My guess is different: I think the instructions they were given reflect the mentality of the current Russian elite, many of whose members were once members of the KGB. In its time, the KGB did not believe that elections could be truly free — so-called bourgeois democracy was always held to be a fiction — and neither does a part of the current Russian ruling class. In its time, the KGB did not believe in the free circulation of information, either — the so-called free press was always held to be a tool of the capitalist exploiters — and neither does a part of the current Russian ruling class.

By contrast, secret information, according to the old KGB way of thinking, is “better,” or at least more reliable, than anything the American government would make public. Hence Moscow Center’s pleasure when one of its U.S. spies sent an analysis of the gold market — even though such analyses are freely available in the Wall Street Journal. Hence Moscow Center’s enthusiasm for contacts with American think tanks — even though American think tanks actually compete to publish their best information as quickly and as prominently as possible. Hence Moscow Center’s desire to befriend Harvard professors — as if a Harvard professor wouldn’t share his views with any old Russian diplomat who knocked on his door.