In 1921, Reza Khan rose to power with the help of the British government. He led a modernization of Persia, insisting the international community refer to his country as Iran. His son, Mohammad Reza Shah, inherited the throne in 1941.

The Shah expanded his authority using a violent secret police force called SAVAK. They terrorized the Iranian people and preyed on Iranians abroad. They helped enforced the Shah's rule, even as his White Revolution displaced rural communities and alienated Shia clergy. Decades-long economic exploitation and authoritarian repression ignited a series of phases leading to the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Substack: Secret Police Podcast

YouTube: Secret Police Podcast

Instagram: @secretpolicepodcast

X/Twitter: @hush_popo

Sources:

1979 Iranian Revolution, Explained | Last Persian Shah. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXlHxrBJoik&ab_channel=Timeline-WorldHistoryDocumentaries 

Geography Now! Iran. Geography Now. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xQM4Zy5zIk&ab_channel=GeographyNow 

Top pistachio producing countries

https://nazari-pistachio.com/articles/top-pistachio-producers/#:~:text=The%20US%2C%20Iran%2C%20and%20Turkey,respectively%20in%20the%20market%20share. 

Top Saffron Producer Countries. https://agromedbotanic.com/saffron-producer-countries/

A Super Quick History of Iran. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sTf1FIxnJs&ab_channel=MrHistory 

The Background of Human Rights. https://www.youthforhumanrights.org/course/lesson/background-of-human-rights/the-background-of-human-rights.html 

Zoroastrianism Explained. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hl9QgeHdKYk&ab_channel=Cogito 

Shia-Sunni split:

Shia and Sunni: Understanding different Muslim interpretations

https://the.ismaili/global/news/features/shia-and-sunni-understanding-different-muslim-interpretations 

Muslim Schism: How Islam Split into the Sunni and Shia Branches. Kings & Generals. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-85dXjgMiSU&ab_channel=KingsandGenerals 

Muslim Populations

https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2009/10/07/mapping-the-global-muslim-population/ 

THE FUTURE OF WORLD RELIGIONS: POPULATION GROWTH PROJECTIONS, 2010-2050 Appendix C: Defining the Religious Groups (DM me if you want the PDF).

Fath-Ali Shah’s descendants. Joseph M. Upton, The History of Modern Iran: An Interpretation. Contributors: – Author. Publisher: Harvard University Press. Place of publication: Cambridge, 1960, p.4 

The history of the oil and gas industry from 347 AD to today. Umar Ali. https://www.offshore-technology.com/comment/history-oil-gas/?cf-view 

Evolution of a Drilling Rig. https://energyhq.com/2017/02/evolution-of-a-drilling-rig/ 

Australian Dictionary of Biography. William Knox D'Arcy (1849–1917) by David Carment. https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/darcy-william-knox-5882 

Great British Pound inflation calculator. Bank of England. https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/monetary-policy/inflation/inflation-calculator 

1941 Invasion of Iran - Regime Change WWII-Style. Mark Felton Productions. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-McQMJvaZbk

The Persian Coup 1921 And The British Thirst For Oil. The Great War. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RX3V9wgOTOA&t=82s 

The French Mandate. https://www.britannica.com/place/Syria/The-French-mandate 

The Shah by Abbas Milani. January 2011.

History of Iran. Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi. Iran Chamber Society. https://www.iranchamber.com/history/mohammad_rezashah/mohammad_rezashah.php 

Anderson, Jack; Les Whitten (11 July 1975). "CIA: Shah of Iran a dangerous ally". St. Petersburg Times. Washington. Retrieved 16 July 2013.

Operation Ajax: CIA Oil Coup in Iran - COLD WAR. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbEKMMtfujc&ab_channel=TheColdWar 

Oil Profit distribution. All the Shah's Men: An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror by Stephen Kinzer. 2003. 

Operation Ajax | TAKEN HOSTAGE | AMERICAN EXPERIENCE | PBS. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xceDBZeolIM&ab_channel=AmericanExperience%7CPBS 

Manticore Mythology. Paleothea by Alilia Athena. https://paleothea.com/mythical-creatures/manticore-mythology/ 

Tortured Confessions by Ervand Abrahamian. 1999. 

The Great War for Civilisation: The Conquest of the Middle East by Robert Fisk. 2005.

Shah of Shahs by Ryszard Kapuściński. 1982.

Censorship. https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/censorship-sansur-in-persia 

White Revolution. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/White-Revolution

The Unthinkable Revolution by Charles Kurzman. 2004.

The Mystery Letter That Triggered The Iranian Revolution. Radio Farda. https://en.radiofarda.com/a/iran-taheri-on-iranian-revolution-mystery-letter-shah/29754850.html 

A message to the friends of the Iranian people across the Middle East. Reza Pahlavi. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z64L7DUi9jo&ab_channel=RezaPahlavi 

2500-year celebration of the Persian Empire. Persepolis, Iran. October 1971. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VSaqhXuV7Q&ab_channel=CultureTube 

The New American Bible. Saint Joseph Edition. The Book of Ezra Chapter 1 verses 1-4. July 1970.

Islamic Revolution International Center. http://iricenter.org/ 

Note: The Recap section was written with the assistance of ChatGPT-4.

Music: 

Scorching Action by Jonathan Margrove

Blood Kiss by Hainbach - Topics

Kalahari Wind by Humans Win

Cinematic Ambient Orchestral Drama Trailer by MEDIA MUSIC GROUP

Dramatic Investigation by Jon Presstone

Eye Of The Storm (Feat. Cicely Parnas) - Instrumental Version

Gnosienne by Eric Satie performed by Neil Cross and Raighes Factory

We’ve heard about a lot of evil on Secret Police, but the actions of the Kempeitai and the wider Imperial Japanese Army are particularly poignant for their brutality and the extent to which violence prevails if you believe your enemy is inhuman.

 Who were the Kempeitai?

How did the Kempeitai develop out of Japan’s long military history?

What were the Kempeitai’s connections to both German and Russian secret police?

What was the level of the Kempeitai’s involvement in various atrocities in China?

Sources:

Kempeitai: Japan's Dreaded Military Police by Raymond Lamont-Brown (1998).

What Are The Major Natural Resources Of Japan? By Sophy Owour. https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/what-are-the-major-natural-resources-of-japan.html

The Dawn Empire | Animated History of Japan. Suibhne. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Zwi3XXLci8&list=PLyw95kShWfm_JqDRyLAxEAob74zWH-BI2&index=4&ab_channel=Suibhne

Origin of the Samurai | History of Japan 5. Linfamy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6xgz4p2d60&ab_channel=Linfamy

How Europeans Tried to End Japanese Isolation - Colonialism DOCUMENTARY. Kings and Generals. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFJRc6jYOaI&ab_channel=KingsandGenerals

Feature History - First Sino-Japanese War. Feature History. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdWY8aWxNL4&t=615s&ab_channel=FeatureHistory

Japanese Invasion of Manchuria | 3 Minute History. Jabzy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_sdkbYWiww&ab_channel=Jabzy

WW2 - Second Sino-Japanese War, 1937-1941. Eastory. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTkRBg2Dwz0&ab_channel=Eastory

THE NANJING MASSACRE - DOCUMENTARY OF THE RAPE OF NANKING. History of China. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CAYFxXBohA&t=2s&ab_channel=HistoryofChina

The Most Disturbing Human Experiment Ever. Wendigoon. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRwCNiWuUpQ&ab_channel=Wendigoon

Meiji and Taishō Japan: An Introductory Essay. University of Colorado Boulder. https://www.colorado.edu/ptea-curriculum/becoming-modern/meiji-and-taisho-japan-introductory-essay#:~:text=By%20the%201920s%2C%20things%20had,member%20of%20the%20international%20community.

H-057-2: I-400 and Operation Cherry Blossoms at Night: Japanese Plan for Biological Warfare – September 1945. Naval History and Heritage Command. https://www.history.navy.mil/about-us/leadership/director/directors-corner/h-grams/h-gram-057/h-057-2.html

Daniel Barenblat, A plague upon humanity, 2004.

Sheldon Harris, Factories of Death, 2002.

Japan’s Infamous Unit 731 by Hal Gol. 2004.

The Unspeakable Things That Happened In Unit 731. A Day in History. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BpKixUKbU8&ab_channel=ADayInHistory

General Ishii Shiro: His Legacy is That of Genius and Madman General Ishii Shiro: His Legacy is That of Genius and Madman Gregory Dean Byrd East Tennessee State University. May 2005.

The Path to Pearl Harbor.The National WWII Museum of New Orleans.

Unit 731 by Avani Sihra. Atomic Heritage Foundation.

Remembering Pearl Harbor, A Pearl Harbor Fact Sheet. US Census. https://www.census.gov/history/pdf/pearl-harbor-fact-sheet-1.pdf

Japanese announcement of the attack at Pearl Harbor, 1941. THE GILDER LEHRMAN INSTITUTE OF AMERICAN HISTORY. https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-resources/spotlight-primary-source/japanese-announcement-attack-pearl-harbor-1941#:~:text=In%20January%201941%2C%20Admiral%20Isoroku,tensions%20with%20the%20United%20States.

Encyclopedia Britanica:

Iva Toguri D'Aquino. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Iva-Toguri-DAquino

Hideki Tojo. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Tojo-Hideki

Tojo The Last Banzai by Courtney Browne. 1998.

About the B-25 History Project. https://b-25history.org/history/carrier.htm#:~:text=Most%20everyone%20knows%20that%20on,of%20the%20CV%2D8%20U.S.%20S.

Hideki Tojo -The Face of Japanese Militarism in WWII. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ecRuPE-PzVE&ab_channel=Biographics

Second Sino-Japanese War

https://www.britannica.com/event/Second-Sino-Japanese-War

Bushido’s Eight Virtues. https://www.themartialway.com.au/bushidos-eight-virtues/

More on Bushido

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Bushido

What Japanese history lessons leave out By Mariko Oi. BBC. https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-21226068  

Music:

Scorching Action by Jonathan Margrove

Blood Kiss by Hainbach - Topics

Kalahari Wind by Humans Win

Cinematic Ambient Orchestral Drama Trailer by MEDIA MUSIC GROUP

Dramatic Investigation by Jon Presstone

Exploring The Possibility by Jon Presstone

Eye Of The Storm (Feat. Cicely Parnas) - Instrumental Version

V for Vendetta is a graphic novel written by Alan Moore and illustrated by David Llyod.

The story shows a bleak future where the United Kingdom is run by a totalitarian government run by a political party called Norsefire. A masked vigilante known simply as "V" is bent on sparking a revolution, driven by a vendetta against those in the government that subjected him and his country to repression and terror. V orchestrates a series of symbolic attacks, picking off government officials in an effort to inspire resistance. Evey Hammond gets caught up in V’s schemes when she’s rescued from Norsefire's secret police, The Fingermen.

YouTube - please subscribe! :D

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsC0ajH6e2ko0wYGEhklbog

https://www.instagram.com/secretpolicepodcast/

Patreon

https://www.patreon.com/SecretPolicePodcast 

Sources:

V for Vendetta graphic novel by Alan Moore - Thank you to yodaskid on YouTube for reading the entire novel with images. 

V for Vendetta (film)

V for Vendetta wiki

Vforvendetta.fandom.com

Alan Moore talks - 01 - V For Vendetta. Livestreaming. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QX7ehbE1vc0&ab_channel=Livestreaming 

Selected bits from V for Vendetta (2006)

Music:

Scorching Action by Jon Presstone

Tension in the Dark by Jon Presstone

Gnosienne by Eric Satie performed by Neil Cross and Raighes Factory

Introitus by Michele Nobler

1 Minute Suspense Cinematic Dark Ambient Riser Build Trailer by MEDIA MUSIC GROUP

"Hun Dun" - Hard Trap Beat by C.j. Harris

The Tonton Macoute was a secret police force established by Haitian physician and dictator, Francois Duvalier, better known as Papa Doc. The Macoute brutalized the Haitian people and hijacked the country’s Vodou traditions to invoke fear of a mythical bogeyman. We’re going to go through the history of Haiti: how it was found by Europeans, the slave trade, the types of crops cultivated in Haiti, slave rebellion, and of course the secret police. 

We’re going to find out how Papa Doc got into power. Who led the Tonton Macoute through its years of activity? Why did Papa Doc find it necessary to establish such a brutal institution? And how close was this regime to the US government?

Empires Podcast the Ottomans hosted by Frank:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/empires-podcast-the-ottomans/id1439365965

Sources:

Perspectives in History Podcast. Haitian Revolution (series). 

Real Dictators. Papa Doc (series). Noiser Podcasts. August 2020.

Christopher Columbus: Bad Explorer, Great Conman. Biographics. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pe9_FAANig8&t=143s&ab_channel=Biographics 

A Tale of Two Islands. Hoser. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U67cf6VDhXM&ab_channel=hoser 

State Areas

https://wisevoter.com/state-rankings/states-by-area/#:~:text=Alaska%2C%20the%20largest%20state%2C%20covers,state%2C%20boasts%20163%2C695%20square%20miles. 

Vodou: Haiti's African-Derived Religion. ReligionForBreakfast. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VofAQYxcHHY&ab_channel=ReligionForBreakfast 

Vodou, Serving the Spirits. Harvard University. The Pluralism Project. 2020. /https://hwpi.harvard.edu/files/pluralism/files/vodou-serving_the_spirits_0.pdf 

The Origins of the Zombie, from Haiti to the U.S. | Monstrum. Storied. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIGmsxBMnjA&ab_channel=Storied 

Stannard, David E. (October 14, 1993). "American holocaust : the conquest of the New World". New York: Oxford University Press – via Internet Archive.

Thornton, Russel (1987). American Indian holocaust and survival : a population history since 1492. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press. p. 16. ISBN 978-0-8061-2074-4.

Churchill, Ward, A Little Matter of Genocide: Holocaust and Denial in the Americas, 1492 to the Present, City Lights, 1997, 381 pages, p. 86, ISBN 978-0-87286-323-1

Sheri P. Rosenberg, "Genocide Is a Process, Not an Event," Genocide Studies and Prevention 7, 1 (April 2012): 16–23. © 2012 Genocide Studies and Prevention. doi: 10.3138/gsp.7.1.16

David Moshman (2007) Us and Them: Identity and Genocide, Identity: An International Journal of Theory and Research, 7:2, p. 125, DOI: 10.1080/15283480701326034,

Alexander Laban Hinton, "Critical Genocide Studies," Genocide Studies and Prevention 7, 1 (April 2012): 4–15. © 2012 Genocide Studies and Prevention. doi: 10.3138/gsp.7.1.4, p. 11

Keegan, William F., "Destruction of the Taino" in Archaeology. January/February 1992, pp. 51–56.

Grenke, Arthur. God, greed, and genocide: The Holocaust through the centuries. NewAcademia Publishing, LLC, 2005. pp. 141–143, 200.

Rosenbaum, Alan S. Is the Holocaust unique?: perspectives on comparative genocide. Routledge, 2018. p. 302.

Donald Bloxham, A. Dirk Moses, The Oxford Handbook of Genocide Studies, OXFORD UNIVERSITY press, 2010, p. 310.

Norman M Naimark, Genocide a world history , OXFORD UNIVERSITY press, 2017, p. 39.

Jones, Adam. 2006. Genocide: a comprehensive introduction. London: Routledge. pp. 108–111.

Dr. Mu-Kien Adriana Sang (1999). Dr. Mu-Kien Adriana Sang (ed.). Historia Dominicana: Ayer y Hoy (in Spanish). SUSAETA Ediciones Dominicanas. pp. 78–79, 81.

The Dictator’s Handbook. Bruce Bueno De Mesquita & Alaster Smith. 2011.

The Haitian Revolution. A Documentary History. David Geggus.

Feature History - Haitian Revolution (Parts 1 & 2). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9KbN5EFajk&ab_channel=FeatureHistory 

A Super Quick History of Haiti. Mr History. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-XZLYGlLBA&ab_channel=MrHistory 

Yaws Disease. Cleveland Clinic. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/25011-yaws 

FOREIGN RELATIONS OF THE UNITED STATES, 1958–1960, AMERICAN REPUBLICS, VOLUME V. https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1958-60v05/d309 

Juang, R. M., & Morrissette, N. (2008). Africa and the Americas : culture, politics, and history : a multidisciplinary encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO.

Secretary of Legation Davis to the Secretary of State. Department of State, Washington, January 12, 1916. https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1916/d352#:~:text=Since%201886%E2%80%94when%20General%20Salomon,and%20six%20driven%20from%20office. 

Florida Department of State. Division of Corporations. https://search.sunbiz.org/Inquiry/corporationsearch/SearchResultDetail?inquirytype=EntityName&directionType=ForwardList&searchNameOrder=HEMOCARIBBEAN%203681800&aggregateId=domp-368180-f7bebe83-4e09-4b58-8d66-efad7640d000&searchTerm=HEMMER%20&listNameOrder=HEMOCARE%20L410570 

Transatlantic Slave Trade Data

https://www.un.org/en/observances/decade-people-african-descent/slave-trade#:~:text=For%20over%20400%20years%2C%20more,darkest%20chapters%20in%20human%20history.  

Alan Whicker meets Papa Doc 1969. Chatham43. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMAbmaNHSoM&ab_channel=chatham43 

Sugar cane and milling

Mastering Sugar Cane Cultivation: Easy Steps to Grow and Harvest Sugarcane in Your Home Garden! California Gardening. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpnWyB-KLXg&ab_channel=CaliforniaGardening

How Sugar is Made. Factora. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-MJORaNkSQ&t=214s&ab_channel=Factora 

How to Make Best Sugar from Sugar Cane? 龙梅梅Longmeimei. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iqG6VDoRPQ&t=528s&ab_channel=%E9%BE%99%E6%A2%85%E6%A2%85Longmeimei 

Music:

Scorching Action by Jonathan Margrove

Blood Kiss by Hainbach - Topics

Sneaky Snitch by Kevin MacLeod 

The Vastness by Amber Waldron

Kalahari Wind by Humans Win

Cinematic Ambient Orchestral Drama Trailer by MEDIA MUSIC GROUP

Tension In The Dark by Jon Presstone

Dramatic Investigation by Jon Presstone

Exploring The Possibility by Jon Presstone

Gnossienne No. 1 by Erik Satie 

A conversation with Latvian journalist, and host of the Eastern Border podcast, Kristaps Andrejsons. We recap the Russian secret police series while Kristaps provides his unique perspective on my show, Soviet times, and the future of Russian security services. 

Aquarius by Viktor Suvorov: https://www.amazon.com/Aquarium-career-defection-Soviet-military/dp/0241115450 

YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsC0ajH6e2ko0wYGEhklbog 

Thanks for listening!

Almost 2 years ago, I was inspired by The Dictator's Handbook to start a podcast on secret police. It was a grueling task, much of it self-inflicted because I'm a sucker for detail, but this episode will be light. 

This episode starts with a brief summary of each episode part I - XI: the leaders, the secret police, and the history. 

Next, I'll share my thoughts and what I've learned on this journey. 

We'll end with some behind the scenes and I'll show you what's next for Secret Police podcast.

Follow my socials:

IG: https://www.instagram.com/secretpolicepodcast/

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SecretPolicePodcast

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsC0ajH6e2ko0wYGEhklbog

Just when you thought that Soviet security forces were a thing of the past, the double headed eagle rises from the ashes. The Federal Security Services or FSB are the Russian Federation’s modern day Chekists. Vladimir Putin and the security services have carefully crafted the image they want you to see, and Western journalists are very good at exaggerating the impact and the mystique of Putin. Both these elements have been at play since he took power. They say the first death in war is the truth, and information about Putin can be difficult to decipher what is fact from fiction. In this episode, we focus on the history and methods of Russia's modern security forces. They may not be beating Communist ideology into people but they were/are combatting terrorist groups, foreign adversaries, domestic opposition, and more. The FSB, unlike their predecessors, have the power of social media to almost literally visit you at home, something that would have required a real live agent in the past. 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/secretpolicepodcast/

Become an Agent of the Secret Police!

https://www.patreon.com/SecretPolicePodcast

Sources:

Russian Federation Explained. VanDeGraph. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVoHAyEwhBc&ab_channel=VanDeGraph

Political System and Politics in Russia Documentary. IntroBooks Education.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWVigNrPVpw&list=PLVtoTh3hF-hyEPsA75YIss7EPCL0_vq9C&index=2&ab_channel=IntroBooksEducation

The Day Russian Democracy Died. NFKRZ. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9af3KH-k8yc&list=PLVtoTh3hF-hyEPsA75YIss7EPCL0_vq9C&index=1&t=171s&ab_channel=NFKRZ

In Russia's Far East, a Jewish Revival byDavid Holley. 

Yeltsin: A Revolutionary Life by Leon Aron. 2000. 

Yeltsin: A Life by Timothy Colton. 2008

THE TRAGIC STORY OF HOW BORIS YELTSIN LOST TWO FINGERS. MATT REIGLE. Grunge. https://www.grunge.com/806982/the-tragic-story-of-how-boris-yeltsin-lost-two-fingers/

How did one join the Communist Party?*

https://www.quora.com/In-Soviet-Russia-how-did-one-officially-join-the-Communist-Party

*Take Quora with a grain of salt. I also looked at Wikipedia (not a source) but their bit on membership doesn’t have a citation.

‘Never go to bed sober’ - meet the great Russian leaders who abused alcohol by ALEXEY TIMOFEYCHEV. MARCH 13 2018. https://www.rbth.com/history/327805-leaders-who-abused-alcohol

Privatization. Investopedia. Privatization: What It Is, How It Works, Examples. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/privatization.asp#:~:text=Privatization%20describes%20the%20process%20by,goods%20quicker%20and%20more%20efficiently.

Hungarian Privatization. https://www.britannica.com/place/Hungary/Economic-and-social-change

What is a trade sale? https://www.freeagent.com/us/glossary/trade-sale/

Russian Privatization in Perspective with Paulo Zannoni. Yale University. October 2015. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xox1alqQRQ&list=PLVtoTh3hF-hyEPsA75YIss7EPCL0_vq9C&index=5&t=634s&ab_channel=YaleUniversity

 About Paulo Zannoni. https://theorg.com/org/prada-spa/org-chart/paolo-zannoni

What is a voucher? https://www.investopedia.com/terms/v/voucher.asp

Economic Indicators:

Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

https://fred.stlouisfed.org

Trading Economics

https://tradingeconomics.com/

RUSSIA STARTS ISSUING PRIVATIZATION COUPONS. Margaret Shapiro. October 2, 1992. https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1992/10/02/russia-starts-issuing-privatization-coupons/c515c8a2-66ae-408d-bafe-7dd869b8a844/

Putin’s Story | The Puppet Show Banned In Russia (Kukly NTV 2000). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmdEiL6Avv0&ab_channel=WaleedHiggins

Curtis, G. E. & Library Of Congress. Federal Research Division. (1998) Russia: A Country Study. Washington, DC: Federal Research Division, Library of Congress: For sale by the Supt. of Docs., U.S. G.P.O. [Pdf] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/97007563/.

Organized Crime and the Russian State. Challenges to US-Russian Cooperation. J. Micheal Waller.

Michael Waller. https://centerforsecuritypolicy.org/author/imp_jmichael_waller/

A chain of wars, a chain of crimes, a chain of impunity: Russian wars in Chechnya, Syria and Ukraine. О. Golubev, V. Malykhin, A. Cherkasov. Memorial Human Rights Defence Centre. 2023.

The battle(s) of Grozny1. Ib Faurby, Royal Danish Defence College in co-operation with Märta-Lisa Magnusson, University of Southern Denmark. Baltic Defense Review 2/1999.

Feature History - Chechen Wars (1/2). Feature History. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wX-xs9VJ-BI&ab_channel=FeatureHistory

The First Chechen War - Documentary. Caesarius. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUH0TZRT3WA&lc=UgwQnSEvaaUf5n7bIFN4AaABAg&ab_channel=Caesarius

The First Chechen War - Jocko Willink. Global Frontier. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpWshgCP6wo&t=9s&ab_channel=GlobalFrontier

Vladimir Putin and Russian Statecraft by Allen Lynch. 2011. Potomac Books. pp. 10–11.

Putin’s Parents. https://www.mtv.com.lb/news/articles/472895/putin_recalls_parents_wwii_ordeal_

*Much of this is written by Vladimir Vladimirovich himself so please take it with a grain of salt

Vladimir Putin - KGB to President... for Life? - Biography. Biographics. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZcE45Ap4es&ab_channel=Biographics

Putin's Way (full documentary) | FRONTLINE. Frontline PBS. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIgqhU4lkgo&ab_channel=FRONTLINEPBS%7COfficial

History of Vladimir Putin. John Coogan. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yo_peHjcKQ&t=47s&ab_channel=JohnCoogan

Did Vladimir Putin Support Anti-Western Terrorists as a Young KGB Officer? CATHERINE BELTON. June 20. 2020. https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/06/20/vladimir-putin-dresden-kgb-330203

Mineral and Raw Materials Resources and the Development Strategy for the Russian Economy by Vladimir Putin. https://www.theatlantic.com/daily-dish/archive/2008/08/putins-thesis-raw-text/212739/

The Russian Federal Security Service under President Putin by Eberhard Schneider.

SVR/FSB application process. https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2014/10/02/how-to-become-a-russian-spy-a40036

Russian DKRO

https://www.wsj.com/articles/fsb-evan-gershkovich-russia-security-force-dkro-e9cf9a49

A ‘Risky Westward Turn’? Putin’s 9-11 Script and Ordinary Russians. John O’loughlin, Gearid O Tuathail, and Vladimir Kolossov. Europe-Asia Studies. 2004.

Flame-throwers used at Beslan siege by Andrew Osborn. The Independent, 24 October 2004.

Feature History - Russo-Georgian War. Feature History. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4LV6VnV9UI&ab_channel=FeatureHistory

Putin's palace. History of world's largest bribe. Алексей Навальный.

Timeline: Alexander Litvinenko death case. BBC. January 15, 2015.

Vladimir Putin's hard-core daily routine includes hours of swimming, late nights, and no alcohol. July 2018. Aine Cain.

US State Department Report on Human Rights Abuses. https://www.state.gov/reports/2018-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/ukraine/ukraine-crimea/#:~:text=ROLE%20OF%20THE%20POLICE%20AND%20SECURITY%20APPARATUS&text=The%20FSB%20also%20conducted%20security,combatted%20organized%20crime%20and%20corruption.

A new study says Russian trolls didn’t sway the 2016 election. Was the threat overhyped? Andrew Prokop. January 20, 2023.

Improvements and Protest in the Perestroika Years by William Moskoff. The National Council for Soviet and East European Research. September 18, 1992.

In this 10th edition of Russian secret police, we’ll dive into the KGB’s downfall, the unraveling of the Soviet Union, and the atypical leadership of Mikhail Gorbachev.

We’ll see how Gorbachev rose from life as a farm boy to the Kremlin’s Communist throne. We’ll discover how the KGB reacted to losing power and the final gasps of this security state in the face of Chernobyl, Glasnost, and Perestroika.

Who was Mikhail Gorbachev?

How did the KGB try to survive?

How did the Soviet Union dissolve?

Twitter: @hush_popo

IG: @secretpolicepodcast

Sources:

Taubman, William (2017). Gorbachev: His Life and Times. New York City: Simon and Schuster.

Alexander Gorbachev - PhosAgro

https://www.alexander-gorbachev.info/about-me-1

Robert V. Daniels, The End of Communist Revolution. 1993.

Comparing Economic Systems in the Twenty-First Century, 2003, by Gregory and Stuart. ISBN 0-618-26181-8. "Material Balance Planning", (P.127)

Carr, Edward Hallett; Davies, Robert William (1971). Foundations of a Planned Economy, 1926-1929. Macmillan. p. 199.

Mikhail Gorbachev, Perestroika (New York: Harper Collins, 1987), quoted in Mark Kishlansky, ed., Sources of the West: Readings in Western Civilization, 4th ed., vol. 2 (New York: Longman, 2001), p. 322.

Semenov, B.A. "Nuclear power in the Soviet Union." IAEA. Retrieved 17 September 2019.

RBMK Reactors - Design Overview | The Nuclear Reactor that was used in Chernobyl. Antares. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDPh1JA72nk&ab_channel=Antares

MIT Nuclear Reactor Laboratory. https://nrl.mit.edu/about

Inside MIT's Nuclear Reactor. MITK12Videos. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QcN3KDexcU&ab_channel=MITK12Videos

Nuclear 101: How Nuclear Bombs Work Part 1 of 2. Belfer Center. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVhQOhxb1Mc&ab_channel=BelferCenter

World Nuclear Association. Nuclear Power Reactors. May 2023. https://www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/nuclear-fuel-cycle/nuclear-power-reactors/nuclear-power-reactors.aspx

Xenon Can Be a Problem. Illinois EnergyProf. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZQwL-2WTgA&ab_channel=IllinoisEnergyProf

CHERNOBYL AZ-5 why it exploded. Mike Bell. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOzJQJ1yAaM&t=598s&ab_channel=MikeBell

What is radiation?. Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission - CNSC. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zw0pHT47AAU&ab_channel=CanadianNuclearSafetyCommission-CNSC

The Only Radiation Units You Need to Know. SciShow. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpQzhZ0RRDM&ab_channel=SciShow

Radiation Exposure in Healthcare. https://www.health.harvard.edu/cancer/radiation-risk-from-medical-imaging

United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission. High Radiation Doses. https://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/radiation/health-effects/high-rad-doses.html

Was Chernobyl a cunning KGB conspiracy? Rein F. Deer. https://www.politico.eu/article/was-chernobyl-a-cunning-kgb-conspiracy/

Knight, Amy. “The KGB, Perestroika, and the Collapse of the Soviet Union.” Journal of Cold War Studies, vol. 5, no. 1, 2003, pp. 67–93. *Contact me if you want a copy of the PDF*

The Breakup of the Soviet Union Explained. History Scope. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2GmtBCVHzY&ab_channel=HistoryScope

The Last Ditch Attempt to Save the USSR - August Coup of 1991 (Short Animated Documentary). History Matters. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXfvo34Ubpc&ab_channel=HistoryMatters

"Mikhail Gorbachev was hospitalized in the Central Clinical Hospital". Forbes.ru (in Russian). 11 June 2013. Retrieved 2 September 2022.

How Instagram Ruined Chernobyl…Again. Kyle Hill. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=326wzbsmjGk&ab_channel=KyleHill

Original Pripyat Evacuation Recording - IT'S HISTORY. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yW6ryRYPRCE&ab_channel=IT%27SHISTORY

Scorching Action by Jon Presstone

Cinematic Ambient Orchestral Drama Trailer by MEDIA MUSIC GROUP

Dramatic Investigation by Jon Presstone

Gnossienne No. 1 by Erik Satie

Kalahari Wind by Humans Win

Exploring the Possibility by Jon Presstone

Emerging Science by Jon Presstone

Sneaky Snitch by Kevin MacLeod

Giant wyrm by Kevin MacLeod

Select clip(s) from South Park

Beethoven - Pathetique Sonata 3rd movement

Clips from The Simpsons S3 E5 - Homer Defined

Clip from South Park S20 Ep 1 - Member Berries

mycompasstv

***NO I AM NOT SPONSORED BY PIZZA HUT OR YUM BRAND : | ***

The downing of Korean Air Flight 007 demonstrates the level of stupidity and paranoia the Cold War reached. More astounding is this was the second passenger jet the Soviet Union shot down. 

The first instance was in 1978 when Korean Air flight 902 was on route from Paris to Seoul with a stop over in Anchorage. This flight took the plane over the North Pole and due to the navigation technology they had at the time and how compasses function when flying over the top of the Earth, the pilots ended up off course. Instead of flying towards Seoul, they ended up flying toward Murmansk in the Soviet Union. 

The jet was discovered on radar, the Soviets sent a Sukhoi Su-15 fighter to intercept the airliner. The airliner did not respond to warnings, and the fighter pilot, Alexander Bosov, seeing the plane was clearly marked as a Korean Airlines jet, tried to convince his superiors on the ground the craft he was looking at was a passenger plane. They ordered him to shoot it down. Bosov launched two R-60 short-range air-to-air missiles. One missed, the other hit the left wing and punctured the fuselage. One Korean passenger was killed and others were injured. KAL 902 was forced to land in a frozen lake in Korelia close to the Finnish border. In the aftermath, there were 2 deaths and 107 survivors of the incident, but the Soviets refused to cooperate with the international investigation as to why exactly the plane flew so far off course. Those 107 survivors on Flight 902 were lucky, unlike those on Flight 007. Victims of a titanic conflict between East and West.

We’re going to talk about events mostly during Brezhnev’s leadership of the USSR, a period that’s often dubbed the Era of Stagnation: lackluster economic growth and a feeling of no purpose. I heard a Russian youtuber describe this period as an existence within the movie GroundHog Day -- nothing changes. But the Soviet Union maintained their military might in terms of funding, technology, and firepower. In the game of superpowers, you couldn’t let your guard down. And the KGB was right there on the espionage front.

Twitter: @hush_popo

IG: @secretpolicepodcast

Sources:

The Russian Secret Police by Ronald Hingley

Brezhnev: The Making of a Statesman by Susanne Schattenberg

Cold War Conversations podcast - Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev - aspiring actor and poetry fan (209)

The Hated and the Dead podcast - EP38: Leonid Brezhnev

History of Modern Russia: From Tsarism to the Twenty-first Century (3 ed.) by Robert Service (2009). 

The Life and Times of Soviet Socialism by Alex Dowlah and John Elliott.1997 

The Soviet-Vietnamese Intelligence Relationship during the Vietnam War: Cooperation and Conflict By Merle L. Pribbenow II, December 2014

Vietnam Admits K.G.B. Interrogated American. Barbara Crossette. 1992. New York Times.

Drug Games. The International Olympic Committee and the Politics of Doping, 1960–2008 by Thomas M. Hunt. 2011

Feature History - Soviet-Afghan War. Feature History. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDQLHFBp4aM&ab_channel=FeatureHistory

KGB Spy Gadgets: The Ultimate Secret Cameras & Espionage Tools. Spyscape. Date unknown.

The KGB (Russian Secret Police): Its composition, aims and methods by Lt Cdr H.G. Graser. South African Journal of Military Studies. 1984.

Cold War Mystery – The Umbrella Assassin. Element 18. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsVRYhLLPCM&ab_channel=Element18 

Gennadiy Nikolayevich Osipovich. This Day in Aviation. Bryan R. Swopes. 2018. https://www.thisdayinaviation.com/tag/gennadiy-nikolayevich-osipovich/ 

Music:

Scorching Action by Jon Presstone

Cinematic Ambient Orchestral Drama Trailer by MEDIA MUSIC GROUP

Dramatic Investigation by Jon Presstone

Gnossienne No. 1 by Erik Satie

Kalahari Wind by Humans Win

Terrifying Journey (Extra Dire) by The Turquoise Moon

Scary Ambient Tension & Suspense Ghost With Pounding Impacts Trailer by MEDIA MUSIC GROUP

Sneaky Snitch by Kevin MacLeod 

Select clip(s) from South Park