An Expert bleep

The Russian news agency RIA Novosti has quoted the FSB Public Liaison Centre as saying that the investigation into alleged spying by two brothers Oleg and Igor Minin has been closed.

The FSB report says that after studying the material, it was decided that there was no proof that the two physicists had committed a crime. According to the same report, the investigation is working on establishing individuals implicated in committing a crime.

All’s well that ends well, as they say … It certainly didn’t begin well.  And the rather confused ending creates certain problems for the translator.  “A” crime or “the” crime, for example?  As already reported here, the alleged “crime” had been “committed” by the two brothers in a book they wrote entirely openly for a thoroughly official institute, that being the Novosibirsk State Technical University.  The latter’s relevant department had approved publication of the book, finding nothing which couldn’t be disclosed.

So what exactly are the FSB eagles now looking for?  Did they find the “secrets” the university was unable to, or not? 

All of these questions are of course overshadowed by one: when will an end finally be put to the lawlessness of the Russian Security Services and their failure to relinquish old and rotten tactics?

(Halya Coynash)