History of Soviet espionage
Encyclopedia
Coming to power as a clandestine organization, having been schooled in the secret police
tactics of the Czarist Okhrana the new Soviet government of the Soviet Union
tended to overestimate the degree to which the other European powers of the day, especially the United Kingdom
, were plotting its destruction. With that mindset Lenin and his colleagues through the precursor agencies of the KGB
, beginning with the Cheka
, made serious efforts to obtain information regarding the activities and plans of the European powers, the United Kingdom, Germany, France and Italy.
As the other European powers had only rudimentary intelligence agencies, the Soviet Union soon outstripped them in obtaining information and placing agents within their governments who kept Soviet leaders apprised of their military and foreign relations positions and intentions. The United States
, perceived as being on the periphery of European affair received little attention until the late 30s but during the Cold War
years, together with the United Kingdom, became the main focus of attention.
Significant successes were had in the United Kingdom with the recruitment of the Cambridge Five
, a ring of British
spies
who passed information to the Soviet Union
during World War II
, and up until the early 1950s
. The five consisted of Kim Philby
, Donald Maclean
, Guy Burgess
, Anthony Blunt
, and John Cairncross
. In the United States (and in the United Kingdom also) great success was had in the stealing of technological secrets, especially regarding the atom bomb. The State Department
was also deeply compromised during the Roosevelt administration at a time the United States had no significant countervailing intelligence capacity within the Soviet Union.
In the late years of the Cold War the KGB was able to recruit moles high within the FBI (Robert Hanssen
) and the CIA (Aldrich Ames
).
(FCD) of the KGB and Soviet Military Intelligence (GRU). From October 1947 to November 1951 these two agencies were briefly merged in a separate foreign intelligence agency (KI).
does not establish that a person was a spy, only that there was a codename assigned for some purpose.
Secret police
Secret police are a police agency which operates in secrecy and beyond the law to protect the political power of an individual dictator or an authoritarian political regime....
tactics of the Czarist Okhrana the new Soviet government of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
tended to overestimate the degree to which the other European powers of the day, especially the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, were plotting its destruction. With that mindset Lenin and his colleagues through the precursor agencies of the KGB
KGB
The KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...
, beginning with the Cheka
Cheka
Cheka was the first of a succession of Soviet state security organizations. It was created by a decree issued on December 20, 1917, by Vladimir Lenin and subsequently led by aristocrat-turned-communist Felix Dzerzhinsky...
, made serious efforts to obtain information regarding the activities and plans of the European powers, the United Kingdom, Germany, France and Italy.
As the other European powers had only rudimentary intelligence agencies, the Soviet Union soon outstripped them in obtaining information and placing agents within their governments who kept Soviet leaders apprised of their military and foreign relations positions and intentions. The United States
History of Soviet espionage in the United States
Since the late 1920s, the Soviet Union, through its OGPU and NKVD intelligence services, used Russians and foreign-born nationals as well as Communist, and people of American origin to perform espionage activities in the United States. These various espionage networks eventually succeeded in...
, perceived as being on the periphery of European affair received little attention until the late 30s but during the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
years, together with the United Kingdom, became the main focus of attention.
Significant successes were had in the United Kingdom with the recruitment of the Cambridge Five
Cambridge Five
The Cambridge Five was a ring of spies, recruited in part by Russian talent spotter Arnold Deutsch in the United Kingdom, who passed information to the Soviet Union during World War II and at least into the early 1950s...
, a ring of British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
spies
Espionage
Espionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Espionage is inherently clandestine, lest the legitimate holder of the information change plans or take other countermeasures once it...
who passed information to the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, and up until the early 1950s
1950s
The 1950s or The Fifties was the decade that began on January 1, 1950 and ended on December 31, 1959. The decade was the sixth decade of the 20th century...
. The five consisted of Kim Philby
Kim Philby
Harold Adrian Russell "Kim" Philby was a high-ranking member of British intelligence who worked as a spy for and later defected to the Soviet Union...
, Donald Maclean
Donald Duart Maclean
Donald Duart Maclean was a British diplomat and member of the Cambridge Five who were members of MI5, MI6 or the diplomatic service who acted as spies for the Soviet Union in the Second World War and beyond. He was recruited as a "straight penetration agent" while an undergraduate at Cambridge by...
, Guy Burgess
Guy Burgess
Guy Francis De Moncy Burgess was a British-born intelligence officer and double agent, who worked for the Soviet Union. He was part of the Cambridge Five spy ring that betrayed Western secrets to the Soviets before and during the Cold War...
, Anthony Blunt
Anthony Blunt
Anthony Frederick Blunt , was a British art historian who was exposed as a Soviet spy late in his life.Blunt was Professor of the History of Art at the University of London, director of the Courtauld Institute of Art, Surveyor of the King's Pictures and London...
, and John Cairncross
John Cairncross
John Cairncross was a British intelligence officer during World War II, who passed secrets to the Soviet Union...
. In the United States (and in the United Kingdom also) great success was had in the stealing of technological secrets, especially regarding the atom bomb. The State Department
United States Department of State
The United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...
was also deeply compromised during the Roosevelt administration at a time the United States had no significant countervailing intelligence capacity within the Soviet Union.
In the late years of the Cold War the KGB was able to recruit moles high within the FBI (Robert Hanssen
Robert Hanssen
Robert Philip Hanssen is a former American FBI agent who spied for Soviet and Russian intelligence services against the United States for 22 years from 1979 to 2001...
) and the CIA (Aldrich Ames
Aldrich Ames
Aldrich Hazen Ames is a former Central Intelligence Agency counter-intelligence officer and analyst, who, in 1994, was convicted of spying for the Soviet Union and Russia...
).
First Chief Directorate
For most of the history of the Soviet Union there were two intelligence agencies, the First Chief (Foreign Intelligence) DirectorateFirst Chief Directorate
The First Chief Directorate , of the Committee for State Security , was the organization responsible for foreign operations and intelligence collection activities by the training and management of the covert agents, intelligence collection management, and the collection of political, scientific and...
(FCD) of the KGB and Soviet Military Intelligence (GRU). From October 1947 to November 1951 these two agencies were briefly merged in a separate foreign intelligence agency (KI).
Codenames
The KGB in its internal communications used a system of codenames for its employees (worknames), for persons supplying information to it, for persons of interest, and for foreign leaders, agencies and locations. Codenames were assigned to a number of persons who were not spies; thus mention of a person, for example, in a message decrypted by the VENONA projectVenona project
The VENONA project was a long-running secret collaboration of the United States and United Kingdom intelligence agencies involving cryptanalysis of messages sent by intelligence agencies of the Soviet Union, the majority during World War II...
does not establish that a person was a spy, only that there was a codename assigned for some purpose.
See also
- History of Soviet espionage in the United StatesHistory of Soviet espionage in the United StatesSince the late 1920s, the Soviet Union, through its OGPU and NKVD intelligence services, used Russians and foreign-born nationals as well as Communist, and people of American origin to perform espionage activities in the United States. These various espionage networks eventually succeeded in...
- Active measuresActive measuresActive Measures were a form of political warfare conducted by the Soviet security services to influence the course of world events, "in addition to collecting intelligence and producing politically correct assessment of it". Active measures ranged "from media manipulations to special actions...
- Soviet influence on the peace movementSoviet influence on the peace movementDuring the Cold War , when the Soviet Union and the USA were engaged in an arms race, the Soviet Union promoted its foreign policy through the World Peace Council and other front organizations...
- Mitrokhin ArchiveMitrokhin ArchiveThe Mitrokhin Archive is a collection of notes made secretly by KGB Major Vasili Mitrokhin during his thirty years as a KGB archivist in the foreign intelligence service and the First Chief Directorate...