In that interview, Bezmenov downplays the idea of “espionage” and “intelligence” (at least in the sense of how we’re familiar with those ideas thanks to James B

In that interview, Bezmenov downplays the idea of “espionage” and “intelligence” (at least in the sense of how we’re familiar with those ideas thanks to James Bond movies) being the key points of Soviet attempts to overthrow the United States or an accurate representation of how similar takeovers occur. Instead, he outlines the four key stages of what would later be described as the “Soviet subversion model.” The first stage is “demoralization.” Bezmenov says this process takes 10-20 years and involves changing the mentality of a generation of young people to abandon common sense ideologies and embrace new ideas that cannot even be countered by plain facts. As an example, he references the idea of students of the ’60s growing into the leaders of America despite suffering from demoralization. He suggests that the process of demoralization has reached a point of nearly unprecedented success where Americans began applying it to other Americans without additional outside influence being required. He theorizes that most people will not be able to recognize that this process has happened until it begins to directly impact them in an overt way.