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The Russian diplomat found dead in the Greek Cyprus Administration (GCA) on Jan. 8 was a military intelligence officer, according to Dmitry Khmelnitsky, a researcher of Russian foreign influence and author of "Russian Influence Agents in Germany."
Khmelnitsky identified the deceased as Alexei Panov, the third secretary of the Russian Federation Embassy in Greek Cyprus, using information from the Greek Cyprus diplomatic directory.
Based on an analysis of the embassy's records, Khmelnitsky stated Panov held the rank of captain in the GRU, Russia's military intelligence service.
"Before his transfer to Greek Cyprus, Panov worked in Moscow at an institute connected to radio technology, where his wife possibly also worked," Khmelnitsky said. At the embassy, Panov's duties included "maintenance and operation of espionage equipment within the embassy and possibly outside it," the researcher assessed.
The Russian embassy announced Panov's death on Facebook on Jan. 8, stating, "We regret to inform you that our colleague A.V. Panov passed away on Jan. 8."
Khmelnitsky emphasized that while Panov died on Jan. 8, the embassy did not publicize the information until Jan. 12—a four-day delay. The embassy prevented Greek Cypriot police from entering the building and did not hand over the alleged suicide note to authorities.
"If the cause of suicide was purely personal, it is unclear why the embassy concealed his death for so many days. This indicates something put them in an extremely difficult position and consultations with Moscow took place for four days.
I do not rule out the possibility that he was preparing an escape, which was discovered and 'prevented'—something absolutely typical for Soviet and Russian intelligence services," Khmelnitsky said.
Khmelnitsky noted that Russian embassies have always functioned more as information centers than as classic diplomatic missions. Today, as diplomacy "has been reduced to the absolute minimum," espionage is "almost the only object of their activity," he said.
The Russian embassy in Greek Cyprus currently has eight advisors at the rank of colonel level, according to Khmelnitsky, "not counting the first, second and third secretaries."
The four-day delay in announcing the death, non-cooperation with Greek Cypriot authorities, and failure to hand over the suicide note constitute a serious departure from standard diplomatic practice and violate the Vienna Convention, constituting an institutional irregularity.
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