Spy Games Continue Between the U.S. and Russia

Russia on May 15 expelled a man working for the U.S. Embassy in Moscow who it accused of being a CIA officer and said it had caught him attempting to recruit a Federal Security Service officer in the country. While the U.S. government has not confirmed that the individual was meeting an asset on its behalf, the case is a reminder that espionage between the United States and Russia did not end with the Cold War. Indeed, the way the Russians have handled the case — in a public manner intended to cause maximum embarrassment — is notable for its resemblance to the way the United States exposed a Russian spy ring in 2010, which caused similar embarrassment for Moscow.