The Story of Russian Spy Skripal

What you're seeing is footage from October 2004

of a Russian double agent being arrested

on the scene.

The arrested man's name was

Skripal. He had once been a member of

the Soviet Union's elite paratrooper unit.

Because he was agile and quick-witted,

while still serving in the military,

he caught the attention of the GRU. In 1993,

Skripal was posted to Spain,

where he was chiefly responsible for intelligence work in Europe.

There, he displayed remarkable

professional ability,

and won high praise from his superiors.

But during Yeltsin's time in office,

life for Russian agents stationed abroad

was difficult. Their salaries were often delayed

or not paid at all.

Skripal, who was particularly motivated by money,

was then contacted by British

intelligence,

and became a double agent for MI6

from then on. In 1996,

Skripal returned home for health reasons

and headed the GRU's personnel department.

His new post gave him uniquely favorable conditions

for engaging in espionage.

Over the following years, he leaked to British

MI6 the names of dozens of Russian

undercover agents,

along with their addresses and code names,

earning him 78,000

pounds in payment. In 1999,

Skripal retired with the rank of colonel

and entered the Foreign Ministry,

continuing to cooperate with British intelligence.

Over the next four years,

every so often, he would claim to be seeking

medical treatment, travel to Britain, passing on intelligence

and collecting operational funds.

Before he was arrested,

he had betrayed a total of 300 Russian

agents and leaked about 20,000 top-secret

documents, causing serious damage to Russia's national security

and defense,

and was considered one of the era's most

destructive spies.

Skripal's treason

would have warranted the death penalty in Soviet times,

but considering his poor health and his cooperation

with the investigation, the judge ultimately sentenced

him to only 13 years in prison. In July 2010,

in a U.S.-Russia spy swap,

Skripal regained his freedom

and settled in Salisbury, England.

He thought he could finally live a peaceful life,

but the nightmare was only beginning.

In the years that followed,

Skripal's wife and son died one after the other,

from illness and unexplained causes,

while he and his daughter were also poisoned with a nerve agent,

and the family of four narrowly escaped annihilation.

The British government concluded this was Russia's operation

to eliminate a traitor,

and expelled 23

Russian diplomats as a result.

But Moscow responded

that if it had been their doing,

there would definitely have been no survivors.

The implication is that the poisoning was done by the British

themselves, which both smeared Russia

and let them pay one less pension.

But whoever the killer is,

Skripal probably won't be able to sleep

too soundly in the days ahead.