If you ever wondered how various #KGB positions translated into military rank, this is the document for you.
The #topsecret order approved by KGB Chairman Ivan Serov in 1955 from the Lithuanian Special Archives.
The link: kgbveikla.lt/dokumentai/1...
#KGB counterintelligence leadership believed that #CIA trained Jesuit priests for #spy missions in the Soviet Union at a school near Los Angeles.
That's what my ongoing research at Hoover Archives uncovered.
Read the story here: tinyurl.com/5abwzrcu
Top secret #KGB Counterintelligence Lexicon from 1972 digitized by the Latvian National Archives includes more & longer entries than the available English translation edited by KGB defector Vasili Mitrokhin & published in 2002.
The link: kgb.arhivi.lv/dokumenti/vd...
In July 1956, Lithuanian #KGB counterintelligence kept files on the suspected agents of the following countries:
US - 90 individuals
UK - 54
France - 20
West Germany - 105
Japan - 2
Sweden - 3
Belgium - 1
Israel - 2
Vatican - 2
My book #KGBLiterati expertly reviewed by a retired #CIA officer John Ehrman in the March 2026 issue of the CIA's long-established & highly regarded quarterly journal Studies in Intelligence. ⬇️ @socintelhist.bsky.social
The link: cia.gov/resources/cs...
Hot off the press!
My book chapter: "A Century of Chekist Public Relations: Four Case Studies." #intel #history #Cheka #KGB #FSB #SVR
In "Routledge Handbook of Media & Intelligence" edited by Florina Cristiana Matei & Carolyn Halladay. @socintelhist.bsky.social
Though the Soviet Union is long gone, Russian #spies remain “an existential threat to the U.S.”
I highly recommend this interview with a former #CIA officer
Sean Wiswesser about his new book.
45 minutes well spent! #FSB #SVR #GRU
www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuwY...
In Dec. 2025, #CIA declassified 2 Soviet pubs from the 1950s:
1. Leningrad: An Intourist Guide
2. Leningrad: Sputnik turista (in Russian & English)
As the cover page said, "source evaluations are definitive. Appraisal of content is tentative."
The link: tinyurl.com/2k4utjsy
My new article!
"Crime & Punishment: #KGB Version" (Introduction to the KGB Training Manual ALBERT: Exposing the Dangle) #spies #coldwar @socintelhist.bsky.social
The link: tinyurl.com/mwx4yt9b
Only 2 days left to send your paper proposal for the Society for Intelligence History (SIH) Annual Conference at King's College, London, October 11-13, 2026.
A top-ranking forum for intelligence history & related subjects! See you there! 😎 #intel #history #research
"The introduction to the English translation of #KGB training manual was written by Dr. Filip Kovacevic, a leading scholar of Russian & Soviet intelligence history."
@michaeldweiss.bsky.social @socintelhist.bsky.social
macspaunday.substack.com/p/albert-the...
Enjoyed reading #KGB defector Oleg Gordievsky's hand-written book reviews' drafts in Russian in the Martin Dewhirst Collection at Hoover Archives.
Dewhirst translated & edited the drafts for publication.
Also, an interesting find: Aleksandr Litvinenko's phone number.
I know this feeling! #archives
Madelyn Lugli, H-Diplo: "Those lucky enough to steal away for few days in the reading room can often be found anxiously tearing through boxes, snapping photos on their phones in a race against the final 4 pm call time." ⬇️
networks.h-net.org/group/discus...
It's already well underway! #shoigu
My new article on Substack!
"LEOPOLD & ERASMUS: Two #KGB Counterintelligence Agents Sent from Lithuania to Israel in 1972."
Based on my research of the Lithuanian KGB documents at Hoover Archives.
The link: tinyurl.com/2mn9s5nt
USF Adjunct Prof. Filip Kovacevic (@chekistmonitor.bsky.social), a specialist in Russian and Eurasian intelligence history, spoke with @theguardian.com about the recent case of a spy who plead guilty to charges of lying to the FBI about her contacts with the FSB. bit.ly/404xJwP
Routledge Handbook of Media & Intelligence is available for pre-order.
I contributed a chapter "A Century of #Chekist Public Relations: Four Case Studies."
Read about the Red Book of #Cheka & other Soviet/Russian PR ops to shape the hearts & minds in the last 100 years @socintelhist.bsky.social
#spies #writers #intelhistory @socintelhist.bsky.social
Spoke with @theguardian.com's Edward Helmore on Russian counterintelligence and honeytraps. #FSB #sexspionage
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
Just received #CIA's response regarding my #FOIA request for the documents about the controversial Soviet intelligence general Pavel Sudoplatov.
The estimated completion date is August 19, 2027. #spies #ops #intelhistory
https://utppublishing.com/doi/book/10.3138/9781487548926
https://www.rienner.com/title/Killing_in_the_Name_of_the_State_State_Sponsored_Assassination_in_International_Politics
We've got some great new intel books available for review here at JPICT, including books by @chekistmonitor.bsky.social, @lucatrenta.bsky.social & @avramovok.bsky.social. Please get in touch with @melaniebrand.bsky.social if you're interested in writing a review for us. 1/3
Aleksandr Sakharovsky was the chief #KGB spymaster from 1956 to 1971, some of the most dramatic years of the Cold War.
There is little scholarly research about his activities due to lack of reliable documentation.
I filed #FOIA request with #CIA to obtain more info about him.
Last week, my book #KGBLiterati was ranked #21 on
@amazonkindle.bsky.social Best Sellers in Russian & Soviet Literary Criticism eBooks. #spies #writers #coldwar @socintelhist.bsky.social
Before leaving for his #KGB spy assignment in Japan, Stanislav Levchenko was given this advice by one of his supervisors:
"Stay away from #CIA... At best, you'll waste your time... Other officers trying to recruit Americans have been caught like flies in a honey pot."
The article doesn't mention that Roy Medvedev was awarded the 1st prize in #FSB literary competition in 2007 for his biography of Andropov.
The foreword in Medvedev's book was written by Nikolai Patrushev, Putin's #KGB control.
See my article: tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
tinyurl.com/476maews
Just dropped: my interview on Roland Elliott Brown's podcast The Orwellians talking about my new book #KGBLiterati and #KGB spies & counterspies who wrote spy fiction.
#intelhistory #writers #ColdWar @socintelhist.bsky.social
www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5op...
Researching #KGB files at Hoover Library & Archives for my ongoing writing projects. #spies #secrets #coldwar
It's on now! I am at the AskHistorians Reddit Forum answering questions about KGB spy fiction & my new book #KGBLiterati! See you there! @socintelhist.bsky.social
"A gripping Cold War-era espionage operation, once buried in #KGB archives, has now come to light."
A short article about my paper Operation JESUITS based on my archival research at Hoover Library & Archives. @socintelhist.bsky.social
unredacted.info/military-tec...
