This United States Government National Intelligence University book, Russian Intelligence: A Case-based Study of Russian Services and Missions Past and Present, sprang from a global pandemic. When the National Intelligence University (NIU) transitioned from a traditional classroom setting to online instruction in spring 2020, NIU faculty were required to reformulate lectures to include only information that could be shared across an open video link. This initially appeared to be a daunting proposition for a course on Russian intelligence and security activities since one would assume that such information is not generally publicly available. Intelligence activities are, by nature, secret.

In fact, a large amount of reliable and accurate information exists in the public domain. Although not all public information is reliable and much of it exaggerates or mischaracterizes the subject, with careful selection a comprehensive picture emerges. I also realized that no single volume existed that credibly presented a complete, unbiased picture of Russian intelligence. I set out to develop a series of lectures, which now forms the basis for this book.