The following is a list of defectors from the Commonwealth of Independent States. The Commonwealth is an intergovernmental organization formed after the dissolution of the Soviet Union as its legal successor. This list of defectors is not to be confused with Soviet defectors. +Notable defections after 1991 regarding Commonwealth of Independent States intelligenceDefectorProfession/ProminenceBirthplaceYearNotesKanatjan AlibekovBioweapons chief Kazakhstan1992 Former director of Biopreparat; defected to the United StatesBoris YuzhinKGB agent Russia 1992KGB lieutenant colonel who from the mid-1970s to mid 1980s was resident spy of the 1st Department of the Directorate "K" in San Francisco and on this time he revealed many intelligence secrets from Soviet Union to FBI. For this espionage he was arrested in the 1986 and sentenced to 15 years in the Gulag. Defected to U.S. after pardon by Boris YeltsinRollan DzheikiyaMinistry of Foreign Affairs diplomatGeorgia1992In the early 1990s he was senior counselor in Permanent Mission of Russia to the United Nations; defected to U.S. and revealed at least that Earl Edwin Pitts was Soviet Union and Russia spyStanislav Lunev GRU agent Russia1992 Defected to the U.S.; revealed the existence of KGB weapons caches in the WestVasili Mitrokhin KGB agent Russia 1992KGB archivist who was shocked by records of Soviet political repression; defected in Riga, Latvia to the British embassyViktor Makarov KGB agent Russia 1992KGB senior lieutenant who in the mid-1980s was analyst of the 16th Directorate and on this time he revealed some intelligence secrets from Soviet Union to MI6. For this espionage he was arrested in the 1987 and sentenced to 10 years in the Gulag. Defected to United Kingdom via Latvia after pardon by Boris Yeltsin and later he waged a long legal battles with government over insufficient fundingViktor OshchenkoSVR agentRussia1992SVR colonel who in the early 1990s was resident spy of Directorate "X" in Paris, France; defected to United Kingdom and revealed many intelligence secrets from Soviet Union and Russia, including that Michael John Smith was Soviet spyVladimir PotashovInstitute for US and Canadian Studies scientistRussia1992Doctoral degree scientist who was senior military analyst from the end 1970s to mid 1980s and on this time he revealed many intelligence secrets from Soviet Union to CIA, including Soviet plans for nuclear disarmament. For this espionage he was arrested in the 1986 and one year later sentenced to 13 years in the Gulag. Defected to U.S. via Poland after pardon by Boris YeltsinValentin AksilenkoKGB agentRussia1993KGB colonel who in the early and mid 1980s was chief Washington, D.C. branch of the 1st Department of the Directorate "K"VAL AKSILENKO, Netherlands Intelligence Studies Association (Netherlands); defected to U.S. and revealed some intelligence secrets from Soviet UnionYuri ShvetsKGB agentUkraine1993KGB major who in the mid-1980s was resident spy of the 1st Department of the Directorate "K" in Washington, D.C.; defected to U.S.; revealed some political and intelligence secrets from Soviet Union and RussiaOleg KaluginKGB agentRussia1995KGB general who in the late 1970s was head of Directorate "K"; defected to U.S. and revealed many political and intelligence secrets from Soviet UnionKGB agentUkraine1997KGB captain who from the mid to late 1970s was investigator of 5th Directorate in the Moscow and on this time he revealed some intelligence secrets to Soviet dissidents. For this disclosure of country secrets he was arrested in the 1978 and later in same year was sentenced to 8 years in prison. After serving sentence he remained in Soviet Union and later Russia, where in the 1995 was arrested and later sentenced for illegal possession of weapon to 3 years in prison. Defected to U.S. after pardon by Boris YeltsinAlexander ZaporozhskySVR agentGeorgia1998SVR colonel who in the early and mid 1990s was deputy chief of the 1st Department of the Directorate "KR"; defected to U.S.; revealed many intelligence secrets from Russia, includind that Harold James Nicholson is a Russian spy. But in the 2001 he returned to Russia for unclear reasons where was detained and two years later sentenced to 18 years in prison for espionage. In 2010 he was returned in U.S. during the exchange of prisoners between U.S. and RussiaAlexander Litvinenko FSB agent Russia 2000 Exposed crimes ordered by Russian president Vladimir Putin; defected in London, United Kingdom; assassinatedEvgeny ToropovSVR agentRussia2000SVR agent of the 1st Department of the Directorate "KR" who in the end 1990s and early 2000s was head of security Russian embassy in the Ottawa, Canada; defected at first to Canada and later to U.S.; revealed some intelligence secrets from Russia. Sudden death occurred in unnamed place in April 2010; foul play has been allegedSergei TretyakovSVR agentRussia2000Defected in New York City to the CIA; Deputy Resident Station Chief in New York City; revealed many political and intelligence secrets from Russia; sudden death occurred in Sarasota County, Florida, on June 13, 2010; foul play has been allegedVyacheslav BaranovGRU agentBelarus2002GRU colonel who in the end 1980s was chief of the technical specialists group of the 3th Directorate in Bangladesh and on this time he revealed some intelligence secrets from Soviet Union to CIA. For this espionage he was arrested in the 1992 and one year later sentenced to 6 years in prison. Defected to U.S. after serving sentenceAleksandr PoteyevSVR agentBelarus2010SVR colonel who since the late 1990s was deputy head of Directorate "S"; defected to U.S.; revealed many intelligence secrets from Russia, includind personalities of Russian agents from Illegals Program. After defect survived two assassination attemptsAlexandr ShcherbakovKGB agentRussia2010In an unknown time he was the deputy head of Directorate "K"; defected to U.S.; revealed at least that Robert Hanssen was Soviet Union spy and after the collapse of this country become Russian spySergei SkripalGRU agentRussia2010GRU colonel who in the late 1990s was director of the agency personnel department and on this time he revealed many intelligence secrets from Russia to MI6. For this espionage he was arrested in the 2004 and two years later sentenced to 13 years in prison. Defected to United Kingdom in the result exchange of prisoners between U.S. and Russia. After defect survived an assassination attemptAlexander DubininGRU agentRussia2013GRU agent who in the early 2010s was scout of the ; defected to Ukraine where was arrested in the 2014 for allegedly espionage and sentence to 13 years in prison but later acquitted. After acquitted entered the Russo-Ukrainian warFSB agentRussia2014FSB senior lieutenant of the Border Service who in the early 2010s was at first detective in Dagestan and later inspector in Primorsky Krai; defected to Ukraine and entered the War in Donbas and Russo-Ukrainian warIlya PonomarevState Duma memberRussia2014Centre-left politic from end 2000s who vote against annexation of Crimea and openly spoke out against Vladimir Putin; defected at first to U.S. and later to Ukraine where entered the Russo-Ukrainian warDenis VoronenkovFormer State Duma memberRussia2016Centre-left politic from early 2010s who after leaving office openly spoke out against Vladimir Putin; defected to Ukraine; assassinatedOleg SmolenkovPresidential Administration officialRussia2017From early 2010s he was counselor of the 3rd class of the Higher Group and chief assistant Yuri Ushakov; defected to U.S. via Montenegro; revealed some political secrets from RussiaGennady GudkovFormer State Duma memberRussia2019Centre politic from early 2000s to the early 2010s who openly spoke out against Vladimir Putin; defected to BulgariaPavel LatushkoMinistry of Foreign Affairs diplomatBelarus2020From the early to end 2010s he was a Belarus ambassador extraordinary in the France, Spain, Portugal and Monaco; defected to Poland after support Belarusian protests in the 2020Dmitry GudkovFormer State Duma memberRussia2021Centre politic from early to the mid-2010s who not voted for annexation of Crimea and openly spoke out against Vladimir Putin; defected to Bulgaria via UkraineBoris BondarevMinistry of Foreign Affairs diplomatRussia2022From the end 2010s he was counsellor in Permanent representative to the United Nations Office and other International Organizations in Geneva, Switzerland; defected to SwitzerlandDenis Sharonov Former agriculture minister of the Komi Republic Russia 2022 Defected to the U.S. via Kyrgyzstan, the United Arab Emirates, and Mexico to avoid conscription in the Russian Army following the invasion of Ukraine, which he blamed on his falling out with officials of the regional governmentGleb IrisovFormer TASS journalistRussia2022In the early 2020s he was military correspondent; defected to U.S. via Armenia, Georgia, Turkey and finally Mexico and revealed some intelligence secrets from Russia and IranGazprom employeeUkraine2022From the mid-2010s he was vice president of the Gazprombank; defected to Ukraine and entered the Russo-Ukrainian warMarina OvsyannikovaFormer Channel One journalistUkraine2022From the early 2000s she was a news producer; defected to FranceMikhail KasyanovFormer prime minister of RussiaRussia2022Held his position from the early to mid 2000s and after leaving office openly spoke out against Vladimir Putin; defected to LatviaPavel FilatyevVDV soldierRussia2022VDV senior sergeant who in the early 2020s was paratrooper of the 56th Guards Air Assault Regiment; defected to France; revealed some military secrets from RussiaIgor SalikovGRU agentRussia2023GRU major who in the mid-2010s participated in the supplies of weapons to pro-Russia separatist during the War in Donbas and after he took part in the initial stage of the Russo-Ukrainian war; defected to Netherlands via Turkey and Northern Cyprus and revealed some intelligence secrets from RussiaMaksim KuzminovVKS pilotRussia2023Attack pilot of the of the Eastern Military District; defected to Ukraine in a Mi-8AMTSh helicopter during the Russo-Ukrainian war; assassinatedAlexey ZhilyaevSV soldierRussia2024SV sergeant who in the mid-2020s was medic of the 144th Guards Motor Rifle Division; defected to France and revealed many military secrets from Russia
See also List of Soviet and Eastern Bloc defectors
References