An introduction to the history and present role of Russia's military intelligence service
The Main Directorate (GU) of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces (better known by its previous acronym, GRU) is the Putin regime's most notorious actor abroad for its campaign to influence the outcome of the 2016 US presidential election and for the attempted assassination of Sergei Skirpal in 2018 by a toxic nerve agent.
The Russian GU describes and analyzes the roles, missions, and impact of the GU from the early years after the Bolshevik Revolution, through World War II and the Cold War, and up to the present. Today, the GU provides the Russian armed forces with capabilities in strategic and tactical intelligence collection, intelligence analysis, strategic warning, covert action, special forces, technical collection operations, and information confrontation. Since the 2010s, the GU has been associated most often with covert operations abroad, such as assassinations, political manipulation, and sabotage. However, at its core, the GU remains a military intelligence organization focused primarily on collecting intelligence to support military and political decision-making. Kevin P. Riehle attempts to portray the full spectrum of GU activities, not only "dirty tricks."
This book fills an important gap in the literature for students and other readers interested in intelligence and Russian history by enhancing our understanding of one of Russia's premier security institutions—and an agency that is frequently in the headlines.
Reviews
"This meticulously researched volume is the most accurate and comprehensive book available on Russia's military intelligence agency and its history. Well written and especially timely, since the GU is spearheading many of Putin's influence and sabotage campaigns against the West, Riehle's book belongs in the library of everyone who is interested in Russia and in intelligence operations more broadly."—Kimberly Marten, professor of political science, Barnard College, Columbia University
"Riehle's informative and accessible book illuminates one of the most important tools at Moscow's disposal. His analysis of the Russian Military Intelligence Service both offers an antidote to the speculation that so often shrouds it and informs the debate about continuity and change in Russian intelligence and security culture."—Andrew Monaghan, Senior Associate Fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, London, and author of Blitzkrieg and the Russian Art of War
"The GU—still widely known as the GRU—remains the most secretive of Russia's intelligence agencies. At last, we have a primer to it: clear, comprehensive, and written by a real intelligence insider, able to unpick myth from reality."—Dr. Mark Galeotti, author, Putin's Wars
"Riehle delivers an authoritative study of Russian military intelligence from the tsarist era to the present, examining its organization, personalities, operations, and culture. A must-read for scholars and practitioners seeking to understand the oft-overlooked yet critically influential service behind Russia's defense and security policy."—Dr. Alexandra Sukalo, Director of the Clements-Strauss Intelligence Studies Project at UT Austin
"Riehle's book on the Russian GU offers the rare perspective of both a practitioner (with real-world experience) and an accomplished academic. His work fuses operational insight with scholarly rigor, demonstrating a deep understanding of Russian military intelligence, its operational mindset, and historical evolution. Authoritative, nuanced, and grounded; a great contribution to the field."—Sean Wiswesser, former CIA Chief of Station and author, Tradecraft, Tactics, and Dirty Tricks: Russian Intelligence and Putin's Secret War
About the Author
Kevin P. Riehle spent over thirty years in the US government as a counterintelligence analyst and has subsequently taught at universities in the United States and the United Kingdom. He is the author of four previous books, including The Russian FSB: A Concise History of the Federal Security Service and Counterintelligence at Its Core: Assessing and Preventing Foreign Espionage.
