Soviet defector Alexandra Costa sported a blonde wig and sunglasses to disguise herself during an interview with Ted Koppel on Nightline in November 1985.
Alexandra’s name in the Soviet Union was Yelena Mitrokhina, and after graduating with a degree in Scandinavian languages, she found work in an ultra-secretive school for foreigners who would be trained to conduct covert action in their home countries. Yelena taught classes on Marxist philosophy but was not involved in the tradecraft aspects of their training. Many of her students went on to be arrested or killed upon returning to their home countries.
In the mid-1970s she and her husband Lev Mitrokhin were selected to serve at the Soviet Embassy in Washington DC, where they would work in publishing and international copyright issues. Their time was spent trying to find a market for Soviet authors in the United States, with little success.
Because her husband Lev had never learned to drive, Yelena purchased an Oldsmobile and loved the mobility and freedom it provided. But unbeknownst to her, FBI counterintelligence suspected she was a KGB agent operating undercover, because it was so unusual for an embassy wife to be driving herself around.
One day in 1978, while taking the car in for service, she struck up a conversation with a friendly and personable salesman at the dealership. That initial conversation led to a deep friendship, to the point that she was making excuses to take the car in for service as often as possible. Soon they were dining together in out of the way restaurants where they wouldn’t be seen together.
That’s when the FBI swooped in to make their pitch. Yelena’s time in the US was drawing to a close, and she very much wanted to stay in the US. With their assistance, she became the first successful defector from the Soviet embassy in Washington DC in 40 years.
For episode 35 of the Spycraft 101 podcast, I spoke to Alexandra about life in the Soviet Union, the slow approach the FBI used to draw her in, and the consequences of her decision to defect with her two children.
Get Alexandra’s book here: https://amzn.to/3EMiRcm
Support this podcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/spycraft101
Spycraft101 on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/spycraft101
The Ultimate Spycraft and Espionage Reading List: https://amzn.to/3XkWRNh
Find the Spycraft 101 book series here: https://shop.spycraft101.com/products/spy-shots-volume-i-101-true-tales-from-the-world-of-espionage
