Legend of Soviet intelligence. The most famous scouts in the world Legends of intelligence of the USSR
The Second World War began for the anti-aircraft gunner, non-commissioned officer Alexei Botyan on September 1, 1939. He was born on February 10, 1917, back in the Russian Empire, but in March 1921 his small homeland - the village of Chertovichi in the Vilnius province - ceded to Poland. So the Belarusian Botyan became a Polish citizen.
His crew managed to shoot down three German " Junkers"When Poland as a geopolitical unit ceased to exist. Botyan's native village became Soviet territory, and Aleksey became a citizen of the USSR.
In 1940, the NKVD drew attention to the humble elementary school teacher. A former non-commissioned officer who speaks Polish as a native "Pilsudchik"... no, he is not shot as an enemy of the working people, but quite the opposite: he is admitted to an intelligence school, and in July 1941 he is enrolled in the OMSBON of the 4th Directorate of the NKVD of the USSR. So for Alexei Botyan, a new war began, which ended only in 1983 - with his resignation.
Many details of this war, for the exploits in which he was three times presented to the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, are still secret. But even some well-known episodes say a lot about this person.
He first appeared in the German rear in November 1941 near Moscow, becoming the commander of a reconnaissance and sabotage group. In 1942 he was sent to the deep rear of the enemy, to the regions of Western Ukraine and Belarus.
Under his leadership, a major sabotage is being carried out: on September 9, 1943, in Ovruch, Zhytomyr region, the Hitlerite commissariat was blown up, and 80 Hitlerite officers were killed in the explosion, including the commissar of the commando Wenzel and the chief of the local anti-partisan center Siebert. 140 kilograms of explosives along with lunches were carried by his wife Maria to Yakov Kaplyuk, the manager of the Gebitskommissariat. To insure against searches at the entrance, she always took the two smallest of her four children with her.
After this operation, Kaplyuks were taken out into the forest, and Botyan was first introduced to the Hero - but received the Order of the Red Banner.
At the beginning of 1944, the order came to the detachment to move to Poland.
It should be recalled: if on Ukrainian soil Soviet partisans had problems with Bandera, which had to be solved sometimes by negotiations, and sometimes with weapons, then three different anti-Nazi forces acted on Polish soil: akovtsy", Formally subordinate to the emigrant government), the Army of Ludov (" alovtsy", Were supported by the Soviet Union) and quite independent Khlopskie Battalions - that is, peasant ones. Successful solution of the tasks required required the ability to find a common language with everyone, and Botyan did it superbly.
On May 1, 1944, a group of 28 people headed by Botyan is sent to the vicinity of Krakow. On the way on the night of May 14-15, together with the AL unit, Botyan's detachment takes part in the capture of the city of Ilzhi and frees a large group of arrested underground fighters.
On January 10, 1945, in a blown up command vehicle, one of the Soviet reconnaissance groups operating in the Krakow region discovered a portfolio with secret documents on the mining of objects in Krakow and the neighboring town of Nowy Sacz. Botyan's group captured a cartographic engineer, a Czech by nationality, who said that the Germans were keeping a strategic reserve of explosives in the Royal (Jagiellonian) Castle in Nowy Sонcz.
The scouts went to the head of the warehouse of the Wehrmacht Major Ogarek. After talking with Botyan, he hired another Pole, who carried the hour mine embedded in his boots to the warehouse. On January 18, the warehouse exploded; more than 400 Nazis were killed and wounded. On January 20, Konev's troops entered practically the whole of Krakow, and the second performance to the Hero went to Botyan. (Subsequently Botyan became one of the prototypes " Major Whirlwind"From the novel of the same name by Yulian Semyonov and the TV movie shot according to his script.)
After the war, Aleksey Botyan became Czech Leo Dvořák (he did not know the Czech language; he had to vigorously master it “ immersion method", Fortunately, his legend explained poor possession" relatives»Language) and graduated from a higher technical school in Czechoslovakia. There, by the way, he met a girl who became his faithful companion in life - not yet knowing about the multi-layered life of Pan Dvorak.
The scout's post-war activities are covered with understandable fog. According to open information from the SVR and avaricious (" permitted") Botyan's stories, he performed special assignments in Germany and other countries, worked in the central office of the First Main Directorate of the KGB of the USSR, participated in the creation of a special task force of the KGB of the USSR" Pennant". And after his resignation, as a civilian specialist, he helped prepare for six more years “ young professionals».
Alexey Botyan was awarded two Orders of the Red Banner, Orders of the Red Banner of Labor and the Order of the Patriotic War of the 1st degree, high Polish and Czechoslovak awards. In post-Soviet Russia, he was awarded the Order of Courage, and in 2007 President Putin presented him with the Gold Star of the Hero of Russia.
Simultaneous game session with cadets of the Vympel Military-Patriotic Club, 20.02.2010.
Alexey Botyan still surprises everyone who knows him with his cheerfulness and optimism. He plays chess superbly, works out on a stationary bike, remembers the details of his eventful life to the smallest detail (but, of course, he does not talk about what cannot be told). He is proud that for all the time of his "work" he was only once scratched in the temple by an enemy bullet - without even leaving a scar.
The scout hero turned ninety-five yesterday.
Countless films have been shot about the most mysterious and secret profession, thousands of fiction and non-fiction books have been written. But we know very, very little about the people living among us and about their activities.
But time passes, secret archives are declassified, and people of a mysterious profession emerge from the shadow of the past. And here we have the most famous scouts in the history of espionage.
Richard Sorge
Let's start with a legendary man named Richard Sorge. Perhaps, many experts and historians agree that this is the most famous Soviet intelligence officer, and his information has significantly influenced the course of history.
On the eve of World War II, he was and worked in Japan, and it was Sorge who transmitted to Moscow information about the exact date of the German attack on the USSR. In 1941 he was declassified by the Japanese secret police and, after lengthy proceedings, was sentenced to death.
He was executed in 1944, and twenty years later the Motherland recognized its scout, and Sorge was awarded the Star of the Hero of the Soviet Union.
Since 1979, the FBI officer acted in the interests of the USSR, and after the events that resulted in the Union disintegrated, continue to transmit information to Russia, but began to transmit information only in 1985
After disclosure, the US special services managed to prove only 13 episodes of Robert's espionage in favor of the Soviet state. Hanssen, on the advice of his lawyer, went to cooperate with the investigation and pleaded guilty, which allowed him to avoid the death penalty.
An interesting fact is that while working for the USSR, he earned $ 1 million, the same amount he received during this period in his main job at the FBI.
The real name of this woman is Margaret Gertrude Seele and she was born in Holland. A performer of exotic dances, a courtesan, was not shy about acting nude, and most importantly, using the talent of the actress and female charm, she easily joined the high society and began to communicate with influential politicians and the military.
The First World War began and Mata Hari became the ideal person to collect classified information. It is believed that she was a double agent, but France still does not recognize that she acted in the interests of French intelligence.
She was arrested in Paris in February 1917 and was shot in October of the same year on charges of spying for Germany.
Isabella Maria Boyd is another woman who made history as an agent who worked for the Confederate Army during the American Civil War.
The seventeen-year-old girl became a scout by accident, killing a soldier of the Northern Army, who broke into their house and insulted her mother. Belli was taken into custody, but acquitted.
Once in the occupied territory, she began to actively communicate with the military of the army of the North, collecting information. With a messenger, she sent letters directly to General Jeb Stewart.
She was arrested twice, but released, and Isabella died of typhus at the age of fifty-six.
One of the main chiefs of British intelligence, a communist and the son of a famous scientist with a worldwide reputation, the famous Kim Philby has been an agent of the Soviet state since 1933.
And Kim was born in India, received an excellent education and began to engage in anti-fascist activities. Perhaps this was the main motivation for cooperation with the USSR.
After the war, he worked closely with US officials. And thanks to his activities, many special operations directed against the Soviet state were prevented. Kim died in 1988 in the capital of Russia. Philby's awards include the honorary title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
Anthony Blunt
The British art critic and historian Blunt was a member of the recently declassified "Cambridge Five", and from 1937 to 1951 he worked as an informant for Soviet intelligence.
The world learned about his secret activities only in 1979, although the British authorities received this information earlier. But in exchange for collaborating with MI5, Anthony received immunity.
During the Second World War, he transmitted to the USSR valuable information about the plans of the Wehrmacht, which the British authorities tried to hide from their ally.
After confessing his secret life and work for the USSR, Blunt was fired, and Elizabeth stripped him of his knightly title.
Christopher Boyes
The US citizen actively opposed his country's war in Vietnam. This was the main motivating factor for Christopher to start working for the Soviet intelligence agencies.
The informer transmitted valuable information about satellites, receiving most of the information at the job for which his father, an aerospace security officer, arranged for him.
"Falcon", that was Christopher's callsign, was arrested in 1977 and sentenced to 40 years in prison. Once he managed to escape, and he was already preparing for a secret move to the USSR, but was again detained by the special services.
After serving 24 years, Christopher was released early in 2002.
Oldrich Ames
Holding a high position in the Central Intelligence Directorate, Aldrich for ten years transmitted important information to the Soviet services. Thanks to his work in the USSR, a whole network of CIA agents who worked in the ranks of the KGB and the Intelligence Directorate was uncovered.
In 1994, it was discovered, and a big political scandal erupted in the United States. Ems was fired, and the court sentenced him to life imprisonment, which he is serving now.
Interestingly, Oldrich decided to work as a fashion agent due to lack of money, believing that selling classified information was quite profitable.
Klaus Fuchs
A native of Germany, since the early thirties, he became a member of the Communist Party and an active anti-fascist. After Hitler came to power, he was forced to flee to England.
The best theoretical physicist of his time worked on the creation of the atomic bomb, and for ideological reasons and political views, he began to transmit information to the USSR. Some information about the work with uranium was received from Klaus and the US special services.
For espionage activities, the British authorities sentenced Fuchs to 14 years in prison, of which he served nine. He returned to the GDR and lived in this country until his death.
Konon the Young
As a child, a Soviet cadre illegal intelligence agent traveled a lot around the world. After the death of his father, he moved to the United States, where he lived with his aunt. Then he returned to the Soviet Union and after participating in the Great Patriotic War, he entered the Academy of Foreign Trade.
Under cover and a new name, Gordon Lonsdale worked in Canada, the USA and Great Britain, collecting the most important information about projects for the creation of bacteriological weapons.
Konon Trofimovich's activities allowed his Motherland to save a lot of money, and after the failure they did not prove his involvement in espionage activities.
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg
Of course, it is necessary to mention a married couple who for many years transmitted information in the field of radio electronics and military technology. They were arrested and executed on charges of espionage in 1953.
Julis and Ethel were communists and worked for ideological reasons rather than for monetary compensation. Their group also included brother Ethel and his wife Ruth.
And today, information about the military secrets of America given by the Rosenberg couple remains closed. But experts admit that their activities have had a significant impact on the development of domestic radio electronics.
A more adventurous and smarter spy in history still needs to be looked for, because it is not for nothing that he became the prototype of the famous movie hero James Bond. And Rosemblum (real name) was born in Odessa and told many facts of his biography himself.
At the end of the 19th century, having moved to America and then to Europe, he took on a new name and began to work for the benefit of the British special services. Having moved to Petrograd, his main goal was to fight the Bolsheviks.
Working undercover, he created a whole spy network, and even helped A. Kerensky escape from the RSFSR. In 1925 he was arrested and shot.
Elizabeth Bentley
The spy passions of this woman are full of drama and curious twists and turns. She began her activities in a fascist organization, but then Elizabeth moved to the position of communists.
Her agent nicknames "Fox" and "Mirana" fully corresponded to an adventurous and risky nature. In 1945, she requested a meeting with the head of the FBI Hoover and turned in all Soviet agents.
Many note that it was after this transition to the FBI in America that the witch-hunt campaign, the famous persecution of the communists, began.
The real name and surname of this man is William Genrikhovich Fisher, and his parents were Russian revolutionaries who were expelled from the Russian Empire at the beginning of the 20th century by the tsarist authorities.
After the victory of the revolution, the Fishers returned to their homeland, but did not renounce British citizenship. Rudolph worked in many European countries, where he installed secret radio points. During the war years, he trained radio operators for partisan groups that operated in the territories occupied by the Nazis.
He was arrested by the Americans and sentenced to 32 years in prison, but the Soviet authorities traded Abel for a pilot. A reconnaissance plane shot down over the Urals.
Let's finish with the fighters of our time. A talented and beautiful woman today successfully and well works as a TV presenter. Before that, she was a Russian undercover agent in the United States.
But Anna was declassified and expelled from the North American continent, although many have expressed doubts about her connection with the Russian special services.
But, be that as it may, the Americans found enough reason to expel and no longer let the girl into their country, and now she is participating in various television and political projects in her homeland.
Conclusion
Even as a child, you always ask yourself: a spy or a scout? Both teachers and adults explained that working for the good of your Fatherland is a scout, and an agent of an enemy state is a spy.
But there were double and triple agents, and some are not declassified today, and continue their invisible activities on an invisible front. But from time to time more and more new names appear from folders marked "Top Secret".
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