Exclusive-Russia tightens officials' travel rules due to fears over secrets
Russia is making overseas travel harder for some officials due to fears that foreign powers may try to gain access to state secrets during the worst crisis in relations with the West for more than 60 years, nine sources told Reuters.
The Federal Security Service (FSB) is putting pressure on employees across government ministries not to leave Russia at all, even to visit so-called 'friendly' countries that have not imposed sanctions against Moscow, the sources said.
Foreign travel was highly restricted during Soviet times and even before the Ukraine war those with access to certain secret information were banned from leaving Russia. Major Western powers also have tight travel rules for those with access to top-level secrets.
Current Russian limits, however, are somewhat chaotic, with rules differing across state bodies, according to the sources, who asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue.
"You can't go anywhere at all, not even to Uzbekistan or Belarus for the May holidays," said one source. "You can go only if you have permission."
Under pressure from the FSB, the main successor to the Soviet-era KGB, the government is prohibiting employees from various departments from travelling anywhere without special permission, the person said. Individual departments do not want to be viewed as a fifth column.
The FSB did not respond to a request for comment.
The Ukraine war has triggered the deepest crisis in Moscow's relations with the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, and President Vladimir Putin says the United States and its allies are essentially fighting a hybrid war against Russia.
