Event Detail

Imagine sitting across from Russian intelligence officers, trying to guess what they’ll do next. Sean M. Wiswesser has been in just that position. As a member of the CIA’s expert cadre in the Directorate of Operations, Wiswesser worked closely with the US intelligence community and foreign allies to recruit Russian spies and then work to counter their services, giving him a unique perspective on the Russian Intelligence Services’ (RIS) global reach. With his new book Tradecraft, Tactics, and Dirty Tricks: Russian Intelligence and Putin’s Secret War, Wiswesser takes readers deep into the heart of Maskirovka—the Russian art of denial, deception, and manipulation. Tonight, Spy Museum Historian, Dr. Mark R. Jacobson will interview Wiswesser about the shadowy world of Russian espionage from “street work,” honeytraps, and assassinations, to the RIS’ roles in the Russo-Ukraine War. They’ll discuss both historical examples and firsthand accounts of the tactics employed by the three main services of Russia’s intelligence apparatus: the SVR, GRU, and FSB. Visit www.spymuseum.org.