I know the 'black budget' was partly released by the Washington Post a few years ago, but do we have any historical spy budgets? At any level would be good, but ideally I'd be interested in the budgets of individual intelligence officers during the Cold War-how much did bribes cost? Were moles paid highly, or did the intelligence services hold out for a bargain? What was the cost of operational equipment?
Fiction about the Cold War often shows spies as cheap, desperate people. How accurate is this?
I would strongly suggest you read The Spy Handler by Victor Cherkashin + Gregory Feifer for more details on how the Soviets recruited and paid US defectors.
Several parts mention the large amounts of cash that were paid to infamous defector Aldrich Ames and traitor Robert Hanssen. These men were high up in intelligence and law enforcement echelons, so that would justify large transactions.
Ames originally approached the KGB "offer information on CIA operations against the USSR in return for $50,000.” Hanssen claimed at one point to need $100,000 to develop a high level military asset in the USA.
Lesser assets (Such as Melita Norwood) developed by the Soviets could be paid as little as 20 GBP a month.
Edit: To learn more on Western Recruitment of Soviet assets - there are a few good books on the Petrov Affair - Assets were offered ~$5000 to defect