KVI

KVI
Also called:	Комитет внеземных исследований / Committee for Extraterrestrial Research / Bureau for Extraterrestrial Research
Affiliation:	Russian Government Soviet Government
Bases:	Secret headquarters outside Wales, Siberia, Secret office in Moscow
Leader:	Ilya Goloshchyokin, Maxim Ivanov
Notable members:	Pavel Yezhov, Ivan Putin, Tatiana Rogozhin, Yevgeny
First appearance:	Trace Memory [+]Loading...["Trace Memory (novel)"]
Appearances:	AUDIO: Fallout AUDIO: Zone 10 AUDIO: The Torchwood Archive AUDIO: How I Conquered the World AUDIO: Ascension

The KVI (in Russian, Комитет внеземных исследований, pronounced Komitet Vnezemnih Issledovaniy, translated as the Committee for Extraterrestrial Research (AUDIO: Fallout ^[+]Loading...["Fallout (audio story)"]) or Bureau for Extraterrestrial Research (AUDIO: Zone 10 ^[+]Loading...["Zone 10 (audio story)"]) was a Russian/Soviet organisation, set up to study alien activities.

According to Ivan Putin's account, it was set up by Tsar Alexander, a contemporary of Queen Victoria, after he learned of the establishment of the Torchwood Institute. (AUDIO: The Torchwood Archive ^[+]Loading...["The Torchwood Archive (audio story)"]) According to another account, it was established during the reign of his successor, Nicholas II, after the Tunguska Event of 1908 and did not yet have its later name.

In the 1920s, following the October Revolution, the organisation was remade into the KVI.

In 1927, a Vondraxian orb was found in Siberia. At some point, someone was exposed to the tachyons inside. The KVI tried to harvest the tachyons, but after the person died, the tachyons were lost. After this, the KVI started studying the history of the Vondraxian Orbs. (PROSE: Trace Memory ^[+]Loading...["Trace Memory (novel)"])

To keep up with rival powers in the alien technology race, the KVI worked with the Committee for many years, falling under their influence. In 1965, they rebelled against them resulting in a 32 minute war with the Committee. The Committee decisively won, creating Zone 10 with a time bomb, with the KVI using cosmonaut Anna Volokova as a bargaining chip to end the war. (AUDIO: Zone 10 ^[+]Loading...["Zone 10 (audio story)"])

By 1967, Kenneth Valentine had defected from Torchwood Institute and had started to help the KVI. They set up a hidden base in Wales, in a warehouse for Hamilton's Sugar. In 1967, Hugo Faulkner had contacted them about Jack Harkness' immortality, so the KVI kidnapped him and Michael Bellini (who happened to be with him at the time). Though they planned to have them both brought to Russia for study, the Vondrax attacked, killing much of the personnel and allowing Jack and Michael to escape. The survivors were later arrested by Torchwood. (PROSE: Trace Memory ^[+]Loading...["Trace Memory (novel)"])

After the break-up of the Soviet Union, the KVI’s influence declined in favour of the FSB. (AUDIO: Zone 10 ^[+]Loading...["Zone 10 (audio story)"])

In 2007, after Jack Harkness‘ exposure of Neil Redmond's duplicate, the KVI discovered numerous oligarchs’ lovers were Ovid dolls controlled by the Committee. (AUDIO: The Torchwood Archive ^[+]Loading...["The Torchwood Archive (audio story)"]) Torchwood Three agent Toshiko Sato made a deal with Director Maxim Ivanov to investigate the Pulse in return for information Torchwood had recovered from Redmond. She decoded the Pulse when she visited their office in Moscow. Ivanov travelled with her into Zone 10 where they found Anna, who had been returned there by the Committee. They were pursued by the FSB, who were aware of Anna’s presence and wanted to silence her. Ivanov was killed by the FSB and Anna launched in her old rocket, sending a final message to Tosh which became the Pulse. Tosh escaped with a gift from the Committee that Anna had been given for Torchwood, Object 1. (AUDIO: Zone 10 ^[+]Loading...["Zone 10 (audio story)"])

Mr Colchester was invited to eat in London with Ruslana of the KVI (which he referred to as “Russian Torchwood”), who attempted to poison him. He hired three assassins and trained a gun on her, forcing her to eat from a selection of cakes, one of which contained an Elroy particle. (AUDIO: How I Conquered the World ^[+]Loading...["How I Conquered the World (audio story)"])

Behind the scenes

For an ultimately unproduced story by Gareth Roberts for The Sarah Jane Adventures, the KVI or "Russian Torchwood" would have tracked alien activity to Ealing as part of a covert operation, and would have captured Haresh and Gita Chandra due to a mix-up. The Chandras would be taken to Siberia, and Sarah Jane Smith would have to rescue them. An alternative version of this story would have involved the Bannerman Road attic being attacked and Sarah Jane, Luke Smith, and K9 being captured. This untitled story was planned for series 4, but was unproduced for various reasons. (REF: DWMSE 32, p. 63)