[FPSPACE] Another Spy Trial: Igor Sutyagin - Is it a serious crisis already ?

[Charles P. Vick]

>I think it is only a matter of time before a space researcher gets
>arrested for this.

>As we all know, there is a very blurry line between what is and is not
>classified in Russia today.  For instance, the Russians have released info
>on their spy satellite programs, but have not released any pictures taken
>by those programs.  What if a researcher manages to obtain one of those
>photos?  Could he be arrested for espionage even though someone connected
>to the program willingly gave him the photo?

        This is a fundamental failure to understand the Russian
Classification system which is very different from that used in the West.
This is not a criticism but info for all concerned.
        The Soviet classification system is very bazaar in that it has three
levels and almost everything is classified and it is almost never declassified. 
1 Confidential: This refers to any company organizational/proprietary
material so that any information regardless of its form or published
material on a company is classified confidential regardless of whether it is
marked as such or not.
2. Secret : This is any information on a Government Ministry regardless of
its form.
3. Top Secret: This is any information on the State/National Government
regardless of its form.
        Further the person classifying something must be the person to
declassify it whether he is alive or not otherwise it remains classified.
Under this system anthing coming out of Russia is classified period.
        This affectively shuts down for all practical purposes all historic
space research except that which can be legally baught in the open market,
IE: books, magazines, newspapers, photo's etc., which the Russian
Federations FSB, company Security and Customs officers can declared
classified in any arbitrary way they desire when ever how ever they desire.
It is very arbitrary. Basically there is not a damed thing you can do about it. 
         
CPV
_______________________________________________
>FPSPACE mailing list
>FPSPACE@friends-partners.org
>http://fpmail.friends-partners.org/mailman/listinfo.cgi/fpspace
_______________________
Charles P. Vick
Research Analyst
Federation of American Scientists
phone: (202) 675-1025
fax: (202) 675-1024
email: cpvick@fas.org
http://www.fas.org/