Knopf Publishing Group
The Illegals: Russia's Most Audacious Spies and Their Century-Long Mission to Infiltrate the West
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The definitive history of Russia’s most secret spy program, from the earliest days of the Soviet Union to Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, and a revelatory examination of how that hidden history shaped both Russia and the West.
More than a century ago, the new Bolshevik government began sending Soviet citizens abroad as deep-cover spies, training them to pose as foreign aristocrats, merchants, and students. Over time, this grew into the most ambitious espionage program in history. Many intelligence agencies use undercover operatives, but the KGB was the only one to go to such lengths, spending years training its spies in language and etiquette, and sending them abroad on missions that could last for decades. These spies were known as “illegals.” During the Second World War, illegals were dispatched behind enemy lines to assassinate high-ranking Nazis. Later, in the Cold War, they were sent to assimilate and lie low as sleepers in the West. The greatest among them performed remarkable feats, while many others failed in their missions or cracked under the strain of living a double life.
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Book Details
ISBN:
9780593319680
EAN:
0593319680
Binding:
Hardcover
Pages:
448
Authors:
Shaun Walker
Publisher:
Knopf Publishing Group
Published Date: 2025-15-04
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Fantastic book covering the beginning of Russian spy work since its beginning in the early 20th Century. Excellent actual history.
Who among us would think the Soviet Union, at its inception, would have crafted and honed a spy program that would send people "indistinguishable from regular folks" to a variety of places around the world to try to wend their way into whatever governmental system they'd been sent to investigate? Yep. At its inception. Going all the way back to Lenin. Of course, most readers would be most concerned about their efforts within the United States. That is exactly where Shawn Walker focuses his writing. Although the spy program only yielded spotty results over the decades, the concept was cunning. It was executed with great precision, even though its results were marginal.The digital age has altered fundamentally the DNA of how spying is conducted across the world today. That said, Walker has prepared a granular and accessible piece describing the persistent efforts that go into "we wanna know what you're really up to" efforts that every group engages in to know "the real goings on" about other groups.Of note: the children of these "spy couples" are an unintended consequence of this program. By that I mean that the children of these couples, raised and educated in the good ol' USofA, have a difficult time meshing their own lived experiences and nurtured patriotism with the values and intentions of their parents. I'd like to see a book that delves into that psychological dissonance.
Bunch of individual stories about Russian agents in deep cover. Other than the acquisition of nuclear knowledge after WWII (which was huge) (not much time on this in book), there isn't much evidence in the book about what these deep agents actually did. After all this spying, Russia is still a fairly backwards country under autocratic leadership.
Boring
Though the book is scholarly and well documented, it reads like a novel. For anyone who has lived through the post-WWII era and was paying attention, much will be both familiar and shocking. Great read.
