Leonard Schapiro

Leonard Bertram Naman Schapiro was a British propaganda agent, academic and scholar of Russian politics. He taught for many years at the London School of Economics, where he was Professor of Political Science with Special Reference to Russian Studies. Schapiro is an important figure in the study of Cold War propaganda due to his collaboration with both the CIA, and the Information Research Department (IRD), a secret branch of the UK Foreign Office which delt with weaponised disinformation, pro-colonial, and anti-communist propaganda. Historians Paul Lashmar and James Oliver have described Schapiro as a member of the "inner-circle" of the IRD's propaganda publication activities. Much of his work was secretly funded and promoted by the IRD, in return for his collaboration as a Cold War propaganda agent. After working with the IRD, Schapiro then continued publishing Cold War propaganda through the use of CIA front organisations.