Does anyone know of any Soviet espionage novels? The big dumb war nerd in me is wondering if there’s a Soviet equivalent of Tom Clancy, like where someone from the KGB goes and convinces a US submarine to defect in order to prevent a nuclear attack on Cuba
There was a Soviet espionage TV series, and it's on youtube: Seventeen Moments of Spring (1973)
Also a book by Yulian Semyonov.
Nothing else comes to mind, so uhh just read Tinker Tailor? I think Le Carre does a good job of making all these spies fuck around in their own world outside of the normie Cold War rah-rah Proud Western Man vs. Inscrutable Iron Curtain wankery.
This isn't a useful comment but I saw this Chinese drama called "Lost in 1949" in which the protagonist is a communist spy, before the revolution. Its a really cool premise but after the first couple episodes it turns out that the two leads are both have wealthy families who live in the same snooty neighborhood and they both go back to live with them and then the plot basically resolves around boring rich people drama, and the plot stalls so bad that the whole spy premise ends up feeling like little more than an elaborate meet-cute. First couple episodes were alright, possible that it got better after I dropped it but I doubt it.
So, uh, don't watch this show that isn't what you asked for and that you wouldn't have heard about if I hadn't told you about it. You're welcome for my service.
Rendezvous with a spy is about elite high tech Polish counter spies against definitely not James Bond.
Starling and Lyre is 1970s film about two former ww2 spies and lovers brought back to Germany to prevent a dastardly US plot to shatter the Eastern bloc by forming...a European Union! Notable for starring a woman in her 70s as a glamourous romantic lead.
Comrade detective is a modern satire of 80s american films, but might as well be soviet era.
Also the Osterns are all great "White Sun of the Desert" (which is set in the russian civil war) and also "The sons of the great bear" which is a reverse western where Native Americans (cast with eastern bloc actors of various races) beat the living shit out of racist troops.
EDIT: I just realise I did movies not novels.
I wondered a while back if there was a Soviet version of Red Dawn. Given the occupation of Korea and Vietnam, I feel like it is more plausible.
Kinda related Wolf Warrior 2 from China is a lot like american white savior movies. Super bad ass guy goes some where in africa and ends up saving everyone. It's pretty fun if you like generic action movies and want to see one from "the other side". It also has some pretty funny digs at the US.
Might not be exactly what you're looking for, but The Year 200 by Agustin de Rojas is a kind of spy thriller set in a future in which global communism has won. It's very readable, even if some of the descriptions of women's bodies could only have been written by a man.
