Tradecraft, Tactics, and Dirty Tricks: Russian Intelligence and Putin’s Secret War

Unmask the shadowy world of Russian espionage in this lecture with Sean M. Wiswesser, a national security professional whose career spans nearly three decades across intelligence, foreign service, and defense institutions. Drawing on his experience as a senior operations officer with the Central Intelligence Agency—including multiple overseas tours, war-zone deployments, and service as a chief of station—Wiswesser offers a rare, insider perspective on the evolving landscape of global intelligence. Centering on the Russian Intelligence Services (RIS), this talk explores the doctrine of Maskirovka—the art of denial, deception, and manipulation that underpins Russian strategy. Through historical case studies and firsthand insights, Wiswesser examines the structure and operations of Russia’s principal intelligence agencies: the SVR, GRU, and FSB. Topics include the use of double agents, surveillance and “street work,” honey traps, sabotage, active measures, assassinations, and the role of intelligence services in the Russo-Ukraine War. A Morehead Scholar at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Wiswesser holds a bachelor’s degree in history and Russian & Slavic linguistics. He earned a Master of Strategic Studies from the Air War College in 2023, where he received the Russia Integrated Deterrence Award.

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Tradecraft, Tactics, and Dirty Tricks: Russian Intelligence and Putin’s Secret War is an episode from The Institute of World Politics by The Institute of World Politics.

This episode is 00:53:41 long.

This episode was published on May 6, 2026.

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