19/04/2026
Norwich, GB 11 C
Researching and reporting on the lives of some really interesting people (RIP)

VADIM BAKATIN, aged 84

A Soviet businessman turned politician, he was appointed the last ever head of the KGB, reforming it – and making himself unpopular with the authorities.

OLEG GORDIEVSKY, aged 86

A KGB officer, he became a double agent in the Cold War, spying for Britain. His escape from the USSR was audacious – but the Russians kept trying to kill him.

ISABEL CROOK, aged 107

A missionary in China she converted to communism. She married a spy, served in the war and was imprisoned during the Cultural Revolution.