50. The Man Who Tried To Kill The KGB: On the Run from Russia (Ep 2)

The Rest Is Classified

Goalhanger

History

4.6 • 732 Ratings

🗓️ 27 May 2025

⏱️ 42 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

He risked everything to expose the KGB's darkest secrets, but Vasily Mitrokhin had two non-negotiable demands: his family's safety and his archive's publication. How did MI6 navigate these unprecedented requests? What secret deal was struck with the Americans to fund his resettlement? And why did Mitrokhin himself express anger at his handlers? This episode delves deeper into the nail-biting exfiltration of Vasily Mitrokhin and his family from a turbulent post-Soviet landscape. From a comically small minibus to a chaotic scene at the docks, the operation pushes the MI6 team to their limits. But the biggest challenge isn't the KGB – it's the personal fallout of Mitrokhin's secret life. Listen as Gordon and David uncover the raw, emotional moments of a spy's escape and the complex, costly process of bringing his invaluable archive to the West. ------------------- To sign up to The Declassified Club, go to www.therestisclassified.com or click this ⁠⁠⁠link⁠⁠⁠. To sign up to the free newsletter, go to: ⁠https://mailchi.mp/goalhanger.com/tric-free-newsletter-sign-up⁠ ------------------- NordVPN: Get our exclusive NordVPN deal here ➼ nordvpn.com/restisclassified It's risk-free with Nord's 30 day money back guarantee Incogni: Exclusive INCOGNI Deal: To get an exclusive 60% off an annual Incogni plan, go to https://incogni.com/restisclassified ------------------- Pre-order a signed edition of Gordon's latest book, The Spy in the Archive, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠via this link.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Order a signed edition of David's latest book, The Seventh Floor, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠via this link.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ------------------- Email: [email protected] Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@triclassified⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Assistant Producer: Becki Hills Producer: Callum Hill Senior Producer: Dom Johnson Exec Producer: Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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0:30.1	Vasily Matrochin has stolen some of the deepest secrets from the archives of the KGB.
0:35.0	And on the rest is classified, we're going to see how MI6 get the man,
0:39.2	his secrets and his family out of the country and into the West. And we'll learn whether
0:45.2	his warning about Vladimir Putin will be listened to.
1:01.6	James's requisition passenger car raced through the narrow bumpy streets of Vilnius.
1:03.8	The car pulled into the forecourt of the station.
1:05.6	He was 19 minutes late.
1:11.6	As he walked into the cavernous hall, he saw with despair that the sign for the train was being removed from the arrivals board. He strode as fast as he could around the waiting areas, scanning for any sign
1:16.7	of the agent or his family. But there was none. Things were not going well. As he paced in the distance
1:23.4	he saw a train coming in on the tracks. The doors opened and bleary-eyed passengers began to
1:28.6	disembark. Russians and Lithuanians intermingled families, workers, but no Matrookens.
1:35.4	But then at the far end of the platform, he finally saw movement. It was a wheelchair being
1:40.1	lowered to the ground from the very last coach. There at last was Matroken, his wife, his son in the wheelchair, and his mother-in-law moving
1:48.4	slowly with a stick.
1:50.8	There was relief, but also the dawning realization that this was the Motley crew, he was now
1:56.1	going to have to smuggle out of the country.
2:00.0	Welcome to the rest is classified.
2:01.7	I'm David McCloskey.
2:02.9	And I'm Gordon Carrara.
2:04.1	And that is a beautifully painted scene in early November of 1992 in Lithuania.
	...

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