Revanchist policies from the Kremlin, crackdowns on protesters – lately with Russia it seems like everything old is new again. So perhaps it’s time to look back at the very embodiment of Cold War tensions – the infamous KGB (Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti, or Committee of State Security). Rarely violent but often threatening, the constant presence of KGB agents became a fact of life for those serving in the U.S.S.R., especially Moscow. From smashed car windows to seductive blondes, the Soviets used many tactics to intimidate and monitor the Americans placed in their charge. And yet many Foreign Service officers found they were able to coexist with their KGB counterparts, and often formed wary relationships of grudging respect.
E. Wayne Merry, a consular officer in Moscow from 1980-1983, was interviewed by Charles Stuart Kennedy beginning in February 2010. Joseph Neubert was a political officer in Moscow from 1953-1956 and submitted his autobiography to ADST in 2007. John Todd Stewart served as a commercial officer from 1974-1977; he was interviewed by Charles Stuart Kennedy beginning October 1999. Kempton Jenkins, who was a political officer in Moscow from 1960-1962, was interviewed by Kennedy beginning in February 1995. Vladimir Lehovich, who worked for the United States Information Service (USIS) from 1961-1962, was also interviewed by Kennedy, beginning March 1997. You can read about Naomi Collins’ adventures in Moscow in the 1960s and Stephen Dachi’s recruitment by the Hungarian Ministry of the Interior.
Read Full Article »