Aspiration Denied

"There is no doubt that Mr. Afanasyev's work as a radio surveillance officer with the 82nd Special Communications Brigade of the Soviet Army constituted a form of espionage.  The job of listening in on Western military radio signals while in the employ of the Soviet Army is, by definition, an act of espionage.
"The fact that Mr. Afanasyev was a conscripted soldier working at the rank of a private4 and that his military employment is now more than 20 years past are of no relevance."
Justice Robert Barnes, Federal Court of Canada

 Sad for Mr. Afanasyev, that his application for landed immigrant status has been turned down.  He must certainly have seemed at first perusal of his application like the perfect candidate.  And he would have been.  As a Ukrainian he would be joining a strong traditional ethnic population that has long made Canada its home.  He had a master's degree in international law and a certificate as an English translator.

If that doesn't sound like a perfect candidate, a perfect fit for Canada to accept as a new Canadian, then what does?  Well, perhaps someone who hadn't been engaged in espionage against democratic governments.  The immigration officer who examined his essentials and who handled Mr. Afanasyev's case uncovered his stint with the Soviet Army's 82nd Special Communications Brigade in East Germany.

Where he was engaged in the very important work of eavesdropping - or spying - on military bases of Canada's NATO allies during the long, miserably fraught years of the Cold War.  Ineligible rang a loud tocsin over the plans of Mr. Afanasyev and his future in Canada.  The immigration officer wrote to him:  "It has been recognized for quite some time in Canada that the GRU is an organization that engages in or has engaged in acts of espionage against democratic governments"

 Canadian immigration considered the communications unit Mr. Afanasyev worked within to be part of the Russian military intelligence directorate, the GRU.  And, as such, Mr.  Afanasyev was tasked with monitoring coded NATO communications.   True, he had little choice, for his was a conscripted occupation, as part of the USSR.

And although Mr. Afanasyev argued that his duties represented military intelligence gathering and not spying, that certainly is a semantic argument as the judge pointed out. 

"The job of listening in on Western military radio signals while in the employ of the Soviet Army is, by definition, an act of espionage.  The fact that Mr. Afanasyev was a conscripted soldier working at the rank of a private and that his military employment is now more than 20 years past are of no relevance", ruled Justice Barnes.

Pity, that.  He would no doubt have distinguished himself as a Canadian citizen of Ukrainian heritage.  But that simply is no longer feasible, with knowledge of such sadly incriminating details. 

Which is what happens when worlds collide.