Mrs Petrova's Shoe

The True Story of a KGB Defection

Wilhelm Agrell, Simon Moores

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Hardback

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English

I B TAURIS
21 February 2019

History; 20th century history: c 1900 to c 2000; The Cold War

Two men are holding a woman between them in a firm grip. In one hand she is carrying her handbag; the other she places on her heart. The man on her right stares into the camera, his colleague stares resolutely ahead. But there is something else, something missing. The despairing woman is wearing only one shoe.

On 19 April 1954 the world was gripped by an unfolding drama at Sydney Airport. A small, seemingly fragile woman, was being aggresively marched to an awaiting plane by two burly men. Evdokia Petrova was the wife of Soviet diplomat Vladimir Petrov who, two weeks earlier, had defected from the embassy in Canberra after a prolonged 'cultivation' by the Australian Security Service, supported by MI5. Evdokia was now being hurried back to Moscow by the KGB. The subsequent intervention by Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies kept the world's media on tenterhooks. But who were the couple at the centre of this global news story?

After the defection it turned out that Evdokia was, in fact, an even bigger catch than her husband. With a background both in cryptological work in Moscow and in field operations, she was able to supply Western intelligence with a wealth of information and insight into the workings of the Soviet intelligence system. With access to newly-released archives and sources, this book sheds extraordinary new light on the two people at the heart of the Petrov Affair, one of the most bizarre stories of the Cold War era.

By: Wilhelm Agrell
Translated by: Simon Moores
Imprint: I B TAURIS
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 216mm, Width: 138mm,
Weight: 458g
ISBN: 9781788314602
ISBN 10: 1788314603
Pages: 256
Publication Date: 21 February 2019
Audience: Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Prologue - Mrs Petrov's Shoe The Escapees and the Bloodhounds A Room in Moscow Spetsialnyi Otdel Night at Noon Shorokhov alias Proletarsky alias Petrov The Island in the Middle of the War The Concealed Legation Tamara The Seaman and his Net The Age of the Information Empire The Australian Assignment Recruiters and Drinking Companions Operation Cabin 12 The Knives are Sharpened Fear and Flight Mole Tracks The Man in the Panama Hat Exploitation Evidence from Stockholm A Sister in Need

Wilhelm Agrell is Professor of Intelligence Analysis at Lund University and guest Professor at the Swedish National Defence College.