HOW THE RUSSIANS CAUSE A NUISANCE BY THEIR PRESENCE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00965R000705970014-2
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 12, 2011
• Sequence Number: 14
• Publication Date: March 16, 1986
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Declassified in Part -Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/12/12 :CIA-RDP90-009658000705970014-2
ON PAGE^-~-- 16 March 1986
.How the Russians
Cause a Nuisance
By Their Presence
UNITED NATIONS, N.Y.
HEN the Reagan Admin-
istration ordered Soviet
missions to the United
Nations to cut their per-
sonnel, United States officials said
the missions were used for espionage
and the re.9outces of the Federal Bu-
reau of Investlgation were strained
by monitoring the movements of so
many potential spies. How much
damage the order will do to U.S.-
Soviet relations was tat itnediately
clear. Moscow said it would tat help
the mood of the summit that is to be
held in Washington this year or early
next yeatm, but did tat threaten to
cancel the meeting. While the diplo-
mats pondered, the F.B.I. kept
tracking suspected spies.
Indeed, with only 1.135 agents in
the New York City area to cover all
types of crime, it would be impossi-
ble for the F.B.I. to moNtor all 275
diplomats, secretaries, and others
attached to the missions and the
more than 800 other Soviet citizens
who work officially. as United Na-
tions employees, trade represents.
rives and tour operators. Washington
wants the number cut to 170 in two
years. "We have to prioritize," said
John L. Hogan, head of the F.B.I.'s
New York office, "and we hope we're
covering the targets that are the
most critical to natlonal security."
In New York, keeping tabs on
potential spies presents is own prob.
lems. To lose a tall, a target can
easily pop into the United Nations
buildings, which are oft-limits to the
F.B.I. and New York City police un-
less there is an official UNted Na-
tions request. "The U.N. is pretty
much a sanctuary," said James M.
Fox, the special agent who heads the
counterintelligence unit that
watches Soviet citizens. "Fotttutate-
ly," hesaid, "there are friendly peo-
ple inside the U.N.."
Rather than watching individual
Soviet targets, camterinteliigence
agents rely more on "spider webs,"
that is, on watching potential meet-
ingspots, although high-level targets
are still followed and subject to elec-
tronic surveillance. When Iona M-
dronov, a !8-year-0Id correspondent
of the Moscow-based Literary Ga-
zette, was assaulted by two men
while trying to cover a United Mine
Workers strike in McGarr, Ky., last
September, an F.B.I. counterintelli-
NEW YORK TIMES
Bence agent on hisTstliiescued iii-m-~
The bureau works closely with the
Office of Foreign Missigts, an arm
of the State Department created to
impose restrictions on foreign mis-
sions in the United States on the
basis of national security and treat.
ment of American personnel abroad.
Personnel at several embassies
and missions, includitt~ the Soviet
ones, are required to request from
the United States Mission permis-
sion to travel beyond a 75-mlle radius
of New York, and they must book all
hotel, train and plans tesen-atlaos
through the Office of Foreipt Mis-
sions, which also appt+oves their pur-
chases of telecommuaicatlom and
construction egWpmant. Written is
quests must De submitted at least 48
hours in advance. along with forms
that provide such informatlon as the
purpose and method of travel, depar-
tureand arrival times, travel routes,
and the names of passengers. About
ZO percent of the United States, in-
cluding such areas as the Mississippi
River, Hawaii aM Silicon Valley are
always oft-limits to Soviet citizens.
Obe!-in8 Or+tlers
Two years ago, when a foreign offi-
cial with permission to travel was
caught speeding on the New Jersey
Turnpike, he refused to obey a state
trooper's order to leave the highway
because it was his approved route
and he was not authorized to take
other roads. He got oN the turnpike
and took an unauthorized route ottly
aher police summoned a truck and
crane to haul his car away. Last
Mother's Day, what the Cuban mis-
sion, whose employees' travel is also
restricted, organized a picnic near
North Tarrytown, just inside the Z5-
mile-limit, the cats left in a long non.
voy so that no one would get lost.
Even if the Soviet UNon makes the
required cuts in personnel, which
they charge are illegal, it is question-
able whether this would crimp their
intelligence activities. Before the
end of the year, the Soviet Union is
expected to open a consulate in New
York, and the office of Aeroflot, the
Soviet carrier, is also scheduled to
reopen. And the American order will ,
not restrict the number of temporary
Soviet personnel assigned to United
Nations functions, including the tour_
month General Assembly every tall.
Said the F.B.I.'s Mr. Nolan, "While I
think the reduction In numbers can
help, the net lass watt be as big as it
looks.'.
Declassified in Part -Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/12/12 :CIA-RDP90-009658000705970014-2
 Declassified in Part -Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/12/12 :CIA-RDP90-009658000705970014-2
Where Soviet officials can travel
Perth
Amboy
Keeping Inside the 25-Mile Limit
Staten
Island
Queens ~-' Nassau
~,,?~ ~ Hempstead
Glen
Cove
Areas open with
official notification
Closed areas
Declassified in Part -Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/12/12 :CIA-RDP90-009658000705970014-2