Mark Hollingsworth - Agents of Influence - How the KGB Subverted Western Democracies

There’s no such thing as a former KGB man, writes Mark Hollingsworth. Is the FSB an intelligence agency gone out of control, accountable to no one but itself and intent on subverting Western political institutions? The scale of Russian disinformation warfare and Active Measures is huge even when compared to their activities at the height of the Cold War. In 1985, 1,300 KGB officers were stationed in the USA. The FBI only had 350 counter-intelligence officers. Since the early days of the Cold War, the KGB seduced parliamentarians and diplomats, infiltrated the highest echelons of the Civil Service, and planted fake news in papers across the world. More disturbingly, it never stopped. ~~~~~ Mark Hollingsworth is an investigative journalist and author of 10 books, notably ‘Londongrad – From Russia with Cash, the Inside Story of the Oligarchs’ – published in 2010. He has also written biographies of Mark Thatcher and Tim Bell and acclaimed studies on MI5 and the Saudi Royal Family. He started his career working for Granada TV’s award-winning ‘World in Action’ programme and now contributes regularly to ‘The Times’, ‘Mail on Sunday’, ‘The Guardian’ and ‘The Sunday Times’. His most recent articles about Russia are published in the Spectator. He is currently writing a history of the KGB. ~~~~~ BOOKS: Defending the Realm: Inside MI5 and the War on Terrorism (2004) by Mark Hollingsworth, Nick Fielding Londongrad: From Russia with Cash; The Inside Story of the Oligarchs (2009) by Mark Hollingsworth, Stewart Lansley Saudi Babylon: Torture, Corruption and Cover-Up Inside the House of Saud (2012) by Mark Hollingsworth, Sandy Mitchell ~~~~~