"Why is a book about SMERSH relevant today? As Mr. Birstein takes pains to point out, 'the present Russian government seems intent on whitewashing Stalin's atrocities and the history of the Soviet security services.'"-- The Washington Times SMERSH is primarily known to readers in English as James Bond's sinister opponent. Yet SMERSH was a real organization and was just as diabolical as its fictional counterpart. Based on Russian documents and memoirs, a critical missing piece of the history of World War II and the Soviet secret services is finally exposed to the light of day. Vadim J. Birstein, PhD , is a historian, activist, and molecular geneticist. He lives in New York.

During the Soviet years, Russian science was touted as one of the greatest successes of the regime. Russian science was considered to be equal, if not superior, to that of the wealthy western nations. The Perversion of Knowledge, a history of Soviet science that focuses on its control by the KGB and the Communist Party, reveals the dark side of this glittering achievement. Based on the author's firsthand experience as a Soviet scientist, and drawing on extensive Russian language sources not easily available to the Western reader, the book includes shocking new information on biomedical experimentation on humans as well as an examination of the pernicious effects of Trofim Lysenko's pseudo-biology. Also included are many poignant case histories of those who collaborated and those who managed to resist, focusing on the moral choices and consequences. The text is accompanied by the author's own translations of key archival materials, making this work an essential resource for all those with a serious interest in Russian history.