More than two thousand declassified material, including previously unknown photographs of Soviet spies in Britain, made during the surveillance were included in the first and official history of the British security service MI-5, written by Professor Christopher Andrew of Cambridge University.

On Monday, the book “Defence of the Realm”, on which Andrew have been working since 2002 and presented to the 100 anniversary of MI-5, was published. For the first time in the history of the British security service has provided free access to all preserved archival documents of service – almost 400 thousand files, many of whom are still kept classified.

Presenting the book to journalists, the author admitted that the creation of the first official “biography” “was quite nervous work.” For more than a thousand pages of Andrew tells how MI-5 was preparing for World War I and in a few weeks identified all known German spies in the United Kingdom, as suspected of having links with the KGB, the British trade union leader Jack Jones, and as officers reported to the Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain that Hitler called him back  “asshole”.

“Every day, working on documents, now and then I thought:” Oh my God! I had no idea about this! “- Told the author.

In the book collected unique photographs from the archives of the MI-5, including encryption and photographs made during the surveillance, one of the last photographs of the Soviet “grandmother-spy” Melita Norwood and a handwritten letter to her with words of support for its controller Sony Ursula Burton.

The book also tells the story of a Soviet naval attache in London, part-time Soviet spy Eugene Ivanov. Andrew also included in the book Ivanov’s note to “a certain woman with whom he wanted to meet”, written by a bright pink lipstick on a sheet of paper.

The former head of MI-5, Sir Stephen Lander, in 2002, authorizing the writing of the book and gave Andrew access to the archives, said that MI-5 became the first western security services, which implemented a similar project.

According to him, the staff of MI-5 is always “encouraged to stay as far from the public and publicity.”

“But times have changed. We are in the service are fully aware that MI-5 is also changed, and we need to work differently. Work on the book began after the Sept. 11, after our troops were in Afghanistan. We realized that much of This should be explained to people, “- explained his decision to give the green light this project.

“Defense of the Realm” begins with a story about the origins of MI-5, established in October 1909 and then consisted of two employees. The main task then was to protect the life of the kingdom of Germany, then Soviet Russia – and their allies within the UK.

The end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union changed the structure itself and the British Security Service. For the first time in its history, priority of MI-5 has become the anti-terrorist activities – first struggle was against the Irish Republican Army, and later – against the Islamists.