Boris Volodarsky
Boris B. Volodarsky (; born 14 August 1955 in Syzran, Kuybyshev Oblast) is an English historian, Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, specialising in Intelligence History, which he has studied for almost 30 years after having moved to the West, and the history of the Spanish Civil War. He formerly served as a captain in the Spetsnaz GRU, a Russian special forces unit. Education Volodarsky has a PhD from the London School of Economics and Political Science Since 2010, Volodarsky has been a Research Fellow at the LSE's Cañada Blanch Centre for Contemporary Spanish Studies under the directorship of Paul Preston; a member of the Cambridge Intelligence Seminar chaired by Christopher Andrew; and a member of the World Association of International Studies (WAIS), Stanford University, USA. Volodarsky made his name writing The KGB's Poison Factory: From Lenin to Litvinenko (2009) and several follow-up books and articles on the history of Soviet intelligence. He is a regular contributor to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Voice of America, ITV, and The John Batchelor Show. Volodarsky also acted as the chief consultant for the BBC Panorama documentary How to Poison a Spy (2007). Volodarsky's interview for Foreign Policy on Russian undercover agents, the so-called "illegals", was reprinted by many international media and has been referred to in WikiLeaks. Publications The first book was a short biography of the Soviet defector Nikolai Khokhlov (2005), whom he knew personally, for the series Personal Files. Volodarsky has also published a critical biography of the Soviet defector Alexander Orlov (2014), which the former Official Historian for the British Security Service MI5, the Cambridge Professor Christopher Andrew, characterised as "a major contribution to the history of Soviet intelligence and foreign policy". In his review of the book for The Spectator, Alan Judd, the former private secretary to the MI6 chief, writes that "Volodarsky enhances our understanding. His is not the last word – we'll never get there – but it is a significant and valuable addition." According to Professor Richard B. Spence, "Stalin's Agent is a must-read for anyone seriously interested in the history of modern espionage, the Soviet aspect especially, and the history of the Spanish Civil War. It is likely to stand as a basic reference work for many years to come." Its shorter version, mainly covering Soviet intelligence operations during the Spanish Civil War, was published in Spain (2013) and in Romania (2015). Books Nikolai Khokhlov: "WHISTLER" (Vienna-London: Borwall Publishing, 2005),; The KGB's Poison Factory: From Lenin to Litvinenko (London: Frontline Books, 2009; USA, Zenith Books, 2010), ; El caso Orlov (Barcelona: Crítica, 2013), ; KGB mürgitehas : Leninist Litvinenkoni (Tallinn: Pegasus, 2014), ; Stalin's Agent: The Life and Death of Alexander Orlov (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2015), ; Truciciele z KGB (Warszawa: RM, 2015), ; Cazul Orlov: Dosare KGB (Bucharest: Litera, 2015) ; Assassins: The KGB's Poison Factory Ten Years On (London: Frontline Books, 2019) ; The Birth of the Soviet Secret Police: The History's Great Heist, 1917–1927 (London: Frontline Books, 2023) ; Selected journalistic