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Among the most striking allegations contained in the cables, which were leaked to the whistleblowers' website WikiLeaks, are:
• Russian spies use senior mafia bosses to carry out criminal operations such as arms trafficking.
• Law enforcement agencies such as the police, spy agencies and the prosecutor's office operate a de facto protection racket for criminal networks.
• Rampant bribery acts like a parallel tax system for the personal enrichment of police, officials and the KGB's successor, the federal security service (FSB).
• Investigators looking into Russian mafia links to Spain have compiled a list of Russian prosecutors, military officers and politicians who have dealings with organised crime networks.
• Putin is accused of amassing "illicit proceeds" from his time in office, which various sources allege are hidden overseas.
The allegations come hours before Putin was due to address Fifa's executive committee in Zurich in support of Russia's bid to host the 2018 World Cup. Putin last night abruptly cancelled his trip, complaining of a smear campaign to "discredit" Fifa members. In an angry interview with CNN's Larry King Live, recorded before the latest disclosures, Putin also denounced the cables and warned the US not to stick its nose in Russia's affairs.
He made clear he was not amused by a US diplomat's description of him as "Batman" and President Dmitry Medvedev as "Robin". "To be honest with you, we did not suspect that this [criticism] could be made with such arrogance, with such rudeness, and you know, so unethically," Putin remarked.
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The US is not alone in its assessments. In one cable, the Foreign Office's Russia director, Michael Davenport, is quoted as calling Russia a "corrupt autocracy".
The cables also reveal that the Americans believe Putin was likely to have known about the operation to murder Alexander Litvinenko in London in 2006.
The Kremlin has denied involvement but a remark by another US ambassador in Moscow, Williams Burns, sums up US attitudestowards the new Russia: "Whatever the truth may ultimately be [about Litvinenko] – and it may never be known – the tendency here to almost automatically assume that someone in or close to Putin's inner-circle is the author of these deaths speaks volumes about expectations of Kremlin behaviour."
Russia's foreign intelligence chief said yesterday that he would order his spies to study the cables relating to Russia. Mikhail Fradkov, the head of Russia's foreign intelligence service (SVR), told the ITAR-TASS news agency: "There are many issues which have been revealed by the disclosure by WikiLeaks – this is material for analysis. We shall report our conclusions to the leadership of the country."
• Russian spies use senior mafia bosses to carry out criminal operations such as arms trafficking.
• Law enforcement agencies such as the police, spy agencies and the prosecutor's office operate a de facto protection racket for criminal networks.
• Rampant bribery acts like a parallel tax system for the personal enrichment of police, officials and the KGB's successor, the federal security service (FSB).
• Investigators looking into Russian mafia links to Spain have compiled a list of Russian prosecutors, military officers and politicians who have dealings with organised crime networks.
• Putin is accused of amassing "illicit proceeds" from his time in office, which various sources allege are hidden overseas.
The allegations come hours before Putin was due to address Fifa's executive committee in Zurich in support of Russia's bid to host the 2018 World Cup. Putin last night abruptly cancelled his trip, complaining of a smear campaign to "discredit" Fifa members. In an angry interview with CNN's Larry King Live, recorded before the latest disclosures, Putin also denounced the cables and warned the US not to stick its nose in Russia's affairs.
He made clear he was not amused by a US diplomat's description of him as "Batman" and President Dmitry Medvedev as "Robin". "To be honest with you, we did not suspect that this [criticism] could be made with such arrogance, with such rudeness, and you know, so unethically," Putin remarked.
.
The US is not alone in its assessments. In one cable, the Foreign Office's Russia director, Michael Davenport, is quoted as calling Russia a "corrupt autocracy".
The cables also reveal that the Americans believe Putin was likely to have known about the operation to murder Alexander Litvinenko in London in 2006.
The Kremlin has denied involvement but a remark by another US ambassador in Moscow, Williams Burns, sums up US attitudestowards the new Russia: "Whatever the truth may ultimately be [about Litvinenko] – and it may never be known – the tendency here to almost automatically assume that someone in or close to Putin's inner-circle is the author of these deaths speaks volumes about expectations of Kremlin behaviour."
Russia's foreign intelligence chief said yesterday that he would order his spies to study the cables relating to Russia. Mikhail Fradkov, the head of Russia's foreign intelligence service (SVR), told the ITAR-TASS news agency: "There are many issues which have been revealed by the disclosure by WikiLeaks – this is material for analysis. We shall report our conclusions to the leadership of the country."
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