Jonathan Haslam, George F. Kennan Professor in the School of Historical Studies, has authored Near and Distant Neighbors: A New History of Soviet Intelligence (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2015), which charts the labyrinthine story of Soviet intelligence from the October Revolution to the end of the Cold War. Drawing on previously neglected Russian sources, Haslam reveals how military intelligence and the special service were crucial to the survival of the Soviet state, especially after Stalin's death in 1953, as Nikita Khrushchev and his successors discarded ideological recruitment in favor of blackmail and bribery. Haslam offers a portrayal of Soviet success that is key to understanding Vladimir Putin's power today.
