Beware governments bearing gifts
Published 29 November, 2008, 06:52
Vodka, samovar, matryoshka. sounds like a list of Russian souvenirs? Well, the same items can be used as cunning spy gadgets, some sources suggest. According to the British newspaper, the Daily Express, Russian secret services might have been monitoring Elizabeth II using a bugged samovar for over 20 years.
A modernised electric version of the traditional Russian kettle was presented to the Queen as a gesture of goodwill nearly 20 years ago and was placed in the royal residence in Balmoral, Scotland. The Queen Mother was very fond of the ornate kettle and enjoyed demonstrating it to guests. However, the royal family's servants were warned never to use the samovar, or even plug it in.
The security scare was triggered by “strange” wiring, which, according to a retainer quoted by the Daily Express, “looked as if it came from a Second World War tank.” The samovar was removed, for fear that it could have been bugging not only the Royal Family’s most intimate conversations, but also listening into the Queen’s discussions with prime ministers and world leaders.
“No one ever considered it a security risk until a recent sweep by these spooks with their electronic devices. They swept everywhere imaginable, public and private rooms, and the first thing to go was the samovar,” a retainer told the Daily Express.
The bug may be a canard
Mikhail Lyubimov, who served in the Russian secret services in Britain for several decades, says that the story may be a canard, since the alleged bugging model referred to by the Daily Express is both ineffective and useless.
“Buckingham Palace and the Queen were never objects of great interest to us, since the Queen doesn't have an active role in Britain's governance,” he said.
Moreover, Lyubimov says that the electric device is unlikely to have been a regular guest at government meetings or any negotiations that the Queen might have conducted with important visitors.
Independent intelligence consultant Crispin Black also says it is unlikely that there is some sort of Russian intelligence bug in the samovar.
“It’s been there for 20 years. The staff at Balmoral were never allowed to plug it in because they were suspicious of the Soviet era wiring – and normally for a bug you need a power source. So I think it’s extremely unlikely it’s a bug of any sort. However, given the current concerns if you like about the resurgence of the Russian intelligence machine – perhaps the samovar fell pray to that attitude,” he says.
And Chatham House security analyst Bob Ayers says it’s not a technological issue but basically an issue of pride.
“You can identify a bug easily by simply visually looking at it – but the fact that they neither confirm nor deny the presence of the bug, is more attributable to British pride and not wanting to be embarrassed,” he says.
Nevertheless, the ex-secret agent recalls an equally strange story, involving a Russian souvenir. In the 1960s, the US ambassador to Russia was presented with a wooden eagle, which stood in the corner of his office for several years before it was discovered that there was a bug embedded in it. However, such events are unlikely nowadays, since technology exists which easily finds such spying devices.
The Samovar
The samovar is a traditional Russian tea-making device, used to boil water. It usually takes the shape of a large metal urn. The water inside is traditionally heated by hot coals or charcoal in a chimney-like tube which runs through the centre of the urn. Today, it is more likely that the water is heated by an electric coil.
The samovar merely boils the water, which is drawn off via the spigot into a separate teapot in which the tea is allowed to draw.
Although originating in China, the samovar has become representative of Russian culture, becoming a popular souvenir and present.
Samovar: a Russian word every foreigner must know
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