Markus Wolf

[W]henever we heard an unflattering portrait of our own side our first question to ourselves was not “Is this true?” but “What are they trying to hide about themselves by accusing us of this?” Once this mental defense system had been perfected, few criticisms could hit home.

Markus Wolf, Man Without a Face: The Autobiography of Communism’s Greatest Spymaster, New York, 1999, p. 40