A new international security report produced by the country of Estonia is essential reading for anyone interested in Russian security issues, both in the cyber domain and in Eastern Europe.

“Estonian security institutions have been talking for years about attempts on Russia’s part to splinter the unity and trust that exists between nations in the West. The awareness of this fact is now spreading more broadly in the US and in many places around Europe. Unfortunately, no changes can be seen in Russia’s behaviour. In the years ahead, Russia seems likely to continue its politics of division and opposition to the system of Western values. In our report, we illustrate on just how broad a front Russia is waging this battle by listing the conflicts and regions where we see Russian interference as highly likely this year.

Russia’s fight against the West also takes place on Russia’s own territory. The respective chapter of the report examines the modus operandi used by Russian special services to recruit or intimidate foreign nationals inside Russia (a practice known as gathering “intelligence from the territory”). The purpose of the chapter is not to dissuade people from visiting Russia, but we do draw attention to the large scale and aggressiveness of the activities pursued by Russia’s intelligence services, and describe the dangers that people could face who travel there.”

Estonia National Security Report (PDF Format)