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Operation Pimlico

Battles between Cold War spies lead to danger, betrayal and a dramatic escape, all threatening to derail the fragile move towards world peace.

It's 1985, and Mikhail Gorbachev is the new, young leader of the Soviet Union at a very tense time. While both sides have hopes of peace, they have been publicly stockpiling nuclear weapons for decades. Neither side wants to appear weak. Thatcher and Reagan hope that fresh leadership in the Kremlin will offer an opportunity for constructive dialogue.

Top double agent Oleg Gordievsky is pivotal in these negotiations, but a sudden summons back to Moscow by his KGB bosses has unnerved him - do they know he is secretly spying for Britain? When he arrives at his Moscow flat and discovers that a lock which he never turns has been used, his fears are confirmed.

Including exclusive audio recordings of Aldrich Ames, audio interviews from Oleg Gordievsky and interviews with former KGB, CIA, FBI and MI6 officers, including one of the MI6 officers who rescued Gordievsky. Other interviews include colleagues of Thatcher, Reagan and Gorbachev, and experts with personal connections to the story such as Susan Eisenhower and Nina Khrushcheva.

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59 minutes

Signed Audio described

Last on

Wed 29 May 2024 00:05

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Credits

Role Contributor
Narrator Saskia Reeves
Oleg Gordievsky Martin Munro
Aldrich Ames Jacques Theron
Director Kate Quine
Producer Emily Thompson
Production Manager Paul Allen
Executive Producer Lucie Ridout

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