Foreign Affairs Note

United States Department of State Washington, D.C.

Expulsion of Soviet Representatives February 1982 from Foreign Countries, 1970-81

Expulsion of Soviet representatives nature; it may also include the from foreign countries has occurred attempted penetration of foreign regularly since the days of Lenin, intelligence and security services. explicable in large part by Moscowls “Active measures” operations, on the way of dealing with other states. other hand, have been found to include According to available information, 27 the funding of labor and student Soviet officials were expelled unrest; agitation against an worldwide in 1981, including one established government; clandestine charged by Danish authorities with contact with and support of indigenous passing money to local peace and and/or separatist groups; antinuclear groups and others from , deception, and Malaysia, Egypt, and the United disinformation activities; and Kingdom. In 1980, by comparison, some political influence operations. 116 Soviet officials were expelled This report provides a listing of from Spain, Canada, New Zealand, and those expelled in 1980-81 as well as a at least six other countries, 100 of sampling of the major expulsion cases them from Pakistan when the government from the 1970-79 period. The most there undertook to reduce the Soviet notable of that decade included the presence. 105 Soviet intelligence operatives While the majority of Soviets from the United Kingdom and 9 from expelled from foreign countries are Belgium in 1971, 60 from. Bolivia in usually charged with (the 1972, 5 from China in 1974, and 11 surreptitious or clandestine from Canada in 1978. However, since acquisition of secret information), an many countries prefer to avoid increasing number have been sent away publicity in such cases, the total in recent years because of involvement number of persona non grata actions, in “active measures” (covert and forced terminations of assignments, sometimes overt influence operations and deportations of Soviet officials intended to affect third nations’ is believed to be substantially higher policies). Espionage may be of a than the lists indicate. political, military, or industrial

An informal research study for background information AFRICA working under the guise of So- charges. According to Danish press Equatorial Guinea accounts, Merkulov inter alia arranged April 28, 1981: Soviet Embassy in through a local KGB agent of-influence Malabo was asked to reduce the size of to have some 150 Danish artists sign its staff from 195 to an unspecified an “appeal” calling for a Nordic number, according to Madrid radio. The nuclear weapons-free zone and supplied Equatorial Guinean Military Council funds to have the appeal placed as an also asked the U.S.S.R. to cease using advertisement in a number of local the fishing base to which it had newspapers. He also allegedly main- access at the Guinean port of Luba. tained clandestine contact with the Copenhagen-based Committee for Coop- Liberia eration for Peace and Security, an March 18, 1981: Aven Muzyken, umbrella organization of about 50 second secretary at the Soviet Embassy smaller peace related associations and in Monrovia, was expelled for engaging groups, with well-established ties to in acts “incompatible with his the Soviet-dominated World Peace diplomatic status,” according to Council. Monrovia radio. April 2, 1981: Valentin Petrov, Italy first secretary at the Soviet Embassy January 7, 1981: Anatoliy Zazulin, in Monrovia, was expelled for engaging an employee of the Soviet Embassy’s in acts “incompatible with his commercial section in Rome, was ex- diplomatic status,” according to the pelled on charges of espionage. April 1 issue of the Liberian Daily Observer. The Netherlands April 15, 1981: Vadim Leonov, EAST ASIA AND PACIFIC TASS correspondent to The Hague, was asked to leave the Netherlands on un- Malaysia disclosed charges. July 13, 1981: First secretary Gennadiy Stepanov, second secretary Norway Vladislav Romanov, and engineer/inter- April 1, 1981: Timor Besedin, preter Zardat Khamidulin, all with the Georgiy Petrov, and Yevgeniy Soviet Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, were Mironenko, all with the Soviet Trade expelled for espionage shortly after Mission in Oslo, were declared persona the arrest of Sidek Ghouse, political non grata and expelled from Norway, secretary to the Malaysian Deputy reportedly on charges of industrial Prime minister, on charges of spying espionage. (In retaliation, two Norwe- for the U.S.S.R. The police reportedly gian who had served previ- seized an assortment of, ously in Moscow were declared persona Soviet-supplied espionage equipment, non grata by the Soviet Foreign Minis- including a portable radio transmitter try and prohibited from entering the supplied to Romanov (who was said to U.S.S.R. in the future.) have recruited Sidek) which was used to summon Sidek for meetings with him. Spain (Romanov was identified as the KGB March 6, 1981: Vladimir “resident” in Kuala Lumpur.) Yefremenkov, second secretary at the Soviet Embassy in Madrid, was expelled EUROPE AND NORTH AMERICA for espionage. He was charged with trying to obtain information about and Denmark from the Spanish Defense Intelligence October 1981: Denmark expelled Center as well as about the Movement Vladimir Merkulov, a KGB case officer for the Self-Determination and Inde-

2 pendence of the Canary Archipelago declared persona_non grata by the (MPAIAC). Novosti journalist Yuriy Bangladesh Government for assaulting a Goloviatenko was also implicated with local security official during an in- him, according to press reports, and cident at Dacca airport in which So- left the country hurriedly when his viet Embassy officials attempted to role was disclosed. smuggle sensitive electronic equipment March 27, 1981: Yuriy Bychkov, into the country. Soviet director of Sovhispan (the joint Soviet-Spanish fishing company), Pakistan was expelled on charges of political June 1981: Vladlen Baykov, Pravda involvement and espionage activities correspondent in Pakistan, was ex- in the Canary Islands. pelled on charges of engaging in “il- legal” and possibly espionage-related United Kingdom activities. August 4, 1981: Second secretary at the Soviet Embassy in London, Viktor JANUARY-DECEMBER 1980 Lazin, was declared persona non grata by the British Government for engaging AFRICA in activities “incompatible with his diplomatic status,” according to the Equatorial Guinea. London Guardian. Lazin’s expulsion February 1980: Yuriy Kiselev, con- reduced the number of Soviet diplomats sular officer at the Soviet Embassy in in London to 46, the same number of Malabo, was expelled from Equatorial British diplomats currently posted in Guinea on charges of espionage. He had Moscow. (In accordance with an allegedly tried to purchase informa- aide-memoire delivered to the Soviets tion concerning the Equatorial Guinean when the British expelled 105 Soviet armed forces. diplomats en masse in 1971 on charges of espionage, the U.S.S.R. will not be EAST ASIA AND PACIFIC permitted to replace Lazin.) New Zealand MIDDLE EAST January 24, 1980: Vsevolod Sofinskiy, Soviet to Egypt Wellington, was declared persona non September 15, 1981: Egypt expelled grata and subsequently expelled for Soviet Ambassador Vladimir Polyakov, having supplied Soviet funds to the six other Soviet Embassy personnel, pro-Moscow Socialist Unity Patty (SUP) and two Soviet correspondents on of New Zealand. The Auckland Star re- charges of plotting to foment sectar- ported on January 25 that New Zealand ian strife in the country. A statement Security Intelligence Service elec- issued by the government accused Mos- tronic monitoring had caught Ambassa- cow of recruiting agents in Egypt and dor Sofinsky transferring thousands of exploiting religious strife as well as dollars to the SUP. The transfer was “influencing the spread and escalation only one of a regular series of fund of sectarian strife,” in coordination transfers. with leftist elements in Egypt and unnamed hostile Arab countries. EUROPE AND NORTH AMERICA

SOUTH ASIA Canada January 21, 1980: Igor Bardeyev Bangladesh (military, naval, and air attache), August 1981: Aleksei Zolotukhin and Eduard Aleksanyan (assistant military Vadim Lazarev, both third secretaries attache), and Vladimir Sokolov (chauf- with the Soviet Embassy in Dacca, were feur to the military attache’s of-

3 fice), of the Soviet Embassy in Ot- mestic radio speculated that the four tawa, were expelled on charges of es- Soviets were involved in “agrarian pionage. After the Soviet Foreign Min- reform” espionage. Semenychev was istry retaliated by expelling a Cana- identified as the KGB “resident” in dian from Moscow, the Canadi- Portugal. ans on February 7 expelled Vitaliy Trofimov, a clerk in the Soviet Spain Embassy’s commercial section. February 14, 1980: Oleg Suranov, director of Aeroflot in Madrid, was France expelled on charges of espionage. He February 9, 1980: Commercial of- was alleged to have maintained contact ficer Gennadiy Travkov, thirdranking with the Fatherland and Liberty Basque official at the Soviet gen- separatist organization (ETA) and eral in Marseille with the rank of other “ultraleftist” terrorist groups , was expelled on charges of in Spain. espionage. Travkov was caught photo- February 16, 1980: Anatoliy graphing documents described by French Krasilnikov, first secretary at the officials as having “important French Soviet Embassy in Madrid, was expelled national defense value.” According to on charges of espionage. According to local press reports, four unidentified Spanish press reports, he maintained French citizens believed to be con- contacts with the Movement for the tacts who supplied the Soviets with Self-Determination and Independence of sensitive material related to air and the Canary Archipelago and other “il- naval defense matters were also ar- legal extraparamilitary organizations” rested. and had been apprehended with incrimi- February 28, 1980: Vyacheslav nating information on his person. Frolov, public affairs officer at the Soviet consulate general in Marseille, SOUTH ASIA was expelled on undisclosed charges. Press accounts speculated that he was Iran involved in the Travkov affair. June 30, 1980: First secretary Vladimir Golovanov of the Soviet Em- Italy bassy in Tehran was expelled on May 1980: Andrey Kinyapin, employee charges of espionage. According to of the Soviet commercial office in Iranian domestic radio, he had been Turin, was declared persona non grata caught handing “espionage documents” and expelled by Italian authorities on to a foreign resident of Iran. undisclosed charges. Local Italian August 18, 1980: The U.S.S.R. was press reports speculated that Kinyapin instructed to close one of two Soviet was involved in clandestine activi- consular offices in Iran and reduce ties. its diplomatic staff in Tehran after Iranian Ghotbzadeh at Portugal a July 2 press conference accused the August 20, 1980: Albert Matveyev Soviets of conducting espionage ac- (minister-counselor), Yuriy Semenychev tivities in Iran. The Soviet consulate (counselor), Vladimir Konyayev (assis- in Isfahan was subsequently closed and tant naval attache), Aleksandr Kulagin the staff in Tehran cut back. (employee, military attache office), all with the Soviet Embassy in Lisbon, Pakistan were declared persona non grata and August-September 1980: Alleged expelled from Portugal on charges of espionage activities and violations of “interference in internal Portuguese the rules governing the dissemination affairs,” in accordance with Article 9 of propaganda in Pakistan reportedly of the 1961 Vienna Convention, accord- led to the departure of about 100 So- ing to an official Portuguese Ministry viet diplomats and staff members from -of Foreign Affairs note. Lisbon do- Pakistan. 4 JANUARY 1970-DECEMBER 1979 and his wife, and A. Kolosov, an interpreter in the military attache’s AFRICA office, all with the Soviet Embassy in Beijing, on charges of espionage. Liberia According to the protest note April 1979: Vladimir Poperechniy delivered to the Soviet Ambassador, (first secretary), Mikhail Timoshkin the five were caught in the outskirts (Soviet Ambassador’s secretary), and of Beijing with a Chinese national, Li Igor Trekhlebov (chauffeur), all with HungShu, as they were handing over a the Soviet Embassy in Monrovia, were radio transmitter and receiver, expelled on charges of maintaining communications timetables, means of contact with members of the Progres- secret writing, and forged border sive Alliance of Liberia (PAL), which passes; and receiving intelligence and had organized demonstrations against “counterrevolutionary documents.” The food price increases, April 14, 1979. entire operation was said to have been The three Soviets were allegedly seen filmed by Chinese security and militia at PAL headquarters on the eve of the officers, according to the Chinese riot and were believed to have played press. a role in organizing the demonstra- tions. EUROPE AND NORTH AMERICA

Sudan Belgium August 2, 1971: Sudanese officials October 1971: Nine unidentified expelled Mikhail Orlov, counselor at Soviet intelligence officers were ex- the Soviet Embassy in Khartoum on pelled on espionage charges. charges of plotting against the Nimeiry regime. Shortly thereafter, Canada about 200 Soviet military advisers January 1974: Pravda correspondent were expelled from the country. Within Konstantin Geyvandov was expelled from the next 5 years, all Soviet economic Canada on espionagerelated charges. and technical support personnel were December 10, 1976: Vladimir gradually withdrawn from Sudan, al- Vassiliev, assistant air attache at though diplomatic relations were main- the Soviet Embassy in Ottawa, was de- tained. clared persona_non grata by Canada for “activities incompatible with his dip- Tunisia lomatic status,” according to the September 23, 1973: Two unidenti- Toronto Globe and Mail. fied Soviet diplomats were declared July 1977: Valery Smirnov, assis- persona non grata and subsequently tant military attache at the Soviet expelled by Tunisian authorities on Embassy in Ottawa, was expelled on charges of “manipulation aimed at Tu- espionage-related charges. nisia and a neighboring country,” ac- February 9, 1978: Canada expelled cording to La Presse de Tunisie. Also Nikolai Talanov (embassy counselor); implicated in the same Igor Vartanyan (Soviet Embassy espionage-related activity was an uni- first-secretary in charge of sports dentified Novosti journalist and a and cultural affairs); Vladimir number of Tunisian Government offi- Suvorov (second secretary); Oleg cials. Reztsov (embassy attache); Vera Reztsov (embassy library employee); EAST ASIA AND PACIFIC Anatoly Mikhalin (Soviet trade officer in Ottawa); Vadim Borishpolets (Ottawa China consular attache); Vladimir Oshkaderov January 19, 1974: Chinese vice (Russian translator at the Interna- foreign minister declared persona non tional Civil Aviation Organization grata first secretary V. Marenko and headquarters in Montreal); Yevgeny his wife, third secretary U. Semenov Kablov, (embassy clerk); Gennadi 5 Ivashavich (embassy third secretary) espionage. Following a car accident in and Pyotr Lellenurm (embassy second which the two were involved, Dutch secretary)--all on charges of plotting police found among their personal be- to penetrate the security apparatus of longings in the car a map with Dutch the Royal Canadian Mounted Police military installations marked on it. (RCMP). In addition, two Soviet offi- cials who had already returned to Mos- April 7, 1972: First secretary A. cow, Voldemar Veber and Andrei Krysin, Lobanov, third secretary A.N. were barred from returning to Canada. Illarionov, and attache M. Makarov, According to Canadian officials, the all with the Soviet Embassy in Soviets had offered a member of the Copenhagen, were expelled on charges RCMP “unlimited” funds for information of espionage. on Canadian intelligence methods and had actually paid $30,500 over a pe- July 1975: A.A. Kiselev, military riod of nearly a year for material attache with the Soviet Embassy in The deliberately supplied by the Canadi- Hague, was expelled on charges of es- ans. The operations concentrated on pionage and collecting Dutch military uncovering RCMP methods used in sur- secrets. veillance of Soviet representatives in March 30, 1978: According to local Canada. newspapers, S. Cheryayev of the Soviet Trade Mission and I. Lopukhov, direc- France tor of the Soviet Intourist office in October 16, 1976: French officials Amsterdam, were expelled on charges of announced the expulsion of Mikhail espionage. A. Poleshchuk, a Soviet Solovyev, a member of the Soviet Em- electronics specialist, employed in bassy commercial section in Paris. the Netherlands by the Soviet state French counterespionage agents ar- companies Mashniborintorg and rested Solovyev (who was wearing a wig Elecktronorg, was declared persona non and dark glasses) at the Notre Dame de grata and denied future entry into the la Gare Church, after he was handed a country. The three were suspected of dossier allegedly containing plans for trying to obtain secret information a secret new French jet engine. about the F-16 aircraft and electronic July 1, 1978: Colonel Viktor and military aviation as well as in- Penkov, assistant military attache at formation related to production and the Soviet Embassy in Paris, was ar- research in Dutch military industry. rested and subsequently expelled on Two days later, Dutch security offi- espionage charges. cials expelled G. Burmistrov, member of the Soviet Trade Mission in Italy Amsterdam, and V. Khlystov, managing February 13, 1970: Italy ordered director of the mixed Dutch-Soviet the expulsion of Vladimir Aleksandrov, company Elorg BV, on similar a Soviet Embassy employee, and Lolli espionage-related charges. Zamoisky, an Izvestiya correspondent, on charges of espionage. The two Sovi- Norway ets were said to have received secret September 19, 1970: Valeriy military information from an unidenti- Mesropov, Soviet engineer and identi- fied Italian noncommissioned officer fied KGB operative attached to the who had been arrested the previous Norwegian firm Koneisto Norge A/S, was week. expelled on charges of espionage. April 11, 1973: Third secretary The Netherlands Yuriy Polyushkin and attache Valeriy May 6, 1970: Second secretary Boris Yerofeyev, both attached to the Soviet Netrebskiy and Vladimir Sharovatov, Embassy in Oslo and identified as KGB both with the Soviet Embassy in The operatives, were expelled on espionage Hague, were expelled on charges of charges.

6 January 28, 1977: A. Printsipalov, Sterlikov (first secretary) and third secretary at the Soviet Embassy Nikolai Savin (second secretary), both in Oslo, as well as an unidentified with the Soviet Embassy in Bern, Swit- embassy chauffeur, were declared zerland, were expelled on charges of persona non grata by Norwegian espionage. According to Swiss offi- authorities and expelled for their cials, the two Soviets were contacts involvement in political espionage of Marcel Buttex, a Swiss spy suspect activities. In a separate incident, who had been arrested 1 week earlier. Aleksandr Dementev, Igor Buttex established “letter drops” for Izachtirinsky, and Eugenya Klimanov, Soviet agents in Switzerland and in all with the Soviet Embassy’s West Germany, according to these offi- commercial section, were expelled on cials. charges of espionage. Also implicated August 22, 1976: Swiss officials and charged with espionage against expelled Eugene Bogomolov, second sec- Norway was Evgenya Zotin, a TASS retary at the Soviet Embassy in Bern, correspondent. on charges of political-espionage. February 7, 1977: Gennadiy Titov, June 6, 1978: Vladimir Bukreyev, counselor at the Soviet Embassy in Soviet International Labor Organiza- Oslo and identified KGB officer, tion (ILO) official in Geneva, was was expelled on charges of expelled from Switzerland on espionage espionage. charges. June 26, 1978: Gregori Myagkov, Spain Soviet ILO official in Geneva and KGB March 1977: Yuriy Pivovarov, member operative, was expelled from Switzer- of the Soviet commercial mission in land on unspecified Madrid for 2 years, was expelled on “intelligence-related activities.” charges of espionage (the first expul- sion of a Soviet from Spain since the United Kingdom Spanish Civil War, according to Diario June 22, 1971: Lev N. Sherstnev 16). Pivovarov was believed to have (first secretary) and Valery S. been the Soviet military intelligence Chusovitin (third secretary), both (GRU) “resident” in Madrid. with the Soviet Embassy in London, July 4, 1977: Gennadiy Sveshnikov, were expelled from Great Britain on director of the Spanish-Soviet mari- charges of engaging in “intelligence time company INTRAMAR, was expelled on operations” against the United King- charges of espionage. Believed to have dom. (Shortly thereafter, Moscow or- been a GRU intelligence officer, dered the expulsion of two British Sveshnikov was arrested by agents of diplomats in Moscow in retaliation.) the Spanish High General Staff in September 24, 1971: Britain ex- Aranjuez when he tried to discard a pelled 90 Soviet diplomatic and other packet of documents allegedly concern- representatives on espionage charges ing Spanish national security affairs, and barred the return of 15 others who according to Diario 16. were temporarily out of the country. April 1978: Yuriy Ysayev, commer- The names of the 105 Soviet intelli- cial officer with the Soviet Embassy gence operatives had been provided 1 in Madrid, was expelled on charges of month earlier to British counterintel- espionage. ligence officers by a ranking KGB de- May 1978: Yuriy Popov, identified fector, who also provided information only as a Soviet engineer, was ex- on the planned infiltration into En- pelled from Spain on charges of indus- gland of Soviet agents for the purpose trial espionage. of sabotage; other documents provided by the defector detailed Soviet plans Switzerland for infiltrating segments of the Royal February 12, 1970: Aleksei British Navy.

7 Yugoslavia Ecuador March 6, 1976: An unidentified July 6, 1971: Three unidentified Soviet citizen, described only as a Soviet diplomats working at the Soviet woman in her early thirties, was ar- Embassy in Quito were expelled “for rested in Yugoslavia on charges of reasons of state and of internal or- espionage and acting as a contact be- der,” according to the Ecuadorean For- tween the Soviet consulate general in eign Ministry. Press accounts specu- Zagreb and pro-Soviet po- lated that the diplomats were involved litical groups whose activities were in fomenting labor strikes and con- linked directly to anti-Tito emigres flicts. living in the U.S.S.R. and Czechoslo- vakia. Her arrest coincided with the Mexico sudden departure from Zagreb of Soviet March 21-22, 1971: Soviet charge consul general Yuri Sepelev, who was d’affaires, Dimitri Diakonov, and four ostensibly reassigned to Moscow. other unidentified diplomats working at the Soviet Embassy in Mexico City, LATIN AMERICA were expelled for engaging in “subver- sive activities.” Their expulsion from Argentina Mexico was believed to be related to November 7, 1970: Yuri Yabov and the arrest 2 days eariler of 20 per- Yuri Mamontov, administrative aides in sons described as members of a revolu- the commercial section of the Soviet tionary group trained in guerrilla Embassy in Buenos Aires, were expelled tactics in North Korea. The 20 had by Argentine authorities for “activi- attended the Patrice Lumumba Friend- ties incompatible with their function ship University in Moscow before going as members of a foreign diplomatic on to Pyongyang. Diakonov had already mission.” The two Soviets had been been expelled from Argentina in 1959 arrested 2 days earlier in a police and from Brazil in 1963. raid on a meeting in suburban Belgrano. SOUTH ASIA

Bolivia India April 10, 1972: Sixty Soviet diplo- February 1975: Soviet assistant mats working at the Soviet Embassy in military adviser Major Kanvasky and La Paz were expelled on charges of one other unidentified Soviet official financing leftist rebel movements in were expelled on espionage charges. the country. According to press re- February 1979: Two unidentified KGB ports, only four or five Soviets were officers allegedly posing as Soviet permitted to remain in La Paz. diplomats were expelled on espionage charges. Costa Rica August 19, 1979: Costa Rican Presi- Sri Lanka dent Carazo declared Soviet first sec- September 3, 1977: Envar Kapba, retary Yuriy Chernysh and second sec- secretary of the Georgian Republic retary Aleksandr Mordovyets persona Trade Union Council, and Konstantin non grata on charges of inappropriate Tuzikov, an official of the Soviet involvement with local labor unions All-Union Central Council of Trade during an August 1979 general strike Unions, were declared persona non in Costa Rica over labor and community grata and expelled by Sri Lankan au- issues. thorities for “interference in the internal affairs of Sri Lanka Both were in Colombo to attend the Ceylon Workers Congress.

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