Mikhail Butkov

Photo: Odd-Steinar Tøllefsen, Aftenposten.

Mikhail Butkov joined the KGB, the main security agency for the Soviet Union, in 1984. In 1989, Butkov moved to Oslo, Norway, where he operated under journalistic cover as a correspondent for Rabotsjaja Tribuna. That same year, Butkov began working with both Norwegian and British intelligence. In his 1992 book, KGB i Norge, Butkov describes efforts to recruit sources, spy on high-profile citizens, and plant misleading stories in local papers. He also used his cover as a journalist to help establish the Foreign Press Association in Norway. Butkov defected in 1991 and was resettled in the UK.