Bittman Ladisclav. The KGB and Soviet Disinformation: An Insider's View

Washington D.C.: Pergamon-Brassey’s International Defense Publishers, 1985. — 239 p. — ISBN: 0-08-031572-0In recent years the West has learned a great deal about the Soviet bloc’s use of what they now call “active measures”. As part of their political and military strategy, Moscow and its allies use a variety of overt and covert means to influence Western perceptions and to influence our decisionmaking about defense and foreign affairs. Perhaps the most useful source of information about Soviet active measures has been former expert practitioners who have defected to the West. They have provided us with major insights into Soviet doctrine, institutions, resources, and techniques. Some may question the reliability of information provided by defectors, particularly those who practiced disinformation and other active measures techniques. Indeed healthy skepticism is always in order, especially in the murky world of clandestine activities. Nevertheless, prudent students who sift the information provided by defectors and cross-check it against the testimony and memoirs of statesmen, diplomats, journalists, information from historical archives, captured documents, the trials of convicted secret agents and other sources, cannot fail to deepen their understanding of contemporary Soviet strategy. The information and analysis on active measures provided by Ladislav Bittman since his defection from the Czech intelligence and security service in 1968, is extremely useful. His book, The Deception Game (1972), the first by a former Czechoslovak active measures and disinformation specialist, was influential to many both in and out of government. Now in The KGB and Soviet Disinformation: An Insider’s View, he provides specific names, dates, and places to further document Soviet and Czech operations designed to influence Western behavior. In addition, based on his experience and understanding of the active measures ethos of the Soviet bloc, he seeks to describe and to explain Soviet operations since his defection. His account of recent developments in various parts of the world is fascinating.Foreword by Roy GodsonRecollections of a Former Perpetrator
Espionage Giant
Disinformation Mills
The Messenger
The Art of Forgery
The Iranian Hostage Crisis: The Soviet Connection
Playing with War
The Nation of Immigrants
Love Affair with Tferror
Target: The CIA
Business, Science, and TechnologyEpilogAbout the Author