Stanford's Amir Weiner explores the differences between the "mind control" techniques employed by the KGB and domestic surveillance in today's Western-style democracies.

Getting to know you: 

Stanford scholar examines domestic surveillance in the USSR

BY BENJAMIN HEIN 

With new access to KGB files, Stanford's Amir Weiner explores the differences between the "mind control" techniques employed by the KGB and domestic surveillance in today's Western-style democracies.

October marks the 11th anniversary of the Patriot Act – legislation that continues to arouse suspicions among many Americans about the limits to government surveillance.

Stanford historian Amir Weiner's recent investigation of the notorious surveillance agency, the KGB, finds that unlike in the USSR, a system of checks and balances in today's Western-style democracies prevents agencies like the FBI from engaging in domestic surveillance at the same invasive scale as the KGB.

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http://news.stanford.edu/news/2012/october/kgb-domestic-surveillance-100212.html