United Kingdom: Oleg Gordievsky, a former KGB spy, who has become a British secret agent, died at the age of 86

He was the highest head of Soviet secret services to have passed to the west. Oleg Gordievsky, a former KGB colonel who defected in the United Kingdom in the 1980s and was decorated in 2007 by Queen Elizabeth II, died, British media announced this Friday, March 21.

The defector Olegievsky died peacefully at the age of 86 at his home in Surrey, southwest London, several media announced including BBC and Guardian. A medical examiner concluded that his death was not considered suspect, they said.

A double agent for several years

First a double agent for several years, Olegievsky gave significant information to the British MI5 and MI6 services, before leaving in London, where he became the de facto chief of the KGB section. But in 1985, he defected when the Soviets discovered that he worked for the West.

In 2007, at the Buckingham Palace, he was decorated by Elizabeth II, who made him a companion of the order of St Michel and St George (CMG) for “services rendered to the security of the United Kingdom”.