Washington ( CNN ) -- Former Soviet spy Oleg Kalugin , who headed KGB operations in the United States in the 1970s and later left Russia to live in America , told CNN Tuesday he is `` amazed '' that Moscow is engaging so heavily in espionage against Washington . Reacting to the recent arrests of 11 alleged Russian spies , Kalugin said that getting the type of information the FBI says the operatives collected `` does not require such a massive assault '' against the United States . `` I am amazed , '' he said . `` It reminds me of the worst years of the Cold War . '' Kalugin also said he was `` amused '' by reports of the arrests . `` It is a sign of the decadence of the Russian intelligence services , '' he said . `` Why do they need to use so many people to get information that is openly available ? '' iReport : The spies next door ? The Justice Department announced Monday that 10 people had been arrested in the United States on charges of being Russian spies on long-term missions in the U.S. A Justice Department spokesman called the suspects `` trained Russian intelligence operatives . '' An 11th suspect was arrested Tuesday in Cyprus , Cypriot police told CNN . The government 's complaints against the alleged operatives say their mission was `` to become sufficiently Americanized such that they can gather information about the United States for Russia , and can successfully recruit sources who are in , or able to infiltrate , United States policy-making circles . '' Kalugin said that has been a mission for Soviet and Russian operatives for decades : to look for potential spies in the United States with the ultimate purpose of placing them in key government agencies like the State Department , Defense Department and the White House . Kalugin added that he was impressed by the `` efficiency '' of the FBI , which apparently was able to keep the suspects under control for several years . He said FBI agents have not `` lost their focus '' and noted that it is difficult to ferret out such spies . The former Soviet spy told CNN he did not believe that Russian President Dmitry Medvedev knew of the pending arrests during his visit to the White House last Thursday , but his impression was that President Barack Obama did know and it was reflected in a `` rather strained '' visit with Medvedev . Kalugin said he now feels that `` something was brewing . '' He also explained that he is not surprised that several of the suspects are listed as former Canadian citizens . He said Canada , with a large number of Russian and former Soviet émigrés , has been used for decades by Soviet intelligence as a `` jumping ground '' to pick up people for possible espionage operations in the United States . The reports of alleged Russian espionage , Kalugin believes , `` will sober up some minds in the U.S. who believe that Russia is a totally different country . '' Kalugin said former Russian president and now prime minister Vladimir Putin -- himself a former KGB agent -- has restored the role of the intelligence agency , now called the FSB , and its arm that deals with foreign intelligence , the SVR . `` Old habits have been restored , '' he said . `` The United States used to be enemy No . 1 for the KGB , '' he said . `` Now it is priority No . 1 . ''
Kalugin headed KGB operations in the United States in the 1970s . He later left Russia to live in the United States , . Oleg Kalugin says he is `` amazed '' at Moscow 's alleged heavy espionage in U.S. Kalugin : Moscow `` used to be enemy No . 1 for the KGB ... Now it is priority No . 1 ''