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TORONTO — Vladimir Putin’s attempt to influence the U.S. election through a campaign of hacks and leaks was unsavory and brazen — which is to say, it was entirely consistent with Russian intelligence operations.

After all, this was the same foreign intelligence apparatus that has repeatedly crept through Canadian cemeteries, looking for the graves of babies so it could steal their identities for its deep-cover spies, known as “illegals.”

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The Russian illegals program is a particularly sinister invention: Highly-trained agents are sent to live as pretend Canadians — to get jobs, raise families, all the while secretly reporting to their handlers in Moscow.

One of the early illegals was Yevgeni Brik, whose story is told in a new book, Shattered Illusions: KGB Cold War Espionage in Canada. Written by former counter-intelligence officer Donald Mahar, it details a plot of deception and betrayal worthy of a spy novel, one that remains relevant in the age of Putin.