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THE SPY WHO CAME IN FROM THE COLD

KGB SPY | Victor Makarov - from Russia to Northern England with love

Victor Makarov is the real life spy who came in from the cold. We catch up with the Soviet double agent who swopped his career in Moscow for a solitary life in Northern England.

Victor Makarov's life sounds like the plot of a James Bond movie. He's the spy who risked his own life as a double agent before defecting to the UK.

He's been living in Britain for the last decade, and recently moved to the North of England.

But Victor's story goes back to the height of the Cold War when the KGB battled it out in a war of wits with the West's secret services.

The KGB

Victor Makarov joined Russia's KGB when he was 20 and rose through the ranks of the famous secret service organisation.

Victor joined the KGB when he was twenty. He became fluent in Greek, a useful asset in working with Russian code breakers

His compatriots included the Russian President, Vladimir Putin.Victor rose to power and prominence as a Senior Lieutenant in the KGB.

But he grew increasingly disillusioned with the Russian regime following the Polish situation, and the Afghanistan war.

He dreamed of defecting with his then-girlfriend, and began passing secret messages to Britain, a country he had long admired and respected.

The dangerous life of a double agent

But the life of a double agent is a dangerous and precarious one as Victor found to his cost.

Victor was betrayed by a friend, and turned over to the authorities. He was arrested and taken to an interrogation centre where he was kept in solitary confinement for five months.

Victor Makarov in his early career with Russia's KGB

Although never charged, Victor was eventually incarcerated in one of Russia's most notorious prison camps in the Urals for five years.

Living conditions were harsh, and meals consisted of a diet of bread and porridge.

Glasnost led to the closure of the labour camp and Victor's release. When he was released, he was one of the last ten political prisoners held in the Soviet Union.

With the help of MI6, Victor was smuggled to Riga on board a train, and then onto England by boat.

Once in England, Victor was disappointed by the government he risked his life for, and he felt they'd let him down.

It hurt that he was never fully debriefed and received only a small payment to help him get settled here. For him, there was no change of identity, no plastic surgery and no new job.

A new life in the North

Victor Makarov Dossier

1955 Born in Moscow, Russia 1975 Joins the KGB 1975 Trains at KGB Academy 1988 Arrested on suspicion of being a double agent 1988 Held in solitary confinement for five months 1988-92 Held in a Russian labour camp 1992 Smuggled out of Russia and defects to England 2002 Living in London, England Late 2002 Makes his home in Northern England

Last year Victor decided to move to the North East of England from London. He says it reminds him of Russia.

Until Victor came to the North, his only knowledge of England came from an old AA road atlas that he used to flick through.

From Russia... without love

So what does the future hold for the spy who is a remnant of the Cold War?

Sadly, Victor has lost contact with his Russian girlfriend, who is also believed to have defected to England. The secret services will not tell him where she now lives.

Years of incarceration have made it difficult for Victor to take up a new career. These days he leads a solitary life.

Victor had originally thought he'd be an automatic choice for the secret services. Instead he lives in semi-hiding in the North, and survives on benefits.

It's a far cry from his days as a secret agent. But Victor is happy to be in the North - he likes the people, and enjoys the tranquility of the countryside.

Finally he feels almost back home after the trials and tribulations of the last few years.

At last the spy has come out of the cold and is starting to live life again. It's the final chapter in a remarkable story.