Title
Kevin P. Riehle (2022) Russian Intelligence: A Case-Based Study of Russian Services and Missions Past and Present. Bethesda, MD: National Intelligence Press, 368 pp., ISBN: 9781932946109
Authors
[ 1 ] Independent Researcher, The Netherlands
Year of publication
2025
Published in
Journal year: 2025 | Journal number: Online first
Article type
review article
Publication language
english
Keywords
EN
- Intelligence
- Russia
- Security
- Soviet Union
PL
- Bezpieczeństwo
- Rosja
- Wywiad
Abstract
EN Kevin Riehle is a former counterintelligence analyst and prolific author who makes ample use of Russian-language sources in his works on Russian intelligence.1 These sources often add relevant and topical details that would otherwise not be accessible to a Western reader. Most often, books on intelligence history focus on a particular spy case, with one agent as the central figure in a specific episode of the Cold War. The biography and career of the main protagonist are analysed, and authors attempt to offer a convincing explanation as to why this person betrayed vital secrets to the adversary and what damage was inflicted.There is not much of that approach here. The book Russian Intelligence is not a historical overview and certainly not of one case. The author discusses important thematic aspects of the work of Soviet and Russian services, the KGB, its present successor organisations, and the GRU (Main Intelligence Directorate). Among the topics discussed are political intelligence, counterintelligence, and covert activities. Assassinations, in both Russia and abroad, are also discussed in the context of covert activities. Riehle illustrates his text with a wide variety of historical and contemporary episodes from Soviet and Russian intelligence history, which makes the book particularly useful. The book makes it clear that historical Soviet cases are often very relevant to understanding present Russian operations.
Date of online publication
2025
Comments
Corresponding author Ben de Jong Independent Researcher, The Netherlands. Artykuł zawiera recencję książki: ‘Book Review Kevin P. Riehle (2022) Russian intelligence: A case-based study of Russian services and missions past and present. Bethesda, MD: National Intelligence Press, 368 pp., ISBN 9781932946109’,
License type
CC BY (attribution alone)
Open Access Mode
open journal
Open Access Text Version
final published version
Release date
19.04.2025
Full text of article
Access level to full text
public
Ministry points / journal
35
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