Join us for a timely discussion of Tradecraft, Tactics, and Dirty Tricks: Russian Intelligence and Putin’s Secret War, in which Sean M. Wiswesser draws on decades of experience to examine the doctrine, methods, and strategic logic underpinning contemporary Russian espionage. The talk situates intelligence activity within broader frameworks of hybrid conflict and coercive statecraft, analyzing how Russian Services employ deception, active measures, and covert action under Putin. Particular attention is given to the persistence of core tradecraft principles, maskirovka, agent handling, and operational deniability, alongside their adaptation to modern technological and geopolitical conditions. Combining historical case studies with practitioner insight, Wiswesser offers a rigorous account of how intelligence operations shape strategic competition and the evolving character of interstate conflict.
Sean M. Wiswesser has nearly thirty years of experience working as a national security professional with intelligence, foreign service, and defense organizations. As a senior operations officer with the CIA, he served on multiple overseas tours and many other deployments on temporary duty, including war-zone service. He was a chief of station and had multiple joint-duty assignments with intelligence community partners. Sean was a Morehead Scholar at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill with a bachelor's degree in history and Russian & Slavic linguistics. He was awarded a Master of Strategic Studies in 2023 from the Air War College and received the Russia Integrated Deterrence Award.
