Comrade J: The Untold Secrets of Russia's Master Spy in America After the End of the Cold War

Written by Pete Earley

Narrated by Michael Prichard

Spymaster, defector, double agent—the remarkable true story of the man who ran Russia's post–cold war spy program in America.



In 1991, the Soviet Union collapsed, the cold war ended, and a new world order began. We thought everything had changed. But one thing never changed: the spies.



From 1995 to 2000, a man known as "Comrade J" was the highest-ranking operative in the SVR—the successor agency to the KGB—in the United States. He directed all Russian spy action in New York City and personally oversaw every covert operation against the United States and its allies in the United Nations. He recruited spies, planted agents, penetrated security, manipulated intelligence, and influenced American policy, all under the direct leadership of Boris Yeltsin and then Vladimir Putin. He was a legend in the SVR, the man who kept the secrets.



Then, in 2000, he defected—and it turned out he had one more secret. For the previous two years, he had also been a double agent for the FBI: "By far the most important Russian spy that our side has had in decades." He has never granted a public interview. The FBI and CIA have refused to answer all media questions about him. He has remained in hiding. He has never revealed his secrets.



Until now.



Comrade J, written by the bestselling author of Family of Spies and The Hot House, is his story, a direct account of what he did in the United States after we all assumed the spying was over and of what Putin and Russia continue to do today. The revelations are stunning. It is also the story of growing up in a family of agents dating back to the revolution; of how Russia molded him into one of its most high-flying operatives; of the day-to-day perils of living a double, then triple, life; and finally, of how his growing disquiet with the corruption and ambitions of the "new Russia" led him to take the most perilous step of all.



Many spies have told their stories. None has the astonishing immediacy, relevance, and cautionary warnings of Comrade J.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tantor Media, Inc
• Release date: Feb 7, 2008
• ISBN: 9781400175529

Pete Earley

Pete Earley is the author of three New York Times bestsellers. He has won an Edgar Award for Best Fact Crime and was a Pulitzer Prize finalist in 2007. He lives in Fairfax, Virginia. Visit PeteEarley.com.

Reviews for Comrade J

[jim · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Poor Sergei. Wikileaks shows contradictions in cause of death. RIP

[d-fbuser-56651442 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

It is a good book but seems like propaganda at the end.

[chathan_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Sergei Olegovich Tretyakov, Russian spy and defector, born 5 October 1956; died June 13 2010--recently died at age 53

[grimbo_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The field of spycraft has always interested me, and with this book many things are revealed that left me thinking about and questioning what goes on in the world under our eyes. The book was a quick read, with short, pointed chapters that cover an array of cases. It follows and orderly procession from the early life of Sergei Tretyakov, how he came to be what he was, and subsequently what he did during his time as an SVR rezident. The chapter that discusses how the UN Oil-for-Food program was manipulated was particularly interesting, and the final chapter where Sergei gives his own personal statement makes me want to read the Declaration of Independence all over again.