Across the globe, spies gather in inconspicuous dens where they meet contacts and hold discreet conversations. This week, Intelligence Online visits Brand 910, a restaurant popular with karaoke-loving State Security Service officers in Tashkent.
At the end of a hard day pouring over surveillance of the border with Afghanistan (IO, 09/05/22) or investigating recently sacked senior public servants (IO, 23/01/23), top officials from Uzbekistan's State Security Service (SGB) like to unwind over dinner at Brand 910, a restaurant that's just a short walk away from their headquarters in Tashkent. Officers under ex-defence minister turned spymaster Abdusalom Azizov (IO, 28/01/22) sometimes spend the whole evening at the upscale joint, mingling with