Spies and Commissars

Robert Service, world-leading expert in Russian history, presents a fresh portrait of the early years of the Revolution.

‘Fascinating . . . Service has a wonderful eye for the telling detail’ – Independent

1917. The world is locked in an ideological battle.

The Western powers are anxious to prevent Bolshevism spreading across Europe. Lenin and Trotsky are equally anxious that their Communist vision should do just that. But in the wake of the Revolution and Russia’s withdrawal from the First World War, there is a distinct lack of reliable information available to either side.

Into this intelligence void step an extraordinary collection of journalists, spies – sometimes not mutually exclusive categorisations – and opportunists. In Moscow Britain’s Arthur Ransome, the American John Reed and Sidney Reilly –the ‘Ace of Spies’ – trade information and broker deals between Russia and the West; in Berlin, Paris and London, the likes of Maxim Litvinov, Adolf Ioffe and Kamenev try to infiltrate the political elite and influence foreign policy to the Bolshevik advantage.

Spies and Commissars is a riveting account of the political wrangling in the immediate aftermath of the Revolution, brought to life through the stories of this ragtag group of individuals. With trademark narrative flair and impeccable research, Robert Service reveals one of the great untold tales of the twentieth century.

‘The twenty-first century needs this kind of unflinchingly honest history’ – Simon Sebag Montefiore, Wall Street Journal

Discover more fascinating Russian Revolution titles from Robert Service: The Last of the Tsars and Blood on the Snow.