Russian secret agency leads pro-Putin repression campaign

A secret unit of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), known as the Russian Counterintelligence Department or DKRO, is responsible for the largest repression campaign against regime critics since the Stalin era.

The most high-profile operations led by the federal agency in recent times involve the tracking and arrest of Americans on Russian soil, as happened with Wall Street Journal (WSJ) correspondent Evan Gershkovich, who was released in August last year in a prisoner exchange between Washington and Moscow, after spending more than a year in prison on espionage charges.

According to the WSJ, he was the first foreign correspondent accused of espionage since the Cold War.

A special report by the newspaper pointed out that the DKRO is known only to a small circle of Russian experts and intelligence officers, formerly the KGB – where Putin served before ascending to the country’s presidency and establishing his dictatorship.

This secret unit would have contributed to the arrest of two other Americans in Russia recently: former marines Paul Whelan and Trevor Reed, sources told the newspaper. And all this to fulfill a greater plan demanded by the dictator: the release of a mercenary allied with Putin in Germany, the assassin Vadim Krasikov.

Journalists were able to identify the figure behind this campaign of repression that was only recorded in Russian territory during the dictatorship of Joseph Stalin. The man was identified as Lieutenant General Dmitry Minaev, who commands the DKRO.

According to the WSJ, the secret unit was responsible for leading a strong campaign of repression against opponents and foreigners in Russia, including a purge of the Ministry of Defense amid defeats in the invasion of Ukraine.

Furthermore, the DKRO was tasked by Putin with securing the release of an FSB agent, convicted of murdering an enemy of the former KGB spy in 2019, in a Berlin park. The victim of the FSB agent was Zelimkhan Khangoshvili, former commander of a Georgian militia during the 2nd Chechen War, which took place between 1999 and 2009.

To fulfill its mission, the secret unit began arresting American citizens on Russian soil, including basketball star Brittney Griner. DKRO then used former US Marine Paul Whelan and correspondent Evan Gershkovicheu as “trade bait” to secure Krasikov’s release in August.

US and European sources explained to the WSJ that, although it only has about 2,000 officers, the DKRO is the Kremlin’s elite security force.

These “special” officials who serve Putin are “generously” paid, according to the newspaper, even by the standards of the powerful FSB, of which it is a part. According to Western officials, these officials still enjoy bonuses for successful operations and access to low-cost mortgages in Russia.

Due to its important service to the head of the Kremlin, there is almost no information about DKRO on the internet. There is not even a Wikipedia page explaining how this Moscow intelligence unit works.

A source familiar with the matter even compared the secret unit’s service to the “axle of a car.” Without DKRO, the repression machine led by Vladimir Putin would cease to function.

DKRO resembles another project observed during the Stalin Era in the Soviet Union.

During World War II, Stalin developed a counterintelligence agency called SMERSH with the aim of capturing suspected Nazi spies who were infiltrating the territory.

The agency, which stood for “Death to Spies”, created traps to arrest figures considered enemies or kill them. Later, with the end of the war, SMERSH became part of the secret service agency, which later became the KGB.