I didnt know where exactly I was supposed to meet the British, I only had a description of the meeting place, he said. The high-level KGB defector Oleg Gordievsky pleaded in vain with British intelligence to extract his family from the Soviet Union, top secret files reveal. Aleksander: Gordievsky, 53, was not at the airport to greet them, saying he preferred to meet them in private. Gordievsky says he first "dreamed" of living in London after the 20th party congress in 1956, when Khrushchev launched his famous denunciation of Stalin. Already, as they sped on the highway out of Moscow, KGB surveillance cars routinely tucked in behind them. Thank you for being part of the Gates Notes Insider community. All; Titles; TV Episodes; Celebs; We were boxed in. Operation Pimlico, a complex and risky escape plan to get him out of the Soviet Union in an emergency, had been triggered. She then dropped the soiled nappy next to the inquisitive Alsatian. Their wives, Caroline and Rachel, remained with the cars, trying to look casual. He would run for miles. Their note added that it was recognised that this would be hard for Hetman to accept. They had watched him leave, then lost him, but were too scared to report it. They sacked him from his job in London, but weve decided you may stay in the KGB, in a non-operational department. In the summer of 1985, Gordievsky managed to evade his captors and was smuggled out of Russia. The government was determined to expel them but hesitated as it bargained over the fate of Gordievskys family. He mentions George Blake a British spy who was a double agent for Moscow. He was sharp. The Soviets, convinced that NATO was getting ready for a surprise nuclear attack, prepared for nuclear war. Ascots Saab was once again in the lead. Please continue to the log in page. Meanwhile, his wife, Leila, was forced to live under effective house arrest in Moscow. It was a hair-raising journey featuring a KGB pursuit, a smelly nappy and a bag of crisps. Occasionally the digitization process introduces transcription errors or other problems; we are continuing to work to improve these archived versions. Author and historian Ben Macintyre reveals this incredible story of treachery and betrayal. Instead, he did something insane he stuck out his thumb and hitched a lift into Vyborg for a drink and a bite to eat. "I wanted to work for British intelligence and was looking for a chance to do so.". MI6s agent, however, eventually fell under suspicion, and was ordered back to Moscow and interrogated by the KGB. They managed to hide around the bend for a few minutes away from the KGB car following them from Leningrad. 32 never-before-seen variants have been detected in 13 states - and they are so mutated they could trigger 'concerning' outbreaks, Houston holds week-long NUCLEAR training exercise led by the FBI and the military to learn how best to deal with a nuke dropped on a US city, CBS 'was LOSING as much as $20 million a year on James Corden's The Late Late Show' where he earned up to $5M a year: 'The network couldn't afford him anymore', Scientists discover what happens seconds before you die - activity in the brain and heart RAMPS UP, Canceled? A double agent for MI6, Oleg Gordievsky helped avert a nuclear confrontation and bring about the end of the Cold War. In an act of monumental bravery, he decided to return with catastrophic consequences. All he had to do was inform the British of the proposed date of his extraction. Gordievsky should have remained hidden in the undergrowth. Here was a perfect circle of espionage. In 2010, 10 Russian agents, including the glamorous Anna Chapman, were caught in the US, and swapped for a Russian scientist convicted of working for Washington. At a town called Zelenogorsk, 30 miles from Leningrad, Gordievsky climbed off the train and took a bus for the next leg of his journey. It led to him being compromised. The pantheon of world-changing spies is small and select, and Oleg Gordievsky is in it: he opened up the inner workings of the KGB at a pivotal juncture in history, revealing not just what Soviet intelligence was doing (and not doing), but what the Kremlin was thinking and planning, and in so doing transformed the way the West thought about the Soviet Union. All rights reserved. Final part of the true-life story behind Britain's most valuable spy We crossed the border checkpoint and, as was agreed, the driver switched the rock music for [Finnish composer] Sibelius. Page https://www.gatesnotes.com:443/ secs = 0.0117396. (modern), Oleg Gordievsky in London in 1991. In 1991, Boris Yeltsin agreed to allow Gordievsky's wife and daughters to join him in UK. He ran through the full menu of surveillance-evasion techniques, jumping on a Metro train as the door closed, alighting after two stops, and then catching a train in the opposite direction. Thirty Years Later, We Still Don't Truly Know Who Betrayed These Spies hree decades ago, Oleg Gordievsky was dramatically smuggled out of the Soviet Union in the boot of a diplomatic car. Yeltsin enjoyed embarrassing the KGB, the former KGB man said. The couple divorced soon thereafter. I wanted to work for British intelligence and was looking for a chance to do so. The secrets and lies of Cold War spies - HistoryExtra Here, her daughter Helen reflects on what we can learn from her indomitable spirit. He made his way to the Finland station and boarded a train from there towards the Finnish border. He visited me at home seven times. It is an open question how effective Russia's modern spying operation really is. Oleg Gordievsky was made a Companion of the Order of Saint Michael and St George by The Queen at Buckingham Palace. To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter, edit or update them. After a furious debate inside MI6, the final decision on whether to go was left to Gordievsky. Gordievsky crawled into the undergrowth to wait. Former Russian KGB Colonel Oleg Gordiyevsky at a reception at Buckingham Palace, London. The daughter of a Russian. You can read our policy on moderating comments. Oleg Gordievsky is widely recognized as one of the most damaging double agents in the history of Soviet espionage. The Soviet officers scrutinised the passports for what seemed an age, before the barrier lifted and they were through. Documents released to the National Archives in Kew expose the complex calculations shaping cold war espionage, while politicians cultivated a thaw in personal relationships with Mikhail Gorbachev. Covert surveillance photographs of Oleg Gordievsky taken by the Danish intelligence service PET during his postings to Copenhagen. Following his latest summer reading list, heres a guide on where to start reading like a president. Enter the email you used to sign up and a reset password link will be sent to you. Olivia Wilde and Emily Ratajkowski BOTH going to Met Gala following Harry Styles 'betrayal' AND Kim Kardashian may have run-in with ex-boyfriendPete Davidson at event, Fans don't believe North West, nine, organized lavish pre-Met Gala gift for mom Kim Kardashian: 'What 9 year old would do this? '", "'What cars? In the boot, Gordievsky felt a judder as the Ford picked up speed. The double agent who changed the course of history | Ben Macintyre He would climb into the boot of one of the cars and be smuggled into Finland. I dived into a boot and the cars continued before the KGB car appeared from around the corner.". Asked if she would remarry Gordievsky, whom she divorced years ago under pressure from the KGB, she said: We will decide this together.. Surprisingly, the plan worked. Franci Epsteins extraordinary book follows her story from life as a young fashion designer to a prisoner in a Nazi concentration camp, before her escape in 1945. The surveillance cars caught up. the "horrible, horrible music" (294), as Oleg Gordievsky described the Greatest Hits of Dr. Hook the defecting KGB colonel and devotee of classical music now heard from his hiding spot in the car trunk the enchanting notes of Jean Sibelius' Finlandia coming from the cassette deck. Many felt Russia's blundering espionage ring was more of a joke than a threat to US security. While working for the CIA, he was a hard drinker, grumbled frequently about feeling unappreciated, racked up big debts, got divorced, and then immediately got remarried to a woman with a love of Jaguars and Nieman Marcus. An inquest into Litvinenko's murder will take place later this year. It was not until 1974 that he began his career as a double agent in Denmark. Or in the light of the Soviet response so far, do we give up? I dived into a boot and the cars continued before the KGB car appeared from around the corner. what happened to oleg penkovsky wife and child She placed her baby, Florence, on the car boot, directly over the hidden spy, and began changing her nappy which Florence, with immaculate timing, had just filled. But in the last two years they were able to speak briefly by telephone. I received a panicked telegram from the center with a clear intention to call me off on the pretext of approving my candidacy on the post of the [KGB] resident [in London], said Gordievsky. He was wrong. A number of spies were expelled by both Britain and the USSR. Please verify email address. Oleg Gordievsky Kirsty Young's castaway is former spy Oleg Gordievsky. Gordievsky said that he spoke to his family on the phone, but didnt tell the children he was their father. Rachel heard a low cough from the boot, and Gordievsky shifted his weight, rocking the car very slightly. The KGB driver in front did not like it. Oleg Gordievsky in 1980, when he was still a double-agent, the West's most valuable Cold War intelligence source, an interview with RFE/RL's Russian Service. Back in Moscow, the KGB had not made the connection between Gordievskys disappearance and the two British diplomats who had slipped away from an embassy function the previous evening. Gordievsky gave him what he hoped was a conspiratorial look. They surrounded the English: 'Right, that's it, now they're going to arrest us,' they thought. Click verification link sent to this email address or, If you would like to permanently delete your Gates Notes account and remove its content, please, The best memoir by a rock star I actually know, The best guide to getting out of your own way. Now there were just two Finnish border controls to pass not a foregone conclusion because Finland had an agreement with the Russians to turn over to the KGB any fugitives from the Soviet Union who fell into their hands. The options are a) 25, b) 9 with 16 others required to leave, c) 9 (foreign secretarys preference). Thatchers blue pen had circled 25. Were sorry to see you go. If Gordievsky found himself in trouble he was told to arm himself with a Safeway shopping bag and stand at a certain central Moscow street corner at exactly 7.30pm on a Tuesday. 2.30 passed. Unsure exactly where to get off but having passed a big bend in the road that resembled the meeting place, he feigned sickness and nausea to convince the driver to let him off, and walked back along the road until he found the designated meeting place. I dont want to spoil their peace of their soul, to spoil their situation in school, he said in explanation. Gordievsky said he was convinced that Putin was behind the 2006 assassination of his friend Alexander Litvinenko, who had defected to Britain in 2000. Menu. He managed to get word to his British handlers, who smuggled him across the Finnish border in the boot of a diplomatic car, an incident recalled in his gripping autobiography, Next Stop Execution. This nonfiction account focuses on Oleg Gordievsky, a KGB officer who became a double agent for the British, and Aldrich Ames, the American turncoat who likely betrayed him. Gordievsky, a KGB Colonel became the highest ranking defector in the Cold War when he first started spying for and later escaped to Britain. Gates Notes may send a welcome note or other exclusive Insider mail from time to time. He read it with growing apprehension. The issue was put bluntly: Do we continue to try to secure the release of his family? By The Newsroom Published 6th Apr 2008, 01:00 BST Oleg Gordievsky was. He worked as a double agent for the British secret service during the Cold War, between 1974 and 1985. He was on the run. Gordievsky said the operation to slip radioactive polonium-210 into Litvinenko's teacup was approved from the top. He was even designated rezident, the KGB's chief in Britain. He also came with Marina [Litvinenko's wife]. Equally horrible to Rachel was the smell coming from the boot a mixture of sweat, cheap soap, tobacco and beer. ", He added of Litvinenko: "He was absolutely in love with the Chechen people. In 1966 Blake escaped from Wormwood Scrubs prison and defected to the Soviet Union. Then a distinctive gush, as he decanted his lunchtime beers into the bottle. But ever since he became a double agent he had kept his secret life hidden from Leila; she had no idea he was working for the British. Gordievsky met "Dick", a British agent. $29.95. Gordievsky on the Baltic coast with Mikhail Lyubimov, a Russian novelist and retired colonel in the KGB. A meeting in the Oval Office between Oleg Gordievsky and President Ronald Reagan on July 21, 1987. Luckily, a slow goods train chugging through a railway crossing had separated the British diplomats from the KGB tail and put considerable distance between them. I said: Dont do that, get my family It was very, very, difficult.. The defection of Gordievsky was one of the UKs greatest security coups, delivering a stream of high-grade information. He locked the front door of his flat on Leninsky Prospekt in Moscow, closing it, as he recalled later, not only on my home and my possessions, but on my family and my life. Thousands of young Leftists from 157 countries were pouring into Moscow for the 12th World Festival of Youth and Students. He went on to travel the world explaining the KGB, writing books and appearing, in disguise, on TV. For example, Putins 2016 election interference comes straight out of the active measures playbook the KGB deployed against Margaret Thatcher in 1983. It felt relevant and interesting not just as a historical study but also for understanding the professional culture in which Vladimir Putin was raised. Gordievsky is scathing about the Soviet Union's leadership. Out on the road, he looked for a lift but there were no cars. Without disclosing the source of the intelligence, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was able to convince Reagan to soften his tone and halt further escalation. I learned about this episode from British journalist Ben Macintyres newest book, The Spy and the Traitor. Documents released by National Archives show British officials saw efforts to free Oleg Gordievskys family as a lost cause, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, 2023 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. A second rendezvous was planned at St. Photograph: News (UK) Ltd/Rex Features, Downing Street files reveal how Oliver Letwin kept poll tax plans alive, Thatcher considered UK chemical weapons programme, documents show, Home Office dismissed nuclear winter threat as scaremongering, files show, TheGuardian view of the poll tax papers: judgment on Oliver Letwin, Archive files show how Thatcher vetoes shaped 1985 Anglo-Irish agreement, National Archives: revelations from the released documents, Cabinet papers show Thatcher advisers struggle with Heseltine over Westland. [2] The reason two cars were making the journey was that MI6 believed Gordievsky was bringing his wife, Leila, and their two small daughters with him. It can only signal weakness to the Russians and encourage them to escalate their counter-threats.. After three hours of waiting in the forest, the escapee saw two cars with diplomatic plates. As the last military vehicle trundled across, he hit the accelerator, and drove like fury, with Gee on his tail. 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Its destination was the border town of Vyborg, 50 miles away, but he would get off 16 miles short at marker 836 (denoting the number of kilometres from Moscow) for the rendezvous with his MI6 minders. Oleg Gordievsky in 1980, when he was still a double-agent At five o'clock on a Friday afternoon on July 19, 1985, a short, thick-set man in a worn jacket and corduroy trousers stepped out of a . He took with him a backup escape plan written by British spy John Scarlett, the man who went on to become "M," the head of MI6. So did Arthur Gee in the Ford, maintaining a distance of just 50ft between them as they opened up a gap of more than 800 yards from their pursuers. Requesting an account deletion will permanently remove all of your profile content. The wife and daughters of Oleg Gordievsky arrived today in London to be reunited with him six years after he quit the K.G.B. When British intelligence officer Michael Bethany contacted the KGB with an offer of cooperation and passed sensitive documents, the KGB resident in London dismissed the offer, thinking it was a trap set by MI5. Twenty minutes later, the two British cars nosed onto a forestry road and stopped. This year has been brutal on so many levels. (Gordievsky speaks fluent German, as well as Swedish, Danish and English, which he learned last.) I have written inAgent Zigzag,Operation MincemeatandDouble Crossof the successful espionage and strategic deceptions that underpinned the Allied invasion of Sicily and the D-Day landings. Do not sell or share my personal information. However, Gordievsky soon separated from his wife. The British were mocking him. Then the two cars rejoined the road, and accelerated away. Play it now! The family were finally reunited in Britain on September 6, 1991, three months before the collapse of the Soviet Union. Leyla Gordievsky holding up large bottle of| champagne, daughters Maria and Anna on her lap| as Maria takes swig from bottle and woman sitting| beside them takes photograph| CMS Another bottle of. He asked to be dropped at marker 836, which perplexed the driver. Basil's Cathedral, where he was meant to pass a note to a British spy on the narrow staircase leading up to the iconic tourist site's second floor. For more than a decade, Gordievsky had. Pulling bed sheets over his head to elude surveillance cameras in the ceiling and walls of his Moscow apartment, Gordiyevsky soaked the book cover in water, revealing a set of instructions. He was smuggled out of the country and sentenced here to death in absentia. Putin and his people have not forgotten. It was in Denmark that the British MI6 approached the young Soviet undercover intelligence officer, who, it turned out, was himself seeking an opportunity to serve the crown. The cars funnelled towards the final barrier. At 4PM on the afternoon of July 19, 1985, Oleg Gordievsky dressed in a thin green sweater, faded green corduroy trousers and old brown shoes clothes hed selected from the back of the wardrobe in the hope that they might have escaped contamination by radioactive chemicals used by his KGB watchers to track him. Now this (barrier) is removed, he said. Show more Download Available now 45 minutes Fri 15 Feb 2008 09:00 BBC Radio 4 Music Played Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Piano. Asked whether he believed changes at home were irreversible, Gordievsky said, I believe it has changed for ever, but how profound the change is I still dont know., Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. By now, the men had returned with the completed paperwork. The entrance to the lay-by was 300 yards ahead, marked by a distinctive rock and with a screen of trees on the roadside. [After Grushkos questioning], two well-built fellows entered the room and offered to drink with them. As soon as the family completes the usual passport and exit paperwork, I think they will be able to go.. To notify the British about the need to initiate the exfiltration, Gordievsky shook off KGB surveillance and clandestinely met a British spy in the center of Moscow. He remains a passionate fan of Britain; he reads the Spectator and writes for the Literary Review. Anyone can read what you share. Even though 1918 was a very different time from today,The Great Influenzais a good reminder that we're still dealing with many of the same challenges. Oleg Gordievsky, Soviet spy and double agent. Lugovois remark was, in a way, a backhanded compliment to the most successful undercover agent of modern times, a complex sort of hero, a spy and traitor. He took no souvenir photographs with him or other emotional mementoes. They agreed to abandon attempts to free Gordievskys family and expel 25 identified Soviet intelligence officers. Using sophisticated spycraft I enjoyed learning about, Bromhead spent the next year probing Gordievskys loyalties. Part of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday & Metro Media Group, Bill's in Vogue! Ten miles along, they passed the Ladas by the side of the road, their drivers in conversation with five militiamen. Thanks to her new $20m Harry Potter TV deal, it's JK Rowling who's having the last laugh over trans activists - as friends of the author, 57, say fresh 10-year Warner Bros. agreement is 'vindication', US will run out of money by JUNE 1 if Congress doesn't raise or suspend the debt limit: Biden FINALLY agrees to talks with McCarthy - after Treasury Secretary's warning there could be a catastrophic default in a MONTH, 'This movie is absolutely NUTS!' and defected to Britain. Recruited in 1974 in Copenhagen by MI6, Gordiyevsky, a KGB colonel, was an unparalleled source within the secretive Soviet state, passing reams of information to the British, who shared it with the CIA. Your password has been reset. A brief encounter with Soviet politician Mikhail Gorbachev, who visited London in 1984, boosted Gordievskys career: he became the acting head of the KGB cell in London with bright prospects of the acting part being dropped soon. Ascot put his foot to the floor, Handels Messiah playing on the tape deck, and the gap increasing as the lay-by came into sight. Your request may take a few days to process; we want to double check things before hitting the big red button. Oleg Gordievsky. He wondered if they had radioed ahead to the border or in typical Soviet fashion, would assume the foreigners had stopped to relieve themselves, disguise the fact that several minutes were unaccounted for, and say nothing? Oleg Gordievsky - The Traitor and the Hero - YouTube How did he know? Even a KGB truth serum couldn't breakColonel Oleg Gordievsky. The KGB also produced a fantastic collection of [fake] foreign passports. There, in a cafeteria, he sat down to a lunch of two bottles of beer and a plate of fried chicken. This is a digitized version of an article from The Timess print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. A first "control" meeting arranged at Kutuzovsky Prospekt was botched. And, since she was from a KGB background, he had come to the heartbreaking conclusion that her loyalty could not be relied upon. Thirty Years Later, Soviet-Era MI6 Double Agent Describes Escape From KGB He knew that the KGB had eyes and ears everywhereand that if he were even suspected of collaborating with the West, he would be tortured and then executed. My driver turned on loud music which took my mind off of sad thoughts, said Gordievsky. The image you are trying to upload is either too big or is an unacceptable format. "It was an open secret in the Soviet embassy. . Gordievsky, who began working for British intelligence in the early 1970s, fled from the Soviet Union to Finland in 1985 when his superiors began questioning him about intelligence leaks. He decided to flee the USSR for good and initiated the escape protocol, which the British had developed for him in case he needed to escape Soviet justice. Gordievsky, however, said it would be unwise to be complacent about Moscow's intelligence activities. Politicians treasure classified information because it is secret, which does not necessarily render it more reliable than openly accessible information, and frequently makes it less so. The plan was to link up with Gordievsky in a lay-by 16 miles short of the border. An amazing real-life espionage thriller | Bill Gates Gordievsky defected to the West six years ago and his family had been under 24-hour KGB surveillance until Wednesday, when it was suddenly lifted. This video tells his story, including how he prevented the outbreak. From Oslo, Gordievsky flew to London and his new home. He had to get back to the lay-by, 16 miles away, by 2.30. Ames knew he was issuing a death warrant for every person he named, but that, he reasoned, was the only way to ensure that he would be safe, and rich, Macintyre writes. Read today's latest news on the topic Oleg Gordievsky: Thatcher Lunched With Top Russian KGB Agent, Papers Reveal, It's all in order.". KGB Chairman Vadim Bakatin said that Gordievskys wife, Leila, and their two daughters had been barred from leaving the country by the secret police agency he took over after last weeks failed coup. By the time we get to that part, we already know that he survives. In 1974, we began to meet, first in a small brasserie and, later, he invited me to a safe-house where we would work, said Gordievsky. He rose to become head of the KGB in London. Then he took his berth on the overnight train to Leningrad, on the top bunk of a fourth-class sleeper carriage. What's more, Gordievsky had to make the heartbreaking choice of whether to leave behind his wife and two young daughters. It should be explained to him that we had already risked a lot by the delay., Recalling the dilemma, Gordievsky told the Guardian: I discussed [with my British handlers] the expulsion of the Russian apparatus from London. BBC Radio 4 - Desert Island Discs, Oleg Gordievsky How VERY stylish! Get the week's best stories straight to your inbox. They were 100 yards ahead before the KGB cars had even re-started their engines. He had exactly one-and-a-half hours to make the journey by foot to Moscows Leningrad Station, dry-cleaning as he went, slipping this way and that, breaking into a jog at times, all to throw off his KGB tail. The prime minister, Margaret Thatcher, was informed about the impending crisis in UK/Russian relations. Mrs. Gordievsky and her daughters were given permission to travel by new KGB chief Vadim Bakatin, after Prime Minister John Major presented their case on a recent visit to Moscow. Not seeing your comment? Leyla Gordievsky, 42, flew into Heathrow Airport with her daughters Maria, 11, and Anna, 10, after being allowed to leave Moscow - six years after her husband defected to Britain while working as the KGB chief in London. Although its impossible to confidently conclude what drove Gordievsky to change sides whether it was a genuine conviction that the Soviet system was corrupt, thirst for adventure, selfish interests, or material benefits the fact remains: by 1974, the KGB intelligence officer tasked with handling covert agents in Europe had begun working for MI6. THE man in old trousers and sweatshirt closed the door to his Moscow apartment, flipped .