KGB recruitment

I have been thinking about the fact that Russia and some other countries doubtless have tried to recruit U.S. politicians and news people, and the number available, I expect they have had some success. I would expect them to prefer conservatives, because they would be a better disguise. So I was interested in this article.

https://getpocket.com/explore/item/i-thought-i-was-smarter-than-almost-everybody-my-double-life-as-a-kgb-agent?utm_source=pocket-newtab

My Double Life as a KGB Agent

The Guardian |
Shaun Walker

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In the 1980s, Barsky’s most interesting potential recruits were radical rightwing ideologues; here, Soviet agents would pose as activists from the radical right. “There was one individual I reported on who I’m convinced would have fallen for that, because he was so strongly rightwing,”

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[And of course, more recently:]

https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/politics/Russian-Agent-Butina-NRA-Moscow-563903141.html

By Jim Heintz
Published Oct 26, 2019 at 4:56 AM

The Russian woman convicted in the United States of being a Russian agent returned to Moscow on Saturday and declared that she has no desire to go back to America.

Maria Butina was deported Friday by the United States after serving a prison sentence,

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Butina, a gun rights activist, sought to infiltrate conservative U.S. political groups and promote Russia's agenda around the time that Donald Trump rose to power. She had been in custody since her arrest in July 2018.

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The former American University graduate student pleaded guilty last December to conspiring to act as an unregistered agent for Russia. She admitted that she and a former Russian lawmaker worked to leverage contacts in the National Rifle Association to pursue back channels to American conservatives.

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