A MUST READ post on how old the honey trap system rusns in russia and how effective it is. Translated by AI from Ukrainian so you don't have to. Poland’s Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski, after yet another wave of confirmations that everything Epstein was involved in was part of a Russian honey-trap operation, asked a very natural question: “Can the SVR really be that effective?”My answer is simple: yes, of course it can. This is what they’ve been doing for over a century.At the same time, I fully understand Minister Sikorski’s disbelief. It is genuinely hard to grasp just how massive the activity of Russian intelligence has turned out to be. To better understand the scale of the disaster, here is a brief historical overview of the honey-trap program.“Honey traps” have been a distinct operational direction since the days of the NKVD. It is reliably known that during the KGB era, this line of work was handled by the First Chief Directorate (PGU) of the KGB, which alone shows how seriously the Soviets took it. They never spared resources for this program, and it eventually became one of the most effective intelligence tools they had.One of the most famous examples is the “romance” between Albert Einstein and Margarita Konenkova.When they first met in 1935, Einstein was 56 and Konenkova was 39. She was the wife of the well-known sculptor Sergey Konenkov, who just “happened” to be commissioned to create a sculpture of Einstein. From the very first day, Margarita barely left the scientist’s side, and their “romance” took off almost immediately.Thanks to her natural charm, Margarita subtly instilled in Einstein ideas useful to the Party, cultivated his affection for Russian culture, and even persuaded him to meet with the Soviet consul. What strangely prevented Albert from becoming a formal informant was Stalin himself, who believed that Einstein would be far more useful to the Soviet Union as a “useful idiot.”In 1945, Konenkova and her family were recalled to the USSR, and she and Einstein never saw each other again. The quality of her work can be judged by the fact that Einstein secretly wrote dozens of love poems for her.Another striking example of Soviet intelligence effectiveness was Eleanor Roosevelt’s lover, who turned out to be an NKVD agent and became her “emotional support” after she learned of her husband’s infidelity. Through her, another Soviet agent, Alger Hiss (later convicted by the House Un-American Activities Committee), persuaded President Roosevelt not to demand security guarantees or free democratic elections for Poland and all territories occupied by Soviet troops.Hiss also convinced the U.S. president not to pressure Stalin on human rights or to soften the cannibalistic nature of the Soviet regime. As a result, American aid to the USSR in the fight against Nazi Germany was not tied to any requirements for democratization or a reduction in repression.De facto, Alger Hiss, as head of the Office of Special Political Affairs responsible for strategic planning, became the chief American negotiator at the Yalta Conference, where the fate of post-war Europe was decided. He was also directly involved in shaping the United Nations in a way extremely favorable to the USSR.The outcome of the actions of Eleanor Roosevelt and Alger Hiss was the following:• The Allies sold Poland to the Soviet Union, effectively handing it back to the claws of the Russian Empire. This was an absolutely unacceptable act, especially considering that Britain entered the war precisely because of the joint German-Soviet invasion of Poland. Polish pilots, meanwhile, quite literally saved Britain from total defeat in the air.• Hundreds of thousands of people who had fled westward from NKVD persecution were deported back to the Soviet Union, where their fate was unknown.In more recent times, a strikingly successful honey-trap example is Elena Zhukova, the mother-in-law of oligarch Roman Abramovich, who married media magnate Rupert Murdoch. His empire includes some of the world’s largest media outlets, such as The Wall Street Journal, Fox, and The Times.As for Epstein himself, we see another vivid example in Ghislaine Maxwell, a likely FSB asset. Her direct ties to Russian intelligence have not been formally proven, but all the facts point in that direction.Ghislaine Maxwell was the daughter of Soviet spy Robert Maxwell. She was arrested by the FBI in July 2020 and charged with recruiting and trafficking minors for sexual exploitation. In December 2021, she was found guilty on five of six counts, including human trafficking. In June 2022, she was sentenced to 20 years in prison.Maxwell met Jeffrey Epstein in the early 1990s at a party in New York, and they immediately clicked. Her connections, inherited from her father, were extremely valuable to Epstein. In return, Ghislaine gained access to the powerful of this world, from Prince Andrew to Trump.How Maxwell operated:• She identified vulnerable young girls, often from poor families, in spas and schools• Prepared them for Epstein’s “massages”• Personally trained them in sexual practices• Normalized abuse through her presence as an “older woman”• Managed logistics between Epstein’s residences• Occasionally participated in the abuse herselfThis looks remarkably similar to the training of KGB operatives later deployed in seduction operations.In addition, virtually every major hotel the KGB could access had special rooms equipped with surveillance and video recording. Once a target was compromised, the recordings were shown and cooperation was forced.I am certain that we know only a fraction of the successful honey-trap cases. But here are a few more high-profile examples:William John Christopher Vassall (1924–1996), a clerk at the British Admiralty.Isolated because of his homosexuality, which was then a criminal offense, and humiliated socially at the embassy, Vassall became an easy target. On March 19, 1955, he was invited to a party, intoxicated, and photographed in compromising positions with several men. Under blackmail, he agreed to cooperate and passed thousands of classified documents on British radar technology, torpedoes, and anti-submarine systems. Once used up, he was discarded and later sentenced in Britain to 18 years in prison.Maurice Dejean (1899–1982), French ambassador to the USSR and a personal friend of Charles de Gaulle.The operation involved over 100 KGB officers under the direction of Oleg Gribanov. After an initial failed attempt to entrap Dejean through Khovanskaya, the KGB deployed actress Larisa Kronberg-Sobolevskaya. During a rendezvous, her “husband” (a KGB agent) burst in and brutally beat the ambassador.Shaken, Dejean turned to a “Soviet friend,” who was also a KGB agent. The “husband” threatened to file a police report. To avoid scandal, Dejean sought help from his Moscow contacts, who were happy to assist. That same evening, he met Gribanov, introduced as an adviser to the head of the USSR Council of Ministers. In exchange for help, Dejean was asked for a small favor. Thus began a long-term collaboration between the French ambassador and the KGB.Sergeant Clayton J. Lonetree (born 1961), U.S. Marine guard at the American embassy in Moscow.KGB agent Violetta Seina met Lonetree at a Marine Corps Ball in November 1985, on the eve of the Gorbachev–Reagan summit. The romance turned into recruitment. Lonetree passed embassy floor plans in Moscow and Vienna, names and photos of nine CIA officers, and a telephone directory.John Watkins (1902–1964), Canadian ambassador to the USSR.Watkins was photographed during a homosexual encounter with an agent codenamed “Kamal.” The KGB demanded he remain “friendly” to Soviet interests. Watkins informed Ottawa but concealed the sexual nature of the incident. After defectors exposed the case, the RCMP interrogated him in Paris and London. On October 12, 1964, Watkins died of a heart attack during questioning in a Montreal hotel.James Hudson, Deputy Consul General of the United Kingdom in Yekaterinburg.A 4-minute-18-second video titled “The Adventures of Mr. Hudson in Russia” appeared on
http://informacia.ru/, showing Hudson in a hotel room with two women, champagne, and sex. The site hinted at additional material involving gambling and “light drugs.”Béla Kovács, Hungarian MEP (2010–2019).This case involved a true veteran of honey-trap operations, Svetlana Istoshina, who was simultaneously married to a Japanese nuclear physicist, an Austrian criminal, and Kovács himself.Kovács met Svetlana in Tokyo around 1979–1980. His father later confirmed that a Hungarian intelligence officer warned him she was a KGB courier. She traveled extensively across Europe and Asia on “missions.” As an MEP, Kovács made monthly trips to Moscow, organized visits of the Jobbik party leadership to Russia, and observed the 2014 “referendum” in Crimea. I am convinced he played a significant role in shaping today’s Hungarian–Ukrainian relations.Viktor Shenderovich, Mikhail Fishman, Ilya Yashin, Roman Dobrokhotov, and other opposition figures.Gerasimova systematically seduced Kremlin critics, inviting them to an apartment fitted with hidden cameras, offering threesomes, cocaine, and marijuana. Video of Shenderovich was released two days before his daughter’s wedding. It is claimed that Yashin and Dobrokhotov recognized the trap and escaped, though judging by Yashin’s own statements, I would not be so sure.NRA leadership, Republican politicians, Trump’s circle.Agent: Maria Butina (born 198

, founder of the “Right to Bear Arms” organization. Butina systematically infiltrated the NRA and conservative circles, attending conventions as a “special guest.” In July 2015, she personally asked Trump about sanctions against Russia. She lived with Republican operative Paul Erickson, twice her age, which prosecutors described as a “necessary aspect of her activity.” She was sentenced in April 2019 to 18 months for conspiracy and acting as an unregistered foreign agent, and deported to Russia in October 2019.David Franklin Slater (63–64), retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel who worked at U.S. Strategic Command.In August 2021, an FSB agent posing as a Ukrainian contacted him. Slater held TOP SECRET clearance and attended classified briefings on Russia’s war against Ukraine. Via a dating site messenger, he passed classified information on military targets and Russian capabilities through April 2022. He pleaded guilty in July 2025 to conspiracy to disclose national defense information and faces up to 10 years in prison.A huge number of honey-trap operations remain undiscovered and are still active. And this is only one method used by the FSB. There is also blackmail, bribery, assassinations, and more.This is not hopelessness. It is a danger that must be recognized and confronted methodically.