Abstract

This chapter reviews the state of the English-language literature on Russian security services and foreign policy. It situates this literature within both the comparative study of intelligence agencies and the historical literature on the role of Soviet and Russian secret services in foreign policy. The chapter describes the organization of Russia’s security services and analyzes their role as a foreign policy guide and tool. We discuss their mandate and role, and their activities as they relate to analysis and operations. Future scholarship would be helped by more systematic comparison of the role of intelligence agencies in the foreign policy process in other countries, and greater integration into general approaches to the study of Russian foreign policy.