KGB Strategy Masterclass: The Trump Case, part 1

Part 1: The KGB Playbook: A Masterclass in Influence (1/2)

What if I told you that the KGB’s greatest success story wasn’t in Cold War espionage, but in modern American politics? And what if the asset in question sat in the White House for four years, still pulling strings?

It sounds absurd, but only if you ignore how these operations actually work. The KGB—and its successors—don’t deal in Hollywood-style blackmail plots or dramatic double agents. Their influence campaigns are patient, methodical, and designed to be almost invisible. And once they take root, the target rarely even realizes what’s happening.

Not until he realizes it's too late to pull out of the game.

Introduction

Watching the US these last months has been like watching a movie where the script is being written in real-time by a drunk director who wants to beat George Orwell. The future feels uncertain, and frankly, a little scary. What many are thinking, but maybe afraid to say out loud, is that what we're seeing looks a lot like the playbook used by the KGB – something I know a bit about from my previous life behind the Iron Curtain.

This isn't just a hunch. It's a serious concern: Donald Trump's behavior, especially when it comes to Russia, follows a pattern that the KGB perfected: finding useful people and using them to weaken their enemies. In this "KGB Strategy Masterclass: The Trump Case," I'll share my experiences and show you how Trump's actions fit a pattern of foreign influence.

First, we'll look at the KGB's methods for spotting and grooming people who can be useful to them. Second, we'll break down Trump's actions and see how they line up with those methods and benefit Russia. Finally, we'll talk about why nobody seems to be asking the tough questions about all of this and why it's so important to stay alert. The stakes are too high to ignore the warning signs.

The KGB Playbook: A Masterclass in Influence

Identifying and Cultivating "Assets"

The KGB wasn't just about spies and secret agents; it was about understanding people – their strengths, their weaknesses, their desires, and their vulnerabilities. At first glance, it might seem like a straightforward recruitment process, much like any other organization seeking talented individuals. But unlike a typical headhunter, the KGB had different tiers of targets, each requiring a unique approach. Their ultimate goal was to find leverage: identifying individuals who could be cultivated as "assets," people who could be influenced and manipulated to serve Soviet interests, whether they knew it or not.

The first tier was the "cream of the crop": top graduates from elite high schools. Every spring, two sleek gentlemen in business suits would visit my school and have a private chat with the Headmaster over a list of candidates already prepared by the school. Eventually, they would make an offer to join the KGB to two – only two! – straight-A students. This was pure McKinsey-style recruitment: identifying individuals with exceptional potential and investing heavily in their development (while effectively taking them under their control). But this being USSR, one could hear a slight rattle to it, suggesting that this was an offer the kids shouldn't refuse. The KGB operatives weren't necessarily looking for future James Bonds; they were looking for smart, ambitious individuals who could be molded and directed over the long term.

The second tier consisted of university students, but here, academic brilliance wasn't the primary focus. Instead, they sought individuals who were willing to trade their principles for personal gain – the "thirty pieces of silver" types. These individuals might end up as core KGB staff or as "assets" embedded in key positions outside "the System." They were often driven by resentment, a sense of entitlement, or a desire for power, making them susceptible to manipulation. The most successful KGB recruit of this tier is Vladimir Putin.

The third tier, which often merged with the second, was the broadest and most diverse. This group included virtually anyone who could be coerced into "helping the country." The tactics ranged from offering small, finetuned person-by-person "carrots" (favors, opportunities, financial incentives) to wielding increasingly larger sticks. If a candidate wasn't tempted by any reasonable reward, they'd resort to direct threats, targeting the individual or their loved ones. And if the candidate, usually a man, looked like a high-potential but had no skeletons in his closet, the KGB was more than willing to plant one. This could range from a fabricated misdemeanor charge to a manufactured scandal designed to compromise their reputation. And if all else failed, the recruiter would verbally threaten the candidate, describing it as “placing your balls in the top desk drawer and closing it until you come up with a smarter answer.” It was a brutal and ruthless system, designed to break even the most resistant individuals.

If you’ve read this far, you may already have a hunch about one person who may have been earmarked as a hi-po candidate in the long game… Time to go to Part 2: “The Push-Pull Technique.”