ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on one element of the chekist cosmology: the figure of the traitor and explores chekist political culture through an exploration of the framing of the figure of the traitor. It argues that the traitor is a key archetype in the chekist cosmology, and one which thus offers a useful lens for examining the distinctive culture surrounding the intelligence and security apparatus in contemporary Russian public life, and the ways in which it constructs and demonizes its opponents. The chapter focuses on open-source materials—chekist memoirs, public statements, and media interviews—commenting on the theme of traitors and treachery. A strong preoccupation with the figure of the traitor is one such habit of mind; studying the framing of the traitor in Putin’s Russia can thus help to illuminate not just the chekist cosmology, but also the ideology and worldview of the Putin regime more broadly.
