Hans de Vreij is a Dutch journalist who has worked in Berlin , Brussels, Geneva and Prague.

Whilst working at the United Nations in Geneva Hans was the subject of attempted recruitment by the KGB to develop an ‘agent of influence’ to disseminate Soviet points of view.

In addition, they analysed the ‘targeted journalist’ in terms of possible blackmail: ‘kompromat‘ (compromising material). This especially held true for journalists who later might find themselves in an important position, such as press spokesman at a ministry.

We later talk about Hans’ visit to a Soviet chemical weapons facility and testing ground on the Volga, some 750 kms southeast of Moscow as well as his service in the Dutch Army.

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Back to today’s episode, we welcome Hans to our Cold War conversation…

There’s further information on this episode in our show notes, which can also be found as a link in your podcast app. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode129/

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0:00 Introduction and meeting with Soviet diplomat Mikhail Petrukhov

1:51 Sponsor message and request for donations

3:57 Hans de Vreij's career journey and focus on human rights and arms control

10:49 The envelope incident and potential for blackmail

16:33 Conclusion and reflections on the old-fashioned tactics of Soviet intelligence

20:14 An unusual request from a KGB agent

29:15 Understanding KGB tradecraft

35:01 Invitation to see a chemical weapons facility in the Soviet Union

53:01 Hans de Vreij's time in the Dutch Army

55:38 Closing remarks and call to action: Show notes, donations, and the Facebook discussion group

56:16 Podcast sign off by Ian Sanders

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