Now in paperback, a compelling narrative about how two Great Powers of
the early twentieth century did battle, both openly and in the shadows
Decades before the Berlin Wall went up, a Cold War had already begun
raging. But for Bolshevik Russia, Great Britain - not America - was the
enemy. Now, for the first time, Victor Madeira tells a story that has
been hidden away for nearly a century. Drawing on over sixty Russian,
British and French archival collections, Britannia and the Bear offers a
compelling new narrative about how two great powers did battle, both
openly and in the shadows.
By exploring British and Russian mind-sets of the time this book traces
the links between wartime social unrest, growing trade unionism in the
police and the military, and Moscow's subsequent infiltration of
Whitehall. As earlyas 1920, Cabinet ministers were told that Bolshevik
intelligence wanted to recruit university students from prominent
families destined for government, professional and intellectual circles.
Yet despite these early warnings, men such as the Cambridge Five slipped
the security net fifteen years after the alarm was first raised.
Now in paperback, Britannia and the Bear tells the story of Russian
espionage in Britain in these critical interwar years and reveals how
British Government identified crucial lessons but failed to learn many
of them. The book underscores the importance of the first Cold War in
understanding the second, as well as the need for historical perspective
in interpreting the mind-sets of rival powers.
Victor Madeira has a decade's experience in international security
affairs, and his work has appeared in leading publications such as
Intelligence and National Security and The Historical Journal. He
completed his doctorate in Modern International History at Gonville and
Caius College, Cambridge.
