a book detailing the history of the Russian secret police, from the Opritchniki, established in the 1500s, to the KGB of the 1960s. shares the stories of several prominent SMERSH victims as well as the accounts of the few KGB defectors that managed to get out. my only critiques are the large number of errors in the writing (spelling mistakes, missing letters, missing words) and the chapters introducing the history of the organization itself, which didn't adhere to a chronological path, making it confusing to follow. overall, however, an interesting book.