Forty-Five Years Undercover: An Ottoman Spy in 17th Century Paris
During the 17th century, the Franco-Ottoman relations were quite stable. The alliance, established in 1536, continued during the majority of this period. There were no large conflicts. Despite that, intelligence activity during this period was very lively. The example of Mahmut, an Ottoman spy undercover, gives us valuable information on the Ottoman international politics.
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“Public functionaries alone are excepted”: Napoleon’s Passport System in Europe
One of the many ways Napoleon Bonaparte attempted to control populations was the mandating of passports. Passports in various forms have been around for centuries but not in the manner most people associate with them today.
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The Fall of the Iron Curtain in One Photo
A symbolic depiction of the end of the Cold War.
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How Did a Sneaky Villain Become a Noble Hero?
Every spy fiction lover knows about James Bond, George Smiley, Harry Palmer and other favorite heroes of the worldwide popular genre. Writers like Ian Fleming, John Le Carre and Len Deighton made these characters the favorites of readers. But, a long time ago, much before the Cold War, the spies were usually seen as sneaky villains. However, things change in the 19th and especially the early 20th century when the spy was not seen as being creepy and evil anymore, but as noble man who saves the world or believes in a certain cause. The following books prove that theory very easily.
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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.
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