General pavel sudoplatov biography

Special Tasks: The Memoirs of an Unwanted Witness—A Soviet Spymaster is the autobiography of Pavel Sudoplatov, who was a member of the intelligence services of the Soviet Union who rose to the rank of lieutenant general.^[1]

When it was published in 1994, it caused a considerable uproar for a number of reasons.

It also made him well known outside Russia by providing a detailed look at Soviet intelligence and Soviet internal politics during his years at the top. The book also described the Soviet state view on the term "special tasks" which Sudoplatov described as "sabotage, kidnapping and assassination" beyond the USSR's borders.^[2] Sudoplatov was known for managing the two plots that led to the assassination of Leon Trotsky.^[2][3][4]

Problems and value

It is a somewhat problematic work for several reasons.

For one, it was based in large part on Sudoplatov's memory, 40 years or more after the events that fo