Manipulation: The KGB and Western Democracies

This book reveals the secret history of an out-of-control spy agency, accountable to no one but itself and intent on subverting Western politics on an almost inconceivable scale. In 1985, 1,300 KGB agents were stationed in the US. At the same time, the FBI only had 350 counter-intelligence agents. Since the beginning of the Cold War, the KGB has enticed parliamentarians and diplomats, infiltrated the highest echelons of public administration, and spread fake news through newspapers around the world. But what is most disturbing is that it never stopped. Putin, for example, is a KGB man through and through.
In a journey spanning over half a century of Russian intervention in Western politics, journalist Mark Hollingsworth reveals how disinformation, kompromat, and secret surveillance continue to play key roles, particularly in Russia's war with Ukraine.

It is frighteningly easy to threaten Western democracy - but we can and must defend it.