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Natural Born Killer
Since the Kremlin’s 2016 attack on our democracy, the American public has become familiar with terms unique to Russian intelligence culture—kompromat, disinformatsiya, active measures, and, of course, useful idiot, In his new book, Tradecraft, Tactics and Dirty Tricks: Russian Intelligence and Putin’s Secret War, former CIA officer Sean Wiswesser places these techniques in context. In doing so, he offers an in-depth historical view of the Russian secret police and shows how Russian President Vladimir Putin uses the security services (RIS) as instruments of political warfare against the West.
Wiswesser was not only a career officer in the CIA’s Clandestine Service with expertise in Russian operations, he’s long been a dedicated linguist, with a B.A. in Russian Language and Literature from the University of North Carolina. He also holds a degree in Strategic Military Studies from the Air War College. In short, he’s got the right experience and tools for the job.
His book outlines Russian intelligence culture, explaining how Moscow uses espionage, subversion, hybrid warfare, sabotage, and cyberattacks to weaken its adversaries. Along the way, he highlights key moments in the Kremlin’s espionage war against the West. The narrative is strengthened by Wiswesser’s personal stories and experiences working with Russian defectors and intelligence officers.
Wiswesser explains how Vladimir Putin’s reliance on his intelligence services shaped, and ultimately undermined, his approach to Ukraine. By putting those services in the lead in efforts to weaken Ukraine, Putin expected that hybrid operations combining military and intelligence capabilities would succeed before the West could mount a credible response, as they had previously in Georgia and Crimea. However, his reliance on the intelligence services failed disastrously.
Wiswesser argues that, despite this failure, Putin will not abandon the security services because, “under Vladimir Putin, as the RIS goes, so goes Russia.
East is East
Wiswesser aims to draw attention to fundamental differences between Russian and Western intelligence culture and practice. In Russia, he explains, the security services function as a brutal and corrupt state-within-a-state. In functioning democracies, security services exist to protect citizens; in Russia, their primary purpose is to keep the regime in power.
Putin’s rule is illegitimate—even on post-Soviet 1991 Russian terms—and he relies on a powerful coercive apparatus to crush internal opposition. Putin even uses the brutality of his secret police to smoke out potential disloyalty within his ranks. Commenting on the death of Wagner Group head Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wiswesser noted that his death was a “theatrical, symbolic act of state-sponsored homicide to send a warning to other would-be opponents.”
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Like his Soviet predecessors, Putin also deploys these services to disrupt foreign adversaries. Through a range of examples, Wiswesser argues that the Russian security services pose a threat to our way of life comparable to that of the global terrorist groups Washington has battled over the past decades. Indeed, Putin’s secret war in Europe has developed into a reckless campaign of arson, assassination and sabotage.
In recent years, the services have waged a secret war against the United States and Europe, one that includes political interference, subversion, destruction of economic infrastructure, disinformation, sabotage, arson, and assassinations. Putin has even murdered enemies in ways that barely conceal his hand, a blunt reminder to his own subordinates that no one is safe if they cross him. Indeed, dispatching assassins into Europe armed with Russian-produced military-grade nerve agents, and deploying drones from shadow fleet vessels to interfere with commercial air traffic, suggest that Putin sees himself in a war with the West, even if the West has been slow to acknowledge it.
(In her inaugural speech as MI6 chief in December, Blaise Metreweli took the gloves off, describing Russia as a “menace” and vowing to give Putin a taste of his own medicine.)
Subterfuge, misdirection, sabotage and terror have been primary tools of the Bolsheviks since their earliest days as a violent revolutionary movement under the czars, so it’s no surprise that, once they seized power in 1917, their intelligence services and secret police adopted the same methods—and never relinquished them.
In many ways, today’s Russian intelligence services are even more aggressive than their KGB predecessors. To Putin, a career KGB officer, the intelligence and security services are his primary tools of statecraft and his chief weapons against enemies, domestic and foreign. But while the Soviet KGB answered to the collective Communist Party and maintained a façade of legalism, the Kremlin’s secret police today serve as Vladimir Putin’s personal instruments. Brutality, lack of accountability, corruption, and dishonesty are baked into the system. Unfortunately for Putin, incompetence, drunkenness, and a fear of speaking truth to power are also enduring realities within the services
Sean M,. Wiswesser (Nordic Defence Review)Blood Traces
Although the Soviet Union collapsed more than 30 years ago, former KGB officer Vladimir Putin has recreated an oppressive security system that jails and kills domestic opposition and conducts relentless political warfare against the West. Russian spies and defectors—some of whom Wiswesser knows personally—have warned repeatedly that the Kremlin is propped up by an evil secret police apparatus, and that Russia will never become a healthy, respected, and prosperous country unless and until it dismantles its system of repression and secret warfare. But even if Putin dies tomorrow, it’s likely the KGB state will endure.
I particularly appreciate the author’s willingness to call out the despicable culture of the Russian intelligence services, even as he conveys a deep affection for the Russian people and their history. Russia will never be a responsible state, or a safe home for its people, as long as a criminal, terroristic regime remains in the Kremlin.
Subscribe now
My one small criticism of Tradecraft, Tactics and Dirty Tricks is that Wiswesser front-loads the book with chapters detailing the bureaucracy and organizational structure of the Russian intelligence services. Even the most eloquent wordsmith would struggle to make an org chart compelling. I would have preferred that he move more quickly into his more engaging stories, anecdotes, and history, and reserve the administrative details for an appendix.
Wiswesser’s book will surely become an essential resource for national security professionals, students of the Russian government, and citizens interested in international affairs. Perhaps more importantly, it may serve as a primer for future FBI and intelligence officials. Prior to 2025, we could count on the professionalism of the FBI’s counterintelligence cadre to protect Americans from Russian espionage and hybrid attacks. For reasons that can only be described as personal and partisan, the Trump administration and FBI Director Kash Patel have decimated and dismantled the bureau’s ability to defend Americans from the Kremlin’s assaults. In that sense, Wiswesser’s book may prove especially valuable when the FBI rebuilds its counterintelligence mission. Let’s hope it’s not too late.
As noted above, despite the fall of the Soviet Union, Kremlin deceit and political warfare have remained constant. Sadly, so has the West’s inability to recognize and respond to the threat. Sean Wiswesser has done his part to warn us that failure to act will only further damage Western democracy.###
John Sipher worked for the CIA’s clandestine service for 28 years. He is now a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and a co-founder of Spycraft Entertainment. John served multiple overseas tours as a chief of station and deputy chief of station in Europe, Asia, and in high-threat environments. He is the recipient of the CIA’s Distinguished Career Intelligence Medal.
Tradecraft, Tactics, and Dirty Tricks: Russian Intelligence and Putin’s Secret War. Sean M. Wiswessser. Naval Institute Press, Apr. 21, 2026. Order in advance here.
SSpyTalk is a wholly reader-supported publication—no ads, no foundation grants, no corporate sponsors. Yet we’re continuing to grow and punch above our weight, thanks to people like you. So how about getting paid or taking out a free trial right here and now?
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By Jeff SteinSince the Kremlin’s 2016 attack on our democracy, the American public has become familiar with terms unique to Russian intelligence culture—kompromat, disinformatsiya, active measures, and, of course, useful idiot, In his new book, Tradecraft, Tactics and Dirty Tricks: Russian Intelligence and Putin’s Secret War, former CIA officer Sean Wiswesser places these techniques in context. In doing so, he offers an in-depth historical view of the Russian secret police and shows how Russian President Vladimir Putin uses the security services (RIS) as instruments of political warfare against the West.
Wiswesser was not only a career officer in the CIA’s Clandestine Service with expertise in Russian operations, he’s long been a dedicated linguist, with a B.A. in Russian Language and Literature from the University of North Carolina. He also holds a degree in Strategic Military Studies from the Air War College. In short, he’s got the right experience and tools for the job.
His book outlines Russian intelligence culture, explaining how Moscow uses espionage, subversion, hybrid warfare, sabotage, and cyberattacks to weaken its adversaries. Along the way, he highlights key moments in the Kremlin’s espionage war against the West. The narrative is strengthened by Wiswesser’s personal stories and experiences working with Russian defectors and intelligence officers.
Wiswesser explains how Vladimir Putin’s reliance on his intelligence services shaped, and ultimately undermined, his approach to Ukraine. By putting those services in the lead in efforts to weaken Ukraine, Putin expected that hybrid operations combining military and intelligence capabilities would succeed before the West could mount a credible response, as they had previously in Georgia and Crimea. However, his reliance on the intelligence services failed disastrously.
Wiswesser argues that, despite this failure, Putin will not abandon the security services because, “under Vladimir Putin, as the RIS goes, so goes Russia.
East is East
Wiswesser aims to draw attention to fundamental differences between Russian and Western intelligence culture and practice. In Russia, he explains, the security services function as a brutal and corrupt state-within-a-state. In functioning democracies, security services exist to protect citizens; in Russia, their primary purpose is to keep the regime in power.
Putin’s rule is illegitimate—even on post-Soviet 1991 Russian terms—and he relies on a powerful coercive apparatus to crush internal opposition. Putin even uses the brutality of his secret police to smoke out potential disloyalty within his ranks. Commenting on the death of Wagner Group head Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wiswesser noted that his death was a “theatrical, symbolic act of state-sponsored homicide to send a warning to other would-be opponents.”
Subscribe now
Like his Soviet predecessors, Putin also deploys these services to disrupt foreign adversaries. Through a range of examples, Wiswesser argues that the Russian security services pose a threat to our way of life comparable to that of the global terrorist groups Washington has battled over the past decades. Indeed, Putin’s secret war in Europe has developed into a reckless campaign of arson, assassination and sabotage.
In recent years, the services have waged a secret war against the United States and Europe, one that includes political interference, subversion, destruction of economic infrastructure, disinformation, sabotage, arson, and assassinations. Putin has even murdered enemies in ways that barely conceal his hand, a blunt reminder to his own subordinates that no one is safe if they cross him. Indeed, dispatching assassins into Europe armed with Russian-produced military-grade nerve agents, and deploying drones from shadow fleet vessels to interfere with commercial air traffic, suggest that Putin sees himself in a war with the West, even if the West has been slow to acknowledge it.
(In her inaugural speech as MI6 chief in December, Blaise Metreweli took the gloves off, describing Russia as a “menace” and vowing to give Putin a taste of his own medicine.)
Subterfuge, misdirection, sabotage and terror have been primary tools of the Bolsheviks since their earliest days as a violent revolutionary movement under the czars, so it’s no surprise that, once they seized power in 1917, their intelligence services and secret police adopted the same methods—and never relinquished them.
In many ways, today’s Russian intelligence services are even more aggressive than their KGB predecessors. To Putin, a career KGB officer, the intelligence and security services are his primary tools of statecraft and his chief weapons against enemies, domestic and foreign. But while the Soviet KGB answered to the collective Communist Party and maintained a façade of legalism, the Kremlin’s secret police today serve as Vladimir Putin’s personal instruments. Brutality, lack of accountability, corruption, and dishonesty are baked into the system. Unfortunately for Putin, incompetence, drunkenness, and a fear of speaking truth to power are also enduring realities within the services
Sean M,. Wiswesser (Nordic Defence Review)Blood Traces
Although the Soviet Union collapsed more than 30 years ago, former KGB officer Vladimir Putin has recreated an oppressive security system that jails and kills domestic opposition and conducts relentless political warfare against the West. Russian spies and defectors—some of whom Wiswesser knows personally—have warned repeatedly that the Kremlin is propped up by an evil secret police apparatus, and that Russia will never become a healthy, respected, and prosperous country unless and until it dismantles its system of repression and secret warfare. But even if Putin dies tomorrow, it’s likely the KGB state will endure.
I particularly appreciate the author’s willingness to call out the despicable culture of the Russian intelligence services, even as he conveys a deep affection for the Russian people and their history. Russia will never be a responsible state, or a safe home for its people, as long as a criminal, terroristic regime remains in the Kremlin.
Subscribe now
My one small criticism of Tradecraft, Tactics and Dirty Tricks is that Wiswesser front-loads the book with chapters detailing the bureaucracy and organizational structure of the Russian intelligence services. Even the most eloquent wordsmith would struggle to make an org chart compelling. I would have preferred that he move more quickly into his more engaging stories, anecdotes, and history, and reserve the administrative details for an appendix.
Wiswesser’s book will surely become an essential resource for national security professionals, students of the Russian government, and citizens interested in international affairs. Perhaps more importantly, it may serve as a primer for future FBI and intelligence officials. Prior to 2025, we could count on the professionalism of the FBI’s counterintelligence cadre to protect Americans from Russian espionage and hybrid attacks. For reasons that can only be described as personal and partisan, the Trump administration and FBI Director Kash Patel have decimated and dismantled the bureau’s ability to defend Americans from the Kremlin’s assaults. In that sense, Wiswesser’s book may prove especially valuable when the FBI rebuilds its counterintelligence mission. Let’s hope it’s not too late.
As noted above, despite the fall of the Soviet Union, Kremlin deceit and political warfare have remained constant. Sadly, so has the West’s inability to recognize and respond to the threat. Sean Wiswesser has done his part to warn us that failure to act will only further damage Western democracy.###
John Sipher worked for the CIA’s clandestine service for 28 years. He is now a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and a co-founder of Spycraft Entertainment. John served multiple overseas tours as a chief of station and deputy chief of station in Europe, Asia, and in high-threat environments. He is the recipient of the CIA’s Distinguished Career Intelligence Medal.
Tradecraft, Tactics, and Dirty Tricks: Russian Intelligence and Putin’s Secret War. Sean M. Wiswessser. Naval Institute Press, Apr. 21, 2026. Order in advance here.
SSpyTalk is a wholly reader-supported publication—no ads, no foundation grants, no corporate sponsors. Yet we’re continuing to grow and punch above our weight, thanks to people like you. So how about getting paid or taking out a free trial right here and now?
Share