Russia that has actively exploited the OSCE, following Crimea’s annexation and the beginning of Donbas invasion, does not leave attempts to infiltrate this international institution, as it seeks to get control and appoint its protégé to senior position at the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly. The Kremlin is eager to get the post of the OSCE PA Vice-President.
OSCE PA Secretary General Roberto Montella is lobbying for personnel promotion for Daria Boyarskaya, 37, representing Russia. That was for her that Montella urged to create the OSCE PA Secretariat in Vienna, Austria in 2021.
She joined the Vienna Liaison Office in February 2021.
There is no evidence Montella is tied to the Kremlin, so far. But the fact he worked at the OSCE missions in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, and Montenegro, has Serbian wife Ivana, suggests he might have been in contact with the Russians in the Balkans, where they got his psychological profile to lay ground for recruitment or cooperation.
Daria Boyarskaya’s infiltration into Montella’s entourage, as she is certainly tied to Russian intelligence, points to that.
Daria Boyarskaya worked at the Russian Foreign Ministry and accompanied President Putin and Foreign Minister Lavrov during their visits abroad. She was an interpreter at Putin’s meeting with former US President Donald Trump. That contradicts Russian practice, as the Department of Linguistic Support of Russia’s Foreign Ministry provides interpreters for top-level meetings. There are only 6 people who translate at meetings with English-speaking politicians.
Daria Boyarskaya did not work for that department, however. She was a Counsellor at the North America Desk for a while, which might have also been used as a cover for intelligence.
No doubt she was promoted to work at official meetings to get ready for operational field tasks, as Butina and Anna Chapman did. Boyarskaya is known to have accompanied Putin during talks with Helge Lund, the head of Statoil.
Fiona Hill, the ex-adviser to the former US president on Russia, suggested Putin specifically chose an “attractive brunette” as his interpreter to distract Donald Trump at a meeting in Japan in 2019.Stephanie Grisham, the ex-president’s spokeswoman, shared the same opinion.
That hypothesis seems to be true, as Russian intelligence has often used women for the missions to create a compromising situation, obtain information, lay ground for recruitment, undercover work using a “honey trap”. There was unusually active feedback by Russian state media affiliated with Russia’s Defense Ministry to Fiona Hill’s idea. Such feedback was not appropriate for the occasion and the words the ex-adviser to the US President had said.
Fiona Hill’s hypothesis on Boyarskaya’s special mission during the meeting between the Presidents of Russia and the United States seems convincing, therefore.
Provocative pictures of Miss Boyarskaya on Instagram also speak in favor of that hypothesis. She posted them in 2020, that is, after The Sun and some other world media had actively promoted her appearance, which is again contrary to the logic of a state civil employee who is eager to put an end to the media scandal as soon as possible.
They were unlikely to percolate on the social accounts of a civil servant who is recruited to work at top international level. That is most likely an intentional information operation to generate interest in a particular person and draw more attention to her by male intelligence targets. Some of those pictures were taken at a photo shoot in Vienna, with Boyarskaya already heading the OSCE PA International Secretariat.
US President Donald Trump said that Russian President Vladimir Putin described him beauty of Russian prostitutes, The Hill reported, citing memoir by former FBI chief James Comey’ “A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, and Leadership.” That fact indicates the Kremlin still sticks to the tactics of “honey trap” for intelligence operations.
That way, Montella is likely to repeat the story of Count Galeazzo Ciano, who was a victim to intelligence, falling into a “honey trap”.
The position that Montella created for Boyarskaya fits perfectly for intelligence mission. Under the general guidance of the Special Representative and the overall leadership of the Secretary General, the Head of the OSCE PA Vienna Office ensures operational contacts, co-operation and co-ordination with parliaments, governments, and stakeholders from participating CIS States. She gained the ability to control the representatives of parliaments and governments in much of the post-Soviet space.
Boyarskaya also assists OSCE PA regional Special Representatives for Eastern Europe, the South Caucasus and Central Asia as well as the respective regional Focal Points at the International Secretariat.
She also assists with preparations and the undertaking of official visits by OSCE PA officials and supports election observation missions. That task is crucial for the Russians, as they harmfully interfere in democratic elections held by foreign nations.
The head of the International Secretariat in Vienna also provides interpretation and translation services from Russian into English and vice versa. She acts as an interpreter at meetings, conferences, election observation missions and workshops according to the needs. That provides full details of the progress of the talks with foreign delegations and OSCE representatives.That way, Boyarskaya’s motivation for promotion within the OSCE PA needs closer examination, as do her ties to Russian intelligence.
