Russian to get here!

Feb 22 2007 By James Cartledge, Birmingham Mail

WATCH out - the Russians are coming.

Or at least they planned to in the Cold War, according to newly released Soviet maps which revealed the KGB knew Birmingham and the Black Country as well as any Midlander.

The region was considered a major military target and spying missions from behind the Iron Curtain helped document every street, bridge and canal towpath.

Experts who studied the maps said Red Army tank patrols would have known the way to every front door in Birmingham and the Midlands' other large towns and cities.

The mapping work only stopped 1997, long after the collapse of the Soviet Communist empire.

Russian map expert John Davies said generations of Soviet leaders devoted themselves to detailing locations across the world as part of a huge military operation.

"The Soviet military set about mapping the whole world," he said. "It was a mammoth task which took more than 50 years before, during and after the Cold War.

"Very little is known about how the organisation was structured and how such incredible results were achieved.

"Certainly the operation was militarily driven and very well controlled, achieving spectacular results. If the purpose was world domination it was ultimately futile, but the maps are a fascinating legacy."

The maps were made from 1950 and were believed to have been developed using aerial photos, satellite images and even spies.

Walsall, West Bromwich, Wolverhampton and Worcester were also among the other locations captured by Soviet mapping experts.