Thread by @ChekistMonitor

Just finished reading Andrei P. Frolov's book "#KGB and the Art of Counterintelligence: A Perspective on CI Theory from the Inside" published in Moscow in 2003.

This book hasn't been translated into English, so I decided to share some of my notes in the thread below.

Andrei Frolov was a KGB colonel who spent most of his career teaching at the Higher School of the KGB in Moscow (today's #FSB Academy). Considered to be one of the top KGB experts on counterintel theory, he authored several (still classified) training manuals on the subject.

Frolov's book is mostly autobiographical. I wouldn't say the book is very revealing, but it does provide an inside view of the educational dynamics and debates at the Higher School not found in any other published account.

Frolov also discusses the personalities of top KGB officials at the Higher School. There were some who thought Frolov's counterintelligence theory was nonsense. Obviously, Frolov didn't like them very much. He was also not too fond of Gorbachev's perestroika.

In the book's preface, Frolov writes that his intention is to share some aspects of the theory of the art of counterintelligence (KRI) regarding training, operational work, teaching and academic activities. Thus, his focus is on CI theory, not practice.

Perhaps that's the book's main problem. I found Frolov's discussions of the KRI very abstract, but I'll get to that later.
First things first: Frolov's biography.

Frolov was born in 1931 in the Voronezh region. He grew up near the river Don. His mother died in 1937; his father worked as a chauffeur and auto mechanic. He served in the Red Army during WWII & was a decorated veteran. Frolov was raised by his grandmother.

Frolov claims that growing up he heard positive things about the Chekists, especially about the Osobists (mil counterintelligence). Apparently, there was even a ship named "The Chekist" which sailed on the Don. This made him want to enroll in the Special School of the MGB.

After graduation, Frolov's first assignment was in the KGB of Buryatia. This was in the mid-1950s. Khrushchev was intent on "reforming" Soviet state security. Frolov was transferred to a large weapons factory & put in charge of CI. He liked the job.

Frolov says he looked for a theoretical framework to make sense of his practical experiences. He was delighted with the KGB Sbornik, an in-house professional publication (1st issue published in April 1959 with the articles by Gribanov & Sakharovsky, the heads of the SCD & FCD).

On the other hand, according to Frolov, the ever-rising numbers of the Communist Party & Komsomol officials transferred to the KGB without any experience in state security led to the decrease of professionalism & the increase of careerism & intrigues.

It was not before the 1970s under Andropov that the Party cadres had to go through the training at the Higher School of the KGB to assume their positions in the KGB. Andropov strengthened the position of the KGB in relation to the Party.

That's what makes Andropov popular among the Putin people today.

To be continued.