Russian Intelligence Services

Sound Bite

Scholarly analysis and narrative flair combine to give both the facts and the flavor of the battle scenes as well as of the espionage milieu: the establishment of the secret services in Kievan Rus, and the heroes and systems of intelligence and counter-intelligence in the 10th - 12th centuries, including the times of Prince Vladimir.

About the Book

Mysterious episodes from Russia's early history are unearthed and examined in this study which is drawn from ancient chronicles and preserved documents from Russia, Greece, Byzantium and the Vatican library. Russia's founding is the story of the arrival of the Varangian princes, the evolution of Kiev as a great city and the blossoming of the Riurik Dynasty. This history entailed alliances and betrayals with  neighbors ranging from the Polish to the Pechenegs. In a sequence of wars and intrigues, marriages and poisoned wells, how did besieged cities break the blockades, and in other cases how did besiegers break  the hold outs' resistance?