October 11, 2007 (LPAC)--In an interview in the Russian daily, Argumenty i fakty, Nikolai Patrushev, the head of Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB), charged the British secret services of trying to destabilize Russia, including in the time frame of the Russian elections for the Duma in early December, and the Presidential elections in March of 2008.

"MI6 is not only gathering intelligence in all areas, but is also trying to influence the domestic political situation in our country," Patrushev said to Argumenty i fakty, as reported in today's London Guardian. "Politicians thinking in Cold War categories still retain influence in a number of western nations.... Our file on British intelligence services' activities is huge. We know their strengths and weaknesses. Since the time of Queen Elizabeth I, British intelligence has operated on the principle that the end justifies the means. Their main methods of recruitment are money, bribery, blackmail and immunity from prosecution."

Patrushev accused the British of recruiting Russian agents from among the emigre community in London, mentioning its most prominent agent, Boris Berezovsky, but warned that the effort will fail: "The English have been trying to recruit people who have committed crimes and are hiding from Russian justice. This has failed."

Patrushev, a close ally of President Vladimir Putin, also attacked non-governmental organizations. "There is a danger that foreign NGOs are being used to finance activities to undermine Russia." He also accused both MI6 and the CIA of cooperating in Poland and Georgia, but added that British agents were the most intrusive.