This bonus scene from Final Rendezvous tells the story of ASIO’s most celebrated secret agent, Dr Michael Bialoguski.
In April 1954 - eight years prior to the collapse of the Skripov case - Bialoguski helped bring about the defection of Soviet diplomat Vladimir Petrov.
Petrov was a KGB operative, as was his wife, Evdokia, who also defected.
At the time, they were the highest-ranking KGB defections to the West. They supplied not only the names of Australians suspected of assisting the Soviets, but also the names of hundreds of KGB operatives around the world.
Bialoguski recruited Petrov by befriending him, entertaining him and supplying him with alcohol and women. Over time, he convinced Petrov that life was far freer in Australia than in the Soviet Union.
Final Rendezvous traces the collapse of a major spy case involving a female double agent which haunted ASIO throughout the Cold War. A new investigation of surveillance film reveals what went wrong and uncovers a possible KGB murder on Australian soil. #FinalRendezvous
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