The Sword and the Shield: The Mitrokhin Archive and the Secret History of the KGB Book Cover

The Sword and the Shield: The Mitrokhin Archive and the Secret History of the KGB

Book Overview: The Sword and the Shield: The Mitrokhin Archive and the Secret History of the KGB

The Sword and the Shield is based on one of the most extraordinary intelligence coups of recent times: a secret archive of top-level KGB documents smuggled out of the Soviet Union which the FBI has described, after close examination, as the “most complete and extensive intelligence ever received from any source.” Its presence in the West represents a catastrophic hemorrhage of the KGB’s secrets and reveals for the first time the full extent of its worldwide network. Vasili Mitrokhin, a secret dissident who worked in the KGB archive, smuggled out copies of its most highly classified files every day for twelve years. In 1992, a U.S. ally succeeded in exfiltrating the KGB officer and his entire archive out of Moscow.

The archive covers the entire period from the Bolshevik Revolution to the 1980s and includes revelations concerning almost every country in the world. But the KGB’s main target, of course, was the United States. Though there is top-secret material on almost every country in the world, the United States is at the top of the list. As well as containing many fascinating revelations, this is a major contribution to the secret history of the twentieth century. Among the topics and revelations explored are: The KGB’s covert operations in the United States and throughout the West, some of which remain dangerous today. KGB files on Oswald and the JFK assassination that Boris Yeltsin almost certainly has no intention of showing President Clinton. The KGB’s attempts to discredit civil rights leader in the 1960s, including its infiltration of the inner circle of a key leader.

The KGB’s use of radio intercept posts in New York and Washington, D.C., in the 1970s to intercept high-level U.S. government communications. The KGB’s attempts to steal technological secrets from major U.S. aerospace and technology corporations. KGB covert operations against former President Ronald Reagan, which began five years before he became president. KGB spies who successfully posed as U.S. citizens under a series of ingenious disguises, including several who attained access to the upper echelons of New York society.

Read More

Product Information

ISBN-139780465003129
ISBN-100465003125
PublisherBasic Books
Publication Date1999-09-05
EditionFirst Edition
Languageen
Pages736
Dimensionsin x in x in
Weight lbs

About the Authors

Christopher Andrew

Christopher Andrew, one of the most distinguished scholars of security and intelligence services, is renowned for his influential works in the field of international and political history. A British historian with a deep focus on international intelligence, Andrew has consistently bridged the gap between academic rigour and public appeal, blending intricate research with powerful narrative style in his writings.

Born in 1941, he studied at Oxford University and later joined Cambridge University where he served as the official historian for the British Security Service (MI5). His flair for deciphering complex historical intelligence data has birthed numerous best-selling and award-winning books, including “The Defence of the Realm: The Authorized History of MI5” and the groundbreaking “The Sword and the Shield”.

Andrew’s contributions in providing a comprehensive understanding of global intelligence history are unparalleled. Despite his impressive academic commitments, he has made time for various television and radio constructions, further amplifying his influence in the field. Christopher Andrew remains a leading authority in his sphere, leveraging his profound knowledge and storytelling skill to paint vivid canvases of history’s secret shadows.

Vasili Mitrokhin

Vasili Mitrokhin, a Russian historian celebrated for his unparalleled insight into Soviet espionage, was born in 1922 in Yurasovo, Central Russia. As a skilled, meticulously oriented archivist for the KGB, Mitrokhin’s career saw him collect invaluable information on Soviet spy operations right at the heart of the Cold War.

The biggest turning point in Mitrokhin’s life came in 1992 after the Soviet Union’s dissolution. Leveraging his information, he defected to the United Kingdom. His compiled work, later known as the ‘Mitrokhin Archive,’ exposed crucial clandestine operations, significantly impacting the world’s understanding of the conflict between the East and West.

Author of the critically acclaimed books “The Sword and the Shield” and “The World Was Going Our Way,” Mitrokhin passed away in 2004, leaving a legacy that transformed global reading of the Cold War’s clandestine affairs. His work continues to resonate in intelligence and national security circles across the globe.

More from the Iron Curtain Chronicles Collection

View Collection
Step behind the Iron Curtain with our curated collection of books about the Soviet Union that reveal the gripping history...
Chernobyl: The History of a Nuclear Catastrophe book cover
Chernobyl: The History of a Nuclear Catastrophe
Starting at $19.99
Format: Paperback
Condition: New
Gulag: A History book cover
Gulag: A History
Starting at $22.00
Format: Paperback
Condition: New
Second-Hand Time book cover
Second-Hand Time
Starting at $14.99
Format: Paperback
Condition: New
Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar book cover
Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar
Starting at $23.00
Format: Paperback
Condition: New
Red Famine: Stalin’s War on Ukraine book cover
Red Famine: Stalin’s War on Ukraine
Starting at $19.00
Format: Paperback
Condition: New
A People’s Tragedy: The Russian Revolution: 1891-1924 book cover
A People’s Tragedy: The Russian Revolution: 1891-1924
Starting at $35.00
Format: Paperback
Condition: New
Iron Curtain: The Crushing of Eastern Europe, 1944-1956 book cover
Iron Curtain: The Crushing of Eastern Europe, 1944-1956
Starting at $20.00
Format: Paperback
Condition: New
Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin book cover
Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin
Starting at $22.99
Format: Paperback
Condition: New
Revolution 1989: The Fall of the Soviet Empire book cover
Revolution 1989: The Fall of the Soviet Empire
Starting at $18.95
Format: Paperback
Condition: New
Between East and West: Across the Borderlands of Europe book cover
Between East and West: Across the Borderlands of Europe
Starting at $17.99
Format: Paperback
Condition: New
Lenin’s Tomb: The Last Days of the Soviet Empire book cover
Lenin’s Tomb: The Last Days of the Soviet Empire
Starting at $20.00
Format: Paperback
Condition: New
Stalingrad: The Fateful Siege: 1942-1943 book cover
Stalingrad: The Fateful Siege: 1942-1943
Starting at $24.00
Format: Paperback
Condition: New
Moscow, 1937 book cover
Moscow, 1937
Starting at $27.00
Formats: Hardcover, Paperback
Condition: New

You May Also Like

A curated selection of books we think you'll love, matey 🏴‍☠️
A Crisis Wasted: Barack Obama’s Defining Decisions book cover
A Crisis Wasted: Barack Obama’s Defining Decisions
Starting at $29.99
Format: Paperback
Condition: New
Martin Van Buren and the American Political System book cover
Martin Van Buren and the American Political System
Starting at $25.00
Format: Paperback
Condition: New
King: A Life book cover
King: A Life
Starting at $35.00
Format: Hardcover
Condition: New
And There Was Light: Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle book cover
And There Was Light: Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle
Starting at $25.00
Formats: Hardcover, Paperback
Condition: New
Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power book cover
Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power
Starting at $24.00
Format: Paperback
Condition: New
Between East and West: Across the Borderlands of Europe book cover
Between East and West: Across the Borderlands of Europe
Starting at $17.99
Format: Paperback
Condition: New
Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin book cover
Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin
Starting at $22.99
Format: Paperback
Condition: New
Iron Curtain: The Crushing of Eastern Europe, 1944-1956 book cover
Iron Curtain: The Crushing of Eastern Europe, 1944-1956
Starting at $20.00
Format: Paperback
Condition: New
A People’s Tragedy: The Russian Revolution: 1891-1924 book cover
A People’s Tragedy: The Russian Revolution: 1891-1924
Starting at $35.00
Format: Paperback
Condition: New
Atoms and Ashes: A Global History of Nuclear Disasters book cover
Atoms and Ashes: A Global History of Nuclear Disasters
Starting at $18.95
Formats: Hardcover, Paperback
Condition: New

Reviews

There are no reviews yet.

Be the first to review “The Sword and the Shield: The Mitrokhin Archive and the Secret History of the KGB”

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *