A surfeit of spies.

THE SOVIET ambassador to Greece, Igor Andropov, has not had many good days lately. Exposure of the soviety's well-entrenched espionage/subversion network in Greece has seriously damged their regional covert operations, hindred their acquisition of militarily significant technology, and left several key "diplomats" implicated in spying for the USSR.

Andropov's troubles began with the Westward defection of high-ranking Soviet intelligence officer Sergei Bokhan last May. Before spring-heeling toward politicaly asylum in the United States, Bokhan served a lengthly stint (1978 to 1985) in Greece as the Soviet Embassy's first secretary for polical affairs. That, of course, was a diplomatic cover. His actual post in Athens was deputy director of the GRU contingent. (The GRU--Glavnoye Razvedyvatelnoye Upravleniye, or Chief Intelligence directorate of the Soviet General Staff--emphasizes military rather than political intelligence gathering. It also engages in subversion and terror worldwide.)

For obvious reasons, little has yet been confirmed officially concerning the specifics and extent of Bokhan's disclosures to U.S. intelligence agencies. However, political and diplomatic sources contend that Bokhan has provided, inter alia, extensive information on the following:

-- Soviet espionage directed against Greek and NATO interests in the region.

-- The infiltration and manipulation of labor and peace movements, both in Greece and elsewhere.

-- The acquisition of militarily significant Western technology through legal and illegal "direct collection," plus diversion of targeted "dual-use" technologies through surrogates.

-- Direct and indirect (via "third parties") orchestration by the Soviets of terrorist acts in Greece and abroad.

-- Soviet infiltration of the left-wing press in Greece, including planted articles and the use of journalist dupes, to cultivate and exploit anti-American sentiments and reinforce the Kremlin's propaganda line.

Cooperation between U.S. and Greek intelligence agencies in evaluating portions of Bokhan's testimony has already borne fruit. So far, three Greeks have been arrested--a lieutenant attached to the computer section at Greek naval headquarters and two civilians employed by subsidiaries of American firms involved in computer, telecommunications, and microelectronics technologies. They are charged with transferring "state secrets" and selling militarily significant technology to the Soviets.

One jailed Greek electronics entrepreneur has named three "diplomats" (Mikhail Bludov, Valery Kocharuk, and Aleksandr Kalinin), all with the Soviet Commercial Mission in Athens with whom he had cooperated since 1975. Their all to convenient absence from Greece has drawn attention to the substantial number of Soviety Embassy personnel who have quietly exited the country following Bokhan's defection. Few would wager on their return from "vacations" in the USSR.

This situation has fueled speculation that Moscow wished to recall those operatives compromised by Bokhan's disclosures. Others, however, speculate that the socialist government of Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou requested the departures to avoid the publicity of explusions. This argument is supported somewhat by the government's past pro-Soviet rhetoric and by its tardy, mildly worded, and low-level diplomatic "protest note" to the Soviets over the espionage activities. Moreover, Greece bowed to Soviety demands that bokhan's wife and eight-year-old daughter be returned to Moscow without the opportunity to request asylum or defect.

Other curiosities and contradictions have arisen. The Papandreou government, for instance, has attempted to present the entire espionage "crack-down" as a direct result of investigative wizardry by the Greek security and intelligence units alone, despite indications by assistant Secretary of Defense Richard Perle that the U.S. closely cooperated with Greece on the issue. Further, the assertion by certain Greek government officials that only one military officer is involved in the scandal is at oods with published reports--citing Greek security sources-- that anywhere from 18 to 25 officers are under investigation.

The subject has caused a heated political controversy as well. The Communist Party of Greece (KKE) has denied (as expecte) any Soviety infiltration in Greece, claiming that the U.S. has trumped up the whole affair to create "anti-Soviet hysteria" an to "blackmail and intimidate" Papandreou's foreign policy. KKE leaders, faithful appratchiki all, also want the state intelligence system dismantled, restructured, and put under party control--including, if not especially, theirs.

Papandreou's party, the Panhellenic socialist Movement (PASOK), of course holds that the conduct of the government and the intelligence services is above, reproach. Conservatives scoff, however, and point to the recent arrest of a state intelligence employee on charges of terrorism. "Under PASOK," remakrs one observer, "the security forces have become a collection of spies and thugs."

The conservative opposition party, New Democracy (ND), suggests that Papandreou is a prime candidate for a spine transplant: "The government appears feeble and embarrassed and unable to protect law and order or our external security," reads an ND statement. "The prime minister himself obviously realizes how tragically weak his position is, with the threat of the Bokhan revelations hanging over him."

That further arrests are forthcoming, thanks to Sergei Bokhan's disclosures, seems more or less assured--provided that PASOK continues to be cooperative. But even so, the bad news is that the Soviets will suffer temporary sebacks only, and will soon regroup.

And what of Igor Andropov? Well, he isn't making himself available for comment right now. He's in Moscow, and he won't be back. That leaves in charge one Vladimir Pushkin, who was expelled from Britain in 1971. For espionage.