Across from Vladimir Alexeyev, General of Russia’s Military Intelligence Service (GRU), Bulat Ianborissov, 53, beaming, receives the Medal of the Order of Alexander Nevsky, a 13th-century Russian hero known for his military victories. On this April 22, 2022, the reward recognizing a long service for the Russian Armed Forces will be linked on his suit jacket with the Order of Bravery, an award given for brave deeds. “State awards are not easy to win,” explains the senior GRU official. In particular, those awarded by decree of the President of the Russian Federation for contribution to the nation’s defense capabilities and for the success of several special operations. »
A total of four men and one woman receive this honor for “the important mission” carried out on the orders of Vladimir Putin. True to Russian military traditions, Bulat Ianborissov then places his regalia in a glass of vodka before drinking it. At the end of this short ceremony, which was filmed with a mobile phone and the video of which was made available to the German weekly Der Spiegel, the Russian media Insider and Le Monde, the general concluded: “They say that all differences cannot be found their hero , but this one made it to you, congratulations. »
This Russian hero happens to live incognito with his wife and two children in Paris, in the 17th arrondissement, near the Parc Monceau. He drives back and forth between France and the rest of the world with complete impunity, with unexpected coverage: that of the boss of the Silk Way Rally, a car race organized between Russia and China that follows the route of the former Silk Road and part of the offices are located in Paris.
A competition in the service of “Russian soft power”
Boulat Ianborissov settled in the French capital from 2014, partly to direct this rally, which brings together close to 200 drivers, including the biggest European teams such as Peugeot or Volkswagen. In May of the same year he received a residence permit from the Paris Prefecture, which allowed him to move about freely. In early 2022 alone, the spy, who holds a Cypriot passport in addition to his Russian passport, traveled to Russia at least twelve times.
In Paris, he regularly organizes dinners with the French executives of the Silk Way Rally organizing team near his home in west Paris. Among them, Luc Alphand, former ski champion-turned-car racer, was hired as Silk Way Rally’s sporting director before resigning at the start of the war in Ukraine. Reached by phone, he insists on emphasizing his “sporting” role in this “beautiful race” and seems to have difficulty understanding that his former employer is in fact a spy. “Oh! my god,” he said.
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