Russian Roulette chronicles the gripping aftermath of the 1917 Winter Palace uprising and Lenin’s ambition to ignite a worldwide communist revolt. As the Bolsheviks consolidate power, British intelligence faces its greatest challenge: to prevent the spread of revolution across Europe and beyond.
Under the leadership of Mansfield Cumming—one-legged, monocled, and a former sea captain—a cast of unconventional agents emerged. Novelist W. Somerset Maugham and children’s author Arthur Ransome joined the legendary Sidney Reilly, the “Ace of Spies,” in high-risk assignments. Living under false identities, they infiltrated Soviet commissariats, monitored the Cheka’s secret operations and nearly executed plots to change the course of history.
Their covert actions laid the foundation for MI6 and shaped modern espionage. This narrative brings to life tense encounters in Moscow, daring escapes in Central Asia and the audacity of individuals who operated in the shadows, revealing how a handful of spies influenced global politics.
- Founding missions of MI6
- Espionage techniques in early Soviet Russia
- Profiles of Maugham, Ransome and Reilly
- High-stakes intelligence operations
