'Ethnic' weapons and immortality: How spying charges against a U.S. citizen reflect the Russian authorities' fear
4:06 pm, December 27, 2024
Source: Meduza
Until Friday, Russia had kept its espionage case against U.S. citizen Gene Spector entirely under wraps. But today’s statement from the FSB — that Spector was convicted for collecting information to help the Pentagon develop a “genetic screening system” for Russians — has done little to clarify the situation. What exactly Spector is accused of remains a mystery, but fears of outsiders exploiting Russia’s “unique” genetic material are nothing new. The Kremlin’s fixation on the idea that scientific advances could either threaten or preserve Russia’s genetic legacy stretches back over a decade. To unpack Vladimir Putin’s complicated love-hate relationship with genetics — and what it might have to do with Spector’s conviction — we spoke to an expert from Meduza’s Razbor (“Explainers”) team.
In the summer of 2023, Russia indicted Gene Spector, a Russian-born U.S. citizen, on espionage charges. At the time, Spector was already serving a 3.5-year prison sentence for allegedly facilitating a bribe to an aide of former Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich. This time, however, authorities revealed no details about the case. Spector’s trial was held behind closed doors, and even at his sentencing this December — where he was handed 15 years in a high-security prison — the court only published the introductory and dispositive parts of the verdict, citing the case’s classified nature.
A few days later, however, Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) released a statement accusing Spector of collecting “biotechnological and biomedical information” and transferring it to the Pentagon to help the U.S. develop a “high-speed genetic screening system for Russia’s population.” What exactly the FSB means by this is anyone’s guess.
Before his initial arrest, Spector served as chairman of the board of directors at Medpolymerprom Group, a Russian medical supply company specializing in cancer treatments. How this connects to the FSB’s claims — if it even does — is unclear. In medical contexts, genetic screening typically refers to identifying genetic disorders or assessing the risk of developing them. But, once again, the specifics of what the FSB is alleging remain a mystery. https://meduza.io/en/feature/2024/12/28/ethnic-weapons-and-immortality
The leadership of Russia is completely nuts. Read on for weaponized mosquitoes.
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The Soviets were working on a genetically-engineered super-plague in the 1980s according to a UK MOD scientist interviewed on PBS "Frontline" (which is lengthy). The State Dept reports that Russians are conducting nefarious bio-research from the USSR days.
Excerpt from State Dept report:
A Planet Labs satellite image shows the bio-war lab facility near Sergiyev Posad, where a massive expansion project has been underway over the past two years.
And note that Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, the commander of Russia's Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Defense Forces (RKhBZ) was recently assassinated in Moscow by an Uzbek recruited by Ukrainian Military Intelligence (GUR).
The late Lt-General Igor Kirillov
Sources:
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/plague/interviews/davis.html
https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/2024-Arms-Control-Treaty-Compliance-Report.pdf
https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2024/12/17/who-was-igor-kirillov-the-highest-ranking-assassinated-russian-general-a87362
