Vladimir Mikhaylovich Petrov

Vladimir Mikhaylovich Petrov (; born Afanasii Mikhailovich Shorokhov; 15 February 1907 – 14 June 1991) was a Soviet spy who defected to Australia, the country he was deployed in, in 1954 with his wife Evdokia, in what became known as the Petrov Affair.

Early life and career Petrov was born Afanasii Mikhailovich Shorokhov on 15 February 1907 in , Russia, in what is now Tyumen Oblast in central Siberia.

Petrov was one of three brothers born to a peasant family. His father died when he was seven years old and he started work at a young age to support his family. He had only three years of formal education and was apprenticed to a blacksmith at the age of fourteen. The memoir makes clear that Petrov's status in the cipher section allowed him to learn many Soviet secrets by reading the top secret documents enciphered. It gives the following details about his career between 1930 and 1954: 1930–1933 cypher clerk Soviet Navy. 1933–1937 NKVD Moscow dealing with overseas cypher communications. 1937 NKVD cypher clerk attached to Soviet Army Western China. 1940–1942 NKVD cypher clerk Moscow dealing with Internal communications. 1942–1947 NKVD cypher clerk Sweden with additional Internal Security duties. 1947–1951 MGB Moscow handling cases of Soviet seamen accused of offences while visiting foreign ports. 1951–1954 MGB controller in Australia. Having graduated from cipher clerk to full-fledged agent, Petrov was sent to Australia in 1951. His job there was to recruit spies and to keep watch on Soviet citizens, making sure that none of the Soviets abroad defected.

Petrov lived through the purges of Stalin under Yagoda, Yezhov, and Beria. A great number of his friends, colleagues, and superiors were arrested and executed, but Petrov escaped unscathed.

Defection

Petrov's defection came about through his association with Polish-born doctor and musician Michael Bialoguski, who played along in seeming to allow Petrov to recruit him to gather information, while at the same time reporting to Australian Security Intelligence Organisation on Petrov's activities.

Petrov applied for political asylum in 1954, on the grounds that he could provide information regarding a Soviet spy ring operating out of the Soviet Embassy in Australia. Petrov stated in his memoirs that his reason for defecting was not fear of imminent execution, but his disillusionment with the Soviet system and his own experiences and knowledge of the terror and human suffering inflicted on the Soviet people by their government, in particular during the forced collectivization of farms and the ensuing famine.

Later life Petrov and his wife were granted Australian citizenship on 12 October 1956. The government imposed a D-Notice, barring reporting of their activities, and established them in a safe house in Bentleigh East over fears that the Soviet government would attempt to assassinate them.

In 1957, under his assumed identity, Petrov began working for Ilford Photo in Upwey, while his wife worked as a typist for a tractor company. Petrov "enjoyed Australian rules football and rabbit shooting" while his wife did voluntary work for Meals on Wheels. Mrs Petrov's Shoe, a play by Noelle Janaczewska which won the Queensland Premier's Literary Award for drama in 2006. Document Z, a novel by Andrew Croome, which won the Australian/Vogel Literary Award in 2008. The Petrov Affair, a 1987 television mini-series.