Mikhail Lyubimov
| Mikhail Lyubimov Михаил Любимов |
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|---|---|
Lyubimov in 2010
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| Allegiance |
 Soviet Union
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| Service | KGB |
| Active | 1959–1980 |
| Rank | Colonel |
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| Birth name | Михаил Петрович Любимов |
| Born |
27 May 1934 Dnipropetrovsk, Ukrainian SSR |
| Nationality | Russian |
Mikhail Petrovich Lyubimov (Russian: Михаи́л Петро́вич Люби́мов; born 27 May 1934) is a Russian novelist and retired colonel in the KGB. He served as spymaster and head of the KGB stations in the United Kingdom and Denmark during the Cold War.
Lyubimov was born in Dnipropetrovsk, Ukrainian SSR. His father, Pyotr Fyodorovich Lyubimov, joined the Cheka-OGPU in 1918. In 1938, he was arrested during the Great Purge but released, and returned to military intelligence in the Carpathian and Volga Military Districts.
Lyubimov graduated from high school in Kuybyshev (now Samara) in 1952. He then attended the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, graduating in 1958. He wrote a doctoral thesis titled English National Character and Its Use in Operational Work.
After his graduation, Lyubimov was sent to Finland to work at the Soviet embassy's consulate office. In 1959, he was recruited into First Chief Directorate of the KGB. Two years later Lyubimov went to the United Kingdom, where he worked in the Soviet residency in London as Second Secretary of the Embassy, he was an ordinary field officer.
Lyubimov worked under the guise of being the press attaché, allowing him to associate socially with the British elite and political officials. He was dubbed "Smiley Mike" by his British counterparts. In 1964, Lyubimov's cover was blown in a failed attempt to recruit a cipher machine operator to spy for the Soviets. The British tried to recruit him, he refused, was declared persona non grata and was recalled to Moscow, where he continued as spymaster of the British section.
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