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Trump, Putin, and the New Cold War

Trump, Putin, and the New Cold War
1. Soft Targets On April 12, 1982, Yuri Andropov, the chairman of the K.G.B., ordered foreign-intelligence operatives to carry out “active measures”—aktivniye meropriyatiya—against the reëlection campaign of President Ronald Reagan. Unlike classic espionage, which involves the collection of foreign secrets, active measures aim at influencing events—at undermining a rival power with forgeries, front groups, and countless other techniques honed during the Cold War. The Soviet leadership considered Reagan an implacable militarist. According to extensive notes made by Vasili Mitrokhin, a high-ranking K.G.B. officer and archivist who later defected to Great Britain, Soviet intelligence tried to infiltrate the headquarters of the Republican and Democratic National Committees, popularize the slogan “Reagan Means War! Active measures were used by both sides throughout the Cold War. Vladimir Putin, who is quick to accuse the West of hypocrisy, frequently points to this history. 2. 3. 4. 5.

http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/03/06/trump-putin-and-the-new-cold-war

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