Research, ideas, and leadership for a more secure, peaceful world

Past Event
In-Person
Seminar

The Illegals - The century-long history of Moscow's most secretive and ambitious spy program

Harvard Faculty, Fellows, Staff, and Students

More than a century ago, the new Bolshevik government began sending Soviet citizens abroad as deep-cover spies, on missions that could last for decades. Over time, this grew into the most ambitious espionage program in history. In this Intelligence Project seminar, Shaun Walker, international correspondent for The Guardian and author of The Illegals, will discuss the history of this program, examining how that hidden history shaped both Russia and the West. This session is open to Harvard ID holders. Registration is required. Light refreshments will be served.

Date: Time: - Location: Taubman Building - Allison Dining Room, 5th Floor
The Illegals, by Shaun Walker
The Illegals (2025), by Shaun Walker, Penguin Random House publishing

Join the Intelligence Project on Wednesday, October 1st, to hear about Russia's most audacious spies and their century-long mission to infiltrate the West from Shaun Walker. While many intelligence agencies use undercover operatives, the KGB was the only one to go to such lengths, training their spies for years and sending them on missions that could last decades. These spies were known as "illegals." In this seminar, Mr. Walker will walk through the history of Russia's most secretive and ambitious spy program, from the earliest days of the Soviet Union to Putin's invasion of Ukraine. He will discuss how that hidden history influenced our world at large, shaping both Russia and the West. His talk is based on his recently published book, The Illegals, which draws on hundreds of hours of interviews as well as archival research in more than a dozen countries, and details the history of Russia's secret spy program, its aftermath, and its continued influence.

This session is open to Harvard ID holders. Registration is required. Light refreshments will be served.

Shaun Walker is an 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 (2018) and The Illegals (2025). He currently divides his time between Warsaw, Kyiv, and London, and reports on the war on Ukraine as well as on Russian intelligence operations in Europe.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​