Posts tagged KGB

“Interviews with interrogators” Vaughan Bell over at Mind Hacks posted a bunch of fantastic links of interviews with interrogators (CIA, U.S. Army, MI5, MI6, and British Intelligence Corps) that were used for the book Brainwash by Dominic Streatfeild. If you are familiar with the Science of the KGB interviews, then this will be up your alley. 

“Interviews with interrogators”

Vaughan Bell over at Mind Hacks posted a bunch of fantastic links of interviews with interrogators (CIA, U.S. Army, MI5, MI6, and British Intelligence Corps) that were used for the book Brainwash by Dominic Streatfeild.

If you are familiar with the Science of the KGB interviews, then this will be up your alley. 

Science of the KGB  Sprinkled in our conversation was his time as a sniper. Here he talks about how that work breaks down: xKGB: “Kremlin” operation I was working alone - we can talk about it more. Sniper goes into 4 categories: first, military sniper - he works with a partner, who’s looking for the targets using optics. Woman are the best snipers (they usually have lower blood pressure than man and they pay more attention to details. In Chechnya, Russian small Muslim republic where terrorists fight for independence since 1993, they pay women -snipers (soldiers of fortune) from former Soviet Baltic republics (Litva, Estonia) to fight Russian army. Every woman has 2 helpers - they count the dead bodies and keep an eye on the sniper. Then there are mafia snipers - work mostly as a team. Next are espionage (gov) agency snipers - might be a solo, might be a team, depends. Last are “lonely wolves” - psychos who just shoot people in the street through a hole in a van, from the roof, etc.” Then noticing we aren’t talking about him anymore, he redirects and with the driest of all humor, and half truths, he says, “I prefer to work alone.” Above: Female Russian sniper [via]

Sprinkled in our conversation was his time as a sniper. Here he talks about how that work breaks down:

xKGB: “Kremlin” operation I was working alone - we can talk about it more. Sniper goes into 4 categories: first, military sniper - he works with a partner, who’s looking for the targets using optics.

Woman are the best snipers (they usually have lower blood pressure than man and they pay more attention to details. In Chechnya, Russian small Muslim republic where terrorists fight for independence since 1993, they pay women -snipers (soldiers of fortune) from former Soviet Baltic republics (Litva, Estonia) to fight Russian army. Every woman has 2 helpers - they count the dead bodies and keep an eye on the sniper.

Then there are mafia snipers - work mostly as a team. Next are espionage (gov) agency snipers - might be a solo, might be a team, depends. Last are “lonely wolves” - psychos who just shoot people in the street through a hole in a van, from the roof, etc.”

Then noticing we aren’t talking about him anymore, he redirects and with the driest of all humor, and half truths, he says, “I prefer to work alone.”

Above: Female Russian sniper [via]

scienceofthekgb: So you want you to experience what it’s like to be interrogated/tourtured by a Soviet KBG officer in 1984?  Well, there’s a “theme park” for that. You can go for a 3 hour tour in an underground 2 level bunker where you’re transported back in time to be yelled at, hit and pushed around in a “quasi-theatrical experience in a genuine Soviet bunker in the middle of the Lithuanian forest; imagine Punchdrunk Theatre Company run by retired KGB officers.” Basically,it’s where history comes alive and scares the shit out of you.  ”Someone always faints – our record is five people fainting in one show,” she explained matter-of-factly, re-assuring me that my translator will have smelling salts handy. “But be sure to answer the guards’ questions promptly and clearly. They are mostly actors, but they can get stuck in that time and forget they are actors. We had to fire some of them because they were a little too hard on people. It’s very easy to break people’s will – once you are down there, six metres underground, you feel like you can’t get out.”  VIA Finishing up part II of the interviews with my ex KGB source re: interrogations and tortures, I came across this lil nugget. (Part I here)

scienceofthekgb:

So you want you to experience what it’s like to be interrogated/tourtured by a Soviet KBG officer in 1984?  Well, there’s a “theme park” for that.

You can go for a 3 hour tour in an underground 2 level bunker where you’re transported back in time to be yelled at, hit and pushed around in a “quasi-theatrical experience in a genuine Soviet bunker in the middle of the Lithuanian forest; imagine Punchdrunk Theatre Company run by retired KGB officers.” Basically,it’s where history comes alive and scares the shit out of you.

 ”Someone always faints – our record is five people fainting in one show,” she explained matter-of-factly, re-assuring me that my translator will have smelling salts handy. “But be sure to answer the guards’ questions promptly and clearly. They are mostly actors, but they can get stuck in that time and forget they are actors. We had to fire some of them because they were a little too hard on people. It’s very easy to break people’s will – once you are down there, six metres underground, you feel like you can’t get out.”  VIA

Finishing up part II of the interviews with my ex KGB source re: interrogations and tortures, I came across this lil nugget. (Part I here)