Latvian MEP Tetiana Zhdanok has been actively corresponding with alleged FSB employees since at least 2005.
The MEP reported on her actions to an FSB agent
This is stated in the investigation of the Bellingcat group and The Insider publication with the participation of Estonian, Latvian and Swedish journalists.
Journalists note that Zhdanok has supported Moscow in Riga and Strasbourg for decades. She was born in Latvia, and in the late 80s, she began to fight to preserve Latvia in the USSR.
After that, her political activity was based on ethnic Russians in Latvia. It is not known when her recruitment took place. However, from her hacked correspondence, the authenticity of which is confirmed by The Insider, in 2005 she already corresponded with her curator — an employee of the St. Petersburg FSB Dmytry Hladei (he is now a 74-year-old retired veteran).
The investigation's authors write that in 2005, Zhdanok sent documents to his e-mail about planned events in Estonia. The correspondence also made known that the woman often met Gladei in Europe and Moscow.
In the letters, she mainly talked about her activities in Europe, which were related to criticism of the authorities of the Baltic countries. In 2010, she asked to send 6,000 dollars to purchase St. George's ribbons and other paraphernalia for Victory Day.
In a conversation with The Insider, Zhdanok confirmed that she knew Gladey but denied knowing about his involvement in the FSB.
After 2013, the woman sent similar letters to Sergei Krasin. Journalists note that this is FSB officer Serhiy Beltyukov.
She also asked to issue a Schengen visa to another alleged FSB employee, Artem Kureyev.
The mandate of Tetyana Zhdanok, a member of the European Parliament, ends in 2024. She was previously expelled from the European faction of the Greens after refusing to condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
