The librarian who stole KGB secrets
HistoryExtra podcast
11/12/25
•32m
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When an elderly man with a battered suitcase walked into the British embassy in Vilnius in 1992, few could have guessed what he was about to hand over. Gordon Corera tells the story of Vasili Mitrokhin, an under-the-radar Soviet archivist who copied thousands of classified KGB documents over 12 years. Speaking to Elinor Evans, he reveals how a project that began as a private rebellion against the agency he once served evolved into one of the greatest intelligence coups of the 20th century.
(Ad) Gordon Corera is the author of The Spy in the Archive: How One Man Tried to Kill the KGB (William Collins, 2025). Buy it now from Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Spy-Archive-Gordon-Corera/dp/0008644799/?tag=bbchistory045-21&ascsubtag=historyextra-social-histboty.
The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine.
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Previous Episode
Nellie Bly: life of the week
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The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine.
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(Ad) Tracy Borman is the author of The Stolen Crown: Treachery, Deceit and the Death of the Tudor Dynasty (Hodder & Stoughton, 2025). Buy it now from Waterstones: https://go.skimresources.com?id=71026X1535947&xcust=historyextra-social-histboty&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.waterstones.com%2Fbook%2Fthe-stolen-crown%2Ftracy-borman%2F9781399732888.
The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine.
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