CRAFT: Deciphering the FSB

By Soobin Kim

Welcome to Whale Hunting, a weekly newsletter delving into the hidden worlds of wealth and power. Catch up on all Project Brazen's work here, including the phenomenal Gateway podcast about Europe's scary drug wars and The Closer, all about the story behind deals that changed how we live and work. This week, our intrepid Soobin Kim takes us deeper into one of the world's most important intelligence organizations. – Bradley

By Soobin Kim

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Kevin P. Riehle worked in counterintelligence for over 30 years, identifying threats and ways to counter them for the FBI, Department of Defense and even the Mormon Church. An expert in foreign intelligence services, especially of Russia and the former Eastern bloc, he’s also written extensively on Soviet defectors and Russian intelligence.

Kevin retired from government service two years ago and is now an Associate Professor at the University of Mississippi, Center for Intelligence and Security Studies. He talked to me from London, where he was researching his fourth book at the National Archives.

In this edition of CRAFT, he tells us about his decades-long career in counterintelligence, a former supervisor who turned out to be a Russian mole, which country received the most Soviet defectors and more.

Here’s an edited version of our conversation.