Description:
Once out of active service, many former spies have turned to writing spy fiction. They drop the dagger and pick up the pen. Some are very successful, like James Bond's creator Ian Fleming or the novelists John Le Carré and Graham Greene. Their Soviet counterparts have rarely been afforded the same attention or examination.
Drawing on materials from KGB archives and Soviet publications long out of print, KGB Literati offers the first-ever account of spy fiction written, frequently with institutional support, by Soviet intelligence and counterintelligence officers. Spy fiction can give insights into the operational workings of clandestine agencies and the personal dimensions of secret service work. By analysing the literary output of KGB spies and counterspies, the book shows that for the KGB, this type of intervention into Soviet popular culture was a crucial component of their overall counterintelligence strategy. These texts played an instrumental role in the Soviet state's efforts to neutralize and counter Western cultural influences on the Soviet population.
Filip Kovacevic's research is of great relevance today, given that a large segment of the Russian ruling elite is still composed of former KGB officers, including Russian president Vladimir Putin. KGB Literati illuminates the deep-seated KGB myths, values, aspirations, and fears that continue to have a profound impact on the foreign and domestic policies of the Russian Federation.
Review Quotes: "KGB Literati is a revelation, drawing back the iron curtain to reveal the little-known world of Soviet espionage literature. Filled with probing insight and depth, meticulously researched, unprecedented in its scope, Kovacevic's work might very well prove to be the definitive work chronicling KGB spook-scribes. A must-read for academics, fans of spy fiction, and anyone seeking to understand the power and place of literature in the great geopolitical game."--I.S. Berry, Author of The Peacock and the Sparrow
"Kovacevic's meticulous research illuminates a dark corner in Soviet intelligence history by opening the world of Soviet spy fiction to a non-Russian audience. Without Kovacevic's research, the literary works of Soviet intelligence and counterintelligence officers, and the tenacious anti-Western propaganda purpose behind them, would remain a shadow outside Russia."--Dr. Kevin Riehle, Lecturer, Intelligence and International Security, Brunel University London
"A major contribution to both the study of spy fiction and intelligence studies, and the most comprehensive account yet of the role current and former KGB officers played in shaping the genre in the Soviet Union. The figure of the spy turned spy fiction writer has played a major role in both academic studies of intelligence and the wider popular culture that surrounds the business of espionage. But this understanding has tended to focus upon former intelligence officers turned writers in the West like Ian Fleming and John Le Carrè. Kovacevic's account breaks with this Western-centric approach and in so-doing significantly broadens our understanding of so-called "spy fiction", or the interplay that exists between the real world of espionage and our popular fictions about it. A must read for anybody interested in intelligence, spy fiction, and the role that culture played during the Cold War."--Simon Willmetts, Associate Professor of Intelligence Studies at the Institute of Security and Global Affairs, Leiden University