Research: Vladimir Ippolitovich Vetrov

One of my main characters (out of the two) of Novikof is Vladimir Ippolitovitch Vetrov, the most famous KGB double agent for the US in the Cold War. The information he gave Reagan is widely considered to have saved the world from nuclear annihilation. I wanted Vetrov's character to be largely historically accurate, so I watched a historical documentary on him for baseline learning. 

Shadow Ops - Military Channels

I also read Farewell: The Greatest Spy Story of the Twentieth Century by Sergei Kostin and Eric Raynaud

Here is the book when it arrived in the mail:

Here one can see that the year mentioned is 1981, but my movie takes place in 1983. This is because Vetrov started in the KBG earlier than both years (and was thus able to acquire a lot of experience in spycraft, becoming a well-respected member of the KGB) and because he had been giving Reagan information for a few years (in my plot) before Novikof came into the picture.

Here the book talks about Ludmilla, Vetrov's girlfriend, right after he stabbed her. He thought she was dead, but, historically, in truth, she called for help and told authorities his license plate number. This lead to Vetrov's end. 

This shows Vetrov's death certificate, showing that he died by a gun shot in Lefortovo Prison in Moscow, accused of treason by espionage.