SpyMoscow is a conference/spy tour in Moscow created and led by CI Centre Professor Dan Mulvenna. He has organized three tours: 1997, 2003 and 2008.

SpyMoscow

A Cold War Summit: From Cambridge to Moscow

14-28 August 2008

London and Moscow

CI Centre Professors Dan Mulvenna and Nigel West are taking a group to Moscow via London. This tour is run by Road Scholar. Call Road Scholar Advisors at 1-800-466-7762 to register.

8 nights; 17 meals; 8 Breakfasts, 3 Lunches, 6 Dinners
$4,950.00 pp Group size limited to 48 or fewer participants

The price of oil had dropped, starving the Kremlin of the funds it desperately needed to keep pace in the arms race against the United States. Then all it took was the nudge of Gorbachev’s perestroika and the dominoes began to fall: Afghanistan, Poland, Czechoslovakia and, finally, the Berlin Wall itself. Twenty years later and the price of oil is at an all-time high, and Russia has reemerged as a global superpower, albeit with a new ideology — capitalism. Flush with the confidence of petrodollars, the Kremlin is rattling its saber in Europe once again. And a former Russian spy, Alexander Litvinenko, dies in a London hospital, mysteriously poisoned by a fatal dose of radiation.

Unique Features:

• In-depth briefings by intelligence professionals (from both sides of the Cold War) who are knowledgeable about the "inside details" of operations and individuals discussed.

• Study Leader, Nigel West — author of VENONA and other respected books on security, intelligence and espionage — takes you behind the curtain of Cold War intelligence and espionage.

• Discover hidden spy sites in Moscow with a former KGB colonel and Dan Mulvenna, a former Western counterintelligence officer and lecturer on counterintelligence at the Counterintelligence Centre, Washington.

• Learn about the KGB's roundup of U.S. agents in Russia/Moscow, including America's great spy, Adolf Tolkachev.

• Hear about the death of Alexander Litvinenko from a Russian consultant to the BBC’s Panorama program.

• With staff at the Churchill Archives Centre, explore Cold War materials from its collection.

• Enjoy a reception with retired KGB officers in Moscow.

• Go behind the scenes at Bletchley Park, where code breakers decrypted and interpreted Axis messages and broke the German Enigma Code during World War II.

Program Description:

From Cambridge, England, to Moscow, Russia, from the “Cambridge Five” to Gary Powers to the recently murdered Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko, trace the trail of diplomacy and intrigue from the height of the Cold War to the global chess match with Russia today.

With privileged access to unrivaled authorities in the fields of espionage and in 1950s Cold War politics, gain an understanding of the foreign policy conducted in public and the intelligence machinations that continue in the shadows. In this one-time program, join important writers, thinkers and former intelligence professionals from both sides of the Cold War, including Andrew Lownie, Piers Brendon, Mike Sewell and Richard Aldrich to discuss the ramifications and intricacies of the “war,” as well as commentators Glenmore Trenear-Harvey and Boris Volodarsz, to consider whether the Cold War has recently reemerged in Putin’s Russia. Leading the way is Nigel West. Former member of the House of Commons and author of more than a dozen books on espionage, Nigel is considered the “expert’s expert” on intelligence.

Based at the elegant Møller Center at Churchill College, Cambridge University, track the “Cambridge Five” — the ring of Soviet spies who passed information to the KGB and who infiltrated the British establishment. Follow in the footsteps of the notorious spies on a walking exploration through Trinity, St. John’s and King’s Colleges.

Explore Cold War materials in the Churchill Archives Centre, which houses Sir Winston Churchill’s papers, as well as those of Margaret Thatcher and other prominent figures of the 20th century. At Bletchley Park — also known as “Station X” — see one of the Enigma Machines, including the rare “Abwehr G312,” and check out the tales of World War II code-breaking, spies and strategic deception.

Continue the exploration of the Cold War from the other side, in Moscow. A retired senior KGB officer and Dan Mulvenna — a former Western counterintelligence office and lecturer on counterintelligence at the Counterintelligence Centre, Washington — lead you on an exploration of spy sites throughout the Russian capital. See the graves of Kim Philby, the great British spy, and those of the famous “illegals” Rudolph Abel (Willie Fisher), Konon Molody, known to the West as Gordon Lonsdale, Ramon Mercader — Trotsky’s assassin — and Glen M. Souther, KGB spy in the U.S. Navy and subsequent defector to Russia.

Go inside areas not open to the public and learn about the Russian Intelligence Services. Receive "briefings" on the KGB's view of the Cold War and on several famous Cold War spy cases by former KGB officers who have intimate knowledge of the affairs. Hear from one of Lee Harvey Oswald's case officers, then meet and mingle with distinguished senior retired KGB officers at an elegant farewell reception.

Please Note: This program will operate only once and has a maximum capacity of 48. Each of two groups of 24 will have its own Group Leader and motorcoach but all participants will attend program events together.

Goals for this Program:

To explore the history of the Cold War and its manifestations; to examine British and American-Russian relationships from 1945 to 1991; to delve into recent events that suggest the Cold War has new dimensions in Vladimir Putin’s Russia, and to follow the path of the infamous Cambridge Five in England and Russia. Study Leaders and speakers include: + Nigel West was born in London and educated at a Benedictine monastery before reading English at London University. He is a military historian specialising in intelligence and security issues. His books include Counterfeit; Crown Jewels: The Secrets at the Heart of the KGB’s Archives, and; VENONA: The Cold War’s Greatest Secret. + Mike Sewell is author of The Cold War: Perspectives in History series. Topics covered include the origins of the Cold War, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the period of détente, and the end of the Cold War in the 1980's. + Piers Brendon is the former Keeper of the Churchill Archives Centre, biographer of Churchill and Eisenhower; author the acclaimed The Dark Valley, a history of the 1930s and Eminent Edwardians. He is consultant to numerous television documentaries. + A former Pilot in the Royal Air Force, Glenmore Trenear-Harvey is a writer, broadcaster, and lecturer on security, intelligence, and espionage matters. He is an Intelligence Analyst for Sky News TV; the Associate Editor of Eye Spy intelligence magazine and Publisher of Intelligence Digest. + Richard Aldrich is author of The Hidden Hand: Britain, America and Cold War Secret Intelligence. + Andrew Lownie is author of John Buchan: The Presbyterian Cavalier and is currently writing a life of Guy Burgess. He is a former journalist for the (London) Times and the Spectator. + Dan Mulvenna lectures on counterintelligence and counterterrorism at the Centre for Counterintelligence and Security Studies, Washington. In this capacity he provides specialized training to a broad range of U.S. agencies.

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