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New York Times
21-05-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
The Spy Factory
Artem Shmyrev had everyone fooled. The Russian intelligence officer seemed to have built the perfect cover identity. He ran a successful 3-D printing business and shared an upscale apartment in Rio de Janeiro with his Brazilian girlfriend and a fluffy orange-and-white Maine coon cat. But most important, he had an authentic birth certificate and passport that cemented his alias as Gerhard Daniel Campos Wittich, a 34-year-old Brazilian citizen. After six years lying low, he was impatient to begin real spy work. 'No one wants to feel loser,' he wrote in a 2021 text message to his Russian wife, who was also an intelligence officer, using imperfect English. 'That is why I continue working and hoping.' He was not alone. For years, a New York Times investigation found, Russia used Brazil as a launchpad for its most elite intelligence officers, known as illegals. In an audacious and far-reaching operation, the spies shed their Russian pasts. They started businesses, made friends and had love affairs — events that, over many years, became the building blocks of entirely new identities. Major Russian spy operations have been uncovered in the past, including in the United States in 2010. This was different. The goal was not to spy on Brazil, but to become Brazilian. Once cloaked in credible back stories, they would set off for the United States, Europe or the Middle East and begin working in earnest. The Russians essentially turned Brazil into an assembly line for deep-cover operatives like Mr. Shmyrev. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
New York Times
21-05-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Text Messages Between Russian Spies, Annotated
Artem Shmyrev and his wife, Irina, were members of an elite few. After nearly a decade of rigorous training in Russian spycraft, the pair were working as deep-cover operatives with fake identities that they planned to use for the rest of their careers. Their assignments — hers in Greece and his in Brazil — are seen in Russia's intelligence agencies as a prestigious opportunity. A privilege. But text messages between the pair, written in the late summer of 2021 and recovered from Mr. Shmyrev's phone, reveal the personal, often frustrating side of their lives. The Times reviewed transcripts of the messages, which were shared with foreign intelligence services as part of a wide-ranging investigation into Russian espionage. What follows are three exchanges, taken from the larger trove of messages, that offer unique glimpses into the work and the loneliness. In what appears to be standard procedure for deep-cover operatives, they exchanged messages in English, which was imperfect. Artem I know pretty much how everything is. No real achievements in work that I supposed to do, I am not where I have to be for 2 years already. I have no money left, I have no wife while I am in my middle 30th, and my old family had lots of troubles. Just work and hope that I really have, but noone wants to feel loser that is why I continue working and hoping. And it is not self pity, just normal reality. Artem Same as always Artem Thoughts Irina Can you please stop? Irina I am sorry but this is mental abuse at this point. I have told you again and again, that it is all very subjunctive and that everything is not bad but you keep thinking and saying this - I cannot help you if you think this way. I am not a shrink, not a magician and I am trying to figure things out for myself just like everyone else. This exchange captures an important dynamic, not just in a long-distance marriage but in espionage. Russia's foreign intelligence service, the S.V.R., often unites its deep-cover operatives in marriage early in their careers. They are sent into the world as a couple, partners in espionage and life. Such pairings are meant to diminish the sense of isolation that can afflict such spies during years, and sometimes decades, spent undercover, experts say. The Shmyrevs were different. They were sent to separate countries and were apart for years. Exchanges like the one above show the challenges of operating alone. They indicate that the couple had grown frustrated with the day-to-day drudgery and, at times, with each other. Irina Yes it is not as it was promised and it is bad - they basically trick ppl into it and I see it as a bad thing. It is dishonest and not constructive. Irina But here we are now. Irina Try to enjoy the good things Artem I am trying, yes. Will be trying harder. Thank you for writing your opinion. This exchange adds to a body of evidence, collected in previous Russian espionage cases, that suggests that deep-cover work is not as glamorous as recruits had hoped. Government documents in a 2010 case in the United States describe Russian spies toiling without access to secrets. Artem worked as 3-D printer in Brazil, building his cover as he itched to begin real work. From afar, the couple tried to support each other as both coped with the demands of a job that turned out to be much different than they had expected. Irina I am trying to do this and that. Irina Courses … What do they care about a bunch of American students Artem no, your study Irina I doubt they view it as a result Artem Look, if you show something as a result and describe it nice, then it is one. The messages provide tantalizing hints about the type of espionage the spies were conducting, though the details are not entirely clear. In their exchanges, Artem pressed Irina to spend more time writing reports so their bosses in Moscow understood the effort that she was putting into her work. Irina, though, did not think that her work — translating websites, creating online advertising campaigns and, apparently, taking classes to monitor a group of American students — was worth reporting. Irina If you want to think your life is shit - it is your choice. Irina Everyone has problems, different ones. Irina You are healthy, you are attractive, you are doing something that is not a bad work and you are complaining a lot, ok? Irina And mostly about something that is a matter of perspective Irina If you wanted a normal family life, well you have made a fundamentally wrong choice. Artem You said, thanks. Mostly, it seems, the texts portray two spies who needed to vent their frustrations. How much contact they had with people who knew their true identities is unclear. Contact with each other at least gave them a chance, on occasion, to be themselves.
