"Is this the life I dreamed of? Is this the path I've chosen for myself? Being a hero means persevering, but persevering doesn't mean enduring in vain..."
These are some of the phrases with an existential tone with which, between scenes of harsh daily life and melancholic music in the background, the short video prepared by the CIA and published on social networks to recruit Russian spies to work for the US agency begins. An operation launched without dissimulation or subtleties, beyond an obvious effort to touch the emotional fiber and the frustrations of those subjects of Vladimir Putin who, according to the message, wanted to live "the real life" as free citizens.
The male voice-over addresses its recipients in Russian. She speaks to them in the first person, as if putting herself in their place through the questions and reflections that the viewer might ask. The scenes basically show women and men in a pensive attitude, perhaps tormented, under a dim light; sometimes in a meeting with a child and before a family portrait. Ordinary people who get up to go to work, walk, ponder inside the car or on a lonely bench, almost always with snow in the background.
“The best way to prevent a jailbreak is to make the prisoners not realize they are in jail,” the voice adds. And when towards the end he gets to the point he says: “It is possible that the people around you do not want to hear the truth. But we do. You are not powerless. Contact us safely ”, concludes the clip, of one minute and 50 seconds.
"The CIA wants to know the truth about Russia and we are looking for reliable people who can tell us that truth," the agency also assures potential interested parties. “Your information may be more valuable than you think,” she adds.
The messages attached to the video indicate how to establish this contact with the CIA, anonymously, through the Tor browser to access the "dark web" and the appropriate communications encryption tools.
The video was first released on Telegram, a very popular platform among Russians. It was later posted on all the major networks, including YouTube, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Although the intent is obvious in times of war, the narrator does not cite the war or Putin. But, just in case there were any doubts, a CIA official made it clear to the media: "We wanted to convey to the Russians, in their own language, that we know what they are going through," he explained. The message – he said – is: “We understand you, maybe better than you think”.
The idea is that some disenchanted "come to us and deliver the information that the United States needs." The intelligence services of the superpower harbor the hope that among those who will take heart are employees who work in sensitive fields and have access to valuable information.
Some of the narrator's phrases appeal to the patriotic sense of the Russians, with references to their culture and their way of understanding nationalism: “This is my Russia. It will always be my Russia. I will resist. My family will resist. We will live with dignity thanks to my actions”, affirms the voice.
The CIA official who spoke to the media categorically denied any intention to sow discord, be "arsonists" or create disturbances within a country whose leader, the agency is aware, maintains a strong pull despite everything.
The unusual invitation to espionage is therefore addressed not only to the most discontented and dissatisfied Russians with the regime but also "to the undecided". As for the publication of the video totally open, the objective is to "demystify" the contact procedure with the CIA, which is also very clear on the entity's website.
The decision not to mention the war is "partly because it would be redundant", as too obvious, but also due to the convenience of influencing the "timeless" themes and the generic reasons that have long persuaded many Russians to the advantages of contacting the CIA, the spokesman said.
The video comes after a previous recruitment campaign last year, following the invasion of Ukraine, which according to the agency has been quite successful. "We are at the best time to recruit Russian collaborators," the source stressed.
In response to the operation, the Kremlin assured yesterday that its agencies were closely following the activity of Western espionage in the country. And the Russian ambassador to Washington, Anatoli Antonov, tweeted that "attempts to sow confusion and organize defection within embassy staff are ridiculous."
According to Efe, many Russians reacted yesterday with skepticism to the broadcast of the video. Someone said it seemed like a "provocation" by Moscow's security service, the FSB: an eloquent expression of suspicion in a country where any invitation to speak may in fact have been, for a century now, a death trap.
