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Life and Death in the KGB, with The Rest is Classified’s Gordon Corera

History &
Social Policy

Unveiling the inner workings of the KGB and the hidden power struggles that shaped modern Russia

As the main intelligence and security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 to 1991, the KGB instilled fear across Russia and sought to sow discord abroad. 

This network of government spies was notorious for the often brutal methods it used to keep  enemies, loyalists and common people under the thumb of the state. And far from fading as the USSR old guard fell from power, the operatives, methods and networks of the KGB remain at the heart of the Russian state today. Putin himself was a KGB officer for 16 years, including six years as a foreign intelligence officer stationed in Dresden, East Germany.

In May 2026, veteran security correspondent and Rest is Classified co-host Gordon Corera joined us to unveil the inner workings of the KGB and the hidden power struggles that shaped modern Russia. Corera explored the real-life stories of those on the inside; from the spies who lived and died enforcing its rule, to those who were brave enough to resist it.

Speaker

  • Gordon Corera

    Co-Host of The Rest is Classified and former Security Correspondent for BBC News

Host

  • Shaun Walker

    Central and Eastern Europe Correspondent for The Guardian

Speakers

Speaker

Gordon Corera

Co-Host of The Rest is Classified and former Security Correspondent for BBC News

Journalist and author specializing in security and intelligence issues. He is the co-host with David McCloskey of the Goalhanger Podcast The Rest is Classified. He joined the BBC in 1997 and in 2004 he was appointed a Security Correspondent for BBC News covering terrorism, cyber security, the work of intelligence agencies and other national security issues. He has reported from across the United States, Asia, Africa and the Middle East and presented programmes focusing on intelligence agencies including MI6, MI5, GCHQ, the CIA, NSA and Mossad as well as issues relating to technology and security and the 2003 Iraq war. He is the author of a number of books; his latest is The Spy in the Archive.
Host

Shaun Walker

Central and Eastern Europe Correspondent for The Guardian

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 and The Illegals: A History of Russia's Most Audacious Spies. His coverage of Russia’s war in Ukraine was shortlisted for the Foreign Reporter of the Year category at the British 2023 Press Awards. He has appeared as a commentator on Russia and Ukraine for various television and radio programs, including NPR’s Fresh Air. He currently divides his time between Warsaw, Kyiv, and London.