The Espionage Goes on

  • Share

Viktor Oshchenko, a diplomat in the Russian Embassy in Paris, was a British double agent for years. Last month Moscow asked him to come home. Fearing the worst, he defected to London. MI-6 is now debriefing him at a safe house. He must know plenty: Moscow has since recalled at least a dozen of his fellow spies from Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Belgium and the Netherlands. Oshchenko specialized in stealing science and technology secrets. Says a senior British diplomat: "The Russians' need for everything is more desperate than ever because of the country's abysmal shape."

Time.com on Digg

POWERED BY digg

Quotes of the Day »

DMITRY MEDVEDEV, Russian President, blaming nightclub managers in Perm, Russia for a fire that killed 109 people Saturday; the managers had refused to comply with fire safety standards despite repeated demands
For use in rail of Articles page or Section Fronts pages. Duplicate and change name as necesssary to distinguish.