Peter MacDonald
In a little known but deeply revealing account, former Labour Party stalwart Sir Bob Harvey offered a glimpse into the hidden world of Cold War espionage that touched New Zealand more deeply than many realise. Published in a New Zealand magazine some years ago, Harvey’s reflections exposed Soviet infiltration, covert surveillance and even the alleged presence of a young Vladimir Putin on New Zealand soil in the 1980s.
Harvey, a central figure in the Labour Party during the politically turbulent 1970s and 1980s, recalled being handed a confidential dossier in the mid-1980s compiled by New Zealand’s intelligence services that laid out disturbing findings. This dossier detailed a web of Soviet espionage activities focused on Wellington and surrounding regions. It didn’t just mention anonymous KGB agents, but went so far as to name Vladimir Putin, then a little known KGB officer who had allegedly operated in New Zealand under diplomatic cover.
According to Harvey, Putin’s official status was that of a minor Soviet diplomat. But his real cover, the dossier claimed, was even more obscure: he posed as a Bata shoe salesman, moving easily through Wellington’s left-wing circles and Labour Party functions while feeding intelligence back to Moscow. This unassuming guise allowed him to quietly observe, infiltrate, and assess the political climate of a country that had recently taken an independent stand on nuclear weapons a move that had drawn Soviet interest as much as it had alarmed Western allies.
The Lermontov Connection
One of the most dramatic threads in the dossier concerned the Mikhail Lermontov, a Soviet cruise liner with covert intelligence gathering roles. Far from being merely a tourist vessel, the Lermontov had been used to conduct surveillance along New Zealand’s coastlines in the 1980s. When the ship sank in Marlborough Sounds in 1986, shocking the nation, official narratives focused on human error.
But behind the scenes the intelligence world buzzed with speculation. Harvey’s account suggested the Lermontov was a KGB platform used to intercept communications, gather military intelligence, and monitor the political atmosphere especially the growing influence of Labour, unions and anti-nuclear sentiment. The idea that Putin may have been stationed in Wellington during the legal inquests following the disaster added an eerie layer to the tale. It was even rumoured, Harvey noted, that the NZ Security Intelligence Service (SIS) may have known or even played a role in the ship’s demise.
Soviet Eyes on Labour
Throughout the Cold War the Soviet Union tracked leftist movements around the globe and New Zealand’s Labour Party, trade unions and activists were no exception. Figures like Bill Andersen, a staunch unionist with clear sympathies for the USSR, and Bill Sutch, the senior economist and public servant charged (but never convicted) of passing information to the Soviets, were central figures in Soviet intelligence assessments.
The dossier described how Putin and other KGB agents established networks of trust with sympathetic individuals in the New Zealand left, often without them realising the true nature of their contacts. These informants helped the Soviets build a detailed understanding of the country’s foreign policy posture, defence arrangements and its future political leadership.
A Watchful Eye on Helen Clark
What stands out in Harvey’s recollection is the apparent interest shown by Soviet operatives in Helen Clark, who was rising through Labour’s ranks in the 1980s. Harvey recounted conversations with colleagues like Jonathan Hunt and the late Bob Tizard, who noted that Putin had expressed fascination with Clark’s mixture of intellectual confidence and principled activism. She reminded them, Putin allegedly said, of a Joan Baez-type figure, idealistic but politically savvy.
Although there is no suggestion Clark knowingly engaged with Soviet agents, the account suggests that the Soviets saw her as a potential long-term influence point in New Zealand politics. Attempts to make indirect contact reportedly occurred, though they never moved beyond soft approaches.
Putin Returns
Years later, in 1999, Vladimir Putin, now ascending the ranks of Russian politics, made an official visit to New Zealand. According to Harvey, this wasn’t just a diplomatic courtesy call. It was, in part, a return to old haunts. Putin visited Wellington and Auckland, walking through areas he had known in a very different capacity years earlier. Observers noted that he appeared strangely nostalgic perhaps even sentimental for a place where he had once walked in anonymity.
For New Zealand’s intelligence community, this visit confirmed suspicions long held in classified files: that Putin’s links to New Zealand ran deeper than anyone had publicly acknowledged. His quiet movements through the country in the 1980s, particularly through political events, cultural functions and working-class spaces, had not gone unnoticed. Now, as a powerful Russian leader, his presence carried new symbolic weight.
A Hidden Chapter in New Zealand’s Cold War History
Sir Bob Harvey’s account reveals a haunting truth: New Zealand was never too small to matter in global affairs. Through the Cold War lens, it was seen as a testing ground – a place with a strong democratic tradition, a rising left, and an independent foreign policy that set it apart from the superpowers.
The presence of the Mikhail Lermontov, the covert roles of its crew, and the alleged espionage activities of a young Putin form part of a chilling yet captivating narrative. One that suggests that international politics was never just out there, it was here and woven quietly into our own national story.
Today, many of these stories remain unverified, their evidence buried in redacted reports and whispers. But, as Harvey’s account reminds us, history is often shaped not only by what happens in the open but by what occurs in the shadows.
