2025/01/16 by Yaacov Falkov · 1 voice · 1 citation
Social Sciences · #Intelligence, Security, War Strategy
paper · doi:10.1080/16161262.2025.2450582
openalex publication_date 2025/01/16 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/15
In the late 1920s, Soviet intelligence launched an effort to learn the tradecraft of foreign secret services. Among the key facilitators of this process was Konstantin Zvonariov, a Latvian communist and senior Red Army intelligence officer. Focusing on the World War I experience of German human intelligence, he was able to draw useful lessons for his organization and the entire Soviet intelligence community. His intellectual enterprise was only superficially noticed by the historiography of the Russian special services. This article aims to fill this gap. It examines Zvonariov’s detailed study of the organization and activities of German HUMINT and speculates on whether his work was able to influence Soviet intelligence theory and practice in the 1930s and beyond. The article suggests further scholarly exploration of Zvonariov’s legacy in the Soviet and post-Soviet Russian intelligence communities.