About the book: 2005 / The book explores the history of the Russian intelligence services, starting from Kievan Rus to the Catherine era. Author, famous historian and journalist, based on documentary material popularly outlines the history of the activities of the special services, dwells on the fate of the most prominent personalities of these departments, analyzes the features of this period of existence of the Russian special services. An accessible presentation, a large number of interesting facts make the book interesting not only to historians and specialists.