“Spies: The Epic Intelligence War Between East vs. West” – with Calder Walton
SpyCast
Introduction
Each week we explore some aspect of the world of intelligence and espionage. The International Spy Museum's historian Dr Andrew Hammond talks about a hundred year intelligence war that has been going on between Russia and Western powers.
Summary
Calder Walton (Website, Twitter) joins Andrew (Twitter; LinkedIn) to discuss the 100-year intelligence war between the United States and Russia. Calder is the author of the new book, SPIES.
*EXTENDED SHOW NOTES & FULL TRANSCRIPT HERE*
What You’ll Learn
Intelligence
- The epic clash of intelligence systems
- Russia’s assassination program then and now
- The roots of Putinism
- China as “the Soviet Union on steroids”
Reflections
- Cold War 2.0
- Could it have been otherwise?
And much, much more …
Quotes of the Week
My conclusion, unfortunately, Andrew, is that looking at this large sweep of history that we have, not so much a Putin problem today, but a Russia problem. And the Russia problem has been persistent over a hundred years, which is why it makes me very cautious about speculation … Unfortunately, it seems to me that the Putin and the people he surrounds himself with in the Kremlin are all cut from this very similar cloth as he is.
Resources
SURFACE SKIM
*Headline Resource*
- SPIES: The Epic Intelligence War Between East and West, Calder Walton (Simon & Schuster, 2023)
*SpyCasts*
- Ukraine & the Alliance with NATO’s Assistant Secretary General for Intelligence David Cattler (2023)
- Ukraine & Intelligence: One Year On with Shane Harris (2023)
- Becoming a Russian Intelligence Officer with Janosh Neumann (2022)
- The Spies Who Came in From the Cold with Chris Costa and John Quattrocki at the Pritzker Military Museum & Library in Chicago (2022)
- Dealing with Russia with Counterintelligence Legend Jim Olson (2022)
- CIA Legend Jack Devine on Countering Russian Aggression (2012)
*Beginner Resources*
- Putin’s Revisionist History of Russia and Ukraine, I. Chotiner, New Yorker (2022) [Short article]
- Has Putin's war failed and what does Russia want?, P. Kirby, BBC (2023) [Short article]
- The Cold War Explained in 15 Minutes, YouTube (2021) [15 min. video]
*EXTENDED SHOW NOTES & FULL TRANSCRIPT HERE*
DEEPER DIVE
Books
- Russian Intelligence, K. Riehle (NIU, 2022)
- Putin’s People, C. Belton (William Collins, 2021)
- Between Two Fires, J. Yaffa (Duggan Books, 2020)
- The New Cold War, E. Lucas (St. Martin’s Griffin, 2014)
Primary Sources
- The Putin Files, CBS (n.d.)
- Memorandum of Conversations (Rise of Putin)
- Clinton with Putin (2000)
- Clinton with Putin (2000)
- Clinton with Yeltsin (1999)
- Clinton with Yeltsin (1999)
- Clinton with Putin (1999)
- Madelaine Albright with Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov (1999)
- Clinton with Putin (1999)
- Clinton with Yeltsin (1999)
Oral Histories
- U.S. Ambassadors to Moscow
- John Huntsman (2017-2019)
- John F. Tefft (2014-2017)
- Michael McFaul (2012-2014)
- John Beryle (2008-2012)
- Alexander Vershbow (2001-2005)
- James F. Collins (1997-2001)
- Thomas R. Pickering (1993-1996)
- Jack F. Matlock (1987-1991)
*Wildcard Resource*
- Putin Strikes: The Coming War for Eastern Europe
- A two-player board game where one commands the Kremlin’s forces and the other an international polyglot force. Trippy or what?
*EXTENDED SHOW NOTES & FULL TRANSCRIPT HERE*
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