ABSTRACT
Doveryai no proveryai, trust but verify, is an old Russian proverb. It was used by the former Committee for State Security (KGB) as a warning to its agents to guide them in their dealings with informants. A veteran KGB agent and former station chief in Denmark called the admonition “a verification of good intentions.”1 The proverb is not new. It dates back to ancient Rome’s intelligence-gathering activities but with a slight twist. The Roman admonition was Trust in the Gods but verify.2 Both the Roman and Russian versions, while softer than American law enforcement’s warning of never trust an informant, deliver the same message.3
