| #7. Putin resurrects SMERSH |
| Published: 2024-01-09 [Tue] 11:50, by |
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VLADIMIR Putin has resurrected the feared counterintelligence group Smersh, according to British intelligence. Smersh, its name derived from an acronym for “death to spies”, was formed by Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin in 1941 to catch spies and round up dissidents against the communist regime. ... The MoD notes that it is not clear if the resurrected Smersh is a newly formed unit or just a new name for an existing unit which has been “re-badged”. It said the group was another example of how Moscow is consciously couching the Ukraine war in the “spirit of the Second World War” as well as the Kremlin’s obsession with “infiltration of external threats into the country”. The counterintelligence unit was initially formed to combat Nazi infiltration in the Red Army during World War II as well as squash dissent and insurgency in territory occupied by the Soviet Union in Germany and East Europe. It became known for it savagery and brutality, executing thousands of people who had been accused – rightly or wrongly, of being traitors to the Russian cause. Smersh operatives discovered Adolf Hitler’s remains after he killed himself in his Berlin bunker in 1945 as the Red Army moved in towards the German capital. Russian politicians and bloggers say an official Smersh-style group is already active in Russian-occupied areas of eastern Ukraine and could already have been expanded to Russia proper. Putin has attempted to gain public support for the war by portraying the fight being between Russia and NATO forces that he says are trying to undermine and destroy Russia. |
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| Published: 2024-01-06 [Sat] 14:10, by |
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