Thread by @holger_r

Here's sth really exclusive. We interviewed counter-intelligence chiefs in all 3 Baltic countries to understand how the services interpret(ed) Russia already long before the war.
ekspress.delfi.ee/artikkel/12008…

„Chaos is a trait of Russian culture. There always needs to be a shepherd; otherwise, it’s anarchy,“ says Aleksander Toots who has led Estonian KAPO's efforts to catch dozens of Russian spies.

„Our assessments of Russia haven’t changed in the last 30 years,“ says Latvia's Normunds Mežviets. The chief analysis is this: Russia wishes to regain its status as an empire by any means.

„To them, there are no states, only zones and territories.“

„They come off as children who have been wronged and are now seeking revenge,“ Lithuania's Darius Jauniškis adds.

He claims the Soviet way of thinking is so deeply embedded in Russian society that even their manner of resistance still dates to the 1970s: people sit in kitchen, drink vodka, and complain, but as they leave their apartments, they report to their jobs and work obediently.

It's no secret that the Baltic agencies have for years been the ones warning of what Russia's really up to. For a long time these warnings went to closed ears in Western Europe.

Excerpt from the story:

"They’re [in the West] certainly more naïve and optimistic than we are,“ says one Baltic counterintelligence officer.

„When we tried explaining to our partners that Russia can’t be trusted, they denied it,“ another adds, visibly resentful."

It's a long read and I suggest to take some time for it. You can agree or disagree but this is a deepdive into how the Baltic countries' counterintelligence reads Russia. Here's the link one more time.

ekspress.delfi.ee/artikkel/12008…