The Spy Who Outran the KGB | War Games | Episode 2

Podcast: The Spy Who (Wondery)
Hosts: Indira Varma & Raza Jaffrey
Date: December 2, 2025

Overview of Main Theme

This episode immerses listeners in the tense Cold War espionage saga of Oleg Gordievsky, a senior KGB officer turned MI6 asset. The narrative follows Gordievsky’s perilous journey as he navigates suspicion and danger within the KGB, passes critical intelligence to the British about growing Soviet paranoia over a potential Western attack, and becomes embroiled in events that nearly pushed the world to nuclear war during NATO’s 1983 Able Archer exercise. The episode highlights the mistrust and miscommunications that drove the world dangerously close to disaster—and the personal risks Gordievsky took to avert it.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Gordievsky’s Return to Moscow and Initial Peril

• [00:00 – 04:05] Gordievsky finds himself sidelined in Moscow, cut off from MI6 after his recall, suffering career stagnation and emotional isolation.
  • The episode opens with KGB suspicion intensifying after a Norwegian agent is compromised, sowed by intelligence Gordievsky previously provided to MI6.
  • Paranoia grips KGB leadership as Kim Philby, famed British defector, suggests the leak must be internal:

    “The traitor may be in this room, sitting here amongst us.” — Viktor Grushko [02:55]

2. A Path Back to the West: Assignment to London

• [06:26 – 14:20] By 1982, a shortage of English-speaking officers leads to Gordievsky’s posting to London, giving him a new avenue to resume MI6 contact—though under constant watchful eyes.
  • Gordievsky tactically avoids suspicion by using his English training as pretext for accessing sensitive files, memorizing KGB assets and operations in the UK.
  • On arrival in London, he’s struck by the suffocating paranoia of his superiors, and MI5’s covert countermeasures:

    “I have cassette players hidden in the walls... MI5 uses advertisements as two-way mirrors.” — Gen. Arkady Gook [11:10]

3. Passing Critical Intelligence: Operation RYAN & The 'Michael Foot' Affair

• [14:21 – 17:35] Reestablishing contact with MI6, Gordievsky debriefs them about KGB ties with British Labour leader Michael Foot and reveals “Operation RYAN,” a KGB directive to monitor the West for nuclear attack signs.
  • Gordievsky outlines the absurd indicators Soviet intelligence believes portend a Western first strike:

    “There is no logic in the KGB anymore, just paranoia and blind obedience.” — Oleg Gordievsky [16:50]

  • Notably, Gordievsky also discusses Operation RYAN’s list of 20 indicators, which includes trivialities like late-night office lights and increased parking at the Ministry of Defence [17:05–18:10].
  • MI6 and the CIA later note that claims about Foot being an agent are likely KGB exaggerations—a key fact checked at the episode’s end.

4. The Near-Apocalypse of Able Archer 83

• [17:36 – 24:43] The tension escalates as NATO’s Able Archer exercise is mistaken by the Soviet leadership for cover for a real nuclear attack.
  • High alert orders sweep the Soviet military; nuclear submarines disperse, and missiles are readied.
  • Gordievsky urgently warns MI6 that the Soviet leadership is genuinely fearful—the most perilous moment of the Cold War:

    “If those madmen in Moscow pull the trigger, we are all dead. Everyone.” — Oleg Gordievsky [22:55]

  • U.S. and U.K. intelligence initially downplay these fears, but low-level officers and analysts (and later, President Reagan himself) realize with horror how faith in their own restraint nearly led to catastrophe.

5. Aftermath: Realizations at the Highest Level

• [25:40 – 28:18] CIA Director Bill Casey confesses to President Reagan that the West only narrowly avoided nuclear disaster during Able Archer because they’d underestimated Soviet fear—not just aggression.

  “He had never considered that Soviet fear might be just as dangerous as Soviet aggression.” — Narration [27:09]

• Margaret Thatcher, similarly shaken, is briefed by MI6 and resolves to thank "Mr. Collins" (codename for Gordievsky) for his crucial intelligence.

6. Gordievsky at the Center of the Game: Gorbachev’s Rise & Rivalry in London

• [28:19 – 35:00] Gordievsky is vital in briefing both British and Soviet leaders during high-level summits, shaping dialogue between Thatcher and Gorbachev.
  • He skillfully helps synchronize Soviet and British meeting agendas, but his growing prominence makes rival KGB officer Nikitenka increasingly suspicious.

  “It sounded just like a British Foreign Office document.” — Leonid Nikitenka [34:13]

7. The CIA Hunts for the Mole; Double Agent in Their Ranks

• [35:01 – 39:56] U.S. intelligence, embarrassed at being denied details of Britain’s Soviet mole, tasks the CIA—ironically including Aldrich Ames, who is himself a Soviet double agent—to uncover the source’s identity.
  • Ames quickly blows the existence of a “high-level mole based in London” to the KGB.

8. The Recall: Gordievsky’s Dread Decision

• [40:00 – End] MI6 fears Gordievsky is exposed as he is abruptly recalled to Moscow—it could mean promotion, or a trap. The narrative closes with a painful, stoic goodbye to his family and somber hope for survival.

  “I will go back.” — Oleg Gordievsky [43:40]
  "Better safe than sorry." — Valerie Petit, MI6 [41:13]

Memorable Quotes & Moments

On Soviet Paranoia:

• “Operation Ryan? ... When all 20 of those signs have been identified, the Soviets will strike first. Andropov believes attack is our only chance of defense.” — Oleg Gordievsky [16:24]

On the Absurdity of KGB Procedures:

• “Stockpiling blood. Government office lights on late at night. I mean one is increased demand for car parking at the Ministry of Defence. There is no logic in the KGB anymore, just paranoia and blind obedience.” — Oleg Gordievsky & MI6 handler [16:50]

On the Edge of Nuclear War:

• “It appears the aggressive line we have taken against the USSR has stoked widespread paranoia and fear in Moscow.” — CIA Director Bill Casey [26:21]

On Loyalty and Motive:

• “We believe he is prompted by ideology, Prime Minister. He wants to undermine his country’s corrupt communist regime from within. In doing so, he believes he is not betraying Russia, but serving her.” — Head of MI6, to Thatcher [29:58]
• “And he’s quite right, of course.” — Margaret Thatcher [30:25]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [00:00–04:05] – Gordievsky’s isolation and rising KGB suspicion in Moscow
• [06:26–14:20] – Gordievsky’s path back to London; cautious resumption of MI6 contact
• [14:21–18:10] – Operation RYAN, Labour Party intrigue, and MI6 debrief
• [17:36–24:43] – Able Archer 83: the nuclear near miss
• [25:40–28:18] – Reagan & Thatcher realize how close the world came to war
• [28:19–35:00] – Gordievsky’s role in building the Thatcher–Gorbachev relationship
• [35:01–39:56] – U.S. attempts to unmask MI6’s source; Aldrich Ames’ betrayal
• [40:00–End] – Gordievsky’s recall, poignant family goodbye, decision to return to Moscow despite mortal risk

Additional Context

• The episode concludes with a fact-check on the “Michael Foot” KGB connection, noting Foot’s denial and successful libel suit.
• Sources include The Spy and The Traitor by Ben Macintyre and Next Stop Execution by Oleg Gordievsky.

Summary

This episode deftly conveys the personal courage and peril of Oleg Gordievsky’s life as a double agent. Through his eyes, we witness the confusion, escalations, and near-disasters of the Cold War, and the human cost of trust, suspicion, and divided loyalty in the secretive world of intelligence. It’s a powerful narrative, rich in character moments and global stakes.