‘Special Talents and Notorious PSYWAR’: Cold War Spy Tradecraft Behind The Iron Curtain
Although there weren’t high-tech gadgets like today, Cold War espionage was extremely efficient. In a geopolitical situation where the nuclear threat was constantly present, information was a key currency. As there were no smartphones, internet, or other benefits of the modern age, people were the most important.
Read More
Cold War Propaganda: Three Ingredients For A Winning Strategy
During the Cold War years, the radio as a propaganda tool had a very important role. Popular in the bigger or smaller communities, it was an optimal medium for the Soviet government to send a political message. But, the political propaganda plan wasn’t only limited to the Soviet Union. It included the whole Iron Curtain.
Read More
How Did One Optimistic Report From the Stasi Foreshadow the Collapse of Communism?
During the early 80’s, increased tensions marked the new phase of the Cold War. Besides external, the Eastern Bloc countries faced many internal problems as well. The governments of these countries, especially the USSR, tried to spread optimism. But they didn’t see (or didn’t want to see) that everything would collapse soon. Therefore, it’s interesting to see how the secret reports full of optimism actually revealed the real state of affairs.
Read More
How Did Espionage Keep the Cold War Cold?
During the Cold War, information was a very valuable commodity. The search for the valuable information marked the whole Cold War era. The Cold War, as a clash of ideologies, was marked by continuous tensions between the East and the West, but didn’t culminate in a global conflict.
Read More
Did the Soviets Avoid the Early Collapse of the Iron Curtain?
In the 1950s and 1960s the Soviet influence in Romania was very strong. The USSR controlled the country’s economy and political life. That was completely expected since the new government after the end of the Cold war was pro-Soviet. The first serious efforts to bring back sovereignty appeared in the 1960s. The communist government of Romania wanted to become economically independent and release the country from the covert and overt Soviet actions that made this country a satellite state under the strong control of the USSR. Therefore, regarding international relations, these two countries weren’t in equal position. The USSR had the power over Romania. And Romania wanted to make its own decisions. So, Soviet informal controls needed to be stopped.
Read More