While in Czechoslovakia, Ladislav Bittman worked as an intelligence officer, and played an integral part in a propaganda operation known as Operation Neptune. He wrote a few books in the 1970s and 1980s about his career and the role of disinformation in Soviet propaganda operations.
The Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia and the subsequent end to the Prague Spring became a driving force behind his decision to leave for the United States in 1968. Defectors at this time, most particularly those fleeing the Soviet Union and/or those formerly in positions of government or intelligence are considered "a valuable source of information" by the US government; the government as such spends at least a year's time debriefing defectors and helping them settle down to their new life. As part of this process, he changed his name from Ladislav Bittman to Lawrence Martin shortly after his debriefing concluded. He was sentenced to death in absentia in 1974 by the Czechoslovak government for treason by way of his defection, a sentence that was not lifted until 20 years later.
Teaching career
In 1972, 4 years after his defection to the United States, Bittman was given a teaching position at Boston University, primarily teaching classes about international media, particularly the press. He began to incorporate classes on disinformation, propaganda, and international intelligence to make use of his former career. In 1986, this led to him founding a new center in Boston University's school of journalism specifically about disinformation. Following the return to the Soviet Union of Nikolai Ryzhkov, the Russian soldier who defected in Afghanistan, he appeared before Congress along with several others in 1987, testifying about the government's treatment of Soviet defectors.
Later life
In 1996, following a heart attack which left him unable to teach, Lawrence retired from his position at Boston University and settled down in his home in New England to pursue his hobby of art. He resided in Rockport, Massachusetts, promoting his art as an honorary member of 'Local Colors', an artist community in Gloucester, Massachusetts, until he opened his own studio, Studio 006 and a Half. He died on September 18, 2018 at his home in Rockport, at age 87.
