American accused of espionage in Russia home for the holidays

Friday, Dec. 26, 1997 | 11:05 a.m.

Bliss, a 29-year-old field technician, stepped from a chartered Lear jet Thursday afternoon and entered a swarm of about 20 friends and family members who flew in from around the country to greet him.

Then his father, Robert, made it through the crowd to deliver a long-promised hug. Asked how that felt, the teary-eyed elder Bliss replied: "Better than I ever thought it would."

Richard Bliss' long journey - delayed 18 hours by weather and hectic holiday travel schedules - took him from southern Russia to Moscow, Paris, Los Angeles and, finally, home on Christmas Day.

"After a couple days of resting and spending a few days with my family, I'm very much looking forward to getting back to my job," Bliss said.

Amid the relief was a huge unknown: Will Russian officials will order Bliss back to Russia?

"They would have given us an even better present if they'd decided there was no need for Richard to return," said Irwin Jacobs, chairman of Qualcomm Inc., Bliss' San Diego-based employer.

Bliss was arrested on espionage charges in late November, two days before Thanksgiving. He was installing a cellular phone system in the city of Rostov-on-Don, about 600 miles south of Moscow.

Pressure from Vice President Al Gore and others persuaded the Russians to let Bliss come home for two weeks under an agreement between Qualcomm and Russia's Federal Security Service - or FSB, the main successor to the Soviet-era KGB.

Bliss said the support from San Diego, the nation and his fellow Qualcomm employees helped him through what he called a "very trying experience."

It appeared Russian officials might be softening their stance on a demand that Bliss return Jan. 10 to face spying charges. The Interfax news agency reported Thursday that the term of Bliss' stay in the United States had not been defined and Qualcomm officials confirmed that.

But Bliss could be summoned back to Russia at any moment, the news agency reported, citing FSB spokesman Maj. Gen. Alexander Zdanovich.

Bliss said that he was not mistreated during the ordeal, in which he was arrested and jailed for 12 days for using Global Positioning System equipment to survey sensitive areas. Under Russian law, survey measurements accurate to within 30 yards are considered a state secret, say security officials.

The system works by communicating with an umbrella of satellites orbiting the Earth. The receiver unit picks a satellite signal, and when three satellites link up with GPS, the user can record precise latitude and longitude.

Bliss was using GPS equipment to make land surveys, according to his company. It was part of an effort to locate receiving and transmitting stations for installation of a Russian cellular system.

Systems similar to the one Bliss was using can be found in U.S. stores such as The Sharper Image or Radio Shack.

The FSB said the equipment was brought into the country illegally, but Qualcomm maintains Bliss declared the equipment on his customs form. Bliss has acknowledged making land surveys, but said he is innocent of espionage.

He and his employer said they will comply if Russian officials order him to return.

"I did give my word as a condition of release, and my word is my bond," said Bliss, who was accompanied back to California by fellow employee Robert Holt.

Bliss' Russian lawyer, Valery Petryayev, said the release was an admission of the weakness of the government's case.

"Of course, had he been a real spy, nobody would have sent him to America for Christmas," Petryayev told Russian television.

Bliss agreed: "I think that the fact that they released me is a good sign."