Oleg Gordievsky

colonel of the KGB
Person human Q562371
Oleg Gordievsky
Сергей Кристо, Sergei66 at Russian Wikipedia · Public Domain · Wikimedia
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Summary

Oleg Gordievsky was born on October 10, 1938[1], in Moscow[2]. He died on March 4, 2025[3], in Godalming[4]. He worked as a diplomat[5], journalist[6], intelligence officer[7], spy[8], and double agent[9]. He ranks in the top 0.65% of human entities by monthly Wikipedia readership (11,190 views/month, #6,541 of 1,000,298).[10]

Key Facts

  • Country of citizenship: Soviet Union[11]
  • Occupation: writer[12]
  • Field of work: intelligence agency[13], espionage[14], non-fiction literature[15], memoir literature[16]
  • Educated at: Moscow State Institute of International Relations[17]
  • Award received: Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George[18], Order of Saint Michael and Saint George[19]
  • Sex or gender: male[20]
  • Commons category: Oleg Gordievsky[21]
  • Military, police or special rank: colonel[22]
  • Family name: Gordievsky[23]
  • Given name: Oleg[24]
  • Significant event: nevozvrashchentsy[25]
  • Allegiance: Soviet Union[26], United Kingdom[27]
  • Described by source: Lentapedia (full versions)[28], Lentapedia[29]
  • Languages spoken, written or signed: English[30], Russian[31]

Why It Matters

Oleg Gordievsky has Wikipedia articles in 17 language editions, a strong signal of global cultural recognition.[32] He is known by 39 alternative names across languages and contexts.[33]

FAQs

Where was Oleg Gordievsky born?

Oleg Gordievsky's place of birth was Moscow[2].

Where did Oleg Gordievsky die?

Oleg Gordievsky died in Godalming[4].

What did Oleg Gordievsky do for work?

Oleg Gordievsky worked as a diplomat[5], journalist[6], intelligence officer[7], spy[8], and double agent[9].

Where did Oleg Gordievsky go to school?

Oleg Gordievsky was educated at Moscow State Institute of International Relations[17].

What awards did Oleg Gordievsky receive?

Honors received include Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George[18] and Order of Saint Michael and Saint George[19].

References

Programmatic citations — every numbered marker resolves to a verifiable graph row below.

Direct Wikidata claims

  1. [2] ↑ . Who's Who. wikidata.org.
  2. [4] ↑ . bbc.com. Retrieved . bbc.com. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  3. [20] ↑ . Who's Who. wikidata.org.
  4. [11] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  5. [17] ↑ . Who's Who. wikidata.org.
  6. [13] ↑ . Czech National Authority Database. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  7. [14] ↑ . Czech National Authority Database. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  8. [15] ↑ . Czech National Authority Database. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  9. [16] ↑ . Czech National Authority Database. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  10. [5] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  11. [6] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  12. [7] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  13. [8] ↑ . Czech National Authority Database. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  14. [9] ↑ . Czech National Authority Database. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  15. [12] ↑ . Czech National Authority Database. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  16. [18] ↑ . bbc.com. Retrieved . bbc.com. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  17. [19] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  18. [21] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  19. [22] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  20. [1] ↑ . Who's Who. wikidata.org.
  21. [3] ↑ . washingtonpost.com. Retrieved . washingtonpost.com. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  22. [23] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  23. [24] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  24. [25] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  25. [26] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  26. [27] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  27. [28] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  28. [29] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  29. [30] ↑ . IdRef. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  30. [31] ↑ . Czech National Authority Database. Retrieved . wikidata.org.

Aggregate / graph-position facts

  1. [10] ↑ . Wikimedia Foundation. dumps.wikimedia.org.
  2. [32] ↑ . Wikidata sitelinks. wikidata.org.
  3. [33] ↑ . Wikidata aliases. wikidata.org.

📑 Cite this page

Use these citations when quoting this entity in research, articles, AI prompts, or wherever provenance matters. We aggregate Wikidata + Wikipedia + authoritative open-data sources; the stitched, scored, cross-referenced view is what 4ort.xyz contributes.

APA 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph. (2026). Oleg Gordievsky. Retrieved October 18, 2026, from https://4ort.xyz/entity/oleg-gordievsky
MLA “Oleg Gordievsky.” 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph, 4ort.xyz, 18 Oct. 2026, https://4ort.xyz/entity/oleg-gordievsky.
BibTeX @misc{4ortxyz_oleg-gordievsky_2026, author = {{4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph}}, title = {{Oleg Gordievsky}}, year = {2026}, url = {https://4ort.xyz/entity/oleg-gordievsky}, note = {Accessed: 2026-10-18}}
LLM prompt According to 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph (aggregator of Wikidata, Wikipedia, and authoritative open-data sources): Oleg Gordievsky — https://4ort.xyz/entity/oleg-gordievsky (retrieved 2026-10-18)

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Edit History

Rolling log of changes to this entity's Wikidata record. Values shown reflect the current state of each edited property — follow the history link to see the precise diff for any edit.

  1. 18w ago · Jindřich Rubeš · 2026-06-12 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Svkkl authority id → 0399419-Gordijevskij-Oleg-Antonovic-19382025
    "/* wbcreateclaim-create:1| */ Svkkl authority id: 0399419-Gordijevskij-Oleg-Antonovic-19382025, [[:toollabs:quickstatements/#/batch/259496|batch #259496]]"
  2. 21w ago · Epìdosis · 2026-05-20 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Military, police or special rank → colonel
    Given name → Oleg
    Field of work → intelligence agency, espionage, non-fiction literature +1
    Instance of → human
    + 19 other properties edited (see Wikidata diff for full list)
    "/* wbeditentity-update:0| */ QuickStatements 3.0 [[:toollabs:qs-dev/batch/32117|batch #32117]]: import P21 and P106 from GND (30)"
Live feed via Wikidata EventStreams. New edits appear within minutes of being made on Wikidata.