Alleged Russian spy Kira Korolev posted videos of trips across Australia
A Brisbane woman accused of being a Russian spy talked about the negative aspects of migrating to Australia in a YouTube channel. WATCH THE VIDEO
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A Brisbane woman accused of being a Russian spy talked about the negative aspects of migrating to Australia as she posted videos fossicking for gold on the Fraser Coast, swimming at Noosa and visiting the Devil’s Marbles in the Northern Territory.
Kira Korolev, 40, documented her quiet, unassuming life in Australia on a YouTube channel which has more than 8000 subscribers and videos that have been viewed more than 1.4 million times.
It’s a stark contrast to her life behind bars now after she was arrested alongside husband Igor, 62, on espionage charges amid allegations she used her work as an information systems technician with the Australian Defence Force to share information with the Kremlin.
“Hi all! My name is Kira and I have been living in Australia for 10 years,” she writes in Russian in one caption on a YouTube video.
“In today’s video we will discuss the difficulties of immigration and adaptation in Australia, some of the disadvantages of living here and ask the question: who might not want to move?
“I’m sure there will be comments like ‘why haven’t you left yet...?’.
“I answer: ‘if everything was so bad, then I probably wouldn’t have lived here for 10 years’.
“So the next video will be about the advantages of living in Australia!”
Kira speaks in Russian throughout her videos, explaining in her migration discussion that some might find Australia expensive, that some people are rude and that it is difficult to find work.
She says people might “become very lonely” if they move to the country with only their partner.
She also complains Australians will “burp at the table”, medical care is expensive and people may complain about your work to your boss.
Other videos show her visiting a brewery in Hobart, South Australia’s opal mining town of Coober Pedy, the outback town of Woomera where there is a RAAF base, and Townsville, which she refers to as the country’s crime capital.
She talks of having visited every state in the country and documents her exploration of Broome, Cairns and Canberra.
In March 2020, Kira posted a picture of packing boxes saying she was leaving Wodonga, Victoria – where she and her husband were living before they moved to Brisbane.
“So the day of the final move has come, today the furniture leaves, and tomorrow we’re in the car,” she wrote in Russian.
In 2022, Kira shared with her YouTube community that she was in Russia.
Police will allege it was while in Russia that she shared information with Russian authorities, giving her husband back in Brisbane the login to her ADF account.
“Hi friends! I’m in Moscow now, so the video about the (famous) Australian fence will be a little late ... I’m editing it little by little,” she posted alongside a photo of an icy river running through the city.
A short time later, she shared another update to her community saying that she had returned to Australia.
“Hello everyone! My short trip to my hometown is over, I’m back in Australia ... now work, work, and filming for you,” she wrote.
Kira also mentioned frequent “business trips” she had to embark on.
Two years ago, Kira described her year as becoming “quite difficult”.
“First, I went to Moscow, then almost immediately went on a business trip. Having arrived, I worked very hard and now I’m going on a business trip again, plus on top of everything else, I have to study,” she wrote.
Her last post on Instagram was in January last year.
“What’s up?” a woman posted in Russian about three months ago. “And you stopped posting videos. Have you given up your hobby?”
The couple had been living in a nondescript unit complex in one of the Brisbane’s northern suburbs known for its family-orientated and quiet lifestyle.
Buying the two-bedroom apartment for $360,0000 in Everton Park’s Flockton St in June 2021, Igor and Kira lived a 10-minute drive from Enoggera Barracks.
Two weeks after the property settled, Kira was pictured in Colorado Springs, in the US, as part of a joint military exercise with American, Canadian and British troops.
“Joint exercises,” she replied online in Russian when asked why she was in the US.
Kira posted the photograph at the same time army soldiers from Brisbane’s 7th Combat Brigade joined forces with the US Army, British Army and Canadian Army for a joint war-fighting assessment at Fort Carson, Colorado.
“The aim of the exercise is to assess the readiness of each military to integrate with its multinational partners,” a statement from ADF in June 2021 said.
It is understood ASIO had been monitoring the Everton Park unit complex, described as “resort-style” with an in-ground pool, spa and barbecue area, for months.
The Courier-Mail was told ASIO and AFP investigators had obtained keys to the complex and the couples’ apartment but it is not known whether they were used.
It is understood maintenance workers had once entered the couples’ apartment under “strict instructions” from Kira about fixing a fire door.
Those entering were told to only be in the apartment to carry out the work, not to use the toilet or do anything else.
“She controlled how we accessed it and I had to send her photos on her phone,” a man involved with the work told The Courier-Mail.
“But she was always pleasant on the phone or via email.”
Neighbour Andrew, who has lived in the complex for about 10 years, said Igor, who worked as a labourer, always seemed friendly and waved.
“In the morning I saw a lot of AFP and then when I tried to go into the building … the police refused (to let me) go in there,” he said. “And then in the evening there were still lights in the apartment, and they were still going on.
“I saw him a few times, he said hello and was friendly, and I’d say hello back to him.
“I’m pretty surprised.”
Andrew said a lot of military people lived in the complex.
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Originally published as Alleged Russian spy Kira Korolev posted videos of trips across Australia
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