Russia’s Federal Security Service announced Tuesday that it had detained an agent of the Central Intelligence Agency during an attempt to recruit a Russian agent. Ryan Christopher Fogle,  had been “working under the guise of” third secretary in the political department of the United States embassy in Moscow. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/15/world/europe/russia-detains-american-saying-he-is-cia-agent.html?hp  Items evidently confiscated from him: a brown and blond wig, three pairs of glasses, several stacks of 500-Euro notes, and an embassy card identifying him as Ryan C. Fogle. Russian news sources also featured the text of a letter, allegedly addressed to a recruit, that instructs the recipient to create a Gmail account that will be used for covert contacts. The letter, signed “your friends,” offers $100,000 “to discuss your experience, expertise and cooperation,” with much greater rewards for answering “specific questions.”

Russian officials express high anxiety about what they describe as Western attempts to undermine political stability here.