Most of Vartanyan’s work, however, remains secret to this day. After the war he worked alongside his wife, Goar; they had met when she was 13, and he recruited her when she became an adult. They married in 1946, and, according to the SVR (successor to the KGB), they worked undercover together for 30 years in Europe, Asia and the United States. They returned to the Soviet Union in 1986, Goar retiring shortly afterwards. Vartanyan continued to work for the service until 1992.