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==Early life and recruitment to KGB==
Kuzichkin was born in Moscow in 1947 to a large family.{{sfn|Kuzichkin|1991|p=4}} He joined the [[Soviet Army]] and was stationed in [[East Germany]] for three years. Upon exiting the service, Kuzichkin enrolled at the [[Institute of Asian and African Countries]], where he studied Iranian history and [[
While still at the institute, Kuzichkin took an opportunity to travel to Iran and work as an interpreter for the [[Ministry of Foreign Trade (Soviet Union)|Ministry of Foreign Trade]]; before his departure, Kuzichkin was recruited into intelligence service by the KGB.{{sfn|Kuzichkin|1991|pp=17-19}} He arrived in Iran near the end of 1973, and spent a year working as interpreter at an iron mine in [[Bafq]] and completing his thesis.{{sfn|Kuzichkin|1991|pp=19-34}}
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==Revolution, defection and aftermath==
Kuzichkin worked in the 'N Line' at the residency in Tehran, responsible for overseeing and protecting the activities of the KGB's illegal agents. His time in Iran (1977-1982) coincided with a period of political turmoil for the Soviets in the Middle East, centered around the [[Iranian Revolution]] and the [[Soviet invasion of Afghanistan]] in 1979. The new [[Khomeini]] regime in Iran at first tolerated the Soviets and Iranian leftist groups, but grew increasingly hostile.<ref name="Asinovsky">{{cite journal |last1=Asinovskiy |first1=Dmitry |title="A Priest does not consider the toppling of the Shah as an option" The KGB and the revolution in Iran |journal=Iranian Studies |date=October 2022 |volume=55 |issue=4 |pages=929–951 |doi=10.1017/irn.2022.23 |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/iranian-studies/article/priest-does-not-consider-the-toppling-of-the-shah-as-an-option-the-kgb-and-the-revolution-in-iran/AA4B1304FF407BAA401A17F5BDCA9851 |access-date=28 August 2023 |language=en |issn=0021-0862|doi-access=free }}</ref> In Afghanistan, the Soviet Union supported the ruling Marxist-Leninist [[People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan]] and its efforts to radically reform the country, which prompted widespread revolt. Soviet leadership and the KGB decided to assassinate and replace PDPA leader [[Hafizullah Amin]] with a more moderate option. Against the recommendation of the KGB, [[Brezhnev]] initiated for a full-scale invasion of Afghanistan in 1979.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Kuzichkin |first1=Vladimir |title=The Soviets: Coups and Killings in Kabul |url=https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,955063,00.html |access-date=28 August 2023 |work=Time |date=22 November 1982}}</ref>
On 1 January 1980, Kuzichkin was present when a group of civilians rushed the Soviet embassy in Tehran, apparently in response to the invasion of Afghanistan.{{sfn|Kuzichkin|1991|pp=320-321}} They were repelled by the [[Iranian Revolutionary Guard]], but leadership at the embassy ordered the destruction of all secret documents and equipment.{{sfn|Kuzichkin|1991|pp=321-323}} Foreign embassies were on high-alert after the beginning of the [[Iran hostage crisis]]. On 27 April 1980, the anniversary of the [[Saur Revolution]], there was another attack on the Soviet embassy, and this time the assailants were able to penetrate embassy property and cause damage; the assailants were arrested by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and no one was hurt.{{sfn|Kuzichkin|1991|pp=326-328}} The [[Iran-Iraq war]] began in September 1980, and gave the Khomeini regime pretense for cracking down on opposition at home.<ref name="Asinovsky" />{{sfn|Kuzichkin|1991|p=350}} It was under these circumstances that Kuzichkin and the head of the Soviet residence, [[Leonid Shebarshin]], created and hid a secret cache of intelligence; they photographed important documents and hid the undeveloped film in the wall of the residency.{{sfn|Kuzichkin|1991|p=363}}
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After making it to London, Kuzichkin was debriefed by MI6 and the CIA. The CIA shared details about Soviet agents in Iran with the Khomeini regime, who in turn arrested and executed nearly 200 people.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Woodward |first1=Bob |title=CIA Curried Favor With Khomeini, Exiles |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1986/11/19/cia-curried-favor-with-khomeini-exiles/9cc0073c-0522-44e8-9eb8-a0bd6bd708d1/ |access-date=27 August 2023 |work=Washington Post |date=19 November 1986}}</ref> Most of those arrested or killed were members of the [[Tudeh Party]], with their leadership also arrested and forced to apologize on a televised broadcast. 18 Soviet diplomats were officially expelled from Iran.<ref name="Rusbridger"/>
Defectors have always been a volatile commodity, and while some, such as Oleg Lyalin, adjust to their new life, others, such as the KGB officers Vladimir Kuzichkin and Viktor Makarov, found the process challenging. Both developed mental health issues, and Kuzichkin was once discovered stark naked in a motorway service station in Somerset, resulting in his immediate hospitalisation. <ref>[https://gulfnews.com/opinion/op-eds/drinking-from-moscows-poisoned-chalice-1.2185226] Gulf News, 09 March 2018</ref>
After the publication of Kuzichkin's memoir, ''Inside the KGB'', [[Ali Agca]] claimed that Major Kuzichkin ordered him to kill [[John Paul II]].<ref>[http://www.rp.pl/artykul/15,657323_Andrzej_Grajewski_o_sowieckim_sladzie_w_zamachy_na_JP_II.html Strzelał nie tylko Ali Agca?] ''Rzeczpospolita'', Eva Losinska, 13 May 2011</ref>
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