On the 27th of December, 2010, the global intelligence company, Stratfor, released a video discussing Russian influence in the Baltics. In that video, the narrator says:
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| Savisaar |
"The controversy began when reports emerged on December 16 that Edgar Savisaar — who is the mayor of Tallinn, Estonia's capital, and the
leader of the Center Party, which is Estonia's largest opposition party —
had received funding from an NGO that has ties to Russia. The Estonian
intelligence agency, known as KaPo, had sent the Estonian government a
letter detailing how Savisaar through the funds had basically become an
agent of influence of Russia and that he represented a threat to
Estonia's national security. The NGO that Savisaar is being accused of
having direct ties to is no ordinary NGO, and it is in fact one that is
led by Vladimir Yakunin, who is a leading Russian political figure and
heads Russian Railways, which is a state-owned rail company in Russia.
Yakunin is infamous for being one of the most powerful figures within
Russia and is reported to be a former KGB agent and in Vladimir Putin's
innermost circle."
Stratfor first started digging into the allegations against Mayor Savisaar after a story appeared on RIA Novosti -- Russia's international news agency, now Sputnik News -- titled: "Tallinn Mayor Denies Accusations of Conspiracy with Moscow."
A day after the publication of the story, Marko Papic -- an analyst for Stratfor -- emailed his contact in the Baltic Times, Dorian Ziedonis, asking:
"Anyone in Estonia on your staff I could follow up with on this? Very interesting... I'd like
some background on the Center Party and Savisaar."
some background on the Center Party and Savisaar."
Marko Papic gained notoriety in 2013 after Counterpunch reported on his collaboration with renowned Serbian activist Srdja Popovic, who spearheaded the "Bulldozer Revolution" and overthrow of Milošević. Counterpunch wrote in 2013 that:
"Stratfor saw Popovic’s main value not only as a source for intelligence
on global revolutionary and activist movements, but also as someone who,
if needed, could help overthrow leaders of countries hostile to U.S.
geopolitical and financial interests... In a June 2011 e-mail,
Papic referred to Popovic as a 'great friend' of his and described him
as a 'Serb activist who travels the world fomenting revolution.'"
It quickly becomes apparent that Marko Papic is the go-to-contact-guy, "pinging" contacts and arranging revolutions, so when Dorian Ziedonis of the Baltic Times responded saying, "you could contact Anna-Maria Galojan in Tallinn," one must then logically ask oneself what activities Ms. Galojan is involved in to be able to provide information regarding Russian espionage activities in NATO countries.
In February of last year, Ms. Galojan was extradited to Estonia to serve a short prison sentence after spending three years on the run in the United Kingdom. She was released in June of last year after her 2011 conviction for "embezzling about 60,000 euros from a pro-EU non-profit" was upheld. During the trial, no allegations of impropriety involving Stratfor were mentioned, but one cannot miss the irony of an American intelligence company asking a young politician in Estonia if she is aware of a Russian conspiracy in her country.
Wouldn't an Estonian intelligence agent become suspicious at communication between Stratfor and a young politician, especially when the intermediary for that company is Marko Papic, a man known to help orchestrate coups? Wouldn't an Estonian intelligence agent become suspicious at communication between a local politician and a foreigner who describes Estonians as being "fascists" by necessity because of the number of "Russians living there?"
What remains certain in this whole affair is that Papic was most likely correct in smelling that Savisaar was a sleeper Russian agent; Savisaar lost a lawsuit contesting the news report, and he was recently arrested for bribery allegations.
