The Illegals

Russia's Most Audacious Spies and Their Century-Long Mission to Infiltrate the West

By: Shaun Walker

Narrated by: Paul Thornley

The definitive history of Russia’s most secret spy program, from the earliest days of the Soviet Union to Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, and a revelatory examination of how that hidden history shaped both Russia and the West.

More than a century ago, the new Bolshevik government began sending Soviet citizens abroad as deep-cover spies, training them to pose as foreign aristocrats, merchants, and students. Over time, this grew into the most ambitious espionage program in history. Many intelligence agencies use undercover operatives, but the KGB was the only one to go to such lengths, spending years training its spies in language and etiquette, and sending them abroad on missions that could last for decades. These spies were known as “illegals.” During the Second World War, illegals were dispatched behind enemy lines to assassinate high-ranking Nazis. Later, in the Cold War, they were sent to assimilate and lie low as sleepers in the West. The greatest among them performed remarkable feats, while many others failed in their missions or cracked under the strain of living a double life.

Drawing on hundreds of hours of interviews, as well as archival research in more than a dozen countries, Shaun Walker brings this history to life in a thrilling tour de force that takes us into the heart of the KGB’s most secretive program. A riveting spy drama peopled with richly drawn characters, The Illegals also uncovers a hidden thread in the story of Russia itself. As Putin extols Soviet achievements and the KGB’s espionage prowess, and Moscow continues to infiltrate illegals across the globe, this timely narrative shines new light on the long arc of the Soviet experiment, its messy aftermath, and its influence on our world at large.

©2025 Shaun Walker (P)2025 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“One of the best books on intelligence to be published in the last several years. An excellent and sweeping history of the Russian Illegals program, based on a great deal of original reporting and interviews with former Illegals & their families.”
—Shashank Joshi, editor for The Economist

“Drawing on archival materials and hundreds of interviews, including with former spies, Walker crafts a fascinating account of Soviet and Russian agents planted in various countries under false names and identities.”
—Maria Lipman, Foreign Affairs

“An incredibly moving history of the Soviet Union’s boldest and most secretive spy program. Walker shows how a nation torn between survival and nostalgia invented a form of espionage that was both inspired and fanatical, delving into the deepest levels of espionage where even spies fear to tread.”
—Joe Weisberg and Joel Fields, Executive Producers of The Americans

“Sinister, clandestine, and deadly—this is essential history, and it is happening now. A fascinating study of the Russian use of illegal deep undercover agents against the West.”
—Simon Sebag Montefiore, author of Stalin

“This gripping account takes you into a world of shadows and mystery, the long and checkered history of the Kremlin sleeper agents. In the annals of espionage, they were Russia’s great gamble. Shaun Walker has written a spying classic.”
—David E. Hoffman, author of The Billion Dollar Spy

very intricate stories

such an in depth look at the history of spying. very interesting. it answered a lot of questions and left me with so many more

Great book!

What a great book, highly recommended. Liked everything about it, entertaining and educational at the same time. Russia never could be trusted.

Thrilling history

This book surveys the last century of so of personal espionage (by which I mean effected at a human level). It is much more than the illegals, and I found it very compelling. Highly recommend.

Great history of “nelegali”!

Excellent overview of the Chekhist “proudest” aspect of their services…but one riddled with failure as Walker notes!