книга "Spies and commissars" — Роберт СервисSpies and commissars. Новую работу Сервиса, посвященную научному анализу сложнейших отношений стран Запада и Советской России в период 1917-1921 гг., можно смело назвать развенчанием многих исторических мифов. Причем не только рожденных советской пропагандой, но и западными историками. Особое внимание автор уделяет "шпионам" и "комиссарам" - тем, кто торговал информацией, заключал тайные сделки, играл роль агентов влияния и десятилетиями формировал политику России и Запада.
In the immediate aftermath of the Revolution, the Western powers were anxious to prevent the spread of Bolshevism across Europe. Lenin and Trotsky were equally anxious that the Communist vision they were busy introducing in Russia should do just that. But neither side knew anything about the other. The revolution and Russia's withdrawal from the First World War had ensured a diplomatic exodus from Moscow and the usual routes to vital information had been closed off. Into this void stepped an extraordinary collection of opportunists, journalists and spies -- sometimes indeed journalists who were spies and vice versa: in Moscow Britain's Arthur Ransome, the American John Reed and Sidney Reilly -- 'Ace of Spies' -- all traded information and brokered deals between Russia and the West; in Berlin, Paris and London, the likes of Maxim Litvinov, Adolf Ioffe and Kamenev tried to infiltrate the political elite and influence foreign policy to the Bolshevik's advantage. | 
