Kathrine Frich
Intense competition inside Russia’s foreign intelligence service has triggered an unusual wave of internal accusations.
Anonymous letters detailing misconduct are now circulating at the highest levels of the Kremlin.
Independent journalists say the claims point to deep dysfunction within the system.
Fierce competition
After Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Western countries expelled more than 700 Russian diplomats, many of whom were career intelligence officers.
According to the independent outlet The Insider, most struggled to find new postings, sharpening competition inside the SVR, Russia’s foreign intelligence service.
As a result, officers have begun denouncing one another in anonymous letters sent to SVR chief Sergei Naryshkin and the presidential administration.
The accusations include alcoholism, corruption, sex with prostitutes and abuse of authority.
Cameras and scandal
In spring 2025, Ukrainian intelligence services installed hidden cameras near the SVR headquarters in Yasenevo and at the entrance to the SVR Academy in Moscow, according to The Insider.
The footage showed vehicles of undercover officers and documents marked “top secret.”
The images were published by the Russian Volunteer Corps with the comment:
“Upon closer inspection, the SVR turns out to be an institution as rotten as the rest of the structures of the Russian Federation.”
The leak sparked panic inside the SVR, with officers and sniffer dogs searching nearby areas for days. The cameras were never found.
Bribes and booze
Among the exposed documents was an anonymous letter accusing deputy department head German Bykov of abusing his power.
The letter claimed that officers sent abroad were expected to bring him gifts, including alcohol worth between $50 and $100.
Bykov denied wrongdoing, saying: “I took nothing, I extorted nothing, I serve the homeland with honor.”
An SVR source told The Insider that an earlier investigation focused more on identifying the whistleblower than examining the allegations.
Another letter from retired General Sergei Lysyuk accused an SVR captain of taking bribes from National Guard soldiers in exchange for promises of elite postings.
Prostitutes and past crimes
Other anonymous complaints described diplomats driving drunk and engaging in sexual relations with prostitutes.
One letter warned that such behavior could cause “negative consequences for the image of our country,” The Insider reported.
Additional allegations included misuse of official vehicles and claims that an SVR officer once belonged to a neo-Nazi gang in his youth.
Police records cited by The Insider confirmed that criminal cases had been opened against him in 2003.
Despite the volume of accusations, many of those named reportedly remain in their posts.
Sources: The Insider, Digi24.
