The KGB tried to recruit me (129)

Cold War Conversations - "vivid & compelling" The NY Times

Ian Sanders

Documentary, History, Society & Culture

4.8 • 865 Ratings

🗓️ 3 July 2020

⏱️ 60 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Hans de Vreij is a Dutch journalist who has worked in Berlin , Brussels, Geneva and Prague. Whilst working at the United Nations in Geneva Hans was the subject of attempted recruitment by the KGB to develop an ‘agent of influence’ to disseminate Soviet points of view. In addition, they analysed the ‘targeted journalist’ in terms of possible blackmail: ‘kompromat‘ (compromising material). This especially held true for journalists who later might find themselves in an important position, such as press spokesman at a ministry. We later talk about Hans’ visit to a Soviet chemical weapons facility and testing ground on the Volga, some 750 kms southeast of Moscow as well as his service in the Dutch Army. If you are enjoying the podcast please leave a written review in Apple podcasts or share us on social media. By telling your friends you can really help us grow the number of listeners. If you can spare it I’m asking listeners to contribute at least $3 USD per month to help keep us on the air (larger amounts are welcome too) plus you can get a sought after CWC coaster as a monthly financial supporter of the podcast and you bask in the warm glow of knowing you helping preserve Cold War history. Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/ Back to today’s episode, we welcome Hans to our Cold War conversation… There’s further information on this episode in our show notes, which can also be found as a link in your podcast app. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode129/ If you can’t wait for next week’s episode do visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search Cold War Conversations in Facebook. Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated – goodbye. Support the project! https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/ Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/ColdWarPod Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/coldwarpod/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/coldwarconversations/ Youtube https://youtube.com/@ColdWarConversations 0:00 Introduction and meeting with Soviet diplomat Mikhail Petrukhov 1:51 Sponsor message and request for donations 3:57 Hans de Vreij's career journey and focus on human rights and arms control 10:49 The envelope incident and potential for blackmail 16:33 Conclusion and reflections on the old-fashioned tactics of Soviet intelligence 20:14 An unusual request from a KGB agent 29:15 Understanding KGB tradecraft 35:01 Invitation to see a chemical weapons facility in the Soviet Union 53:01 Hans de Vreij's time in the Dutch Army 55:38 Closing remarks and call to action: Show notes, donations, and the Facebook discussion group 56:16 Podcast sign off by Ian Sanders Chapters powered by PodcastAI✨ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to Cold War Conversations, the home of real stories of the Cold War.
0:05.9	And at one point he asked me, well, listen Hans, you know so much about chemical weapons.
0:11.6	Would you like to write an article for the internal magazine of my ministry?
0:17.8	This is Cold War Conversations. If you're new here, you've come to the right place to listen to first-hand Cold War history accounts.
0:27.7	Do make sure you follow us in your podcast app or join our emailing list at Cold Warconversations.com.
0:36.8	Hans de Vray is a Dutch journalist who has worked in Berlin, Brussels, Geneva and Prague.
0:44.0	Whilst working at the United Nations in Geneva, Hans was the subject of an attempted
0:49.3	recruitment by the KGB to develop an agent of influence to disseminate Soviet points of view.
0:57.4	In addition, the KGB analyzed targeted journalists in terms of possible blackmail or
1:03.1	compromat compromising material. This especially held true for journalists who might later find
1:10.6	themselves in an important
1:12.3	position such as a press spokesman at a ministry.
1:16.3	We later talk about Hansi's visit to a Soviet chemical weapons facility and testing ground
1:22.2	on the Volga, some 750 kilometres southeast of Moscow, as well as his service in the Dutch army.
1:29.4	If you are enjoying the podcast, please leave a written review in Apple Podcasts or share us on social media.
1:37.8	If you can spare it, I'm asking listeners to contribute at least three US dollars per month to help keep us on the air.
1:45.5	Larger amounts are welcome to.
1:47.6	Plus, you get that sought after Cold War Conversations drinks coaster
1:52.2	as a monthly supporter of the podcast.
1:56.0	You also bask in the warm glow of knowing that you're helping preserve Cold War history.
2:01.9	Just go to cold warconversations.com slash donate.
2:06.5	Back to today's episode, we welcome Hans to our Cold War Conversation.
	...

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