Filip Kovacevic
@chekistmonitor.bsky.social
Top expert on #KGB (ops, archives, spy fiction). Book: KGB Literati (t.co/uWXN1eLc0u). PhD. 25+ years university teaching in Russia/Balkans/US. Now at University of San Francisco.
Pinned
Great crowd last night at the Commonwealth Club of California for my talk on #KGB institutional culture & my new book #KGBLiterati. Q&A for almost an hour! @socintelhist.bsky.social
It's on now! I am at the AskHistorians Reddit Forum answering questions about KGB spy fiction & my new book #KGBLiterati! See you there! @socintelhist.bsky.social
We have an AMA on KGB spy fiction with @chekistmonitor.bsky.social over on @askhistorians.bsky.social today! Come check it out!
www.reddit.com/r/AskHistori...
www.reddit.com/r/AskHistori...
From the AskHistorians community on Reddit
Explore this post and more from the AskHistorians community
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February 2, 2026 at 7:38 PM
It's on now! I am at the AskHistorians Reddit Forum answering questions about KGB spy fiction & my new book #KGBLiterati! See you there! @socintelhist.bsky.social
"A gripping Cold War-era espionage operation, once buried in #KGB archives, has now come to light."
A short article about my paper Operation JESUITS based on my archival research at Hoover Library & Archives. @socintelhist.bsky.social
unredacted.info/military-tec...
A short article about my paper Operation JESUITS based on my archival research at Hoover Library & Archives. @socintelhist.bsky.social
unredacted.info/military-tec...
Operation JESUITS: Soviet Spycraft, Catholic Resistance, and the Cold War in Lithuania - Unredacted.info
A gripping Cold War-era espionage operation, once buried in KGB archives, has now come to light. “Operation JESUITS,” chronicled in a newly published Cold War International History Project working pap...
unredacted.info
January 31, 2026 at 7:46 PM
"A gripping Cold War-era espionage operation, once buried in #KGB archives, has now come to light."
A short article about my paper Operation JESUITS based on my archival research at Hoover Library & Archives. @socintelhist.bsky.social
unredacted.info/military-tec...
A short article about my paper Operation JESUITS based on my archival research at Hoover Library & Archives. @socintelhist.bsky.social
unredacted.info/military-tec...
January 30, 2026 at 5:22 PM
Check out #AskHistorians Reddit forum, on Monday, Feb. 2, 2026, 11 AM US Eastern Time!
I'll be doing a live Q&A session known as Ask Me Anything (AMA) on my new book #KGBLiterati.
Your chance to "ask me anything" about KGB spy fiction. @socintelhist.bsky.social
reddit.com/r/AskHistori...
I'll be doing a live Q&A session known as Ask Me Anything (AMA) on my new book #KGBLiterati.
Your chance to "ask me anything" about KGB spy fiction. @socintelhist.bsky.social
reddit.com/r/AskHistori...
January 29, 2026 at 6:25 PM
Check out #AskHistorians Reddit forum, on Monday, Feb. 2, 2026, 11 AM US Eastern Time!
I'll be doing a live Q&A session known as Ask Me Anything (AMA) on my new book #KGBLiterati.
Your chance to "ask me anything" about KGB spy fiction. @socintelhist.bsky.social
reddit.com/r/AskHistori...
I'll be doing a live Q&A session known as Ask Me Anything (AMA) on my new book #KGBLiterati.
Your chance to "ask me anything" about KGB spy fiction. @socintelhist.bsky.social
reddit.com/r/AskHistori...
Who was the most productive #KGB agent in Washington, DC in the early 1980s (before Ames & Hanssen)?
In his memoir Washington Station (1994), former #KGB officer Yuri Shvets claimed that this agent was a janitor cleaning the offices of major Pentagon contractors in Rosslyn. ⬇️
In his memoir Washington Station (1994), former #KGB officer Yuri Shvets claimed that this agent was a janitor cleaning the offices of major Pentagon contractors in Rosslyn. ⬇️
January 26, 2026 at 6:21 PM
Kevin Riehle is right: "Russian services hope low-level agents will progress & handle them that way, just as their Soviet predecessors did. They are not disposable from the outset, even if some get caught."
This is why it is important to study #intelhistory.
www.themoscowtimes.com/2026/01/23/d...
This is why it is important to study #intelhistory.
www.themoscowtimes.com/2026/01/23/d...
Dismissing Russian Agents as ‘Disposable’ Misses How Espionage Works - The Moscow Times
Opinion | This article was originally published on LinkedIn.
www.themoscowtimes.com
January 24, 2026 at 7:17 PM
Kevin Riehle is right: "Russian services hope low-level agents will progress & handle them that way, just as their Soviet predecessors did. They are not disposable from the outset, even if some get caught."
This is why it is important to study #intelhistory.
www.themoscowtimes.com/2026/01/23/d...
This is why it is important to study #intelhistory.
www.themoscowtimes.com/2026/01/23/d...
#KGB defector Vladimir Kuzichkin wrote that he & his fellow cadets at the Red Banner Institute had access to James Bond films & were not upset with how they portrayed Soviet intel officers.
Their attitude was "the more primitive you imagine us to be, the worse for you."
Their attitude was "the more primitive you imagine us to be, the worse for you."
January 23, 2026 at 6:35 PM
#KGB defector Vladimir Kuzichkin wrote that he & his fellow cadets at the Red Banner Institute had access to James Bond films & were not upset with how they portrayed Soviet intel officers.
Their attitude was "the more primitive you imagine us to be, the worse for you."
Their attitude was "the more primitive you imagine us to be, the worse for you."
Really enjoyed speaking in Prof. Mindy Haas’s graduate class on espionage & surveillance in international affairs at the University of Pittsburgh!
I discussed #KGB institutional culture, ops mindset, and my book, #KGBLiterati.
Thanks, Mindy, for your invitation! @socintelhist.bsky.social
I discussed #KGB institutional culture, ops mindset, and my book, #KGBLiterati.
Thanks, Mindy, for your invitation! @socintelhist.bsky.social
January 22, 2026 at 5:34 PM
Really enjoyed speaking in Prof. Mindy Haas’s graduate class on espionage & surveillance in international affairs at the University of Pittsburgh!
I discussed #KGB institutional culture, ops mindset, and my book, #KGBLiterati.
Thanks, Mindy, for your invitation! @socintelhist.bsky.social
I discussed #KGB institutional culture, ops mindset, and my book, #KGBLiterati.
Thanks, Mindy, for your invitation! @socintelhist.bsky.social
My new article!
"Soviets in North Atlantic: A Disastrous Fishing Expedition near the Faroe Islands in 1952" #MGB #topsecret #coldwar
Based on my research at Hoover Library & Archives (Stanford University)
@hooverinstitution.bsky.social @socintelhist.bsky.social
The link: tinyurl.com/3zt6vmts
"Soviets in North Atlantic: A Disastrous Fishing Expedition near the Faroe Islands in 1952" #MGB #topsecret #coldwar
Based on my research at Hoover Library & Archives (Stanford University)
@hooverinstitution.bsky.social @socintelhist.bsky.social
The link: tinyurl.com/3zt6vmts
Soviets in North Atlantic: A Disastrous Fishing Expedition near the Faroe Islands in 1952
Archival records show that drunkenness and violence ran rampant
tinyurl.com
January 20, 2026 at 5:02 PM
My new article!
"Soviets in North Atlantic: A Disastrous Fishing Expedition near the Faroe Islands in 1952" #MGB #topsecret #coldwar
Based on my research at Hoover Library & Archives (Stanford University)
@hooverinstitution.bsky.social @socintelhist.bsky.social
The link: tinyurl.com/3zt6vmts
"Soviets in North Atlantic: A Disastrous Fishing Expedition near the Faroe Islands in 1952" #MGB #topsecret #coldwar
Based on my research at Hoover Library & Archives (Stanford University)
@hooverinstitution.bsky.social @socintelhist.bsky.social
The link: tinyurl.com/3zt6vmts
Great crowd last night at the Commonwealth Club of California for my talk on #KGB institutional culture & my new book #KGBLiterati. Q&A for almost an hour! @socintelhist.bsky.social
January 16, 2026 at 5:01 PM
Great crowd last night at the Commonwealth Club of California for my talk on #KGB institutional culture & my new book #KGBLiterati. Q&A for almost an hour! @socintelhist.bsky.social
Thanks, Luca! I really enjoyed this conversation with Antonia Senior, a wonderful host of the Spy Masters podcast on all things #KGB and my new book #KGBLiterati.
January 15, 2026 at 5:48 PM
Thanks, Luca! I really enjoyed this conversation with Antonia Senior, a wonderful host of the Spy Masters podcast on all things #KGB and my new book #KGBLiterati.
It's a great honor to have Sean Wiswesser, a former #CIA senior operations officer & author of the forthcoming book "Tradecraft, Tactics & Dirty Tricks: Russian Intel & Putin's Secret War," write a review of my book #KGBLiterati for #AFIO! ⬇️
www.afio.com/book-reviews...
www.afio.com/book-reviews...
Association of Former Intelligence Officers
AFIO's mission is to build a public constituency for a sound, healthy and capable U.S. intelligence system.
www.afio.com
January 13, 2026 at 5:34 PM
It's a great honor to have Sean Wiswesser, a former #CIA senior operations officer & author of the forthcoming book "Tradecraft, Tactics & Dirty Tricks: Russian Intel & Putin's Secret War," write a review of my book #KGBLiterati for #AFIO! ⬇️
www.afio.com/book-reviews...
www.afio.com/book-reviews...
This Thursday, January 15, 2026, the Commonwealth Club of California is hosting my lecture on the legacies of #KGB institutional culture & my new book #KGBLiterati at the Dominican University in San Rafael, California. See you there!
www.commonwealthclub.org/events/2026-...
www.commonwealthclub.org/events/2026-...
Dr. Filip Kovacevic: Inside KGB Culture
A large segment of the Russian ruling elite is still composed of Soviet state security (KGB) officers, including President Vladimir Putin. Professor Filip Kovacevic will discuss the deep-seated KGB my...
www.commonwealthclub.org
January 12, 2026 at 5:25 PM
This Thursday, January 15, 2026, the Commonwealth Club of California is hosting my lecture on the legacies of #KGB institutional culture & my new book #KGBLiterati at the Dominican University in San Rafael, California. See you there!
www.commonwealthclub.org/events/2026-...
www.commonwealthclub.org/events/2026-...
Just received an autographed copy of Richard Kerbaj's great new book The Defector which I highly recommend. Thanks, Richard! @socintelhist.bsky.social
January 10, 2026 at 7:54 PM
Just received an autographed copy of Richard Kerbaj's great new book The Defector which I highly recommend. Thanks, Richard! @socintelhist.bsky.social
And here are some matching Soviet #counterintelligence signatures. #NKVD
January 8, 2026 at 11:54 PM
And here are some matching Soviet #counterintelligence signatures. #NKVD
Reposted by Filip Kovacevic
𝗖𝗙𝗣: Join the 𝗦𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗲𝘁𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗛𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆’s 2026 conference, hosted at King’s College London with the 𝗞𝗶𝗻𝗴’𝘀 𝗖𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝘂𝗱𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 kcsi.uk and the 𝗗𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗪𝗮𝗿 𝗦𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗲𝘀 @warstudieskcl.bsky.social
𝗗𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 15, send to: [email protected]
www.intelligencehistory.org
𝗗𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 15, send to: [email protected]
www.intelligencehistory.org
January 5, 2026 at 2:21 PM
𝗖𝗙𝗣: Join the 𝗦𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗲𝘁𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗛𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆’s 2026 conference, hosted at King’s College London with the 𝗞𝗶𝗻𝗴’𝘀 𝗖𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝘂𝗱𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 kcsi.uk and the 𝗗𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗪𝗮𝗿 𝗦𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗲𝘀 @warstudieskcl.bsky.social
𝗗𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 15, send to: [email protected]
www.intelligencehistory.org
𝗗𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 15, send to: [email protected]
www.intelligencehistory.org
Reposted by Filip Kovacevic
For the @NewBooksNetwork podcast, Miranda Melcher speaks with UTP author @chekistmonitor.bsky.social about his new book KGB Literati!
Listen here: bit.ly/3MZC9BV
#NewRelease #Podcast #Literature
Listen here: bit.ly/3MZC9BV
#NewRelease #Podcast #Literature
January 6, 2026 at 4:12 PM
For the @NewBooksNetwork podcast, Miranda Melcher speaks with UTP author @chekistmonitor.bsky.social about his new book KGB Literati!
Listen here: bit.ly/3MZC9BV
#NewRelease #Podcast #Literature
Listen here: bit.ly/3MZC9BV
#NewRelease #Podcast #Literature
My 1st article in 2026!
"George de Mohrenschildt's First & Last Letters to His Brother Dimitri"
Based on my research of Dimitri von Mohrenschildt's papers at Hoover Archives.
Read it here: tinyurl.com/bp6xrcvr
"George de Mohrenschildt's First & Last Letters to His Brother Dimitri"
Based on my research of Dimitri von Mohrenschildt's papers at Hoover Archives.
Read it here: tinyurl.com/bp6xrcvr
George de Mohrenschildt's First & Last Letters to His Brother Dimitri
These letters shed light on George de Mohrenschildt's childhood & the last year of his life
tinyurl.com
January 6, 2026 at 5:30 PM
My 1st article in 2026!
"George de Mohrenschildt's First & Last Letters to His Brother Dimitri"
Based on my research of Dimitri von Mohrenschildt's papers at Hoover Archives.
Read it here: tinyurl.com/bp6xrcvr
"George de Mohrenschildt's First & Last Letters to His Brother Dimitri"
Based on my research of Dimitri von Mohrenschildt's papers at Hoover Archives.
Read it here: tinyurl.com/bp6xrcvr
👀10 days left!
Join me at the Commonwealth Club of California for an evening talk on #KGB Culture drawing on my archival research & insights from my new book #KGBLiterati.
Date: January 15, 2026
Location: Dominican University, San Rafael, CA.
www.commonwealthclub.org/events/2026-...
Join me at the Commonwealth Club of California for an evening talk on #KGB Culture drawing on my archival research & insights from my new book #KGBLiterati.
Date: January 15, 2026
Location: Dominican University, San Rafael, CA.
www.commonwealthclub.org/events/2026-...
Dr. Filip Kovacevic: Inside KGB Culture
A large segment of the Russian ruling elite is still composed of Soviet state security (KGB) officers, including President Vladimir Putin. Professor Filip Kovacevic will discuss the deep-seated KGB my...
www.commonwealthclub.org
January 5, 2026 at 5:28 PM
👀10 days left!
Join me at the Commonwealth Club of California for an evening talk on #KGB Culture drawing on my archival research & insights from my new book #KGBLiterati.
Date: January 15, 2026
Location: Dominican University, San Rafael, CA.
www.commonwealthclub.org/events/2026-...
Join me at the Commonwealth Club of California for an evening talk on #KGB Culture drawing on my archival research & insights from my new book #KGBLiterati.
Date: January 15, 2026
Location: Dominican University, San Rafael, CA.
www.commonwealthclub.org/events/2026-...
#AskHistorians Reddit forum, February 2, 2026.
I'll be doing a live Q&A session known as Ask Me Anything (AMA) on my new book #KGBLiterati.
Your chance to "ask me anything" concerning KGB spy fiction & institutional culture. Be there! @socintelhist.bsky.social
reddit.com/r/AskHistori...
I'll be doing a live Q&A session known as Ask Me Anything (AMA) on my new book #KGBLiterati.
Your chance to "ask me anything" concerning KGB spy fiction & institutional culture. Be there! @socintelhist.bsky.social
reddit.com/r/AskHistori...
December 31, 2025 at 6:02 PM
#AskHistorians Reddit forum, February 2, 2026.
I'll be doing a live Q&A session known as Ask Me Anything (AMA) on my new book #KGBLiterati.
Your chance to "ask me anything" concerning KGB spy fiction & institutional culture. Be there! @socintelhist.bsky.social
reddit.com/r/AskHistori...
I'll be doing a live Q&A session known as Ask Me Anything (AMA) on my new book #KGBLiterati.
Your chance to "ask me anything" concerning KGB spy fiction & institutional culture. Be there! @socintelhist.bsky.social
reddit.com/r/AskHistori...
Ever wondered why I wrote #KGBLiterati? My interview with Miranda Melcher, a great host at New Books Network, covers that.
Here's our in-depth discussion of KGB spy fiction & institutional culture: newbooksnetwork.com/kgb-literati
@newbooksnetwork.bsky.social @socintelhist.bsky.social
#spies
Here's our in-depth discussion of KGB spy fiction & institutional culture: newbooksnetwork.com/kgb-literati
@newbooksnetwork.bsky.social @socintelhist.bsky.social
#spies
December 26, 2025 at 5:58 PM
Ever wondered why I wrote #KGBLiterati? My interview with Miranda Melcher, a great host at New Books Network, covers that.
Here's our in-depth discussion of KGB spy fiction & institutional culture: newbooksnetwork.com/kgb-literati
@newbooksnetwork.bsky.social @socintelhist.bsky.social
#spies
Here's our in-depth discussion of KGB spy fiction & institutional culture: newbooksnetwork.com/kgb-literati
@newbooksnetwork.bsky.social @socintelhist.bsky.social
#spies
This top secret document of #KGB's 7th Department (surveillance) in Kaunas, Lithuania explains how they disguised a photo camera in a handbag.
The document is not dated but, based on its position in the file, I suspect that it was written in 1956.
The document is not dated but, based on its position in the file, I suspect that it was written in 1956.
December 25, 2025 at 7:56 PM
This top secret document of #KGB's 7th Department (surveillance) in Kaunas, Lithuania explains how they disguised a photo camera in a handbag.
The document is not dated but, based on its position in the file, I suspect that it was written in 1956.
The document is not dated but, based on its position in the file, I suspect that it was written in 1956.
My new article!
"How An Estonian Fishing Boat Escaped from the Soviet Union to Sweden in 1947" (and how MGB failed to stop it)
Based on my research of #MGB/#KGB files at Hoover Library & Archives. @hooverinstitution.bsky.social @socintelhist.bsky.social
The link: tinyurl.com/yc6z5nmr
"How An Estonian Fishing Boat Escaped from the Soviet Union to Sweden in 1947" (and how MGB failed to stop it)
Based on my research of #MGB/#KGB files at Hoover Library & Archives. @hooverinstitution.bsky.social @socintelhist.bsky.social
The link: tinyurl.com/yc6z5nmr
How An Estonian Fishing Boat Escaped from the Soviet Union to Sweden in 1947
Top Secret MGB Investigation of Its Counterintelligence Failure
tinyurl.com
December 22, 2025 at 5:22 PM
My new article!
"How An Estonian Fishing Boat Escaped from the Soviet Union to Sweden in 1947" (and how MGB failed to stop it)
Based on my research of #MGB/#KGB files at Hoover Library & Archives. @hooverinstitution.bsky.social @socintelhist.bsky.social
The link: tinyurl.com/yc6z5nmr
"How An Estonian Fishing Boat Escaped from the Soviet Union to Sweden in 1947" (and how MGB failed to stop it)
Based on my research of #MGB/#KGB files at Hoover Library & Archives. @hooverinstitution.bsky.social @socintelhist.bsky.social
The link: tinyurl.com/yc6z5nmr
#CIA-funded Joint Publications Research Service translated several Soviet spy fiction novels in the 1970s but only one of them was written by #KGB officers.
Rezident's Mistake was the first in a trilogy of novels on KGB counterintelligence.
I discuss all three in #KGBLiterati.
Rezident's Mistake was the first in a trilogy of novels on KGB counterintelligence.
I discuss all three in #KGBLiterati.
December 19, 2025 at 9:50 PM
#CIA-funded Joint Publications Research Service translated several Soviet spy fiction novels in the 1970s but only one of them was written by #KGB officers.
Rezident's Mistake was the first in a trilogy of novels on KGB counterintelligence.
I discuss all three in #KGBLiterati.
Rezident's Mistake was the first in a trilogy of novels on KGB counterintelligence.
I discuss all three in #KGBLiterati.
In 1985, Lithuanian #KGB Tech Services prepared a 7-page secret memo listing "potential signs" the letter was sent by, or to, foreign intel.
Some signs: cheap envelope, large spaces between the words, "thin" letter (2 pages or less), clearly written address, no dates, etc.
Some signs: cheap envelope, large spaces between the words, "thin" letter (2 pages or less), clearly written address, no dates, etc.
December 18, 2025 at 5:28 PM
In 1985, Lithuanian #KGB Tech Services prepared a 7-page secret memo listing "potential signs" the letter was sent by, or to, foreign intel.
Some signs: cheap envelope, large spaces between the words, "thin" letter (2 pages or less), clearly written address, no dates, etc.
Some signs: cheap envelope, large spaces between the words, "thin" letter (2 pages or less), clearly written address, no dates, etc.