Yuri Bezmenov, the son of a high-ranking Soviet officer, was a member of the elite propaganda arm of the KGB, known as the Novasti Press Agency. One of his assignments was to accompany journalists visiting the Soviet Union to make sure they did not discover the truth about Soviet life. After becoming disillusioned with the oppressive system, he escaped to the West (defected to Canada in 1971), at great risk to his life. In this interview, conducted by G. Edward Griffin, Mr. Bezmenov tells how the Soviets used propaganda against their own citizens; how he hoodwinked American journalists into publishing Soviet propaganda, how slave laborers are concealed from foreign visitors, and how he escaped to the West posing as an American hippie. After being assigned to a station in India, Bezmenov eventually grew to love the people and the culture of India. At the same time, he began to resent the KGB-sanctioned repression of intellectuals who dissented from Moscow’s policies and he decided to defect to the West. Bezmenov is best remembered for his anti-communist lectures and books published in the 1980s under the alias of Tomas David Schuman.
This collection of interviews, and lectures provide insights to state propaganda that is as current as today’s newspaper.
