The Sword and the Shield: The Mitrokhin Archive and the Secret History of the KGB

by Christopher Andrew, Vasili Mitrokhin, Charles Stransky

Release Date: May, 2000

Edition: Audio Cassette

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Interesting History of KGB!

This book is probably the most popular book on the KGB now. I got it from my local library and read it. Like the previous reviewer said, don't let this be your first book or for that matter the only book you read on the topic of the KGB. It is a multi-faceted book that doesn't have to be read cover-to-cover to follow. I skipped around a lot. It is engrossing and a page turner at times, yet dry and boring on some matters. While V. Mitrokhin makes light of Soviet disinformation, deception, and lies, I don't quite go along with his perspectives (which is obviously somewhat influence by disinformation) on a few minor points... Mitrokin's revelations are however interesting. All in all, the Sword and the Shield is an intriguing book worth a read (assuming your interested in the the KGB Soviet police state.)

I recommend those interested in the KGB consider reading The State Within a State: The KGB and Its Hold on Russia--Past, Present, and Future by Yevgenia Albats.

An extraordinary and invaluable historical record

The book summarises and gives context to a remarkable set of documents: the notes smuggled out of the KGB over 12 years by a trusted archivist, Vasili Mitrokhin. The courage that this entailed on the part of a man who had seen through the tawdriness and oppression of the totalitarian state he served is almost beyond comprehension. The notes that he made are an invaluable historical record of the clandestine actions of a brutal regime, and expose thousands who served that cause. The book comprises both fascinating history and devastating political analysis. For example, anyone who still harbours illusions about the murderousness and sadism of Leninism should read the chapter dealing with the conduct of the Cheka in the Civil War, and the authors' exposure of the myth that the nascent Bolshevik state faced a determined effort by the western democracies to crush it. The authors also stress the essential point that our side, the liberal democratic side, was qualitatively different in its conduct of espionage from our totalitarian adversaries: we confronted an aggressive external threat, while they harried, incarcerated and in many cases murdered their own subjects. Much the most revealing and shocking part of the book is its account of the 'active measures' (i.e. persecution and fabrication) undertaken against the courageous men and women who opposed the Sviet regime from within. All credit to Mitrokhin for his valour, and to Andrews for fashioning such a readable and authoritative narrative from the source material.