Vasily Mitrokhin was born in 1941 in the Soviet Union. He joined the KGB in 1972 and worked in the organization's archives, where he had access to highly classified documents. During his time at the KGB, Mitrokhin became disillusioned with the Soviet system and decided to defect. In 1992, he and his family left Russia and made their way to the United Kingdom, where they were granted asylum.
: Beyond the West, the archive details Soviet influence in India (described as a "playground" for agents) and the Middle East, showcasing the global scale of the Cold War intelligence war. mitrokhin archive pdf 2021