Spy story

Virginia Residents Question Whether Their Neighbor Was A Russian Informant

As U.S. and Russian officials cast doubt on the accuracy of U.S. media reports that two years ago the CIA extracted a Russian intelligence asset who allegedly provided top-secret information on President Vladimir Putin, efforts to identify the man led to an estate an hour's drive southwest of Washington, D.C.

No one answered when an RFE/RL reporter rang the doorbell of 78 Partridge Lane in Stafford, Virginia, listed in public records as being owned by Oleg Smolenkov, the same name given by Kommersant and other Russian media as the alleged informant.

The drapes on the windows of the large home on a leafy cul-de-sac were pulled tight, and only a basketball court was visible in the back.

Homeowners in the neighborhood, described by one resident as full of current and former FBI and military personnel, were unable to positively identify the family that lived at the home.