Gleb Karakulov had made up his mind: after 13 years in the Russian Federal Security Service, FSO, he was going to escape – and the opportunity was carefully chosen.
Vladimir Putin was at a conference in Kazakhstan to meet, among others, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Karakulov and his closest colleagues within the FSO were on hand to encrypt and arrange secure communications for the president.
On the last day of the trip, he couldn’t put it off any longer. Together with his wife and daughter, who were also present in Kazakhstan, he made his way to the airport.
Plane delayed
While colleagues were sending messages and wondering where he was staying, the plane was delayed.
– I didn’t dare think about what would happen if we were arrested. My wife was close to a breakdown, says Gleb Karakulov.
SVT Nyheter, together with several other media, has taken part in interviews such as the London-based one excavation editorial office Dossier Center has done with defector Gleb Karakulov.
Hear Karakulov talk about the escape in the video above.
