Russia Security Chief: Western Spies Plot New Velvet Revolutions in CIS

Speaking at the Q&A session at the lower house of the Russian Parliament, chief of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) Nikolay Patrushev blamed foreign spies for plotting new velvet revolutions in CIS countries.

“Foreign special services more and more actively use non-traditional methods for their work and through educational programs of various non-governmental organizations are involved in [issuing] propaganda of their own interests, carrying out their activities and collecting information,” RIA Novosti quotes Patrushev. He said FSB has information about USD 5 million spent by an unnamed western NGO to fund a velvet revolution in Belarus.

Among the organizations involved with foreign spies, Patrushev mentioned the U.S. Peace Corps and Saudi Red Crescent.

Patrushev added that the chiefs of special services in CIS countries recognize this danger. According to the FSB chief, in April the directors of the CIS special services discussed the threat of a continuous wave of velvet revolutions in post-Soviet space.

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