Many if not most people have heard of the KGB. Their spy craft is legendary and their presence was menacing. To Americans, they were the illusive boogeymen in the shadows of Cold War events. They're probably the most recognizable Russian spy agency and I’d bet money they’re the most infamous spy agency in history, ever.
In Part 6, we are covering Nikita Khrushchev's steady rise to power and ultimate succession of Joseph Stalin, but Khrushchev took a very different path and actively reversed Stalin's repressive policies to some degree. Over the next few weeks, we will cover, in smaller episodes, the history and methods of the Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti, the KGB.
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Sources:
The Russian Secret Police by Ronald Hingley
Nikita Khrushchev – The Man Behind the Missile Crisis. Biographics. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjGLD8bx7Qo&ab_channel=Biographics
Nikita Khrushchev. Spartacus Educational. https://spartacus-educational.com/RUSkhrushchev.htm
Taubman, William (2003), Khrushchev: The Man and His Era, W.W. Norton & Co., ISBN 978-0-393-32484-6
Khrushchev, Nikita (2004), Khrushchev, Sergei (ed.), Memoirs of Nikita Khrushchev, Volume 1: Commissar, The Pennsylvania State University Press, ISBN 978-0-271-02332-8
Khrushchev, Nikita (2006), Khrushchev, Sergei (ed.), Memoirs of Nikita Khrushchev, Volume 2: Reformer, The Pennsylvania State University Press, ISBN 978-0-271-02861-3
Khrushchev, Nikita (2007), Khrushchev, Sergei (ed.), Memoirs of Nikita Khrushchev, Volume 3: Statesman, The Pennsylvania State University Press, ISBN 978-0-271-02935-1
The Structure of KGB - Cold War DOCUMENTARY. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QeZZYRaGUXQ&t=471s&ab_channel=TheColdWar
1963 Fletcher Markle Interviews Walt Disney. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nMrLcmBCuI&ab_channel=onstageDisney
How KGB spies were trained | Jack Barsky and Lex Fridman. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4oRBsGW_Tc&ab_channel=LexClips
Why People Betray Their Countries, According to an Israeli Expert. https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2020-09-20/ty-article-magazine/.premium/why-whistleblowers-betray-their-countries-according-to-an-israeli-expert/0000017f-dc31-df62-a9ff-dcf752540000
Secrets Of War, The Cold War 05 Inside The KGB. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypuuxrxcVek&ab_channel=AnotherTv
KGB Assassinations. Spyscape. https://spyscape.com/article/the-13th-directorate-the-kgbs-top-secret-1960s-assassination-unit
Communist Control Techniques. An Analysis of the Methods Used by Communist State Police in the Arrest, Interrogation, and Indoctrination of Persons Regarded as “Enemies of the State.” National Security Archive. April 1956.
Museum of the Occupation of Latvia. https://okupacijasmuzejs.lv/en
The World Was Going Our Way: The KGB and the Battle for the Third World - Newly Revealed Secrets from the Mitrokhin Archive. Christopher Andrew. 2005.
Information about the Cooperation between the KGB of the USSR and the MfS of the DPRK. Wilson Center. August 1984.
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