Telegram: the Russian secret services' recruitment channel

Telegram, the gateway through which Russia recruits collaborators

Russian secret services have turned encrypted messaging into their main recruitment channel. This is the thesis circulating again trinc the case of Colonel Baños, reported by El Mundo: according to that journalistic account, the Russian recruitment machine does not always resort to the classic sentimental lure, but adapts its method to each target's profile.

How Russian secret services recruit their collaborators

The route is direct contact through messaging apps, with conversations that start neutral and lead to specific requests: information, money or travel. The pattern repeats in different countries and does not distinguish between retired military personnel and civilians without training. Profiling — some are offered work, others a relationship — is, according to what is argued in this case, the most studied part of the machinery.

The Colonel Baños case

The article published by El Mundo describes how Russian services allegedly recruited Colonel Baños. Unlike the usual script of sentimental hook, in this episode the lure would have been different, something highlighted as a sign that the modus operandi is personalized. It should be remembered that these are journalistic reports on an unresolved case.

Who ends up recruited for the front?

Some argue that recruitment preys on vulnerable profiles and low-income nationalities; against this weighs the argument that the Ukrainian front absorbs volunteers from very diverse backgrounds and that generalizing by country explains nothing. The available data do not allow a figure to be pinned down.

With these ingredients, it is to be expected that Telegram will remain the favourite showcase of these networks as long as anonymity is not regulated. Although, given what we have seen, the next twist in the method will probably come through another channel.