Ilya Grigoryevich Dzhirkvelov (Russian: Илья Григорьевич Джирквелов; born 1927) was a Georgian author, journalist, TASS editor and former KGB agent who defected from the Soviet Union in 1980 and then lived in England.

[2] After his graduation, he was posted in Romania for several months, but was then recalled and reassigned to do work in the Middle East, primarily Turkey and Iran.

[3] While in Africa, Dzhirkvelov still kept in contact with the KGB and contributed to what could be characterised as a ‘disinformation campaign,’ such as discrediting the American Peace Corps by characterizing it as a front for the CIA.

He was recalled to Moscow where he served as chief foreign editor for TASS, but when in 1975 he was appointed as correspondent to Zambia, Zambian President Kenneth Kaunda refused him entry into the country, as Dzhirkvelov was identified as being involved with the KGB.

[8] Then he lived in London, England, and in 1988 published a book, Secret Servant: My life with the KGB and Soviet Elite.