Special Tasks and Sacred Secrets on Soviet Atomic Espionage

This paper explores a largely ignored explanation to what was perceived as very extensive submarine intrusions in Swedish territorial waters during the 1980s. It is argued that the incident in 1981 when a Soviet Whiskey-class submarine ran aground close to a Swedish naval base damaged Soviet political ambitions in Europe. Although the Soviet Union could not credibly explain the incident, its significance could be diminished through a psychological operation. Several unsuccessful submarine hunts during the following years caused the public to doubt Swedish claims of repeated Soviet intrusions. The issue eventually developed an air of ridicule that undermined the political significance of the original event. Although available data are not sufficient to fully test this scenario, it is highly consistent with the course of events and deserves further attention.