Soviet Defectors - (Intelligence, Surveillance and Secret Warfare) by Kevin Riehle (Paperback)

About the Book

When intelligence officers defect, they take with them privileged information and often communicate it to the receiving state.

Book Synopsis

When intelligence officers defect, they take with them privileged information and often communicate it to the receiving state.

From the Back Cover

Analyses the insider information and insights that over eighty Soviet intelligence officer defectors revealed during the first half of the Soviet period When intelligence officers defect, they take with them privileged information and often communicate it to the receiving state. This book identifies a group of those defectors from the Soviet elite - intelligence officers - and provides an aggregate analysis of their information to uncover Stalin's strategic priorities and concerns, thus to open a window into Stalin's impenetrable national security decision making. This book uses their information to define Soviet threat perceptions and national security anxieties during Stalin's time as Soviet leader. - Identifies 88 Soviet intelligence officer defectors for the period 1917 to 1954, representing a variety of specializations; the most comprehensive list of Soviet intelligence officer defectors compiled to date. - Shows the evolution of Soviet threat perceptions and the development of the "main enemy" concept in the Soviet national security system. - Shows fluctuations in the Soviet recruitment and vetting of personnel for sensitive national security positions, corresponding with fluctuations in the stability of the Soviet government. - Compiles for the first time corroborative primary sources in English, Russian, French, German, Finnish, Japanese, Latvian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, and Swedish. Kevin P. Riehle is an associate professor at the National Intelligence University. He has spent over 28 years in the U.S. government as a counterintelligence analyst studying foreign intelligence services.

Review Quotes

Kevin Riehle has written a valuable study, based on much original research, of defectors to the West from Soviet Intelligence Agencies in the Stalin era. His book expands our knowledge of who fled west and why. It will be of considerable value to historians of intelligence and of international relastions in the period when Joseph Stalin ruled the Soviet Union.--Paul Maddrell, Loughborough University

The Riehle book is a significant addition to the literature of intelligence. It is thoroughly researched, extremely well-written and organized, and heavily footnoted. Considering what I know about defectors through personal experience, research, and course work, Riehle has authored a book that is highly accurate in covering the subject. He is obviously very well-versed in his area of interest. It should be the standard for any future writings on the subject of defectors.--Calland Carnes "American Intelligence Journal"

This book is a timely reminder of the days when intelligence officers were endangered by political purges in their own country and thus judged the risk of defection less than that of staying. While this book will certainly appeal to academics, students and practitioners interested in Soviet Union intelligence, it could also be a great source of inspirations for spy documentaries, fiction or films.--Chi Zhang "Europe-Asia Studies"

About the Author

Kevin P. Riehle is Associate Professor at the National Intelligence University. He has spent over 28 years in the U.S. government as a counterintelligence analyst studying foreign intelligence services.