Surveillance and Constant Paranoia: Western Diplomats Describe Life in Wartime Moscow

“Being the ambassador to Russia was probably the hardest assignment of my career,” says Lynne Tracy, who represented the United States in Moscow from 2023 to 2025. Five Western diplomats who have served in Russia since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine describe a working life of constant surveillance and isolation that they compare to the Cold War era.

US, UK and European diplomats once played a crucial role in Russia, defusing tensions even at the worst moments of the Cold War. Now, deemed “unfriendly” by President Vladimir Putin's government, Western ambassadors are under constant surveillance, isolated and increasingly cut off from the country they were sent to understand, as the war in Ukraine grinds on through its fifth year.

The diplomats 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 used to track officials. A wooden replica of the Great Seal of the United States, given to the American ambassador in 1945, was later found to contain a listening device.

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 many embassies short-staffed. Former French ambassador Pierre Lévy and Lynne Tracy are among those who spoke about their time in Moscow.

Tracy's 30-year career took her to countries like Pakistan, where she survived an armed attack in 2008. Yet she says that even under constant physical threat, her posting in Peshawar was in a sense easier than Russia, because there she still felt some things were within her control. What made Moscow more difficult was the high level of uncertainty, whose primary source was constant pressure from Russian counterintelligence.

“Expect listening devices, expect cameras in every single room of your house,” one former European diplomat says of the warning he received before leaving for Moscow. Another ex-ambassador says they were forced to dismiss two Russian employees after the FSB, Moscow's domestic security service, tried to recruit them to report on everything at the mission; the pair told the embassy instead, and were let go because otherwise they could have faced criminal prosecution.

Russians who would ordinarily build relationships with diplomatic staff — in academia and culture, for example — are also being intimidated into avoiding contact with Western officials. One former ambassador says his guests were once tailed by FSB agents right up to the doors of the embassy. In June, guests invited to the British ambassador's residence in Moscow for the King's birthday celebrations said they were harassed by pro-Kremlin activists and state-media journalists and then questioned by police; one guest has since declined several invitations to Western embassy events out of fear.

One former ambassador says “constant paranoia” has driven a number of officials to quit their jobs, and that even after leaving Russia himself, he was still looking over his shoulder. Russian diplomats in the West also complain of unfair treatment, but according to the diplomats who served in Moscow, the scope and tactics of Russia's intelligence services are far greater.

In the immediate aftermath of the invasion, there were discussions across Europe about whether to recall ambassadors or stop working in Russia altogether. Pierre Lévy remembers calling Paris immediately to say pulling their envoys would be a mistake, feeling that the worse relations became, the more important they would be. Another ex-European ambassador says the invasion quickly transformed their work: the cooperation required for bilateral relations, trade and joint projects was now impossible.

For those who stayed, the war brought new priorities beyond supporting their own citizens and companies. Countries viewed as unfriendly by Moscow still wanted at least some channel of communication with Russian officials to get an accurate picture of what was happening inside the country — while also protecting their staff and keeping their embassies functioning.

The day-to-day difficulties were sometimes absurd. After Russia's 2021 ban on hiring foreign nationals, the US embassy's facilities team was left significantly understaffed, so even a leaking pipe could become a major problem. One diplomat who raised staffing shortages with a Russian official was advised not to get too upset: “At least you still have the chef.” Western sanctions then cut Russian banks off from the Swift payment network and Mastercard and Visa suspended operations in Russia, leaving many embassies struggling with basic expenses; one former ambassador recalls running out of cash and being unable to pay staff, until another diplomat who was selling his car after being expelled brought rubles to the embassy in a suitcase. “It's completely insane,” he laughs. “But you had to look at it with a sense of humour.”

Russian officials make little secret of their attitude towards Western diplomats, openly accusing those from “unfriendly countries” of espionage. Moscow has been particularly critical of diplomats who show interest in dissent against the Kremlin, and Russian journalist Alexei Venediktov says most Russian officials have effectively been banned from speaking to Western embassies. Venediktov recalls telling Russian officials that they were being misunderstood precisely because of their own actions — because ambassadors cannot do their jobs.

Today, Moscow has little to no contact with many Western governments, one ex-European ambassador says: “There are no calls, no meetings at ministerial level.” But they say this has made diplomats all the more important, left with the responsibility to communicate their governments' positions to Moscow. As one of them put it: “Generals prove what they can do during a war. The same is true for diplomats. When things get really difficult, every single thing you do actually matters.”

Lynne Tracy left Moscow in 2025 feeling she had accomplished her primary mission: the US Embassy had held firm. She is also proud of the work she and her team did to maintain connections between Americans and ordinary Russians. “Because at some point, government-to-government relations will have a chance to improve — and those ties between people will be there to help speed the improvement.”