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.