A LITTLE SONG, A LITTLE DANCE … a little Novichok down your pants. Remember Konstantin Kodryavtsev, the FSB operative who was duped into admitting to playing a role in the 2020 Russian attempt to kill opposition leader Alexei Navalny by putting nerve agent in his underwear? Well, Navalny supporters are now reportedly concerned about Kudryavtsev’s health and welfare. It seems the loose-lipped FSB man has gone missing. According to the British tabloid The Mirror, the unintentional confession by Kudryavtsev greatly embarrassed Russian President Vladmir Putin who had publicly denied any role his government might have played in Navalny’s poisoning. Of course, lots of Russian men have gone missing over the past year – some exfiltrated themselves out of the country, others were conscripted and sent to Ukraine and still more were defenestrated for sins far less significant than embarrassing Putin.
MUSIC TO A RUSSIAN MOTHER’S EARS: In what sounds kind of tone deaf to western listeners, a group of Russian military cadets appeared at a festival recently to perform a song about flying home as “Cargo 200” (a Russian military term for the transportation of troops killed in action.) BBC Russian media watcher Francis Scarr posted a clip of the songsters imagining the thoughts of a mother thanking her now-dead offspring for his “loyalty to the fatherland” and crooned: “Thanks for not fighting for a ‘thank you.’” We are not sure what that last line means – perhaps they are running out of those dumplings we mentioned recently, that were awarded to the next of kin of dead soldiers. Scarr also came up with another gem. Farida Khusainova, a Russian woman whose 24-year-old soldier son died in Ukraine in January, was declared the winner of the “Women are the Mothers of the Nation” contest – and awarded a multicooker. The woman’s son’s name was not given in the accompanying article – but the story did include his call sign: “Reckless.”
CRUISE CONTROL: Hollywood loves crossovers – where two popular franchises mix. So maybe that is what is afoot here as Variety reports that Tom Cruise (of Top Gun fame) is currently filming the eighth version of “Mission Impossible” known as “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part Two.” Apparently the adventurous actor was spotted aboard a U.S. aircraft carrier in the Adriatic Sea. Italian film officials said they thought Cruise had headed out to the USS George H. W. Bush – but they weren’t sure. MI-8 is due out in 2024. “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One” is expected to come out this summer. Initially, the two movies were supposed to have been shot back-to-back, but our spies tell us that plan had to be altered due to COVID complications and Cruise’s obligations to promote the Top Gun sequel.
THAT WAS THEN: The James Bond series of novels are among the latest books getting a makeover to remove language that is no longer socially acceptable. It’s been 70 years since the first Bond book, Casino Royale, was published. The books are being re-issued and, according to The Telegraph in the UK, the series will now include a disclaimer: “This book was written at a time when terms and attitudes which might be considered offensive by modern readers were commonplace. A number of updates have been made in this edition, while keeping as close as possible to the original text and the period in which it is set.” We hear the changes mostly involve racial terminology – and the changes were approved by the author’s estate.
TIME CRUNCH: We missed this story when it first appeared about 10 days ago when Fox Business News reported on what CIA does with some of the fancy gifts its officers receive from foreign sources. A State Department report recently revealed that handling pricey gifts which end up in the hands of CIA officers can get tricky. Sometimes – things like watches valued from $500 to $10,000 are simply destroyed. Other items may end up displayed at CIA HQ while some consumables – like four bottles of “vintage wine” valued at over $1,100 and a $800 box of “High-end Davidoff Royal Release Cigars” were put to “official use.” We have heard of Agency officers smoking Cuban cigars in the past and labeling the action “burning Castro’s crops” but we’re unaware of a watch destruction program. Perhaps someone feared the timepieces were bugged? If not – why not sell them on E-Bay and buy more wine?
HIRE A (IC) VET: The folks at The Intercept are clutching their pearls after having discovered that the spokesperson for The New York Times used to be the top spokesperson for the National Security Agency. Charlie Stadtlander has been the Director of External Communications for the Gray Lady since January 2022, but this news was just discovered by The Intercept. According to his LinkedIn profile, Charlie was head of public affairs for NSA for a little over two years and held a variety of other government spokesperson gigs prior to that. The Intercept appears quite upset about Stadtlander landing at the Times although we are not entirely sure why.
POCKET LITTER: Dead Droplets and bits and pieces of interesting /weird stuff we discovered:
TAKE THIS WAR AND SHOVEL IT: The UK’s Ministry of Defense (or “Defence” as they prefer) puts out highly useful regular updates on the situation on the ground in Ukraine. This past Sunday’s update was particularly noteworthy with an item about Russian “mobilised reservists” (again using the British spelling) in late February, “being ordered to assault a Ukrainian concrete strong point armed with only ‘firearms and shovels.’” Digging in further, the British MOD opines that the “shovels” are likely the standard-issue MPL-50 entrenching tools that were designed in 1869, and are said to have been deemed to have great lethality in Russian warfighting lore.
WANNA GET AWAY? A retired Navy commander has checked into an undersea hotel in the Florida Keys and says he plans to stay there for at least 100 days. It sounds to us like a case of Hotel California taken to new depths. Joseph Dituri says he hopes to break the previous record spent in Jules’ Undersea Lodge in Key Largo of 73 days. While submerged, Dituri will help study the impact of living in a confined extreme environment. "For 100 days, I have to live in 100 square feet," he said. "That's a pretty tight little motorhome — same as when we're going to Mars." Barring leaks, his accommodations should be dry – so he doesn’t have to worry about getting all wrinkly while down there.
LOGO NO GO: “Didja ever notice,” one of our readers asked, “that the official logo of the Russian mercenary outfit, the Wagner Group, looks something like the logo of the embattled Washington Commanders football team?” Our sharp-eyed (or conspiratorial) reader came to this conclusion while reading an article in The Cipher Brief about the Russian soldier-for-hire outfit commanded by Yevgeny Prigozhin. The Washington football team’s logo was adopted in 2022. While the team’s new name and logo were somewhat controversial – far more contentious is the reputation of the team’s owner: Daniel Snyder. There are some similarities and some differences between the two organizations. Both have been losing a lot lately. One organization is led by a very unpopular oligarch – and the other is led by some Russian.
GO FOR THE “W”: Want to make your mark on the news? Send your news tips to us at: TheDeadDrop@theCipherBrief.com
HERE’S OTHER STUFF YOU MAY HAVE MISSED IN THE CIPHER BRIEF THIS WEEK:
ALMA KATSU'S EXCELLENT SPY THRILLER ADVENTURE — Author Alma Katsu draws on her 30+ year career in the Intelligence Community for inspiration for her new spy novels. Her latest, Red London follows main character Lindsey Duncan to the UK, where she digs into an undercover assignment to find out everything she can about a Russian oligarch. That’s the obvious mission. Katsu’s own mission in writing the second book in the series, Red London, is to attract more female readers to the genre by giving women what they want: action, adventure and a really good plot twist. Listen to The Cover Stories Podcast wherever you subscribe and listen to podcasts.
AND ON A MORE SERIOUS NOTE: Cipher Brief Experts Weigh in on Coziness between China and Russia
IS CHINA COMING TO RUSSIA’S RESCUE IN UKRAINE: AsChinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang announced this week that China is actively working to advance relations with Russia “as the world becomes more turbulent,” Cipher Brief experts weigh in on the China – Ukraine relationship. Read howformer MI6 Chief Sir Alex Younger, former principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence The Hon. Sue Gordon, Harvard Professor and author Graham Allison, Ambassador Joseph DeTrani, and retired CIA senior officer Paul Kolbe see this relationship developing exclusively in The Cipher Brief. As a Subscriber+Member, you get access to Is China Coming to Russia's Rescue in Ukraine.
There’s a lot more where this came from: Read more expert-driven national security insights, perspective and analysis in The Cipher Brief