Appointments, reforms and the issues at stake: every Monday, Intelligence Online serves up snippets big and small from the global intelligence community. This week we home in on Paris, Tel Aviv, Tirana and Moscow.

FranceDGSI's new recruitment cell.

RussiaA new deputy for Zolotov.

Israel/AlbaniaTel Aviv pledges cyber security boost to Tirana.

France/RussiaMoscow loses case in Paris court.

Russia
Russia's digital development minister caught in power struggle between Kremlin rivals

Maksut Shadayev has come under various forms of pressure behind the scenes in recent weeks. Shadayev, a protege of Putin's deputy chief of staff Sergey Kiriyenko, has a say over a number of crucial security contracts.

Russia
Rostec emerges top dog as Moscow elite jostle for positions

Through skilled lobbying on several fronts, the state-owned defence conglomerate has won a round in the fight for resources and political visibility in a country fixated with the war on Ukraine.

Russia
Siloviki eye facial recognition as potential windfall in their search for funds

With the final touches being put to the 2023 federal budget, Moscow's political class and biometric technology providers are queuing up for the public funds that could be allocated to facial recognition projects.

Russia
Russian counter-intelligence preps for risk of revolt against draft

The Russian domestic intelligence service, the FSB, has set up a special unit to monitor anti-war sentiment in the country. An influence operation has already been deployed to Dagestan.

Russia
Ruselectronics at centre of Russian Safe City monitoring programme

Border surveillance, which has returned to the top of the list of critical projects carried out by the Rostec arms conglomerate, is mobilising all the know-how of its subsidiary Ruselectronics. Moscow has decided to move up a gear in the Safe City programme.