[quibono]

I'm not sure we'll ever get any clear data on this but I don't think this is a very outlandish claim.

[jojobas]

Data from numerous defectors is clear enough, Russian secret services don't normally employ female officers for client-facing work.

[red-iron-pine]

if by 'client facing' you mean assassination then perhaps.

but plenty of not-men out there doing SVR work. Anna Chapman comes to mind, or the little lady who was making friends with the NRA and all of those GOP politicians...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Chapman

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Butina

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illegals_Program

[jojobas]

Chapman and Butina are by no means intelligence officers, they were assets with minimal training.

I'll grant you illegals in general, those are typically married couples.

[FreshStart]

The had a gay couple though to murder scripal. As if the sex or gender mattered regarding this topic. Cheap discussion subversion by tankies running out of arguments.

[jojobas]

That's a hoax, they were both identified as straight married men as far as we can tell. They also both fall into the "army officer recruited after few years of active duty" GRU pattern.

They got a prostitute the night before their botched Salisbury trip, rather than shag each other. The whole gay bit came from their Russian TV ruse appearance.