Was a Russian general behind the Euromaidan massacre?

• Tweet
• 

• Tweet
• 

Photo by Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images

The admission that Colonel General Sergei Beseda, a senior figure from the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) was in Kiev during February 20-21 has renewed speculation about a possible Russian role in the violent crackdown before President Yanukovych’s fall.

Beseda, who heads the FSB’s Operative Information and International Relations Service (SOIiMS), was officially in Kiev to inspect security measures at the Russian embassy. While there, according to the FSB, he met with counterparts at the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) but was refused a meeting with Yanukovych, and had no other duties during the visit.

The Ukrainian authorities, on the other hand, have suggested that he may have been there in a more active role. New SBU chief Valentyn Nalyvaichenko has claimed that the FSB “took part in both the planning and execution of the so-called anti-terrorist operation” and Ukraine’s foreign ministry demanded that Beseda be questioned about the reasons for his visit. After all, the day he arrived, the police were formally authorized to use deadly force against protesters.

Although both sides are trading allegations – Kiev claims 30 FSB officers played a role on the crackdown, Moscow that it has arrested 25 Ukrainians planning terrorist attacks — this one looks a little more serious. Of course, Kiev is keen to generate political capital and paint Moscow in the worst light possible, especially in the wake of the arrest of 12 officers from the Berkut special police unit, accused of being the snipers who killed more than a hundred people.

Although the FSB has described the claims as “groundless,” the Ukrainians have some grounds for their suspicions. SOIiMS handles a range of planning and analytic tasks, but is also charged with being the direct liaison with friendly counterpart services in other post-Soviet states. Given that the SBU appears to be riddled with Russian sympathizers and agents, it is entirely plausible that SOIiMS would run them, through its blandly-titled Department of Operative Information. Indeed, Nalyvaichenko has claimed that his predecessor, Oleksandr Yakimenko, actually reported to the FSB.

This would mean to Beseda who, beyond his standing in the FSB, also has long-standing ties to the Presidential Administration. This would make him an ideal representative — or shadow plenipotentiary — to Kiev. He also has no particular experience as a post security officer, so that he was a strangely high-ranking but underqualified figure to assess the protection needs of the embassy. There certainly appear to be grounds for some skepticism of Moscow’s account of his mission to Kiev.