Estonia deports Russian analyst over alleged intelligence ties. He is banned from the Schengen Area

The information has been provided by the Estonian news outlet Delfi. The Estonian Police and Border Guard Board (PPA), acting on a request from the Internal Security Service (KAPO), deported the Russian national early Monday morning and imposed an entry ban covering the entire Schengen Area.

According to Estonia’s counterintelligence service, the deportation was intended to prevent and counter activities threatening Estonia’s security and, more broadly, that of Europe.

KAPO spokesperson Marta Tuul told Delfi that Karabeshkin maintained extensive contacts with Russian intelligence services and individuals working on their behalf. She stressed that cooperation with Russian intelligence agencies is prohibited under Estonian law.

Tuul also alleged that Karabeshkin had provided Russian intelligence services with information concerning Estonia’s Russian-speaking minority. He reportedly worked as a project manager at the Russian Centre for International and Regional Policy (CIRP), whose events were attended by individuals with backgrounds in Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB).

In a separate statement to Estonia’s public broadcaster ERR, Tuul provided further details about Karabeshkin’s foreign contacts and alleged connections. She said he regularly travelled to Russia, where he met individuals, several of whom have been sanctioned by the European Union and Ukraine for conducting hostile influence operations on behalf of Moscow.

According to KAPO, Karabeshkin was connected to Russian influence networks, including CIRP, RuBaltic and Regnum, as well as individuals associated with these organisations.

Regarding Regnum, Tuul specifically named Sergey Rekeda and Sergey Rudnov, noting that the latter is also subject to sanctions imposed by the United Kingdom and Ukraine.

RuBaltic.Ru and Regnum are Russian media outlets and information and analysis platforms widely regarded as instruments of Russian propaganda and information warfare.

Leonid Karabeshkin, born in 1977 in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), holds a Candidate of Political Sciences degree, broadly equivalent to a PhD, and previously lectured at the EuroAcademy in Tallinn. His academic work focused primarily on Russian foreign policy and political developments across the post-Soviet space, including Moscow’s policies towards the Baltic states and its strategy of “soft power”.