spy school

Denis Bukin

[Link]
 Index

09INTRODUCTION

341-HUMAN SOURCE OF INFORMATION

582-RECRUITMENT AGENT

1083-OPERATIONAL AGENT

FREELANCE
1454-EXPLORER AGENT

1885-OPERATIONAL AGENT

2196-ANALYST

2487-DOUBLE AGENT

267SOLUTIONS AND THANKS

INTRODUCTION
I - 10

Congratulations. If you are reading this document, you have been accepted for a place at the School of
Spies.
When most people think of the word "spy," they imagine gadgets
— laser pens and explosive lighters —, but the most important tool
an agent is its brain. Memory is vital for an agent's work. The
the need for total confidentiality often makes it impossible to record anything
thing, that's why agents need their brains to retain and reproduce,
with absolute precision, an incredible amount of information.
On the following pages, we will teach you how to improve your memory and
sharpen your mind with a series of exercises developed over many
years and used to form the best Russian secret agents.1
Real-life espionage, not the kind we see in movies, works with
information. Reconstructing the complete picture from small fragments of
Information - this is the task of a secret agent and this is what you will put to the test.
here, at the School of Spies. You will develop skills tested in the most
unlock the full capacity of your brain.

1Although all the characters in this work are fictional, any resemblance

with real people being pure coincidence, the events described in the book are based on
two in a true story. It is also necessary to mention that all the information contained in the
the book was taken from public sources. (N. of the A.)

SCHOOLOF SPIES
 I - 11

Structure of the book

This book is divided into chapters corresponding to the progress of an agent.

throughout your career. You will go through all the phases of the spy school,
from the subordinate agent to the double agent, from the simplest work to the more
dangerous and complex.
It will follow the story of a counterespionage operation, told through
a series of documents and the pages of the diary of its main character
presented throughout the book. You will be asked questions about this story, by
So, while reading, pay attention and try to remember the details.
Each phase contains instructions on memory training methods and exercises.
practical exercises. The exercises from the early phases may seem easy, but later
they become more complicated. Try to learn the techniques and methods related
two with the first simple tasks. Even if it is able to perform the tasks
without using the prescribed techniques, the problems will become more complicated later on, because
yes, try to use them from the beginning. Shortcuts taken in the early phase will slow down your
progress further along in the program.
There are two types of exercises in this book. The first ones are interactive and it is
it's best to execute them immediately while reading the book, repeating them several times
to ensure that they learn. Track their progress in the notes sections
throughout the book.
If you cannot complete an exercise, go back to the techniques for them.
What exercise is conceived. Reread them and make a less complex version of it.
exercise, several times. For the second type of exercises it is not necessary to have the
book in front of you. You can perform them in a variety of situations: when you are in
vacation, in a supermarket line, on a business trip...
Don't worry if you can't complete a task on the first try.
Tiva. Learn more when you push yourself to your limits. The brain is like a
muscle and most of us have become accustomed to using only a tiny part
of your ability. You need to increase the effectiveness of your brain, exercising
Do it. Don't give up and you will see that not only you, but those around you will notice your
progress.
In addition to techniques, instructions, exercises, and tasks, the book also includes fa-
about human attention, imagination, and memory, as well as the way of
work with them.

INTRODUCTION
I - 12

TURMOIL BEFORE THE ELECTIONS

A series of unusual events There was no significant police intervention
took place in Buenos Aires, on the day in the feud, excluding the detention time-
December 10, 1954, during a It is noteworthy that some people.
pre-election meeting between voters and thethe detainees denied their involvement
Argentinian Peronist candidate Garcia I tried in the dispute, but I couldn't.
Pughese. As is customary at events Ram explain why there were
like, the meeting started with the they were arrested and claimed that they had
introductory speech of a candidate I went to the electoral meeting out of mere curiosity
to, but it ended in general confusion. The city. The very feud seemed like a
Pughese's appeals for a confrontation collective psychosis, having started from
Negotiations with the socialists were taken unexpected way and finished up-
to the letter. The nearly 300 participants, Observers consider
that left the cinema where it was the the hypothesis of the Peronist Party
during the meeting, they started to en- to be elected. The strength of your support does not
the rescuers headed to the headquarters was diminished, despite the recent
electoral of the socialists. A crowd rumors that the electoral campaign
aggressive, armed with tools is funded by German advisors,
of gardening, stones and sticks, it started that had served the fascist regime
windows, furniture and assaulted people. in Germany and fled Europe after
Several representatives of the party are the defeat of the Third Reich in the spring-
rams hospitalized, including the candi- true from 1945.
socialist data Gabriel Acritiso.

SCHOOLOF SPIES
December 12, 1954
The year is coming to an end. I am trying to make a good assessment of what it was.
Except for Spanish, I can only describe it as tedious. I just started to
learn Spanish because I felt bored — it was something to keep me busy.
I am tired of academic psychology. Working in the management office is
boring. My personal life has not changed.
I should have gone to college. Maybe I should try again next time.
What?

[Excerpt from Andrei Simonov's diary]

INTRODUCTION
C1 - 14

December 15, 1954

To the Chief of the Second Main Directory,

KGB under the Council of Ministers of the USSR

According to the instructions of the KGB of the USSR, from December 1

from 1954, 'On the replacement of inexperienced operators'
necessary and that do not fulfill the task that was entrusted to them
and with the aim of strengthening the hidden unity within
from the academic and artistic intelligentsia, it was proceeded to the
preparations for recruiting agents among the staff of
Moscow State University. I request permission to
recruitment of the following people:

1. Evgeny Petrovich Ivanov, b. 1931;

Elena Vassilyevna Ilyina
3. Andrei Nikolaevich Simonov, born 1930.

The operational profiles of the aforementioned people are included.

Deputy Chief of the Ninth Division

from the Second Main Directory
Lieutenant Colonel N. V. Ilyin

SCHOOLOF SPIES
 I - 15

Moscow
December 5, 1954

OPERATIONAL PROFILE
Simonov, Andrei Nikolaevich

Citizen Andrei Nikolaevich Simonov was born in Leningrad in 1930.

Father: Nikolai Matveevich Simonov, born in 1902, worker. Currently

is a mechanic on the tugboat Shakhtar in the port of Leningrad. It was
discharged from military service at the front line.

Mother: Olga Simonova (maiden name: Ivanova), born in 1910,

worker. Currently a crane operator at the seaport of Leningrad.

Studied at secondary school No. 120, in Leningrad. After completing the

secondary education in 1948, entered Moscow State University,
Department of Philosophy Psychology Section. Graduated with
distinction in 1953 and received a recommendation for admission to graduate studies.
The dissertation "Psychophysiological Methods to Determine Truthfulness
the Testimony in Investigation and in Court was prepared under guidance
to Professor A. R. Luria.

Postgraduate studies and the writing of the scientific paper were

set aside for the sake of research and practical experience. Works
currently as secretary of the management office of the Department of
Philosophy. Member of the Communist Youth League. The professors of UEM
they consider him a promising specialist. His decision not to proceed
for postgraduate studies immediately after the degree was understood.

Simonov's connections with teachers and students of the Psychology Section

the Department of Philosophy is of interest to the KGB. In the future,
Simonov will develop more opportunities for obtaining information.
Has good abilities: above average intelligence, good memory. Calm.
Emotionally stable. No record of social issues. Speaks German.
Practice sports. Attend football games.

Interested in psychophysiology, hypnosis techniques, and social psychology.

Single.

Recruitment expectations on an ideological and political basis.

Deputy Chief of the Ninth Division

from the Second Main Directory
Lieutenant Colonel N. V. Ilyin
I - 16

Memory Resources

People do not make the most of their memory capacity. Furthermore,

Very few are aware of the extent of this capability.
Some examples:

• After a single visit, the Russian painter Nikolai Ge reproduced, in detail,

the baroque interior of a room in the palace 'Mon Plaisir';
• Mozart was able to write a complex score after having heard
do, a single time, a musical piece. After listening once Miserere
by Gregorio Allegri, which until then had been kept a secret by the
Vatican, was able to bring it to the public domain. Mozart was fourteen
years at the time;
• Winston Churchill knew almost all of Shakespeare's works by heart.
He used them to practice his public speaking.
• In 1960, the Hungarian chess player, Janos Flash, played fifty and
two games simultaneously without looking at either of the boards. In
At the end of the game, which lasted more than thirteen hours, Flash was able to remember
of all the movements of the fifty-two boards.

But it is not only famous geniuses who have extraordinary memories.

In an experiment, ten thousand slides were shown to ordinary people to
they remembered. It was concluded that their recognition
visual cement had about 80% accuracy. When the chosen images
For the experience, they were unusual, lively or colorful, the accuracy was reached practically
certainly at 100%.
Based on this, we can say that:

The main problem of human memory is not recalling information,

but remember it and reproduce it when necessary. All people have
the resources necessary for an excellent memory. To develop it,
It is necessary to master a series of techniques.
The human brain is very good at recalling images. Therefore, the
most of the techniques for memorizing information - mnemonics -
it is based on using our imagination to transfer information
verbal and numerical abstractions for images.

SCHOOLOF SPIES
 I - 17

Testyourmemory:

In what year wasAndrei Nikolaevich Simonov born?

A) 1929

B) 1930

C) 1932

D) 1928

INTRODUCTION
I - 18

Types of Memory

Modern psychology identifies three types of memory: sensory, short-term

and long term.
Sensory memory stores information obtained directly through the
senses: what we see, hear, feel, smell, and taste afterwards
initial stimulus to have ceased. Sensory memory is short-lived and allows
We do not retain impressions of sensory information for more than half a second. But the
sensory memory is very important because it connects us to our environment
the environment passes through it. It is thanks to sensory memory that we grasp a
sequence of short images in cinema as a continuous movement.
The information that deserves attention passes from sensory memory to the me-
short-term memory, where it can be stored for several minutes or
hours. Short-term memory is used, for example, when we silently repeat
we cautiously look for a phone number for ourselves while searching for a
pen and paper for taking notes.
The important information moves from short-term memory to long-term memory.
in the long term, where it can be stored for years. Typically, the pro-
The process of storing information long term occurs unconsciously.
That's why we often forget important things and remind ourselves.
more details of lesser importance, which should have been forgotten long ago.
However, there are methods that can be used to develop the storage
conscious mind of long-term information.
This book will help you develop memory, both short-term and...
in the long term, and to learn to consciously transfer information from memory
short-term to long-term.
A successful spy must have the ability to notice details.
important for what it sees and hears and also to reinterpret this information,
relating it to what I already knew. In other words, the type of memory that
we intend to develop requires attention to notice things and imagination
to relate it to what we already know. This is where our program begins.

SCHOOLOF SPIES
 I - 19

Attention and Memory

Attention is the ability to selectively grasp information, to see and to

to hear what is necessary, ignoring distractions. Noise does not prevent a person
focused on being able to read. The person can absorb the text, ignoring the
engaging sounds. Concentration allows us to focus on the nuances and the particles
things we need to remember, without overloading our brain
paying attention to everything equally.
Trained attention is different from weak attention because training allows
directing attention. We are able to focus quickly, to retain the
focus on something for a long time, when necessary, and redirect it
easily when we change activities.

INTRODUCTION
I - 20

Exercise:

Concentrating your attention on one thing for a long time is not so easy.
how you can think. Try to examine something that is in front of you. For example,
a wristwatch. Observe all the details carefully. Inspect
Every division of the display, every mark on its surface. Have you examined everything?
Keep looking, try to discover something new.

After a few minutes, it will be difficult for you to concentrate your attention on
watch. Suddenly, you will realize that you are not thinking about the watch.
and that the associations took their thoughts to another place. By
Example, I was looking at the clock, trying to concentrate. Then, he saw.
the number 11 and remembered an important meeting at 11 o'clock in the morning.
Then his thoughts turned to his colleague, who also
would be present at the meeting, later for a book, of which the colleague told you
I had spoken, then... You forgot the watch. Can you make the trip?
in the reverse sense? Remember how it went from the clock to what was at
think. Go back in the sequence of associations to the clock and continue to
examine it. Remember what you thought about the book that belongs to your colleague,
then on what he thought about the colleague, then on the meeting he has scheduled,
later at the meeting time: 11 in the morning. Remember that it is the associated time
to the number 11 on the dial and that the dial belongs to the clock.

Going back in the sequence of associations, this exercise allows you to

develop the ability to direct your attention.

SCHOOLOF SPIES
 I - 21

Testyourmemory:

The voters invaded the headquarters of which movement

politician?

A)Anarchists

B) Communists

Socialists

D) Peronists

No. 67C

Moscow,
December 17, 1954

Authorization to recruit Andrei Nikolaevich

Simonov (b. 1930) granted.

Assess skills to work as a source

human information.

Chief of the Second Main Directory

KGB under the Council of Ministers of the USSR
Lieutenant General P. V. Fedotov

INTRODUCTION
I - 22

Attention span — Miller's magic number (7 ± 2)

One of the main characteristics of attention is the fact that we can retain 7
elements of information (words, digits, objects, ideas...) in the memory of
short term, although this number can vary between 5 and 9.
It is practically impossible to exceed this restriction, but there are some ways
more of a workaround. Just group the information into blocks. For example, the number-
The phone number +74957894179 contains twelve elements of information, but then
by grouping into +7 (495) 789 41 79, we are left with only five. And these five-
they can be reduced to four, if we know that +7 (495) means Moscow,
Russia.
These 5 to 9 units need to be used at their full capacity.
The memory training program will help you improve your attention. Follow
Follow the instructions, practice regularly, and the results will not be long in coming.
Remember this quote from the Soviet Army Disciplinary Code: "The soldier
must firmly and courageously withstand all adversities and hardships of the service
military.

Exercise:

Performing two tasks at the same time improves our ability to switch.
attention. Read two books, alternating a paragraph from each. Change
the radio station every few seconds, listen to two programs
simultaneously newsworthy (while doing this, try to reconstruct any
missing pieces of information through the context). Watch two shows
of TV.

Don't get carried away! The simultaneous execution of multiple tasks is as good as
exercise to train attention, but it is not an effective way to complete with
successfully a large number of tasks at the same time.

SCHOOLOF SPIES
 I - 23

Exercise your brain — Schulte tables, 5×5:

Schulte tables can help accelerate the development of perception.

mental, including peripheral vision and attention, self-control and the ability to
concentration.
On this page is a table with 5 columns and 5 rows. Numbers from 1 to 25
are randomly arranged in the grids. Your task is to find the numbers.
ros in order.
Do not shift your eyes from square to square and do not say the numbers
out loud, not even to yourself. Fix your gaze on the center of the table and use only the
peripheral vision to look for the numbers. This will be difficult at first, but not
sister. Later on, this ability will help you with a variety of tasks, from
the observation to quick reading.
Frequently return to this exercise. Over time, you will learn.
to visualize the table in your mind. With practice, the time can be reduced to
12 to 15 seconds, or even less.

INTRODUCTION
December 19, 1954
Long day. The final exams are around the corner. The principal's office is a
frenzy, as well as the students and the teachers. And the mountain of paperwork is
gigantic.
At the end of the afternoon, when I was returning home, the KGB tried
recruit me. Before I knew it, I was having a conversation with a
passenger, with a typically academic appearance, short and chubby, who wore a
gray trench coat.
Suddenly, he addresses me by name and says, 'Would you like to help us?'
When I realized what the guy in the gray trench coat was suggesting,
I helped, I immediately refused. But, somehow, he managed to make me.
recede. He did not use persuasion, did not threaten me, nor did he manipulate me. He told me that
the work will help me practice what I learned at university. "We need
good psychologists," he said. Besides that, they want to recruit me for
counter-espionage. Catching foreign spies seems to me like a job
important. More important than the same experiences and observations, day
after day, and much more important than the bureaucratic work of the office of
direction. In the end, I promised him I would think about it and the type of grey gabardine.
promised to stay in touch.
Before saying goodbye, he asked me not to talk to anyone about the conversation.
And to leave no records about him. But at that point, I did not follow the
your instructions. I think I must always have something of a spy inside me,
because no one has seen this diary since I started it ten years ago.
 I - 25

Trcikw
sth
iatenotin

Any productive person must be able to control their attention. But there are so...
well ways to control the attention of others. After all, if we control attention
from a person, we will be able to control that person.
Attention can be compared to a spotlight in the dark: we see only
the illuminated portion. By redirecting our interlocutor's attention, we can
show him what we want him to see and hide what we do not want. Everyone
The tricks of illusionism are based on the ability to divert attention from the...
spectator. For this purpose, an illusionist uses distracting movements, tapes of
vivid colors, scarves, sparkles and explosions.
The spies, who often have to work under the surveillance of counter...
external peons act almost in the same way. While being searched,
a secret agent casually asked a police officer to hold on to a
pack of paper napkins. The agents thoroughly searched the suitcase
they found nothing suspicious. The secret documents that she transposed
they were hidden among the napkins.
Another good trick is to extend the duration of the secret action, developing it.
in several stages, where each one will seem completely innocuous. For ex-
To catch an object unnoticed, we can stop in front of the
even, open the suitcase, take out the gloves, drop one of them, bend down to the
pick up, drop a handkerchief, we pick up the object and the glove and we go away
although, leaving the handkerchief on the ground. Security will notice that we dropped it and that
We have picked up some objects. The attention of the observers will be drawn to the us-
so the handkerchief, and our clumsiness will not cause distrust. No one will notice the
the number of objects we dropped, nor which ones we picked up.
Another example of prolonging an action is to go unnoticed.
I hand a notebook to someone in a café. When we arrive, I take out...
We had a notebook of notes from the folder. Then we started a conversation, I opened-
We put down the notebook, jot down anything, set it down, and continue to talk.
We left the notebook forgotten on the table and our
The companion takes him after finishing the coffee and leaves.

INTRODUCTION
 CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENT
WITH STATE SECURITY AGENCIES

I, Andrei Nikolaevich Simonov, voluntarily accept,

to cooperate with public security bodies. I commit to
faithfully fulfill the operational tasks received, keep
the secret of the cooperation agreement, maintain confidentiality
and not disclose any information obtained in compliance with the
my work.

A. N. Simonov
December 19, 1954

Moscow,
December 20, 1954

Name agent A. N. Simonov (1930), code name

"Simonides". Admit him into the intensive course on espionage.

Vice-Chief of the Ninth Division

of the Second Main Directory
Lieutenant Colonel N. V. Ilyin
 I - 27

Working memory

In addition to sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory, there is also
a distinct category called working memory. This stores infor-
motion for immediate processing. The main difference is that everything that is
content in working memory is erased as soon as we shift our attention
for another task.
Recent studies show a close link between the ability of the me-
work memory and the level of intelligence. It is evident that the more information
the more capable a person is of storing in working memory, the greater will be the
the ability of this person to establish relationships and create new knowledge, which
they are the skills measured in an IQ test. In addition, memory capacity
work is related to attention. The greater it is, the more elements the
a person can simultaneously retain in the focus of their attention.
Interestingly, the working memory capacity of an average person
varies also between 5 and 9 (7 2) elements of information. Those whose number
is lower, have greater difficulty in controlling their attention and in organizing the
your behavior.
To discover your working memory capacity, memorize the nú-
take the items from the list below, one by one, and write them down on a piece of paper. Do not group them in pairs,

triplets, etc. For example, 1234 as "one-two-three-four" and not as "twelve-

thirty-four". When you reach the end of the list, count how many digits there are in
the last number you correctly recorded. That will be the capacity of your memory.
of work.
850 708243 8203947529

834 0972435 3982775235

4399 8931432 06016554392

9543 43249034 61085082684

82140 24349328 010178844818

38587 905298713 768582301939

932435 378072043

INTRODUCTION