Come and join us for a discussion with Richard Kerbaj about his recent book, The Defector
Invite only: Get in touch to request a spaceDescription:
Richard Kerbaj's talk will largely focus on the way the CIA and MI5 dealt with the 1960s/early 1970s Soviet threat - and the broader impact that had on the Five Eyes intelligence network. It’s a Cold War story that reflects some of the British and US discussions, debates, and, in some cases, misguided thinking, that is unfolding today.
At the centre of the story are fascinating characters - some intellectually brilliant but operationally flawed; some ill-suited for espionage work; and some desperate for intelligence reform.
Oleg Lyalin is the central character in the book, The Defector. The story of how he betrayed the Kremlin in favour of Britain, however, only makes sense in the context of the bigger security picture in the early 1970s — one which had been largely contaminated by the personality cult of the CIA’s counterintelligence director, James Angleton, and his sidekick, Anatoly Golitsyn.
Through that lens, Richard Kerbaj will illustrate the threats - and perceived threats - at the time, from the numbers of Kremlin officials operating under cover in the UK, to the KGB’s plans to run sabotage and assassinations missions in the event of war breaking out between the Soviet Union and Britain. He will also reveal the events leading up to Lyalin’s defection, and the impact that Britain’s mass purge of Kremlin spies had on British intelligence, the Special Relationship, and the KGB’s sabotage branch — Department V.
Richard Kerbaj will be in discussion with the KCSI member, Gill Bennett.