Serhii Plokhy

And then the fact that Andropov succeeds Brezhnev is also a manifestation of the power that KGB acquired really after Khrushchev in the 1970s and then going into the 1980s.

The CIA, it's the organization that is charged with the information gathering and all sorts of operations, including assassinations in the 50s and 60s abroad. The KGB was the organization that really had both the surveillance over the population within the Soviet Union and also the operations abroad. And its members, its leaders were members of the inner circle for making decisions.

The CIA, it's the organization that is charged with the information gathering and all sorts of operations, including assassinations in the 50s and 60s abroad. The KGB was the organization that really had both the surveillance over the population within the Soviet Union and also the operations abroad. And its members, its leaders were members of the inner circle for making decisions.

The CIA, it's the organization that is charged with the information gathering and all sorts of operations, including assassinations in the 50s and 60s abroad. The KGB was the organization that really had both the surveillance over the population within the Soviet Union and also the operations abroad. And its members, its leaders were members of the inner circle for making decisions.

Again, from what I understand about the way how how politics and decisions work and decisions are made in the United States, the CIA, the chief of the CIA is not one of the decision-making group providing information. So I would say it's not day and night, but their power, political influence, political significance, very different.

Again, from what I understand about the way how how politics and decisions work and decisions are made in the United States, the CIA, the chief of the CIA is not one of the decision-making group providing information. So I would say it's not day and night, but their power, political influence, political significance, very different.

Again, from what I understand about the way how how politics and decisions work and decisions are made in the United States, the CIA, the chief of the CIA is not one of the decision-making group providing information. So I would say it's not day and night, but their power, political influence, political significance, very different.

Certain things we know, others we don't, because the Stasi archives are open and most of the KGB, especially in Moscow, they're not. But we know that the KGB combined not only the internal... secret police functions at home and counterintelligence branch and intelligence branch abroad, but also the border troops, for example. Really, institutionally, it was a huge, huge mammoth.

Certain things we know, others we don't, because the Stasi archives are open and most of the KGB, especially in Moscow, they're not. But we know that the KGB combined not only the internal... secret police functions at home and counterintelligence branch and intelligence branch abroad, but also the border troops, for example. Really, institutionally, it was a huge, huge mammoth.

Certain things we know, others we don't, because the Stasi archives are open and most of the KGB, especially in Moscow, they're not. But we know that the KGB combined not only the internal... secret police functions at home and counterintelligence branch and intelligence branch abroad, but also the border troops, for example. Really, institutionally, it was a huge, huge mammoth.

Another thing that we know, we can sort of extrapolate from what we know from the Stasi archives, that the surveillance at home was really massive. The guess is the Soviets were not as effective and as meticulous and as scrupulous and as methodical as probably as Germans were, but that gives you a basic idea of how penetrated the entire society was.

Another thing that we know, we can sort of extrapolate from what we know from the Stasi archives, that the surveillance at home was really massive. The guess is the Soviets were not as effective and as meticulous and as scrupulous and as methodical as probably as Germans were, but that gives you a basic idea of how penetrated the entire society was.

Another thing that we know, we can sort of extrapolate from what we know from the Stasi archives, that the surveillance at home was really massive. The guess is the Soviets were not as effective and as meticulous and as scrupulous and as methodical as probably as Germans were, but that gives you a basic idea of how penetrated the entire society was.

From my research, including on the Stashinsky, what I understand is that in KGB, and it was a powerful organization, again, less powerful in the 50s and 60s, but still a very powerful organization. There was, on the one hand, the understanding of the situation in the country and abroad that probably other organizations didn't have. They had also first peak in terms of the selecting cadres.

From my research, including on the Stashinsky, what I understand is that in KGB, and it was a powerful organization, again, less powerful in the 50s and 60s, but still a very powerful organization. There was, on the one hand, the understanding of the situation in the country and abroad that probably other organizations didn't have. They had also first peak in terms of the selecting cadres.

From my research, including on the Stashinsky, what I understand is that in KGB, and it was a powerful organization, again, less powerful in the 50s and 60s, but still a very powerful organization. There was, on the one hand, the understanding of the situation in the country and abroad that probably other organizations didn't have. They had also first peak in terms of the selecting cadres.

The work in the KGB was well paid and considered to be very prestigious. That was part to a degree of the Soviet elite in terms of whom they recruited. They had a resentment toward the party leadership. They didn't allow them to do James Bond kind of things that they would want to do because there were political risks.

The work in the KGB was well paid and considered to be very prestigious. That was part to a degree of the Soviet elite in terms of whom they recruited. They had a resentment toward the party leadership. They didn't allow them to do James Bond kind of things that they would want to do because there were political risks.

The work in the KGB was well paid and considered to be very prestigious. That was part to a degree of the Soviet elite in terms of whom they recruited. They had a resentment toward the party leadership. They didn't allow them to do James Bond kind of things that they would want to do because there were political risks.

After this scandal with Stashinsky, at least on many levels, the KGB stopped the practice of the assassinations, political assassinations abroad, because it was considered politically to be extremely dangerous. The person who was in charge of the KGB at the time of Bandera assassination, Shalepin, was one of the candidates to replace Khrushchev.