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Spymaster: Startling Cold War Revelations of a Soviet KGB Chief
“Tennent Bagley’s Spymaster is the single most revealing book about espionage to emerge from the Cold War.” —Edward Jay Epstein, author of Deception: The Invisible War Between the KGB and the CIA
From the dark days of World War II through the Cold War, Sergey A. Kondrashev was a major player in Russia’s notorious KGB espionage apparatus. Rising through its ranks through hard work and keen understanding of how the spy and political games are played, he “handled” American and British defectors, recruited Western operatives as double agents, served as a ranking officer at the East Berlin and Vienna KGB bureaus, and tackled special assignments from the Kremlin.
During a 1994 television program about former spymasters, Kondrashev met and began a close friendship with a former foe, ex-CIA officer Tennent H. “Pete” Bagley, whom the Russian asked to help write his memoirs.
Because Bagley knew so much about Kondrashev’s career (they had been on opposite sides in several operations), his penetrating questions and insights reveal slices of espionage history that rival anything found in the pages of Ian Fleming, Len Deighton, or John le Carré: chilling tales of surviving Stalin’s purges while superiors and colleagues did not, of plotting to reveal the Berlin tunnel, of quelling the Hungarian Revolution and “Prague Spring” independence movements, and of assisting in arranging the final disposition of the corpses of Adolf Hitler and Evan Braun. Kondrashev also details equally fascinating KGB propaganda and disinformation efforts that shaped Western attitudes throughout the Cold War.
Because publication of these memoirs was banned by Putin’s regime, Bagley promised Kondrashev to have them published in the West. They are now available to all who are fascinated by vivid tales of international intrigue.
From the dark days of World War II through the Cold War, Sergey A. Kondrashev was a major player in Russia’s notorious KGB espionage apparatus. Rising through its ranks through hard work and keen understanding of how the spy and political games are played, he “handled” American and British defectors, recruited Western operatives as double agents, served as a ranking officer at the East Berlin and Vienna KGB bureaus, and tackled special assignments from the Kremlin.
During a 1994 television program about former spymasters, Kondrashev met and began a close friendship with a former foe, ex-CIA officer Tennent H. “Pete” Bagley, whom the Russian asked to help write his memoirs.
Because Bagley knew so much about Kondrashev’s career (they had been on opposite sides in several operations), his penetrating questions and insights reveal slices of espionage history that rival anything found in the pages of Ian Fleming, Len Deighton, or John le Carré: chilling tales of surviving Stalin’s purges while superiors and colleagues did not, of plotting to reveal the Berlin tunnel, of quelling the Hungarian Revolution and “Prague Spring” independence movements, and of assisting in arranging the final disposition of the corpses of Adolf Hitler and Evan Braun. Kondrashev also details equally fascinating KGB propaganda and disinformation efforts that shaped Western attitudes throughout the Cold War.
Because publication of these memoirs was banned by Putin’s regime, Bagley promised Kondrashev to have them published in the West. They are now available to all who are fascinated by vivid tales of international intrigue.
324 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2013
153 people are currently reading
494 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 55 reviews
March 16, 2015
I opened this book with much excitement as I was returning to one of my favourite periods of history the Cold War. The book cover promised startling revelations and I looked forward to gaining this new knowledge. What I got was far from startling it was what you would have expected both the USA and USSR to have been doing in the war of espionage.
While the stories told in this book where interesting I found myself getting lost in all the names and dates that pepper the pages. I found it hard to keep track of who was who. The author does do a good job in covering all the different tactics that where employed in espionage war. The book never reaches the point where I was compelled to keep reading on.
Overall a good read but it did not deliver in my opinion what was advertised on the cover. It did though leave for me an intriguing question, what happened to those inside sources and double agents that where never found. Do they still to this day sleep with one eye open hoping their past never sees the light of the day?
While the stories told in this book where interesting I found myself getting lost in all the names and dates that pepper the pages. I found it hard to keep track of who was who. The author does do a good job in covering all the different tactics that where employed in espionage war. The book never reaches the point where I was compelled to keep reading on.
Overall a good read but it did not deliver in my opinion what was advertised on the cover. It did though leave for me an intriguing question, what happened to those inside sources and double agents that where never found. Do they still to this day sleep with one eye open hoping their past never sees the light of the day?
December 28, 2020
The problem with books written by spies is that what they divulge is usually a small fraction of what they know. In this case, Tennent H. Bagley's Spymaster: Startling Cold War Revelations of a Soviet KGB Chief is marred by the self-censorship not only of the author but of the high-ranking KGB spy, Sergey Kondrashev, who is his informant.
If you really want to get into the subject -- in a way that results in an exciting read -- I recommend John LeCarre.
If you really want to get into the subject -- in a way that results in an exciting read -- I recommend John LeCarre.
January 25, 2023
This was an intriguing story. It was good, but unfortunately Mr. Bagley didn't mean to write this book. Mr. Bagley was helping the subject of the book, Sergey A. Kondrashev who was a KGB chief, to write Kondrashev's own story. But the Russian government would not allow Kondrashev to publish his book. Mr. Bagley wrote up what he could, but it is always better at parts when Kondrashev's own first-person accounts are given. I would say it is still worth reading though.
August 9, 2023
Thousands of books and millions of words have been written about the tit-for-tat battle of the KGB and the CIA during the more than four decades of the Cold War. Some factual accounts and a smattering of novels offer genuine perspective on the two spy agencies and their interaction. But only rarely, if ever, has a book appeared that digs so deeply into the many mysteries surrounding Soviet intelligence activities as Spymaster by Tennent H. Bagley. Based on the autobiography of a top KGB spymaster, the book is tantamount to a guidebook on the ways and means of the KGB in its ongoing effort to counter the West. In a foreword, investigative journalist and Harvard political science professor Edward J. Epstein calls it “the single most important book about espionage to emerge from the Cold War.” It’s easy to see why.
HOW THIS BOOK CAME TO BE WRITTEN
Author Tennent H. “Pete” Bagley was a 24-year veteran of the CIA. Having joined in 1950, just three years after its founding, he was a rising star in the agency. For years he served as chief of counterintelligence in the Soviet division, where he interrogated a succession of high-level KGB defectors. But Lieutenant General Sergey Aleksandrovich Kondrashev (1923-2007), the subject of this book, was not one of them. He served the KGB loyally from 1944 to 1992. And Bagley and Kondrashev never met while they worked at cross-purposes in their respective agencies.
In 1994, 20 years after Bagley had retired from the CIA, the two men got together to reminisce. And that led Kondrashev to ask Bagley for help in writing his autobiography. After seven years of work, they completed the Russian edition shortly before Kondrashev’s death in 2007, and he submitted it for clearance to the KGB’s successor agency, the FSB—which suppressed it. Bagley later took the manuscript as the basis for his own book, including sections verbatim as dictated by Kondrashev—and weaving in passages the KGB spymaster had told him were off the record. And he folded in commentary from his own personal experience, often involving operations Kondrashev had initiated.
STARTLING REVELATIONS FROM A TOP KGB SPYMASTER
Spymaster‘s subtitle promises “startling revelations,” and they are that for sure. Here are three among the many:
(1) KHRUSHCHEV AND KENNEDY
Kondrashev revealed to Bagley what Nikita Khrushchev really thought of JFK. Press accounts, including that on PBS, reported at the time that the Soviet Premier “thought of him as young, weak, ineffective, and probably a pushover.” Not so, Kondrashev insisted. And he knew from direct experience, since Khrushchev personally told him he was impressed by the younger man. During his long KGB career, Kondrashev dealt face-to-face with a succession of top Soviet leaders, from Stalin to Khrushchev to Brezhnev to Andropov.
(2) THE SPY TUNNEL
One of the most widely told stories of the Cold War was the saga of the British-American spy tunnel in Berlin. In 1954, they’d dug a tunnel to tap the phone lines outgoing from Soviet Army headquarters. It ran for eleven months until the Soviets stumbled across it in a routine security check—or so it was long believed. But Kondrashev told the true story. The KGB had known about the tunnel from the time of its planning from George Blake, a high-level British intelligence officer who later defected to Moscow. The Russians let the tunnel operate unmolested for a total of a year and a half (including its construction time) to protect their source.
(3) RECRUITING NAZIS
It’s well known that American Army Counterintelligence protected Klaus Barbie, the “Butcher of Lyon,” and used him as a source for a time. There were others, too. And some high-ranking Nazis later went to work for West German intelligence and the government in Bonn. “But,” Kondrashev revealed, “the KGB’s operation was on a different plane altogether. It used the highest-level and most wanted war criminals to enlist others of their ilk in a long-range pro-Nazi operation that made the KGB, in effect, their collaborators in preparing for a ‘Fourth Reich.'”
Among them was “Gestapo” Müller, who “had overseen mass murder, torture, and cruelty on a scale still hardly imaginable. He was arguably the least forgivable of all the war criminals, and he was also the most sought: He and Martin Bormann stood at the top of a postwar list of the Allies’ ‘most wanted.'” The KGB put them to work against the West Germans and the “main enemy,” the United States.
THE NOSENKO AFFAIR
Pete Bagley witnessed many of the operations Kondrashev described—from the perspective of the CIA, of course. But one preoccupied him for decades. Because the defining episode of Bagley’s life was his ongoing involvement in the controversy surrounding KGB officer Yuri Nosenko (1927-2008). He himself had been the CIA’s contact in Vienna in 1961 when Nosenko volunteered to spy for the agency. And he had spent months after Nosenko later defected interrogating him, sometimes subjecting the Russian to methods later observers would call (psychological) torture.
Nosenko proved to be an inveterate liar, and inconsistently so. His “self-contradictions, blundering improvisations, and blatant indifference to truth” convinced Bagley that Nosenko was a KGB plant. His purpose, Bagley knew, was to undermine the revelations of an earlier, authentic KGB defector named Anatoliy Golitsyn (1926-2008), who had insisted there were multiple moles in the CIA. But Bagley’s superiors in the agency refused to believe him.
And here’s how Bagley explains why they chose Nosenko’s lies over his insistence that the man was a Soviet plant. “[T]he CIA badly wanted to believe Nosenko’s messages. To disbelieve them and look behind them might bring to light ugly things no one wanted to see: undiscovered moles inside the agency or breaks of American ciphers that had enabled the Soviet Union to read America’s secret communications at critical periods of the Cold War.” And the powers that be in the agency sidelined Bagley to hide all this, and eventually they forced him out of the CIA and out of the country. He spent the last forty years of his life living in Brussels.
All this is documented in The Spy Who Knew Too Much: An Ex-CIA Officer’s Quest Through a Legacy of Betrayal by Howard Blum. And Kondrashev confirmed Bagley’s conclusions in every respect.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Tennent H. Bailey (1925-2014), known as “Pete,” was one of the CIA’s highest-ranking officers during the height of the Cold War in the 1960s and early 70s. The youngest of three boys in a prominent Navy family—both his father and his two older brothers became admirals—he joined the CIA in 1950 after service in World War II as a lieutenant in the Marines. He was educated at the University of Southern California and at the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva, where he received a PhD in Political Science. Bagley stood out as a star at the agency from the outset, quickly moving up the ladder. Years later, former CIA director Richard Helms told a journalist that he had considered him a prime candidate to head the CIA.
A counterspy at the agency, he was best known for his work with the supposed KGB defector Yuri Nosenko. His insistence that Nosenko was in fact a mole collided with his superiors’ investment in the man. He left the CIA in 1974, the same year Director William Colby forced his colleague, James Jesus Angleton, to retire. Bagley wrote or coauthored three books on the CIA and the KGB. Spymaster was the last of them.
HOW THIS BOOK CAME TO BE WRITTEN
Author Tennent H. “Pete” Bagley was a 24-year veteran of the CIA. Having joined in 1950, just three years after its founding, he was a rising star in the agency. For years he served as chief of counterintelligence in the Soviet division, where he interrogated a succession of high-level KGB defectors. But Lieutenant General Sergey Aleksandrovich Kondrashev (1923-2007), the subject of this book, was not one of them. He served the KGB loyally from 1944 to 1992. And Bagley and Kondrashev never met while they worked at cross-purposes in their respective agencies.
In 1994, 20 years after Bagley had retired from the CIA, the two men got together to reminisce. And that led Kondrashev to ask Bagley for help in writing his autobiography. After seven years of work, they completed the Russian edition shortly before Kondrashev’s death in 2007, and he submitted it for clearance to the KGB’s successor agency, the FSB—which suppressed it. Bagley later took the manuscript as the basis for his own book, including sections verbatim as dictated by Kondrashev—and weaving in passages the KGB spymaster had told him were off the record. And he folded in commentary from his own personal experience, often involving operations Kondrashev had initiated.
STARTLING REVELATIONS FROM A TOP KGB SPYMASTER
Spymaster‘s subtitle promises “startling revelations,” and they are that for sure. Here are three among the many:
(1) KHRUSHCHEV AND KENNEDY
Kondrashev revealed to Bagley what Nikita Khrushchev really thought of JFK. Press accounts, including that on PBS, reported at the time that the Soviet Premier “thought of him as young, weak, ineffective, and probably a pushover.” Not so, Kondrashev insisted. And he knew from direct experience, since Khrushchev personally told him he was impressed by the younger man. During his long KGB career, Kondrashev dealt face-to-face with a succession of top Soviet leaders, from Stalin to Khrushchev to Brezhnev to Andropov.
(2) THE SPY TUNNEL
One of the most widely told stories of the Cold War was the saga of the British-American spy tunnel in Berlin. In 1954, they’d dug a tunnel to tap the phone lines outgoing from Soviet Army headquarters. It ran for eleven months until the Soviets stumbled across it in a routine security check—or so it was long believed. But Kondrashev told the true story. The KGB had known about the tunnel from the time of its planning from George Blake, a high-level British intelligence officer who later defected to Moscow. The Russians let the tunnel operate unmolested for a total of a year and a half (including its construction time) to protect their source.
(3) RECRUITING NAZIS
It’s well known that American Army Counterintelligence protected Klaus Barbie, the “Butcher of Lyon,” and used him as a source for a time. There were others, too. And some high-ranking Nazis later went to work for West German intelligence and the government in Bonn. “But,” Kondrashev revealed, “the KGB’s operation was on a different plane altogether. It used the highest-level and most wanted war criminals to enlist others of their ilk in a long-range pro-Nazi operation that made the KGB, in effect, their collaborators in preparing for a ‘Fourth Reich.'”
Among them was “Gestapo” Müller, who “had overseen mass murder, torture, and cruelty on a scale still hardly imaginable. He was arguably the least forgivable of all the war criminals, and he was also the most sought: He and Martin Bormann stood at the top of a postwar list of the Allies’ ‘most wanted.'” The KGB put them to work against the West Germans and the “main enemy,” the United States.
THE NOSENKO AFFAIR
Pete Bagley witnessed many of the operations Kondrashev described—from the perspective of the CIA, of course. But one preoccupied him for decades. Because the defining episode of Bagley’s life was his ongoing involvement in the controversy surrounding KGB officer Yuri Nosenko (1927-2008). He himself had been the CIA’s contact in Vienna in 1961 when Nosenko volunteered to spy for the agency. And he had spent months after Nosenko later defected interrogating him, sometimes subjecting the Russian to methods later observers would call (psychological) torture.
Nosenko proved to be an inveterate liar, and inconsistently so. His “self-contradictions, blundering improvisations, and blatant indifference to truth” convinced Bagley that Nosenko was a KGB plant. His purpose, Bagley knew, was to undermine the revelations of an earlier, authentic KGB defector named Anatoliy Golitsyn (1926-2008), who had insisted there were multiple moles in the CIA. But Bagley’s superiors in the agency refused to believe him.
And here’s how Bagley explains why they chose Nosenko’s lies over his insistence that the man was a Soviet plant. “[T]he CIA badly wanted to believe Nosenko’s messages. To disbelieve them and look behind them might bring to light ugly things no one wanted to see: undiscovered moles inside the agency or breaks of American ciphers that had enabled the Soviet Union to read America’s secret communications at critical periods of the Cold War.” And the powers that be in the agency sidelined Bagley to hide all this, and eventually they forced him out of the CIA and out of the country. He spent the last forty years of his life living in Brussels.
All this is documented in The Spy Who Knew Too Much: An Ex-CIA Officer’s Quest Through a Legacy of Betrayal by Howard Blum. And Kondrashev confirmed Bagley’s conclusions in every respect.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Tennent H. Bailey (1925-2014), known as “Pete,” was one of the CIA’s highest-ranking officers during the height of the Cold War in the 1960s and early 70s. The youngest of three boys in a prominent Navy family—both his father and his two older brothers became admirals—he joined the CIA in 1950 after service in World War II as a lieutenant in the Marines. He was educated at the University of Southern California and at the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva, where he received a PhD in Political Science. Bagley stood out as a star at the agency from the outset, quickly moving up the ladder. Years later, former CIA director Richard Helms told a journalist that he had considered him a prime candidate to head the CIA.
A counterspy at the agency, he was best known for his work with the supposed KGB defector Yuri Nosenko. His insistence that Nosenko was in fact a mole collided with his superiors’ investment in the man. He left the CIA in 1974, the same year Director William Colby forced his colleague, James Jesus Angleton, to retire. Bagley wrote or coauthored three books on the CIA and the KGB. Spymaster was the last of them.
September 29, 2019
I arrived onto Tennent 'Pete' Bagley's publications from, of all topics, the JFK assassination. After an on-line conversation with author and researcher Professor John Newman, regarding Lee Harvey Oswald's so called defection to the Soviet Union in 1959. Was he part of CIA's false defector programme run by Jim Angleton's Counter Intelligence section, to uncover a 'mole' inside the agency?
Newman pointed me in the direction of both 'Spy Wars' and 'Spymaster' when I questioned his belief in a Soviet spy ensconced at Langley.
Of the two books I found 'Spy Wars' the more intriguing read. However, 'Spymaster' documents many memoirs of KGB agent Sergey Kondrashev which, among other topics, does indicate the reality of Soviet penetration of CIA. It also confirms both Bagley's and Angleton's disbelief in Soviet defector Yuri Nosenko, who the spymaster confirms was a false defector.
Regarding Oswald, my jury is still out.
Newman pointed me in the direction of both 'Spy Wars' and 'Spymaster' when I questioned his belief in a Soviet spy ensconced at Langley.
Of the two books I found 'Spy Wars' the more intriguing read. However, 'Spymaster' documents many memoirs of KGB agent Sergey Kondrashev which, among other topics, does indicate the reality of Soviet penetration of CIA. It also confirms both Bagley's and Angleton's disbelief in Soviet defector Yuri Nosenko, who the spymaster confirms was a false defector.
Regarding Oswald, my jury is still out.
January 23, 2024
Spymaster
Proverbs 16:28
English Standard Version
A dishonest man spreads strife, and a whisperer separates close friends.
He loathed the cruelty and brutality of its leaders, who had “gained power more by bribery, backstabbing, toadyism, and favoritism than by knowledge and competence.”
Sergey A. Kondrashev lived an extraordinary life and accomplished great things during his long life in the service of his country of Russia. He loved learning. He was an excellent communicator in several languages and adept reader of people and their intentions and motives. He was also trustworthy and a valued asset of his service wherein he worked and dedicated his life and loyalty to no matter what. But he never lost his morals or his values in spite of everything he had to do or say. He knew who he was and he knew what he was about.
From him I formed my credo ‘Openness, Honesty, Communication. At all times.’ That is my credo because I want to be open about my life as much as possible yet spread awareness about certain issues without people casting judgment on me because of issues that are beyond my control. Speak my truth. Live my truth. Honor my truth. Be open and forthcoming at all times. Especially with those that care and nurture your growth. One to one. Over a long period. Just like Mr. Kondrashev did with the author Mr. Bagley.
Do not be cruel with your actions or your heart. It is not wise. Be loving and kind. In everything that you do. Be nice and the world will be kind to you. Be love. Speak love. Give love. Spread love.
Be love. Rosa expressed her love for her husband always by being a loving force in his career and supporting him when things got tough. Their relationship was one of mutual support, love, growth, understanding, determination, and grit. Support for each other and their families and their careers. Love for what her husband did and faith that he could and would achieve great things no matter what came his way because he had family who believed in him and his purpose.
Speak love. Mr. Kondrashev’s father-in-law spoke love in his life by giving his support and care and words of advice when things got tough. He never allowed his Sergey to give up on himself and never allowed him to give up on his mission and life purpose.
Give love. The German neighbor in the apartment where Mr. Kondrashev grew up with his parents gave love to him by sharing his language and culture and way of assimilating seamlessly into his culture and making sure he perfected the language likes native. It helped him excel and provided benefits many times over in the years to come for Mr. Kondrashev.
Spread love. Sergey spread love by sharing his story and all that happening to him whilst still remaining loyal to his service and country. That showed selfless love and dedication.
Be nice and the world will be kind to you- Mr. Kondrashev exemplified this throughout his life through listening deeply to others and their needs and discerning their true wants and motives and rewarding them if they were nice to him and delivered on their word. He always tried to give an individual a favorable solution to a problem even if others did not agree with his assessment. Why? Because he saw their heart and soul and their dreams and their humanness and not just a person that imparted information unto him in trust and confidence. He was wise in human relationships and how he dealt with others and the impact he had on them. He made others looked good up and down the chain of command in his service whether it benefited him or not because he saw others were human and needed to excel and use their skills for their benefit so they too could shine. Like Misha the cipher who loved numbers and words and had the skill of getting those he worked with to open up enough for them to work with him,to deliver the services he felt would make them happy to please him in their efforts. Misha was a master at convincing others to open up and give numbers and mathematical equations in pictures without diluting the fact that they trusted him because he was open about what he wanted from them without a hint of flattery or guile.
Value relationships and strengthen them. Mr. Kondrashev valued relationships and strengthened them by being open in all of his relationships and hiding nothing from anyone. The only instance he did in certain cases was with the author when he had to keep certain information private for the sake of privacy. As well as keep his relationships strong and healthy in the intelligence service that he loyally served with care, determination, sacrifice, and utmost patience.
He was truly a man worthy to be called blessed and highly favored for his effortless and deft openness. His relentless honesty. And his excellence in communicating his message no matter verbal or nonverbal. People understood and they listened. Because they trusted and had faith in him. He never gave them reason to doubt him or his word.
“A honest soul so rare”
In a world where whispers dance with grace,
Sergey stood, an honest soul so rare.
He listened deeply, hearts in his embrace,
Understanding intents, feelings laid bare.
Languages he wove, cultures to share,
In the tapestry of life, he found his place.
With privacy's shield, he guarded with care,
A fortress strong, where trust did trace.
In dealings honest, beyond compare,
Helpful at every turn, a gentle grace.
Life lived richly, a vibrant chase,
Sergey's legacy, love beyond the surface.
~ 1-16-2024
Proverbs 16:28
English Standard Version
A dishonest man spreads strife, and a whisperer separates close friends.
He loathed the cruelty and brutality of its leaders, who had “gained power more by bribery, backstabbing, toadyism, and favoritism than by knowledge and competence.”
Sergey A. Kondrashev lived an extraordinary life and accomplished great things during his long life in the service of his country of Russia. He loved learning. He was an excellent communicator in several languages and adept reader of people and their intentions and motives. He was also trustworthy and a valued asset of his service wherein he worked and dedicated his life and loyalty to no matter what. But he never lost his morals or his values in spite of everything he had to do or say. He knew who he was and he knew what he was about.
From him I formed my credo ‘Openness, Honesty, Communication. At all times.’ That is my credo because I want to be open about my life as much as possible yet spread awareness about certain issues without people casting judgment on me because of issues that are beyond my control. Speak my truth. Live my truth. Honor my truth. Be open and forthcoming at all times. Especially with those that care and nurture your growth. One to one. Over a long period. Just like Mr. Kondrashev did with the author Mr. Bagley.
Do not be cruel with your actions or your heart. It is not wise. Be loving and kind. In everything that you do. Be nice and the world will be kind to you. Be love. Speak love. Give love. Spread love.
Be love. Rosa expressed her love for her husband always by being a loving force in his career and supporting him when things got tough. Their relationship was one of mutual support, love, growth, understanding, determination, and grit. Support for each other and their families and their careers. Love for what her husband did and faith that he could and would achieve great things no matter what came his way because he had family who believed in him and his purpose.
Speak love. Mr. Kondrashev’s father-in-law spoke love in his life by giving his support and care and words of advice when things got tough. He never allowed his Sergey to give up on himself and never allowed him to give up on his mission and life purpose.
Give love. The German neighbor in the apartment where Mr. Kondrashev grew up with his parents gave love to him by sharing his language and culture and way of assimilating seamlessly into his culture and making sure he perfected the language likes native. It helped him excel and provided benefits many times over in the years to come for Mr. Kondrashev.
Spread love. Sergey spread love by sharing his story and all that happening to him whilst still remaining loyal to his service and country. That showed selfless love and dedication.
Be nice and the world will be kind to you- Mr. Kondrashev exemplified this throughout his life through listening deeply to others and their needs and discerning their true wants and motives and rewarding them if they were nice to him and delivered on their word. He always tried to give an individual a favorable solution to a problem even if others did not agree with his assessment. Why? Because he saw their heart and soul and their dreams and their humanness and not just a person that imparted information unto him in trust and confidence. He was wise in human relationships and how he dealt with others and the impact he had on them. He made others looked good up and down the chain of command in his service whether it benefited him or not because he saw others were human and needed to excel and use their skills for their benefit so they too could shine. Like Misha the cipher who loved numbers and words and had the skill of getting those he worked with to open up enough for them to work with him,to deliver the services he felt would make them happy to please him in their efforts. Misha was a master at convincing others to open up and give numbers and mathematical equations in pictures without diluting the fact that they trusted him because he was open about what he wanted from them without a hint of flattery or guile.
Value relationships and strengthen them. Mr. Kondrashev valued relationships and strengthened them by being open in all of his relationships and hiding nothing from anyone. The only instance he did in certain cases was with the author when he had to keep certain information private for the sake of privacy. As well as keep his relationships strong and healthy in the intelligence service that he loyally served with care, determination, sacrifice, and utmost patience.
He was truly a man worthy to be called blessed and highly favored for his effortless and deft openness. His relentless honesty. And his excellence in communicating his message no matter verbal or nonverbal. People understood and they listened. Because they trusted and had faith in him. He never gave them reason to doubt him or his word.
“A honest soul so rare”
In a world where whispers dance with grace,
Sergey stood, an honest soul so rare.
He listened deeply, hearts in his embrace,
Understanding intents, feelings laid bare.
Languages he wove, cultures to share,
In the tapestry of life, he found his place.
With privacy's shield, he guarded with care,
A fortress strong, where trust did trace.
In dealings honest, beyond compare,
Helpful at every turn, a gentle grace.
Life lived richly, a vibrant chase,
Sergey's legacy, love beyond the surface.
~ 1-16-2024
September 3, 2016
A good book, but a little overwhelming for someone who isn't in the business. I think it would be more enjoyable if you knew all the people and events being described.
April 27, 2015
great stuff
March 21, 2022
This was an interesting book, but it did not go into the details I would have liked. Because of Kondrashev’s loyalty and desire to protect people and Soviet tactics, many details and specifics were omitted. Although there are lots of names mentioned throughout the book to give credibility to the situations, I think in many cases titles/positions could have been used for some of the less important people to aid the reader. I found keeping track of all of the names difficult. There are also a lot of Soviet acronyms, so it is helpful to be familiar with them before starting the book.
Having recently read In The Enemy’s House about US code breaking activity in the 1950s, it was interesting to read the Soviet side of their code breaking efforts. It was also fascinating to read how far back Soviet disinformation tactics go and how long it has been imbedded in their strategy to handle their citizens, satellite countries, and the west. It was a key tactic used during the 1930s purges by Stalin where charges were fabricated with a constant stream of lies and disinformation.
Another key point made was how the Soviet communist regime fostered distrust, hate, and destruction instead of building unity and allowing creativity. Kondrashev noted that people didn’t rise by education, talent, or wisdom but by cronyism, treachery, and brutality. Listening to the segment about Stalin in chapter 3 was eerily close to things happening now with Russia. Stalin destroyed millions of lives and shattered normal society using his perverse argumentation and peculiar logic to convince himself he had no other options but to do the horrible things he did.
Overall a decent book if you want a picture of the Cold War in the 20th century from a Soviet viewpoint but it is not a page turner nor is it full of specific details. It is more about documenting the legacy of a dedicated Soviet general.
Having recently read In The Enemy’s House about US code breaking activity in the 1950s, it was interesting to read the Soviet side of their code breaking efforts. It was also fascinating to read how far back Soviet disinformation tactics go and how long it has been imbedded in their strategy to handle their citizens, satellite countries, and the west. It was a key tactic used during the 1930s purges by Stalin where charges were fabricated with a constant stream of lies and disinformation.
Another key point made was how the Soviet communist regime fostered distrust, hate, and destruction instead of building unity and allowing creativity. Kondrashev noted that people didn’t rise by education, talent, or wisdom but by cronyism, treachery, and brutality. Listening to the segment about Stalin in chapter 3 was eerily close to things happening now with Russia. Stalin destroyed millions of lives and shattered normal society using his perverse argumentation and peculiar logic to convince himself he had no other options but to do the horrible things he did.
Overall a decent book if you want a picture of the Cold War in the 20th century from a Soviet viewpoint but it is not a page turner nor is it full of specific details. It is more about documenting the legacy of a dedicated Soviet general.
April 28, 2025
Really like the parts of the book which were focussed on Sergey Kondrashev, his life, his work, his words. Some part of it felt a bit disjointed specifically where the writer started to plug-in his own perspective.
I understand that it was a hard book to write, since Sergey Kondrashev was not allowed to write his own memoir by Russian Intelligence/ Government restriction and as a patriotic Russian he never wanted to go against the wishes of his superiors. He/ his family members are the real fighters/ survivors who fought not just the external wars but also so many wars on internal fronts on a daily basis. I guess the real strength of Sergey Kondrashev's character and his super-human abilities lies exactly in this domain. He followed his path, followed the orders that were given to him, carried out his duty/ Karma to the best of his ability. I am sure he is in a better place now... And future generations of Russians would admire such a brave a hero... I hope he gets the respect that is due to him...
I understand that it was a hard book to write, since Sergey Kondrashev was not allowed to write his own memoir by Russian Intelligence/ Government restriction and as a patriotic Russian he never wanted to go against the wishes of his superiors. He/ his family members are the real fighters/ survivors who fought not just the external wars but also so many wars on internal fronts on a daily basis. I guess the real strength of Sergey Kondrashev's character and his super-human abilities lies exactly in this domain. He followed his path, followed the orders that were given to him, carried out his duty/ Karma to the best of his ability. I am sure he is in a better place now... And future generations of Russians would admire such a brave a hero... I hope he gets the respect that is due to him...
November 4, 2023
The victor gets to write the history, or at least a heavily redacted version thereof. So a major CIA player meets up with a top KGB player (Kondrashev) and the latter divulges significant tracts of Cold War puzzle pieces when the Cold War is over. Konrashev is now dead and even though there are jaw dropping tid bits, there are no similar CIA revelations. That would be a worthy project! Alas, the deceptive espionage and counterespionage, the theatrical Machiavellian chess game with real life players (of varying rank) will forever be dispersed and diluted amongst the actual masters and we but get to sample absolutely intriguing crumbs.
February 25, 2017
Terrific account of a Soviet spy's 50 years of working against the West. Contains a great forensic dentistry revelation. The tales show the strengths and weaknesses of the Soviet's KGB organization, a big and effective outfit. The effectiveness part is amazing because the members of the organization were well acquainted of the comforts available in the West, but still took great risks to complete their tasks, knowing that none of those comforts would ever be available to them or their families.
October 19, 2021
Having recently read an excellent book about George Blake, the familiar name of Sergey Kondrashev caught my eye when reading the description of this book of Cold War espionage tales. As those who follow my reviews might be aware, I've got a bit of a penchant for all manner of spy stories (especially the true ones), so picking this up was a no-brainer when I came across it as part of Audible's free-to-listen "plus" catalogue. Occasionally a bit too sensationalist in tone, but certainly an interesting and entertaining read if one is into the subject.
October 15, 2019
Absolutely fascinating read. If you want to understand Russian disinformation tactics still used by the FSB today, you must read this book. Putin kept this book from release in Russia. Only after Sergey's death did Bagley publish this masterpiece. It's a man that wrote to come to terms with the corruption rampant in USSR, and many of these players' disciples are in power today.
August 31, 2022
Semi-biography of a KGB agent from 1940s through early 1970s by a former CIA agent and contemporary. A more detailed and personal history of spycraft than you normally see in this genre. Especially good at the mindbendingly complicated process of recruiting/running agents, keeping them safe, and feeding your adversary disinformation.
May 14, 2022
This book was excellent. It gives you the perspective of a KGB agent as he recounts the successes and failures he had over his career. It’s very enlightening and no doubt, some of the tactics of his craft revealed here are still in play today.
November 2, 2022
Lots of information on the history of the CIA/KGB competition and a few looks into the inner workings of the Soviet side, but I found the writing and narration (Audible.com) to be less than expected.
April 29, 2025
Listened on Audible. A little boring at times. Also at several places in audio it isn't clear whether the narrator is speaking for the author, or the Russian agent. Good book though with regard to Cold War espionage/history.
September 22, 2025
Excellent Details
I very much enjoyed how this book provided a different view to many Cold War events. A great read for anyone who has spent time studying different aspects of the period.
I very much enjoyed how this book provided a different view to many Cold War events. A great read for anyone who has spent time studying different aspects of the period.
March 15, 2018
fascinating look inside soviet Russian intelligence apparatus.
February 20, 2019
Very interesting book that everybody should read. Life is a game.
July 9, 2021
Excellent excellent book. Clear, easily understandable for non-spies. Great cold war era stories. Doesn't get bogged down in operational jargon or policy ideas much.
September 6, 2021
Good book but listening to audio version was difficult to follow at times with the numerous characters. Interesting details with a few “new” insights.
December 14, 2021
I learned a lot about the "why's" behind a lot of important Cold War history.
February 4, 2022
I don't know much about espionage during the Cold War, so this was a nice intro. It got bogged down at times but gave a great look into the goings on inside the KGB.
April 29, 2022
Excellent book with lots of interesting historical details.
September 13, 2022
This book was a struggle to keep up with or even take an interest in.
To be honest I could not tell you one thing that happened in the book it was so dry and unengaging.
To be honest I could not tell you one thing that happened in the book it was so dry and unengaging.
September 28, 2022
All bait, no hook. Pretty disappointed with the "startling revelations" promised.
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November 2, 2022good historic overview of a Soviet KGB Chief; perfect for insomnia.
September 1, 2023
A very informative history of the Soviet empire
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