During the Cold War the Soviet Union posted a number of intelligence officers to Wellington, who aggressively sought classified information regarding New Zealand’s foreign and defence policies. These officers attempted to recruit people in government with access to this material, and gather official documentation such as birth certificates and education records, to enable Soviet agents to travel to other countries under appropriated New Zealand identities.
Vladislav Sergeyevich Andreyev was an identified KGB intelligence officer who took up the position of Commercial Counsellor at the Soviet Legation in Wellington in 1961. The NZSIS took an immediate interest in Andreyev, who ran recruited agents and attempted to recruit others in his 16 months in New Zealand. Andreyev was expelled from New Zealand in 1962. The release consists of four file tranches containing material dated from February 1961 to August 1986.