Yuri Shvets
Yuri Borysovych Shvets is a former Soviet intelligence officer of Ukrainian origin. He was a Major in the KGB between 1980 and 1990. From April 1985 to 1987, he was a resident spy in Washington, D.C. While there, he held a cover job as a correspondent for TASS, a Soviet state-owned news agency. He left the KGB in September 1990.
Biography
Shvets graduated in international law from the Patrice Lumumba Peoples' Friendship University. He also graduated from the Academy of Foreign Intelligence, where he reportedly studied alongside Vladimir Putin.Career in the KGB
In his 1995 book, Washington Station, Shvets alleges he had recruited two key sources of political intelligence — "Socrates", a former aide to President Jimmy Carter with strong ties to Greece, and his wife "Sputnitsa", a journalist working in Washington. Some of these details were called into question. Later, on "60 Minutes", Shvets had identified Socrates as John Helmer, an Australian-born journalist, who denied being Socrates.Move to America
After publishing a book describing his exploits and ultimate falling-out with the KGB, Shvets was banned from foreign travel. In 1993, he moved permanently to the United States, where he later gained citizenship.Shvets was a key source for the 2021 book American Kompromat by Craig Unger, which details claims that Donald Trump is a Soviet, and later Russian, asset.