Podcast Summary: History Extra – "The Librarian Who Stole KGB Secrets"

Date: November 12, 2025
Guests: Gordon Carrera (author of The Spy in the Archive)
Host: Eleanor Evans

Overview

This episode dives into the extraordinary story of Vasily Mitrokin, a Soviet archivist who painstakingly copied and eventually handed over the KGB’s innermost secrets to the West. Journalist and author Gordon Carrera, whose new book The Spy in the Archive chronicles Mitrokin’s journey, joins Eleanor Evans to discuss the motivations, methods, and lasting impact of a man who exposed the Soviet Union’s spy operations to the world. The conversation explores Mitrokin’s personal evolution from a loyal Chekist to a quiet dissident, the Herculean feat of copying a clandestine archive, and the complexities this created for Western intelligence after the Cold War.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Dramatic Embassy Reveal (01:04–02:54)

• In March 1992, a disheveled Mitrokin approached the British Embassy in Vilnius, Lithuania, with a grubby suitcase. He asked to see "British Special services," a euphemism for spies in Russian terms.
• Initially dismissed by Americans, Mitrokin found a receptive British diplomat who spoke Russian and recognized the importance of his files.
• This encounter began the process of exposing more of the KGB’s secrets than ever before, dramatically shaping Western understanding of Soviet espionage.
  • Quote:

    "They don't appreciate that this is actually a remarkable man carrying a remarkable treasure trove of secrets.... This really begins a journey which will do more to expose the secrets of the KGB... than anything else that ever happened."
    — Gordon Carrera (02:05)

2. Why Carrera Chose Mitrokin's Story (03:03–04:33)

• Previous works released documents, but not Mitrokin's personal story, motivations, or the intricate journey to move him and his family west.
• Mitrokin emerges as both a chronicler of history and a figure now more relevant due to the ongoing influence of Soviet intelligence traditions in modern Russia.
  • Quote:

    "He understood the Soviet Union's spy services. He could also see their persistence... now looks much more interesting and important than ... before."
    — Gordon Carrera (03:53)

3. Mitrokin’s Life and Relationship to the KGB (04:48–07:36)

• Born 1922, Mitrokin’s life mirrors Soviet history: rising from humble origins as a true believer, serving as a prosecutor in Ukraine, and being recruited as a Chekist.
• Not suited to field work, he was relegated to the archives in 1956—a move meant to sideline him, but which secretly granted him access to the KGB’s deepest secrets.
• Over a dozen years, particularly after the crushing of the Prague Spring, he became increasingly disillusioned—seeing the KGB as a “beast... squatting and feeding off” his country.
  • Quote:

    "...he comes over years to hate it, and to see what it did. And then in turn, by 1972, that leads him to... copy down those deepest, darkest secrets... preserving the truth..."
    — Gordon Carrera (07:10)

4. How to Steal a Secret Archive (07:57–10:32)

• As the KGB physically relocated archives, Mitrokin discreetly wrote down critical information in code on small bits of paper, hidden in shoes or clothing, eventually compiling it at home.
• His inspiration drew from Russian literary tradition: writing the truth for “the drawer,” in the hope it might be published posthumously.
• The entirety of the makeshift archive was often hidden in milk churns under his dacha’s floorboards.
  • Quote:

    "How do you steal an archive? ... The answer is, be a librarian and do it very slowly."
    — Gordon Carrera (08:11)

5. Reconciling Past Complicity (10:32–13:18)

• Mitrokin struggled with his own role in KGB operations, especially as a prosecutor in Ukraine at the end of WWII—“I saw horrors.”
• He remained highly selective about his own failings, neither discussing them nor openly acknowledging the role they played in fueling his later motives.
  • Quote:

    "He struggled to tell his own history and was quite selective in what he would explain..."
    — Gordon Carrera (12:32)

6. Loneliness and Family Motivations (13:18–14:28)

• Mitrokin was intensely introverted, keeping his project secret even from his wife, Nina (an establishment doctor), and was deeply affected by his son's battle with a degenerative disease.
• His family's circumstance and his resentment toward the system further fueled his actions.

7. Verification and the “Gold Mine” Problem (15:55–17:59)

• Mitrokin came prepared to Embassy meetings with names of deep-cover "illegals" that only MI5 would know, proving authenticity.
• Allies, however, struggled with how to use this intelligence: prosecution was problematic, and the revelations were sometimes embarrassing.
  • Quote:

    "...for spy services... it's great to know it, on the other hand it raises quite awkward questions. Why didn't you know about this before and why didn't you catch them?"
    — Gordon Carrera (18:07)

8. Clashes over Publication & Mitrokin’s True Goal (20:20–23:55)

• Mitrokin demanded both safe passage for his family and eventual publication of the archive, an unusual request for an intelligence defector.
• The British managed to exfiltrate him and his family, but publishing the files led to years of tension with MI6 and historian Christopher Andrew, as Mitrokin was frustrated at losing control and felt the core message—the truth for the Russian people—was being missed.
  • Quote:

    "He said, I will give you these files, but I want two things. I want you to get me and my family out when I say, and I want you to publish the archive. Now that is a very unusual thing for a spy to ask for."
    — Gordon Carrera (21:11)

9. The Legacy of the Archive (24:12–27:37)

• The Mitrokin archive is uniquely comprehensive, much more than “just” a trove of spy stories; it is a historical record of KGB global operations.
• Many original files have since been destroyed in Russia—the Mitrokin Archive is now sometimes the only record.
• Mitrokin also perceptively chronicled the persistence of KGB-and Chekist-mentalities in post-Soviet Russia, anticipating the rise and character of Vladimir Putin.
  • Quote:

    "He could see, because he had understood the KGB and lived in the belly of the beast... in a way that no one else could."
    — Gordon Carrera (26:00)

10. The Power and Responsibility of Archivists (27:37–29:28)

• The episode concludes with reflections about the unique power held by archivists, especially in states built on secrecy; their access can change history.
• "Underestimate archivists at your peril."
  • Quote:

    "The awesome access of the archivist... In regimes where the truth is distorted or hidden... often the one place the truth is preserved is in those archives."
    — Gordon Carrera (28:02)

  "Be nice to your archivist... they have an understanding of the history and of the documents... underestimate them at your peril."
  — Gordon Carrera (28:36)

Notable Quotes

• On the significance of Mitrokin’s actions:

  "He did more than any other individual. I think he's one of the most consequential spies of the last hundred years..."
  (24:12)

• On Mitrokin’s archival obsession:

  "How do you steal an archive? How do you steal a whole library? And the answer is, be a librarian and do it very slowly."
  (08:11)

• On the paradox of his legacy:

  "What should have been a gold mine wasn’t really exploited, I think, in the way it could have been."
  (19:21)

Timeline of Important Segments

| Timestamp | Segment Overview | |-----------|---------------------------------------------------------------------| | 01:04 | Mitrokin’s embassy approach and British engagement | | 04:48 | Mitrokin’s Soviet upbringing and disillusionment | | 07:57 | How Mitrokin smuggled out the secrets (librarian’s method) | | 10:49 | Struggles with complicity and untold trauma | | 15:55 | Verification and challenges for Western governments | | 20:20 | Managing Mitrokin as an asset; publication conflicts | | 24:12 | The legacy and unique value of the Mitrokin Archive | | 27:37 | Reflections on the power of archives and archivists |

Final Reflection

This episode illuminates not just a singular act of Cold War defiance, but the deeper complexities involved in bearing witness to a regime’s crimes—even from within its own archives. Through Vasily Mitrokin's solitary obsession and moral reckoning, The Spy in the Archive shows how the truth, sometimes hidden beneath floorboards, can profoundly reshape history—if only others are willing to confront it.

Suggested Further Reading:

• The Spy in the Archive by Gordon Carrera (2025)