Russian president Vladimir Putin has denied that the two suspects accused by Britain of carrying out the Salisbury Novichok poisonings were agents of the GRU, Russia's Military Intelligence Agency. However, anyone wishing to penetrate the cloak of secrecy surrounding the sinister spy organisation will be signing up to hear a former GRU spy tell all at two study day seminars in London this November, organised and led by Historical Trips, which is part of the Specialist Journeys group.

The Salisbury-based travel company Historical Trips has secured the services of Dr. Boris Volodarsky, a former GRU officer turned espionage historian, to address audiences at the seminars in exclusive London clubs on November 8th and 16th on the subject of 'The Spying Game'. Participants will hear Boris reveal his expert insider knowledge of the murderous methods used by his former employers, and will also take a bus ride around historic Cold War spy sites in London. 

Since the news of the Salisbury poisonings broke back in March this year, interest in Historical Trips' 'The Spying Game' Study Day grew so intensely that the first event sold out. A second date, of 16th November, has now been put on sale and is expected to fill quickly. Historical Trips is also planning a full scale Cold War tour of the spy cities of Europe – namely Berlin, Vienna and Budapest – in 2019, also led by Dr. Boris Volodarsky. 

Dr. Volodarsky spent seven years at Soviet spy schools in the 1980s, training for a career as a GRU spy. When the Cold War ended, he came to the West and embarked upon a new career as a historian of espionage, gaining a PhD at the London School of Economics. Among his books is an account of the polonium poisoning of another former Russian spy, Alexander Litvinenko, which took place in London. 

Speaking about this groundbreaking Study Day, Historical Trips' co-founder Nigel Jones said: “As an insider, there is little that Boris doesn't know about the methods of the GRU and spycraft more generally. With alleged GRU men walking the streets of Britain on their deadly missions, these Study Day seminars provide a rare chance to bring their secrets out of the shadows."

The Spying Game | 16th November, 2018 | £150 per person - click the link for full details: 

https://www.historicaltrips.com/tour/89/UnitedKingdom/The-Spying-Game---London.html 

- ends -

Notes to editors 

Historical Trips, part of the Specialist Journeys group, was founded in 2010 by historians Nigel Jones, Roger Moorhouse and Michael Ivey. Their mission was to take small groups of interested (and interesting) guests to places in both the UK and around the world where history happened. More than a holiday in history, top historians like Dr. David Starkey, Dr. Suzannah Lipscomb and Prof. Gary Sheffield put the places they visit in context, giving guests an unrivalled expert picture of the past and - to quote the company's motto - the "history that shaped us".

For more information, call Historical Trips on 01722 713820 or visit https://www.historicaltrips.com/

For further media information, contact: Martha Whatley, Content Marketing and PR Executive, martha@specialistjourneys.com