Ideological Subversion and Brainwashing – Quotes by Juri Besmenow

„Ideological subversion is the process which is legitimate, overt and open, you can see it with your own eyes. All you can do, all Americans need to do is to unplug their bananas from their ears, open up their eyes and they can see. There is no mystery. It has nothing to do with espionage. I know that espionage and intelligence gathering looks more romantic, it probably sells better to the audience through advertising. That is why your Hollywood producers are so crazy about James Bond type thrillers. But in reality, the main emphasis of the KGB is not in the area of intelligence at all. In my opinion and the opinion of many defectors of my caliber, only about fifteen percent of time, money and manpower is spent on espionage as such. The other eighty-five percent is a slow process which we call either ideological subversion or active measures, or psychological warfare. What it basically means is, to change the perception of reality of every American to such an extent that despite an abundance of information no one is able to come to sensible conclusions in the interest of defending themselves, their family, their community and their country.

Most of the activity of the department was to compile huge amounts, volumes of information on individuals who were instrumental in creating public opinion. Publishers, editors, journalists, actors, educators, professors of political science, members of parliament, representatives of business circles. Most of these people were divided roughly into two groups. Those who were told the Soviet foreign policy, they would be promoted to positions of power through media and public opinion manipulation. Those who refused the Soviet influence in their country would be character assassinated or physically executed for counter-revolution. The same happened in a small town named HEWA in South Vietnam. Several thousand Vietnamese were executed in one night when the city was captured by the Vietcong for only two days. And American CIA could never figure out how the Communists could possibly know each individual, where he lives, where to get him, and how they were arrested in one night, basically in some four hours before dawn, put on a van, taken out of the city limits and shot.“