Filip Kovacevic
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chekistmonitor.bsky.social
Filip Kovacevic
@chekistmonitor.bsky.social
Top expert on #KGB (ops, archives, spy fiction). Book: KGB Literati (t.co/uWXN1eLc0u). PhD. 25+ years university teaching in Russia/Balkans/US. Now at University of San Francisco.
#KGBLiterati is featured in the Hoover Library & Archives Newsletter among the newly catalogued library materials in Fall 2025. @uoftpress.bsky.social @hooverinstitution.bsky.social @socintelhist.bsky.social

The link: tinyurl.com/ypdja9m4
December 5, 2025 at 4:20 PM
My new book #KGBLiterati presented at Gleeson Library, University of San Francisco. @utpress.bsky.social @socintelhist.bsky.social

#spies #writers #coldwar
December 3, 2025 at 8:20 PM
My 95-year-old grandmother just received her copy of my new book #KGBLiterati.

To order your copy: utppublishing.com/doi/book/10....

#spies #writers #spyfiction #KGB
November 29, 2025 at 4:52 PM
From this document. However, only 6 pages have been declassified.
November 14, 2025 at 5:04 PM
#CIA's Early Cold War version of Operation MINCEMEAT.

It was not carried out because Soviet Major "Vasily Ryabov" refused to defect.
November 14, 2025 at 4:10 PM
Did Pavel Sudoplatov have a long conversation with Stalin at the Kremlin on February 20, 1953, as he claimed in his memoirs (ghosted by his son Anatoli)?

There is no record of this meeting in the logs of Stalin's Kremlin visitors. #factcheck @socintelhist.bsky.social
November 13, 2025 at 7:10 PM
"Why You Should Read #KGBLiterati: An Elevator Pitch for My Book"

Read it here: tinyurl.com/mspbns8a

#KGB #CIA #spies #writers #books
November 11, 2025 at 5:32 PM
📢A day for champagne & caviar! #Unboxing my book KGB LITERATI: SPY FICTION & STATE SECURITY IN THE SOVIET UNION! 🎉

Grab your copy here 👉https://utppublishing.com/doi/book/10.3138/9781487548919 @socintelhist.bsky.social

#Spies #Writers #KGB #BookLaunch #NewRelease
November 10, 2025 at 4:45 PM
Tomorrow my book #KGBLiterati meets the world & the world meets #KGBLiterati!
amazon.com/KGB-Literati...

Simon Willmetts: "A must read for anybody interested in intelligence, spy fiction, and the role that culture played during the Cold War." ⬇️ @socintelhist.bsky.social
November 3, 2025 at 5:20 PM
Just 4 days left until my new book #KGBLiterati hits the shelves! amazon.com/KGB-Literati...

Kevin Riehle: "Kovacevic's meticulous research illuminates a dark corner in Soviet intel history by opening the world of Soviet spy fiction to a non-Russian audience." @socintelhist.bsky.social ⬇️
October 31, 2025 at 3:04 PM
Former #CIA officer & acclaimed spy fiction novelist I. S. Berry on my new book: "#KGBLiterati is a revelation, drawing back the iron-curtain to reveal the little-known world of Soviet espionage literature."

#KGBLiterati release is 7 days from today.

The link: amazon.com/KGB-Literati...
October 28, 2025 at 3:08 PM
Roman Kim, Soviet #NKVD officer who wrote #spy fiction, based his novel Burn After Reading in the US before and during WWII.

His main protagonists are two US Navy officers.

To find out more, check out my upcoming book #KGBLiterati.

The link: amazon.com/KGB-Literati...
October 22, 2025 at 5:32 PM
Countdown has begun! #newbook #intelhistory

#KGBLiterati will be released in 20 days. (pre-order: amazon.com/KGB-Literati...)

Here's a sneak #preview of some of the main themes.
October 15, 2025 at 4:00 PM
University of Toronto Press book catalogue, Fall 2025. @socintelhist.bsky.social

My new book #KGBLiterati is prominently featured on page 30.

#spies #spyfiction #coldwar #newrelease
September 29, 2025 at 4:42 PM
Honored to step into the role of Treasurer for Society for Intelligence History!

Thanks to everyone for your trust and support. Here's to a successful term! @socintelhist.bsky.social

#intelhistory #intelstudies
September 24, 2025 at 4:00 PM
When #CIA veteran William Hood wrote that "some of the best fiction by former insiders is out of print" in 1989, did he know that this would apply to his own spy novels?

Few knew #KGB so well as Hood & I plan to write about his novels if I ever compile enough archival material.
September 16, 2025 at 5:20 PM
Happy 95th birthday to my grandmother!

As I do archival research at @hooverinstitution.bsky.social,
I always think about the fact that she was born in 1930 when Hoover was U.S. president.
September 14, 2025 at 5:54 PM
Thank you to the Hoover Library & Archives and @hooverinstitution.bsky.social for a research grant this semester! @socintelhist.bsky.social
#coldwar #KGB #intelhistory
September 13, 2025 at 4:52 PM
The Arrest of Sergey Shoigu (this is how it will happen according to the Chekist playbook)

1. The arrest of close associates (done)
2. The incriminating testimonies obtained from the associates (done)
3. The sending of the testimonies to the supreme leader (done)
4. (see below)
September 6, 2025 at 6:30 PM
Thanks, Microsoft Copilot! 😎
September 5, 2025 at 4:40 PM
While #CIA linked Leonov's recall to Moscow to this event, Leonov wrote that there were no issues in his work and that when he returned, he was promoted to the deputy chief of #KGB Latin American Department.
September 3, 2025 at 10:37 PM
Unsurprisingly, #KGB General Nikolay Leonov (1928-2022) wrote nothing in his memoirs about this egregious failure of his tradecraft exposed by #CIA & leading to the arrests of 2 KGB Colombian Communist assets & the seizure of $100,000.

Read it here: nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-boo...
September 3, 2025 at 10:37 PM
#CIA v. #KGB in the book world. @socintelhist.bsky.social

The CIA Book Club: tinyurl.com/ms29kbv4

KGB Literati (pre-order): tinyurl.com/2j3zhw44
August 26, 2025 at 3:22 PM
#CIA on my FOIA request from 2021:

"As you are aware, we provided you with a previous estimated completion date of 8 July 2025, which expired.

Therefore, we checked on the status and have been provided an updated estimated completion date of 10 February 2027." 😎
August 14, 2025 at 6:26 PM
Despite the subtitle, this excellent book argues that "counterintelligence at its core" is NOT only "assessing & preventing foreign espionage."

Kevin P. Riehle offers a clear & succinct definition of counterintelligence that works across all ages and cultures. Highly recommend!
August 9, 2025 at 6:48 PM