03.11.2023
On November 1, in the Academic Council Hall of RSUH, a meeting was held with the veteran of the Foreign Intelligence Service of the Russian Federation Elena Vavilova, at which she shared the story of her life abroad and spoke about the intricacies of her risky and responsible work
The meeting was opened by Rector Bezborodov and Vice-Rector Bolkvadze. Veterans of the FIS, currently retired colonels Elena Vavilova and her husband Andrei Bezrukov worked as deep-cover intelligence officers for twenty-three years. Their main tasks were to search and transmit important information to their homeland for the protection of our state.
Elena Vavilova began her story with the early 80s, when she and her future husband were studying at Tomsk State University. It was there that they received an offer that determined their future fate for many years.
Over the course of several years, the young couple mastered the English and French languages, studied the manners and facial expressions of local residents and learned not only to write, read and speak, but also to think like foreigners.
In June 2010, due to the betrayal of one of the colleagues, the activities of a group, which included Elena and Andrei, were exposed. The arrest came unexpectedly. The US authorities charged them with espionage, which carried a term of 35 years. However, in the end they managed to return to their homeland having been exchanged for American spies caught in Russia.
According to Elena, the qualities an intelligence officer should have are as follows: “First of all, one must have self-control, strong willpower and be a patriot, because work in intelligence implies that you must abandon your ambitions and dreams for a long time and act only for the good of your country”.
Today, Elena is the author of three books and works as an analyst in a large company. She noted that the knowledge and experience gained during her years of service helped her in her current work. Based on her life story, the series “The Americans” and “The Russians” were filmed.
