Surveillance and 'constant paranoia': Western diplomats tell BBC of life in war-time Moscow

ByLiza Fokht Senior reporter, BBC News Russian.

Key points

• "Being the ambassador to Russia was probably the hardest assignment of my career, " Lynne Tracy, who represented the US in Moscow from 2023 and 2025, tells the BBC.
• Tracy's 30-year career took her to countries like Pakistan, where she survived an armed attack in 2008.
• Lynne Tracy left Moscow in 2025 feeling she had accomplished her primary mission: the US Embassy had held firm.
• Hundreds of Russian diplomats were expelled from countries in Europe and the US after the war began in 2022.
• After Russia's ban on hiring foreign nationals in 2021, the US embassy's facilities team was left significantly understaffed.

US, UK and European diplomats once played a crucial role in Russia, defusing tensions even at the worst moments of the Cold War.

As the war in Ukraine grinds on through its fifth year, but now, deemed "unfriendly" by President Vladimir Putin's administration, Western ambassadors are under constant surveillance, isolated and increasingly cut off from the country they were sent to understand.

Meanwhile, the BBC has spoken to five diplomats who have served in Russia since it introduced its full-scale invasion.

They compare current pressure levels to the Cold War era – when Western embassies were monitored through physical surveillance, listening devices hidden inside gifts, and "spy dust" – a near invisible chemical agent applied to track office-holders.

Hundreds of Russian diplomats were expelled from countries in Europe and the US after the war began in 2022. Moscow responded in kind, declaring hundreds of Western diplomats persona non grata and leaving plenty of embassies short-staffed.

Tracy's 30-year career took her to countries like Pakistan, where she survived an armed attack in 2008. But she notes that even under constant physical threat, her posting in Peshawar was, in a sense, easier than Russia.

"There, I still felt that there were things within my control. What created Moscow more challenging were the high levels of uncertainty."

Meanwhile, the constant pressure from Russian counterintelligence was the primary source of such uncertainty, she recalls.

Russian diplomats in the West additionally complain of such unfair treatment. But according to the diplomats who spoke to the BBC, the scope and tactics of Moscow's intelligence services are far greater.

"Expect listening devices, expect cameras in every single room of your house, " a former European diplomat notes of the warning he received before leaving for Moscow.

Another ex-ambassador notes they were forced to dismiss two Russian employees after Moscow's domestic security service, the FSB, tried to recruit them, demanding that they report on everything going on at the diplomatic mission.

Notably, the pair informed the embassy instead. This person let them go – "otherwise, they could have faced some sort of criminal prosecution".

Meanwhile, Russians who would ordinarily build relationships with diplomatic staff – such as those working in academia and culture – are additionally being intimidated into avoiding contact with Western office-holders.

One former ambassador notes his guests were once "tailed" by FSB agents right up to the doors of the embassy. Inside the shadowy world of anti-Putin sabotage from within Russia.

Europe targeted by spiralling campaign of sabotage – and Russia is the chief suspect. They fled Russia, but the West sent them back.

Just this June, guests invited to the British ambassador's residence in Moscow for the King's birthday celebrations remarked they had been harassed by pro-Kremlin activists and state-media journalists, and then questioned by the police.

One of the guests notes he has since declined a number of invitations to events at Western embassies out of fear. Not everyone can accord with the pressure.

One former ambassador notes "constant paranoia" has driven a number of authorities to quit their jobs. Even after leaving Russia himself, he adds, he was looking over his shoulder for months.

'Generals prove what they can do in war. The same is true for diplomats'.

In the immediate aftermath of the invasion, there were discussions throughout Europe concerning whether to recall ambassadors or stop working in Russia altogether, notes former French ambassador Pierre Lévy.

He remembers calling Paris immediately to say pulling their envoys would be a mistake, feeling that the worse relations became, the more significant they would be.

For context, the invasion rapidly transformed their work, states another ex-European ambassador; the co-operation required for their usual efforts on bilateral relations, trade and joint projects was now impossible.

And for those who stayed in Russia, the war left them with a host of new priorities beyond supporting their own citizens and firms.

Firstly, countries viewed as unfriendly by Moscow still wanted at least some channel of communication with Russian authorities to secure an accurate picture of what was happening inside the country.

But they additionally had to protect their staff and keep their embassies functioning.

After Russia's ban on hiring foreign nationals in 2021, the US embassy's facilities team was left significantly understaffed. Еven a minor plumbing matter like a leaking pipe could turn into a major challenge, draining the time of diplomatic workers.

One diplomat recalls discussing staffing shortages with a Russian official. This person advised him not to obtain too upset. "He said, 'at least you still have the chef'."

Financial sanctions imposed by Western governments to backing Ukraine created different day-to-day difficulties. After Russian banks were cut off from the Swift payment network, and Mastercard and Visa suspended operations in Russia, plenty of embassies struggled with basic operating expenses.

In practice, a former ambassador recalls simply running out of cash and being unable to pay his staff – until another diplomat. This person was selling his car after being expelled, brought the rubles to the embassy in a suitcase.

"It's completely insane, " the diplomat laughs. "But you had to look at it with a sense of humour."

Russian authorities produce little secret of their attitude towards Western diplomats. They have openly accused those from "unfriendly countries" of engaging in "espionage".

Moscow has been particularly critical of those who show an interest in expressions of dissent against the Kremlin and, according to Russian journalist Alexei Venediktov, has effectively banned most Russian authorities from speaking to Western embassies.

This has only worsened relations with the West, notes Venediktov. This person recalls telling Russian office-holders: "You are being misunderstood precisely because of your own actions – because ambassadors cannot do their jobs."

Today, Moscow has little to no contact with plenty of Western governments, states one ex-European ambassador. "There are no calls, no meetings at ministerial level."

But they say this has created diplomats all the more notable, left with the responsibility to communicate their governments' positions to Moscow.

"Generals prove what they can do during a war. The same is true for diplomats. When things obtain really challenging, every single thing you do actually matters."

But she is additionally proud of the work she and her team did to maintain connection between Americans and ordinary Russians.

In short, surveillance and ' constant paranoia' : Western diplomats tell BBC of life in war is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.