Great Spies of the 20th Century

taken over Cuba by a U2 spy plane, similar to the one flown by Francis Gary Power that had been shot down over the USSR a short time before. It was these photographs that allowed America to claim that the Russians were in the process of installing rocket sites on Cuba. The photographs showed storage buildings, launch pads and even two long tubes, which naturally, had to be missiles. US intelligence agencies seemed to know everything about Soviet rocket technology. For reasons that shall be discussed later, the Russians wanted to install rockets pointing towards some 300kms of the US coastline. The place chosen for the rocket base was in the jungle. This afforded them greater camouflage, especially as they were fully aware of the U2 spy rocket's capabilities. However, they took no other particular precautions: it was almost as if the Kremlin wanted the Americans to discover the facilities and the nuclear warheads that were trained on their territory. It remains to be seen why this was the case.

Before we discuss that, however, let us look at a man who was probably one of the most important spies of the second half of the twentieth century: Oleg Penkovsky, a textbook product of the Soviet system. He served as an officer during the Second World War and was decorated several times. An intelligent man, he was introduced into the circles of power and became a missiles expert. He also gained access to the highest levels of the GRU, the intelligence agency of the Soviet Army and a rival to the KGB. Colonel Penkovsky was charged with gathering intelligence from the western world, particularly regarding scientific espionage and technology. Under diplomatic and commercial pretexts, he made many contacts in the West and when any such delegates came to Moscow, Penkovsky made sure to meet them.

Everybody who knew him agreed that Penkovsky was a bon viveur, and a man who never turned down vodka. At that time, the Soviet nomenklatura³⁸ drank heavily in the evenings, and Penkovsky was no exception. His drinking buddies included Serov, the head of the GRU, and Marshal Varentsov. This world of beautiful people must also include members of the government. But Penkovsky did show some restraint during these drinking sessions. Unlike his peers, he was a relatively secretive man who enjoyed his solitude, despite his friendships with those in high places. Although he held a high-ranking post, he lived in a modest two-roomed apartment on Gorky Street, with his wife, daughter and mother. The fact that there were four people living in a two-roomed apartment is of some importance.

From the beginning, Colonel Penkovsky viewed Soviet society with a very clear head. In his position he was well aware of the official corruption, general nepotism and the cynicism of the Kremlin masters. Moreover, he knew that the standard of living in the West was much better than that experienced by the Russian population, despite what the USSR tried to tell them. However, even if he was under no illusions as to his situation, he nevertheless benefitted from the system and the advantages reserved for the privileged within the regime.

Unfortunately for him, a zealous KGB agent discovered that Penkovsky's father had fought for the Whites against the Red Army after the Revolution, which posed a serious threat to his career. Was this an accidental discovery? It is hard to believe so. The police system installed in the USSR at the time meant that there was no way the KGB would have been unaware of this information. So, if they did already know, then the time had clearly come for them to use it against Penkovsky.

Two explanations are possible here: either Penkovsky was overshadowing somebody, or the KGB were keen to show this brilliant GRU officer that he did not know everything. Either way, the sudden revelation came as a shock to Penkovsky. All the hatred for the regime that he had with-held for so long, but had been afraid to express, was now unleashed and his bitterness is reflected in his overwhelming desire for revenge.

Oleg Penkovsky:

³⁹

In my early life I strongly believed in the Soviet system. During the last war, I began to understand that this was no longer the Communist Party that had inspired us as we travelled along the road from Stalingrad to Berlin. There was something we had left behind: Russia! Yet more than the war, it was my work in recent years that opened my eyes. I have lived among the high society and the officers of the Red Army. As fate would have it, I married a general’s daughter and found myself and became a privileged member of the Soviet upper-classes. I began to see that the commitment of these people to the Party and to communism was purely a facade. In their private lives, they would lie, cheat, conspire, complain and stab each other in the back. They would denounce their friends and colleagues to the secret police in exchange for money or social advancement. Their children hated all things Soviet, were only interested in foreign films, and despised their ordinary fellow citizens.

Despite his disgrace, Penkovsky's role allowed him to easily contact the West without attracting much attention. On day in Moscow, in 1960, he met with a British businessman called Greville Wynne. Penkovsky was cautious: in his position he knew that Russian trade missions abroad were full of Soviet spies. He imagined that the same must have been true for western trade delegations, and that Wynne was a secret agent. In this instance, he was right! Wynne occasionally provided information for MI6, proving that even the Soviets had legitimate reasons to be cautious.

During the meeting, the Russian suggested that he had lost faith in his country and hated the Soviet system.Wynne, who was unsure of how to deal with such a controversial confession, let him talk. However, he could not have failed to be interested. After all, he knew that Penkovsky was a big catch. So when the colonel asked him to