The Illegals - Russia's Most Audacious Spies and the Plot to Infiltrate the West

In 2010, two decades after the Cold War, ten Russian spies were arrested in the US following a ten-year FBI operation. Among them were three couples who had lived as Americans for years, and one agent who had nearly forgotten Russian. They had hidden their true identities from their children, neighbours and even their partners. Moscow expert Shaun Walker captures the untold history of Russia''s deep cover spy programme, from the ''great illegals'' of the 1920s and 1930s to the twenty-first century, when agents maintained their fake identities and loyalties after the fall of the Soviet Union. Through hundreds of interviews and access to never-before-seen archives, The Illegals brings to light the KGB''s most secretive and surprising espionage project ever.

About the author

Shaun Walker is an international correspondent for The Guardian. He reported from Moscow for more than a decade and is the author of The Long Hangover: Putin's New Russia and the Ghosts of the Past. His coverage of Russia's war in Ukraine was shortlisted for the Foreign Reporter of the Year category at the British 2023 Press Awards, and he has appeared as a commentator on Russia and Ukraine for various television and radio programmes. He currently divides his time between Warsaw, Kyiv and London.

Product details

• Authors: SHAUN WALKER, Shaun Walker, Walker Shaun
• Publisher: Profile Books
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 24.04.2025
• EAN: 9781788167772
• ISBN: 978-1-78816-777-2
• No. of pages: 433
• Dimensions: 162 mm x 242 mm x 44 mm
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > History > Contemporary history (1945 to 1989); Non-fiction book; True Crime / Espionage, HISTORY / Russia & the Former Soviet Union, Espionage and secret services, USSR, Soviet Union, The Cold War, Cold wars and proxy conflicts