The recent busting of an alleged Russian spy network by the FBI caught most people by surprise
. Russia has after all long ceased to be the power it was in its earlier avatar as USSR although it remains a nation with considerable military might. It is a far cry from the USSR which controlled the Eastern block and was constantly in the 'one up' race with the US whether it was in outer space achievements, nuclear submarines or a toe hold in Angola. One tended to believe that factors like the breaking up of the mighty USSR resulting in a downsized nation coupled with enlightened leadership under liberal leaders like Gorbachev to Putin would have brought about a total change in Russia's perspective. In the current scenario there is clearly one super power which is the US with Russia not anywhere in the race for what they called as world hegemony, which makes one wonder what they would gain by snooping on the USA.
The fact that the so called agents could go unnoticed for more than a decade thanks to choosing a non-descript presence goes to prove that the Russians have not still lost touch with what they wee good at -espionage. Initial enquiries do not reveal any access that the spy ring had to the high and mighty or anyone of significance in the US government which means they may not have had access to anything of great consequence thus far, this is something to heave a sigh of relief although it may be too early to conclude anything.
The biggest let down undoubtedly has been the manner in which the press both electronic and print have gone about covering something of such grave importance. The entire coverage seems to have been hijacked with an excessive coverage of Anna Chapman, making one wonder if any others were involved or not. The press trying to pander to the voyeuristic taste of readers by giving them an overdose of Anna Chapman's pictures in various stages of undress coupled with lurid details of her conjugal life as told by her worthless husband demonstrate the depths that standards of reporting have fallen and the deeper abyss that public interest in matters of national importance has fallen into. These titillations merely sidetrack the main issue of who was involved in spying and to what extent they could gather information and mixes up genuine reporting, giving a paparazzi account of what happened.