Inside the KGB’s Control of Western Journalists | Surveillance, Access, and Narrative Power

Описание: Throughout the Cold War, Western journalists operating inside the Soviet Union were not treated as neutral observers but as a permanent operational environment to be managed. This documentary examines how the KGB constructed a comprehensive system to regulate foreign reporting through accreditation, access control, continuous surveillance, and narrative containment. From assigned housing and controlled travel to selective briefings and calibrated pressure, Soviet state security shaped what correspondents could see, verify, and ultimately report, narrowing the range of interpretation without relying on overt repression. Tracing these practices from the early Cold War through détente and into the final decade of the Soviet system, the film shows how information control functioned as a core element of state security, influencing Western perception over decades while avoiding direct confrontation. Grounded entirely in documented Cold War history, this analysis reveals how the struggle over legitimacy and understanding was waged quietly through routine administration, dependency, and expectation rather than headlines or spectacle.
#coldwar #coldwardocumentary #coldwarhistory #kgb #journalism #pressfreedom #informationwarfare #sovietunion #mediahistory #geopolitics #intelligencehistory #historicaldocumentary #propaganda #statesecurity