Vasily Mitrokhin was a chief archivist for the KGB. Dissolusioned by the Soviet Union, he began to write all the information on to small scraps of paper and smuggle them home where he typed it out. He buried all his records in his garden concealed in dustbins. In 1992 he contacted MI6 who then smuggled both him and the records out of the collapsing Soviet Union to safety in Britain, where he lives today.

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• The Times: "The most remarkable recent book on Soviet intelligence ... an indispensable guide to KGB operational techniques, and to its mindset and that of the regime which it served" (Christopher Andrew)Spectator"from the unfree society that was our major opponent, the courage of Vasiliy Mitrokhin has conjured up a pair of text-books, each having legal force within the Soviet secret service...he prints in translation what he managed to smuggle out ten years ago in Russian: the handbooks for intelligence and counter-intelligence used by the KGB"(M.R.D. Foot)The Times"extraordinary treasure trove of secret material which Mitrokhin risked his life to liberate from the KGB archives"" a unique insight into the KGB and its works......a unique contribution to our understanding of the evil empire at work both at home and abroad"- Contemporary Review"Does he have to spell out the audacity and bravery exhibited by a man who was already seventy years old?... These materials in their raw state are so astonishingly potent..."- Times Literary Supplement"This important book adds to our understanding of the Soviet regime, in which the intelligence agencies were the most important lever of power and it presents us with a unique insight into the day by day running of the world"s most feared intelligence organization."- Cryptologia

Vasily Mitrokhin was a chief archivist for the KGB. Dissolusioned by the Soviet Union, he began to write all the information on to small scraps of paper and smuggle them home where he typed it out. He buried all his records in his garden concealed in dustbins. In 1992 he contacted MI6 who then smuggled both him and the records out of the collapsing Soviet Union to safety in Britain, where he lives today.

Select Guide Rating

• The Times: "The most remarkable recent book on Soviet intelligence ... an indispensable guide to KGB operational techniques, and to its mindset and that of the regime which it served" (Christopher Andrew)Spectator"from the unfree society that was our major opponent, the courage of Vasiliy Mitrokhin has conjured up a pair of text-books, each having legal force within the Soviet secret service...he prints in translation what he managed to smuggle out ten years ago in Russian: the handbooks for intelligence and counter-intelligence used by the KGB"(M.R.D. Foot)The Times"extraordinary treasure trove of secret material which Mitrokhin risked his life to liberate from the KGB archives"" a unique insight into the KGB and its works......a unique contribution to our understanding of the evil empire at work both at home and abroad"- Contemporary Review"Does he have to spell out the audacity and bravery exhibited by a man who was already seventy years old?... These materials in their raw state are so astonishingly potent..."- Times Literary Supplement"This important book adds to our understanding of the Soviet regime, in which the intelligence agencies were the most important lever of power and it presents us with a unique insight into the day by day running of the world"s most feared intelligence organization."- Cryptologia

Vasily Mitrokhin was a chief archivist for the KGB. Dissolusioned by the Soviet Union, he began to write all the information on to small scraps of paper and smuggle them home where he typed it out. He buried all his records in his garden concealed in dustbins. In 1992 he contacted MI6 who then smuggled both him and the records out of the collapsing Soviet Union to safety in Britain, where he lives today.

Select Guide Rating

• The Times: "The most remarkable recent book on Soviet intelligence ... an indispensable guide to KGB operational techniques, and to its mindset and that of the regime which it served" (Christopher Andrew)Spectator"from the unfree society that was our major opponent, the courage of Vasiliy Mitrokhin has conjured up a pair of text-books, each having legal force within the Soviet secret service...he prints in translation what he managed to smuggle out ten years ago in Russian: the handbooks for intelligence and counter-intelligence used by the KGB"(M.R.D. Foot)The Times"extraordinary treasure trove of secret material which Mitrokhin risked his life to liberate from the KGB archives"" a unique insight into the KGB and its works......a unique contribution to our understanding of the evil empire at work both at home and abroad"- Contemporary Review"Does he have to spell out the audacity and bravery exhibited by a man who was already seventy years old?... These materials in their raw state are so astonishingly potent..."- Times Literary Supplement"This important book adds to our understanding of the Soviet regime, in which the intelligence agencies were the most important lever of power and it presents us with a unique insight into the day by day running of the world"s most feared intelligence organization."- Cryptologia