From the Publisher
Undaunted, Jonathan Haslam has inspected the workings of the Soviet Union’s entire spying machinery from the October Revolution to the end of the cold war, and produced, in Near and Distant Neighbors, an account of the KGB and its military counterpart, the GRU, that is, he says, “about as comprehensive as can be contained within one volume, given prevailing restrictions.” Certainly, one would not ask for more. Haslam’s book is full of colorful characters who excel in stealing secrets and killing people, including their own colleagues. Haslam writes that in 1938 Pavel Sudoplatov, arguably the most talented of the KGB’s assassins, murdered a Ukrainian nationalist in Rotterdam with an exploding cake. These accounts of early Russian derring-do could spawn a shelf of noir paperback thrillers.” —Robert Cottrell, The New York Review of Books
“Intelligence was central to Soviet security policy, and yet until now we have lacked a comprehensive history of it. This Jonathan Haslam has given us, with extensive research and penetrating analysis. From the internal intrigues to the foreign exploits, the story is as fascinating as it is important” —Robert Jervis, author of Why Intelligence Fails: Lessons from the Iranian Revolution and the Iraq War
“A meticulous survey of Russian and Western sources makes for a lively account of the history of all the Soviet intelligence agencies—the first time anyone has succeeded with this.” —Robert Service, emeritus professor of Russian history, St. Antony’s College, Oxford University, and author of Trotsky: A Biography
From the Publisher - AUDIO COMMENTARY
"For readers of Russian history, spy history, World War II, communication, and those interested in the KGB." —Library Journal
MARCH 2016 - AudioFile
Using formerly overlooked Russian sources, British historian and scholar Haslam’s important work should be of interest to all who follow the rise of the Soviet Union, the Cold War, and the current trajectory of Russian foreign affairs. The work traces the evolution of espionage from 1917 to the present day; however, the audio edition fails to deliver a good listening experience. Shaun Grindell’s disjointed pacing and emphasis as well as his inexcusable pronunciation of Russian words mar the opportunity for success as an audiobook. M.T.F. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
2015-05-20
Intensely detailed history of the Russian spy services, from the revolution through glasnost. Haslam (History of International Relations, Cambridge Univ.; Russia's Cold War: From the October Revolution to the Fall of the Wall, 2011, etc.) focuses on myriad individuals who rose and fell within the competing factions of Russia's spy services after 1917. As the communists had to build an intelligence structure from scratch, under assault from czarist remnants and neighboring states, they developed a simple system of "illegal" (covert) or "legal" (diplomatic) rezidenturas posted abroad in both political and military intelligence, divisions kept separate and subject to meddling by a paranoid Stalin. Haslam portrays the first generation of Soviet spies as colorful, tough zealots, largely liquidated during the terror of 1937-1938. The author argues that the Russians were only able to survive the German onslaught of 1941 due to their success in purloining intelligence from the British—notably from Kim Philby's infamous circle. After the war, a pattern developed of the Soviets lagging in technological fields like cryptolinguistics yet countering Western espionage with superior human intelligence. "Berlin held centre stage in the Cold War for many years," writes Haslam, "but the United States was always the principal objective." Yet the endgame proved swift: when the Reagan administration ramped up military spending, "the two rival services, the KGB and GRU, failed to do what was vitally necessary in terms of evaluation" of the apparent military threat, ultimately leading to the fall of the Soviet Union. Haslam concludes by observing how, with Vladimir Putin's ascendancy, "the history of the Soviet intelligence services thus becomes…a vantage point into the story of the present." The author writes authoritatively, deftly managing his labyrinth of ruthless personalities, but the large historical canvas can be overwhelming. A well-executed narrative of the mechanics behind the Cold War that may be a bit too dense and/or dry for casual readers.
