The first and best authoritative history of the KGB, from its origins after the Russian Revolution, to the crumbling of the Soviet bloc in the Gorbachev era. With chapters on 'Stalin and Spy-mania', the Cambridge spy ring, the Cold War, the 'Decline and Fall of Detente' this also explores operations against Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan, Fidel Castro, Bulgarian assassination squads and the disintegration of the Soviet bloc. Christopher Andrew is an academic and expert in the history of security and intelligence agencies. Co-author Oleg Gordievsky, arguably the world's most important spy since WW2, had unique access to top-secret documents and inteligence during his 23 years in the KGB. Christopher Andrew, an expert in the history of security and intelligence agencies First published in 1990, this remains the definitive account of the Soviet Union's secret intelligence service, and will be fascinating for any reader interested in discovering how Putin's Russia was formed.