A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal
Unveiling state secrets to occupying forces: interwar intelligence activities in the Baltic Sea region through the lens of the NKVD/NKGB interrogations, 1940–1942; 
Authors: Suonpää, Mika; Allen-Mercier, Zoé
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Publication year: 2026
Journal: Intelligence and National Security
ISSN: 0268-4527
eISSN: 1743-9019
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/02684527.2026.2671981
Publication's open availability at the time of reporting: Open Access
Publication channel's open availability : Partially Open Access publication channel
Web address : https://doi.org/10.1080/02684527.2026.2671981
Self-archived copy’s web address: https://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/526457251
Self-archived copy's licence: CC BY
Self-archived copy's version: Publisher`s PDF
Research data link: https://data.mendeley.com/datasets/7cm6673vg8).
This article examines interwar intelligence activities in the Baltic Sea region through the NKVD/NKGB interrogations of high-ranking Estonian political police officers in 1940–1942. The study reflects critically on Soviet interrogation reports as historical sources, concurrently arguing that they are instrumental since the material of the Estonian political police was destroyed in 1939–40. New insights are provided into the use of agents, Estonian military intelligence targeting the Soviet Union, the role of Russian émigrés in MI6’s operations, Estonian, Finnish, and Latvian intelligence cooperation, and the use of a notable Baltic German agent in countering Nazi-German influence operations and Estonian far-right subversion.
Keywords:
agent handling, Baltic Germans, NKGB, NKVD, Russian emigres, SIS/MI6
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