Medvedev congratulates Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service on its jubilee

At a meeting on the occasion of the 90th jubilee of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service, President Medvedev said that Russia must seek out all possible advantages from the recent WikiLeaks publications.
The worldwide computer network has changed practically every area of life, Mr. Medvedev said. In this situation, intelligence services must seek new ways of working. Julian Assange’s scandalous web site has published several thousands top secret American documents – and this provoked tensions in relations between some countries. However, as far as these documents are already published, the Russian Intelligence Service has received some extra information to analyze.
The Russian president stressed that the Foreign Intelligence Service has always been and still remains one of the most important government institutions, whatever Russia’s political regime and the global political situation may be.
“Political regimes, the agency’s bosses or rank-and-file workers may come and go – but the tasks of the Intelligence Service remain virtually unchanged,” Mr. Medvedev said. “Small wonder, however – such are life’s realities. In the course of these 90 years, the Russian Intelligence Service has gone through several stages – but now it is one of the world’s most effective intelligence services.”
The head of the Russian Intelligence Service Mikhail Fradkov assures that his agency is always in combat readiness and its every agent is ready for a feat in the name of his homeland. Today, Russian intelligence agents collect reliable information, including of a preemptive character. In the 1990s, the Russian Intelligence Service rejected the idea of a global presence which appeared in the period of the Cold War. Today, the service works only in regions where Russia has direct interests.
Despite high confidentiality, some information about the Russian Intelligence Service is still available. For example, we know that there are representatives of 546 specialties in this service – analysts, political scientists, experts on international relations, sociologists and others, who can speak a total of 76 languages.
On the occasion of the 90th jubilee, President Medvedev awarded the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service with an Honorary Letter of Commendation of Russia’s Supreme Commander in Chief. Several officers of the service were decorated with state awards. However, the ceremony was closed, and their names are not revealed – after all, the service is secret.