“You Can’t Outsmart A Magician”
1- 13.06.2026, 15:48
- 5,440
What to do if intelligence agencies try to recruit you.
How can you avoid a situation where any communication could be used by law enforcement against you? The hosts of “Morning with Belsat” asked Sergei Ustinov, a human rights activist and member of the “Legal Initiative” organization.
Security forces have always tried to recruit opponents of the government or representatives of circles of interest to them—this is primarily a way to obtain information. Sergei Ustinov attributes the fact that more is now becoming known about these cases to the development of social media and, at times, the willingness of Belarusians to speak out about it once they are already safe outside the country.
Anyone is at risk today, the human rights activist adds. The KGB may take an interest in any sphere of activity involving Belarusians.
“Broad segments of the population participated in the events of 2020, ” he says. People who are more or less active abroad—such as IT professionals who socialize within their circles, creative groups, and training sessions—are all of interest to the regime and serve as sources of information.
Another question is whether they need it or not. That will be decided later, but the more information and informants the security services have, the greater the likelihood of getting what they need.”
As is well known, the KGB looks for vulnerabilities; among those who have left the country, these could be as simple as relatives still in the country or close friends who are political prisoners. LGBT individuals who haven’t come out can be blackmailed by having their private lives exposed. Those facing financial difficulties may be lured with some form of payment in exchange for information.
“If you’ve posted about your problems on social media, it’s not just your friends who know about it—the security services have read it too. They already have a way to get to you. You have to give a person what they want. If they’re withdrawn and have no friends, you have to become their friend. No money? ‘I’ll help you out financially.’ Problems with your passport? “Come to Belarus, we’ll get you a passport, you’ll go back, and you’ll just write to us every now and then.”
“If you agree to this small step, they may pressure you differently from now on: “Now you’re already recruited; if we publish this, people will stop greeting you, you’ll be a nobody, and neither the political nor the activist community will talk to you.” You see, it turns into a huge snowball as soon as you allow for even a little cooperation with the security services.”
That’s why the human rights activist advises not to give in to provocations. According to him, the best option when the security services contact you is to avoid contact altogether.
“The first and biggest mistake is thinking you can outsmart a security officer and engage with them in any way.
Understand this: you can’t outsmart a magician. [KGB agents] are trained in this for many years, from their time in special training facilities through their daily work. They are, so to speak, professional psychologists even without a degree. They interact with a large number of people every day and assess personality types. And when we start talking to them, we give them the opportunity to find the right approach, to press a button, to ask a certain question, to hook us,” Ustinov points out.
If such contact has already taken place, the expert advises making it public: tell colleagues, acquaintances, and preferably the media.
“There is nothing shameful about talking about a conversation with a KGB officer. Yes, people are weak; some have been pressured into something, but there is always the opportunity to say no and openly tell everything,” says the human rights activist.
Any undercover agent loses their usefulness once they’ve been exposed: after all, they’re no longer undercover, so there’s no point in keeping them. Therefore, the main thing to do is to make public the fact that the security services have contacted you.
In principle, there’s no need to fear any consequences, since most threats amount to nothing more than psychological pressure.”
How can you tell if it’s actually a security service agent writing? Messages or questions from unknown people about your personal life, political, or social activities should serve as red flags, says Sergey Ustinov.
“And this is heightened interest, not just someone in a bar asking, ‘What do you do?’ followed by small talk about the weather. The question arises: why is a stranger interested in my personal life?” notes our interlocutor, adding: “I think we’ll hear many more stories like this.”
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