Has Navalny’s Prank Shattered the FSB Myth Once and For All?
Even as the Soviet Union withered and declined, the KGB and the GRU seemed both more competent and, oddly, cleaner than the current security forces. Peter Kovalev / TASS
Is it fair to say that the spectacular trainwreck of the FSB’s operation to poison Alexei Navalny is the worst failure in the history of the Russian and Soviet security services?
To be sure, it’s just the latest in a series of incredible blunders. Consider the failure of the plot to kill Sergei Skripal that highlighted the astounding incompetence of Russia’s military intelligence (GRU). Or Bellingcat’s recent report that blew the cover of some 305 GRU officers through a car registration database. All these point to a deep rot at the heart of Russia’s intelligence apparatus that is really quite unparalleled.