Vyacheslav Yefimov, who holds both Russian and Estonian citizenship, was found guilty by Tartu County Court in a plea bargain of giving information that damages Estonia's national security to the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSB) from 2022 to 2025. The verdict has not yet entered into force.

Yefimov lived in Pechory, Russia, but worked as a security guard in Estonia at the Koidula border crossing waiting area in Võru County, southern Estonia.

His Estonian salary was several times higher than the average wage in the Pskov region, and so crossing the Russian-Estonian border easily was very important to him. Yefimov feared the FSB threatened his right to do so or take away his passport if he did not agree.

Signed contract

According to the court ruling, Yefimov agreed no later than fall 2022 to secretly cooperate with FSB officer Nikolai Tarassov (33). He signed a cooperation agreement obligating him to participate in the FSB's agent-operational work and was aware of whom he was cooperating with.

The cooperation continued until Yefimov's arrest on September 10, 2025. During that time, he repeatedly met with Tarassov in person and communicated with him by phone and on the WhatsApp messaging app.

On 15 to 20 of these occasions, he passed on specific intelligence information as requested.

According to the charges, Yefimov collected and transmitted information about operations at the Koidula border checkpoint, its personnel, border infrastructure, and activities in the border area.

This information included details on the waiting area and border guard staff, their residences and vehicles, construction and electrical work, cable and mast installations, and observations of drone and military equipment movement.

During questioning at the Estonian Internal Security Service (ISS/KAPO), Yefimov expressed regret for engaging in the cooperation. He said he feared that refusing would cause him problems at Russia's Kunichina Gora border checkpoint and prevent him from earning a higher salary in Estonia.

Public information valuable to intelligence services

District prosecutor for economic and corruption crimes Gerd Raudsepp told ERR that Yefimov's disproves the common misconception that only the transmission of state secrets is punishable.

"It is often mistakenly believed that if a person does not pass on state secrets, then no crime has been committed. In fact, it is also punishable to knowingly collect and transmit information that is not secret in itself but is requested and used by a foreign intelligence service," Raudsepp said.

He said the key factor is the knowledge of whose interests the information serves.

"If someone knows that their conversation partner is an FSB officer and acts in line with that service's objectives, this is not a casual conversation but a deliberate contribution to espionage activity against Estonia," the prosecutor added.

ISS Deputy Director General Taavi Narits stressed that if someone falls victim to a Russian intelligence service, they should contact the ISS.

Bribery conviction

Yefimov was also involved in a bribery scheme at the Koidula border checkpoint.

Between March and November 2024, the security guard was found to have given bribes on at least three occasions to another employee in the waiting area so that trucks connected to an acquaintance of his could bypass the queue.

The total amount of the bribes was at least €150.

The investigation into this corruption scheme led to Yefimov's arrest and enabled law enforcement to uncover the broader scope of his anti-Estonian activity.

Narits warned people about offering bribes and said many people who live on the Russian side of the border but work in Estonia are susceptible.

"Unfortunately, such individuals often bring with them to Estonia a mindset of corruption that is taken for granted in Russian culture," he explained.

This mindset enables a hostile foreign power to more easily compromise and recruit individuals, which the ISS considers a direct security threat.

Exposing FSB agents

The ISS said this was a "successful" counterintelligence operation, during which not only the agent but also a specific FSB officer responsible for recruiting collaborators in Estonia was identified.

The security agency believes publicly naming these individuals is important, as it raises awareness among Estonian residents crossing the border.

Disclosing the identities of FSB officers operating at the border and profiling potential recruits helps prevent Estonian residents from falling into danger and strengthens national security.

"Our goal is not only to expose agents, but also to identify the FSB officers who manage and recruit them. This is a very important outcome from a counterintelligence standpoint," Narits said.

Cooperation will not go unnoticed

Yefimov admitted guilt to both crimes and cooperated with the investigation, which the court took into consideration when determining the sentence.

However, the prosecutor's office deemed it necessary to seek actual imprisonment, emphasizing the general preventive aim of the punishment. The court agreed.

Prosecutor Raudsepp said that such cases must serve as a clear warning: "The hope that cooperation with a foreign intelligence service will go unnoticed is naive. Sooner or later, such activity will come to light."

Narits added that each exposed agent and each identified handler strengthens Estonia's security.

"For the FSB, recruited individuals are replaceable. But for Estonia, every uncovered agent and every identified handler is a step toward a stronger and more secure state," Narits said.

The prosecutor's office and the ISS urge anyone approached by foreign intelligence services or experiencing recruitment attempts to immediately report it to the Estonian authorities.

Narits said Yefimov should have informed the agency immediately when the FSB approached him with a proposal to cooperate. "We certainly would have found a solution for Yefimov to get out of that situation," he told Postimees.

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