The Hoover Applied History Working Group held The KGB and Western Plots Against the Soviet Union on Friday, May 9, 2025.
For more information about the working group, visit: https://www.hoover.org/research-teams/applied-history-working-group
ABOUT THE TALK
The KGB was no stranger to conspiracies. Actually, it excelled in the genre. The organization was supposed to be different from its predecessors, certainly more measured, professional and rational, but the Stalinist legacy of leveling outlandish charges against groups and individuals deemed hostile to Soviet power was not easy to shake off, not to mention that the organization itself was born of conspiracy. The love affair with conspiracies endured and blossomed even after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Conspiracy came naturally, easily and from every conceivable direction. But how credible were these schemes? Were the security organs immune to their own fabrications? Could KGB officers effectively detach themselves from the fake world they created for others?
This presentation is a chapter in a forthcoming book, At Home with the KGB: A New History of the Soviet Security Service, (Yale University Press, 2026).
To learn about the speakers, visit: https://www.hoover.org/events/kgb-and-western-plots-against-soviet-union
__________
The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Hoover Institution or Stanford University.
© 2025 by the Board of Trustees of Leland Stanford Junior University.
🔔 Subscribe for more discussions: @HooverInstitution
👍 Like and share this video!
🌐 Follow us on social media:
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HooverInstStanford
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hoover-institution-at-stanford-university
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/hooverinstitution
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@hooverinstitution
• X: https://www.twitter.com/HooverInst
