Is this a scholarly history or a popular account?

It is a journalist's account built from published cases, interviews and defector testimony. Expect narrative and argument rather than new archival findings.

Does it cover the war in Ukraine?

Yes. The later chapters connect KGB disinformation, kompromat and surveillance to Russia's current information war.

Mark Hollingworth, a journalist writing on intelligence and Russian operations in the West.

Is it suitable for someone new to the subject?

Yes. It works as an entry point, though the large cast of officers and operations takes attention.

Does it focus only on the US?

No. It covers operations across Western Europe as well, including parliamentarians, diplomats and civil services.

Agents of Influence: How the KGB Subverted Western Democracies

Q: Where is the Agents of Influence: How the KGB Subverted Western Democracies cheapest?

At VitalSource, for $10.99, 42% under what the other stores charge, as of our latest check.

Q: Where can I buy the Agents of Influence: How the KGB Subverted Western Democracies?

10 stores we checked sell it, including VitalSource, Blackwell's, Bookshop.org, Barnes & Noble, Schuler Books & Music.

Best price now

$10.99at VitalSourceChecked Nov 2

42% under what the other stores charge

Compared across 10 stores. Prices are checked against each store and labelled with when.

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What reviewers say

Readers drawn to Cold War espionage respond to the book's pace and the volume of cases it strings together, and it is often praised as a readable introduction to KGB active measures. The common reservation is that it synthesizes known material rather than breaking new ground.

What people mention

PacePraisedReaders describe it as a gripping, quick read that strings operations together like a narrative.
ResearchMixedSome say it pulls together known cases well; others find little that is new for readers deep in the subject.
SourcingCriticisedA few episodes rest on single sources, which some readers want flagged more clearly.
RelevancePraisedThe link from Cold War methods to the war in Ukraine is what many readers find most useful.

About the Agents of Influence: How the KGB Subverted Western Democracies

Agents of Influence is a history of the KGB as an intelligence agency that answered to no one but itself. It describes the agency's efforts to subvert Western politics on a very large scale. In 1985, 1,300 KGB officers were stationed in the USA, while the FBI had 350 counter-intelligence officers.

The book describes how, since the early days of the Cold War, the KGB seduced parliamentarians and diplomats, infiltrated the highest levels of the Civil Service, and planted fake news in newspapers around the world.

Journalist Mark Hollingworth also examines how disinformation, kompromat and secret surveillance continue to play key roles in Russia's war with Ukraine. The book argues that Putin is a KGB man through and through.

Subject

KGB influence operations in Western democracies

Topics

Cold War espionage, disinformation, kompromat, surveillance