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The Current · September 22 · 25 min

How a KGB spy's erectile dysfunction changed history

Bestselling author Ben Macintyre has told many compelling spy stories — but Vladimir Kuzichkin's may be the most unusual yet. In his new book, Redwood, Macintyre explains how Kuzichkin's obsessive desire to find a solution to his own sexual problems drove him to defect from the Soviet KGB and start spying for British Intelligence in Tehran in the 1980s, and why the intelligence he gathered altered the course of Iranian history, changed the balance of power in the Middle East, and played a pivotal role in one of the most important conflicts of the Cold War

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Bestselling author Ben Macintyre has told many compelling spy stories — but Vladimir Kuzichkin's may be the most unusual yet. In his new book, Redwood, Macintyre explains how Kuzichkin's obsessive desire to find a solution to his own sexual problems drove him to defect from the Soviet KGB and start spying for British Intelligence in Tehran in the 1980s, and why the intelligence he gathered altered the course of Iranian history, changed the balance of power in the Middle East, and played a pivotal role in one of the most important conflicts of the Cold War

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