Illya Kuryakin is a fictional character from the 1960s TV spy series The Man from U.N.C.L.E. He is a secret agent with a range of weapons and explosives skills, and is described in the series as holding a Master's degree from the Sorbonne and a Ph.D in Quantum Mechanics from the University of Cambridge ("The Her Master's Voice Affair"). Kuryakin speaks many languages, including French, Spanish ("The Very Important Zombie Affair"), German, Arabic, Italian and Japanese ("The Cherry Blossom Affair"). The series was remarkable for pairing an American character, Napoleon Solo, with the Russian Kuryakin as two spies who work together for an international espionage organization at the height of the Cold War.
