In Stalin's Secret Service: Memoirs of the First Soviet Master Spy to Defect [Hardcover]

Krivitsky got his start in the Comintern and was involved in a wide range of espionage and subversion. The previous reviewer is simply incorrect about this. A careful reading of his memoirs reveals fascinating details about Soviet intelligence operations throughout Europe, including attempts to topple governments in Germany, Bulgaria, and Estonia through outright insurrection. Krivitsky also relates insider information about early Soviet signals intelligence, and top-secret details about Japanese intentions in the Far East. He was privy to Stalin's reaction to Hitler's purge of the SA. Krivitsky offers insights into a wide range of additional topics, including the role of Comintern and Red Army intelligence operatives in the Russian Civil War and war with Poland; the organizational development of Red Army intelligence; key personalities like Yan Berzin and Otto Kuussinen; the infighting between Red Army intelligence and the secret police (Cheka-OGPU-NKVD); the struggle for control of the CPSU leadership after Lenin's death; the role of Soviet intelligence in the Spanish Civil War; the origins of the purges; and even the value of American passports for covert operations.

Krivitsky remains to date the highest ranked publically indentified GRU (as Soviet/Russian military intelligence is known today)defector in history, and he was also one of the first. His insights and details have been confirmed by dozens of other accounts and sources down through the decades.

Familiarity with the historical context of his work enhances its value, but anyone with an interest in Soviet espionage (which in the case of the Soviet Union is inseparable from issues of state policy and politics--indeed, the more "sensational" works which focus exclusively on "spy stories" inevitably miss the larger point) should find Krivitsky's memoirs provocative, entertaining and rewarding.

So, if you liked Robert Conquest's The Great Terror or are interested in Stalinist Russia I would recommend this book to you. If you were like me and are interested in something of a more espionage bent, look elsewhere.

Maybe, except one or two. Krivitsky warned many times that the NKVD agents were after him and was still neglected by the FBI who did not stir a finger to protect him. The Bureau oficially refused to conduct an investigation after he was shot at the Bellevue Hotel in Washington and only secretly J.Edgar Hoover gave orders to his agents to look into the matter. That was one of the most shameful cases in his career. Then followed Dusko Popov and Peter Popov.

Concerning "the highest ranked publicly identified GRU", as Mr Leonard notes, Isaac Don Levine, who was ghostwriting Krivitsky's book, dramatically exaggerated his rank: in fact, he was Senior Lieutenant of State Security, which was equal to the Red Army Captain. To date, the highest ranked GRU defector is probably Lt.Col. Alexander Krapiva, who defected in Vienna in 1991. Among those, who worked as agents in place, there were, of course, Oleg Penkovsky and Gen.Polyakov, both GRU.

Again, I want to stress, that the review of Mr Raymond W. Leonard is most brilliant and knowledgeable.