SMERSH (James Bond)
Encyclopedia
SMERSH is a Soviet counterintelligence agency featured in Ian Fleming
's early James Bond
novels as agent 007's nemesis. СМЕРШ (SMERSH) is an acronym from two Russian words: "SMERt' SHpionam" (СМЕРть Шпионам, Směrt Špionam) meaning "Death to Spies". Though Fleming's version of SMERSH supposedly was modelled upon the real SMERSH organization
, the novels portray SMERSH as a massive Soviet counterintelligence organisation, much more resembling the real-life KGB
, which aims its operatives abroad in subversion of the West, with the additional goal of killing Western spies, particularly James Bond of SIS
. SMERSH's headquarters is in Leningrad
, Soviet Union.
breaks SMERSH down into five departments or отделы (оtdyels):
. SMERSH made its first and perhaps longest-lasting impact on Bond in Casino Royale when their agent sent to kill Le Chiffre
carved a Sha
(ш), the initial Cyrillic letter of "Špion" (Russian for "spy") into the back of Bond's left hand; despite skin grafts, a faint scar remains. Since then, Bond has sought revenge several times, beginning in the second novel, Live and Let Die
, wherein Bond is almost uninterested in disrupting Mr. Big's financing of Soviet operations until learning that Big is a SMERSH agent. SMERSH retaliates in From Russia, with Love, issuing a death warrant for the immediate execution of James Bond ("To be killed with ignominy"). Not only is his assassination arranged, but SMERSH goes to great lengths to ensure his death will be scandalously embarrassing throughout the entire intelligence community. Later, Bond again squares off against SMERSH in Goldfinger after learning that Auric Goldfinger
is the agency's treasurer.
After Goldfinger, SMERSH is mentioned only fleetingly, usually in reference to having been disbanded or made inoperant. In the continuation novels (and novelisations), however, SMERSH returns as an organisation essentially renamed and reorganised within Soviet intelligence. They are first mentioned again in The Spy Who Loved Me
film novelisation, although replaced by KGB
in the film. In John Gardner
's series of Bond novels, SMERSH is renamed Department V (the letter) in Icebreaker
. They return in a larger role in No Deals, Mr. Bond
, renamed Department Eight, Directorate S, a KGB sub-section.
, which first appeared in Fleming's novel Thunderball (1961). SPECTRE
is introduced in the first film, Dr. No
(1962), in which the doctor explains to Bond that it is the acronym for the SPecial Executive for Counterintelligence, Terrorism, Revenge, and Extortion, the four great cornerstones of power. Film versions of novels where SMERSH appears substituted either SPECTRE or independent villains in order to avoid fomenting hatred of the Soviets, and so contributing to unstable relations with the USSR.
Although twice referred to, SMERSH never appears in the official film series; first, in From Russia with Love
(1963), Bond initially thinks he is fighting SMERSH, only to learn that the villains are from SPECTRE, including villainess Rosa Klebb
, the former head of SMERSH who has secretly defected to SPECTRE. Tatiana Romanova
, the Bond girl heroine, says she knows Klebb as SMERSH's head of operations, and obeys her orders, presuming them from SMERSH. Second, The Living Daylights
(1987) features a faked SMERSH re-activation. Throughout, it is referred to with its less-known full name Smert Shpionam, rather than the better-known acronym; General Pushkin, then head of KGB, says it has been inoperant since twenty years before in the 60s. SMERSH is also an element in the 1967 spoofed film adaptation of
Casino Royale
that centres upon Le Chiffre
's attempted recovery of SMERSH monies via baccarat
at the Royale casino.
In the 2006 film adaptation of Casino Royale
, SMERSH's role in the plot is filled by a terrorist organization called Quantum
.
Films:
in which anyone who uttered the name was quieted by someone else saying "SHHHHHHHH!" thereby making the acronym sound like "SMERSHHHHHHHHH..."
Ian Fleming
Ian Lancaster Fleming was a British author, journalist and Naval Intelligence Officer.Fleming is best known for creating the fictional British spy James Bond and for a series of twelve novels and nine short stories about the character, one of the biggest-selling series of fictional books of...
's early James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
novels as agent 007's nemesis. СМЕРШ (SMERSH) is an acronym from two Russian words: "SMERt' SHpionam" (СМЕРть Шпионам, Směrt Špionam) meaning "Death to Spies". Though Fleming's version of SMERSH supposedly was modelled upon the real SMERSH organization
SMERSH
SMERSH was the counter-intelligence agency in the Red Army formed in late 1942 or even earlier, but officially founded on April 14, 1943. The name SMERSH was coined by Joseph Stalin...
, the novels portray SMERSH as a massive Soviet counterintelligence organisation, much more resembling the real-life 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...
, which aims its operatives abroad in subversion of the West, with the additional goal of killing Western spies, particularly James Bond of SIS
Secret Intelligence Service
The Secret Intelligence Service is responsible for supplying the British Government with foreign intelligence. Alongside the internal Security Service , the Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence Intelligence , it operates under the formal direction of the Joint Intelligence...
. SMERSH's headquarters is in Leningrad
Leningrad
Leningrad is the former name of Saint Petersburg, Russia.Leningrad may also refer to:- Places :* Leningrad Oblast, a federal subject of Russia, around Saint Petersburg* Leningrad, Tajikistan, capital of Muminobod district in Khatlon Province...
, Soviet Union.
Departmental overview
The novel Casino RoyaleCasino Royale (novel)
Casino Royale is Ian Fleming's first James Bond novel. It paved the way for a further eleven novels by Fleming himself, in addition to two short story collections, followed by many "continuation" Bond novels by other authors....
breaks SMERSH down into five departments or отделы (оtdyels):
- Department I: In charge of counterintelligence among Soviet organizations at home and abroad.
- Department II: Operations, including executions.
- Department III: Administration and finance.
- Department IV: Investigations and legal work. Personnel.
- Department V: Prosecutions — the section which passes final judgment on all victims.
Novels
Within the world of James Bond, SMERSH is a Soviet counterintelligence agency that is a recurring threat to him and the British Secret ServiceSecret Intelligence Service
The Secret Intelligence Service is responsible for supplying the British Government with foreign intelligence. Alongside the internal Security Service , the Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence Intelligence , it operates under the formal direction of the Joint Intelligence...
. SMERSH made its first and perhaps longest-lasting impact on Bond in Casino Royale when their agent sent to kill Le Chiffre
Le Chiffre
Le Chiffre is a fictional character and the main antagonist in Ian Fleming's James Bond novel Casino Royale. On screen Le Chiffre has been portrayed by Peter Lorre in the 1954 television adaptation of the novel for CBS's Climax! television series, by Orson Welles in the 1967 spoof of the novel and...
carved a Sha
Sha
For other uses, see Sha .Sha is a letter of the Cyrillic alphabet. It commonly represents the voiceless postalveolar fricative , like the pronunciation of ⟨sh⟩ in "sheep", or the somewhat similar voiceless retroflex fricative . It is used in every variation of the Cyrillic alphabet, for Slavic and...
(ш), the initial Cyrillic letter of "Špion" (Russian for "spy") into the back of Bond's left hand; despite skin grafts, a faint scar remains. Since then, Bond has sought revenge several times, beginning in the second novel, Live and Let Die
Live and Let Die (novel)
Live and Let Die is the second novel in Ian Fleming's James Bond series, first published in the UK by Jonathan Cape on 5 April 1954, where the initial print run of 7,500 copies quickly sold out. As with Fleming's first novel, Casino Royale, Live and Let Die was broadly well received by the critics...
, wherein Bond is almost uninterested in disrupting Mr. Big's financing of Soviet operations until learning that Big is a SMERSH agent. SMERSH retaliates in From Russia, with Love, issuing a death warrant for the immediate execution of James Bond ("To be killed with ignominy"). Not only is his assassination arranged, but SMERSH goes to great lengths to ensure his death will be scandalously embarrassing throughout the entire intelligence community. Later, Bond again squares off against SMERSH in Goldfinger after learning that Auric Goldfinger
Auric Goldfinger
Auric Goldfinger is a fictional character and the main antagonist in the James Bond film and novel Goldfinger. His first name, Auric, is an adjective meaning of gold...
is the agency's treasurer.
After Goldfinger, SMERSH is mentioned only fleetingly, usually in reference to having been disbanded or made inoperant. In the continuation novels (and novelisations), however, SMERSH returns as an organisation essentially renamed and reorganised within Soviet intelligence. They are first mentioned again in The Spy Who Loved Me
The Spy Who Loved Me (film)
The Spy Who Loved Me is a spy film, the tenth film in the James Bond series, and the third to star Roger Moore as the fictional secret agent James Bond. It was directed by Lewis Gilbert and the screenplay was written by Christopher Wood and Richard Maibaum...
film novelisation, although replaced by 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...
in the film. In John Gardner
John Gardner (thriller writer)
John Edmund Gardner was an English spy novelist, most notably for the James Bond series.-Early life:Gardner was born in Seaton Delaval, Northumberland. He graduated from St John's College, Cambridge and did postgraduate study at Oxford...
's series of Bond novels, SMERSH is renamed Department V (the letter) in Icebreaker
Icebreaker (novel)
Icebreaker, first published in 1983, was the third novel by John Gardner featuring Ian Fleming's secret agent, James Bond. Carrying the Glidrose Publications copyright, it was first published in the United Kingdom by Jonathan Cape and is the first Bond novel to be published in the United States by...
. They return in a larger role in No Deals, Mr. Bond
No Deals, Mr. Bond
No Deals, Mr. Bond, first published in 1987, was the sixth novel by John Gardner featuring Ian Fleming's secret agent, James Bond. Carrying the Glidrose Publications copyright, it was first published in the United Kingdom by Jonathan Cape and in the United States by Putnam...
, renamed Department Eight, Directorate S, a KGB sub-section.
Films
In the film series, Bond's archenemy became SPECTRESPECTRE
SPECTRE is a fictional global terrorist organisation featured in the James Bond novels by Ian Fleming, the films based on those novels, and James Bond video games...
, which first appeared in Fleming's novel Thunderball (1961). SPECTRE
SPECTRE
SPECTRE is a fictional global terrorist organisation featured in the James Bond novels by Ian Fleming, the films based on those novels, and James Bond video games...
is introduced in the first film, Dr. No
Dr. No (film)
Dr. No is a 1962 spy film, starring Sean Connery; it is the first James Bond film. Based on the 1958 Ian Fleming novel of the same name, it was adapted by Richard Maibaum, Johanna Harwood, and Berkely Mather and was directed by Terence Young. The film was produced by Harry Saltzman and Albert R...
(1962), in which the doctor explains to Bond that it is the acronym for the SPecial Executive for Counterintelligence, Terrorism, Revenge, and Extortion, the four great cornerstones of power. Film versions of novels where SMERSH appears substituted either SPECTRE or independent villains in order to avoid fomenting hatred of the Soviets, and so contributing to unstable relations with the USSR.
Although twice referred to, SMERSH never appears in the official film series; first, in From Russia with Love
From Russia with Love (film)
From Russia with Love is the second in the James Bond spy film series, and the second to star Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Released in 1963, the film was produced by Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman, and directed by Terence Young. It is based on the 1957 novel of the...
(1963), Bond initially thinks he is fighting SMERSH, only to learn that the villains are from SPECTRE, including villainess Rosa Klebb
Rosa Klebb
Colonel Rosa Klebb is a fictional character and the main antagonist from the James Bond film and novel From Russia with Love. She was played by Lotte Lenya in the film version...
, the former head of SMERSH who has secretly defected to SPECTRE. Tatiana Romanova
Tatiana Romanova
Tatiana Romanova is a fictional character in the James Bond novel, film, and video game From Russia with Love. She is played by Daniela Bianchi in the movie. According to William F...
, the Bond girl heroine, says she knows Klebb as SMERSH's head of operations, and obeys her orders, presuming them from SMERSH. Second, The Living Daylights
The Living Daylights
The Living Daylights is the fifteenth entry in the James Bond series and the first to star Timothy Dalton as the fictional MI6 agent 007. The film's title is taken from Ian Fleming's short story, "The Living Daylights"...
(1987) features a faked SMERSH re-activation. Throughout, it is referred to with its less-known full name Smert Shpionam, rather than the better-known acronym; General Pushkin, then head of KGB, says it has been inoperant since twenty years before in the 60s. SMERSH is also an element in the 1967 spoofed film adaptation of
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
Casino Royale
Casino Royale (1967 film)
Casino Royale is a 1967 comedy spy film originally produced by Columbia Pictures starring an ensemble cast of directors and actors. It is set as a satire of the James Bond film series and the spy genre, and is loosely based on Ian Fleming's first James Bond novel.The film stars David Niven as the...
that centres upon Le Chiffre
Le Chiffre
Le Chiffre is a fictional character and the main antagonist in Ian Fleming's James Bond novel Casino Royale. On screen Le Chiffre has been portrayed by Peter Lorre in the 1954 television adaptation of the novel for CBS's Climax! television series, by Orson Welles in the 1967 spoof of the novel and...
's attempted recovery of SMERSH monies via baccarat
Baccarat
Baccarat is a card game, played at casinos and by gamblers. It is believed to have been introduced into France from Italy during the reign of King Charles VIII , and it is similar to Faro and Basset...
at the Royale casino.
In the 2006 film adaptation of Casino Royale
Casino Royale (2006 film)
Casino Royale is the twenty-first film in the James Bond film series and the first to star Daniel Craig as fictional MI6 agent James Bond...
, SMERSH's role in the plot is filled by a terrorist organization called Quantum
Quantum (James Bond)
Quantum is a fictional criminal organization, featured as the antagonists in the James Bond films Casino Royale, and its sequel, Quantum of Solace. The organization prefers to remain in the shadows, and is known to contract third parties to avoid implicating itself...
.
Appearances
Novels:- Casino RoyaleCasino Royale (novel)Casino Royale is Ian Fleming's first James Bond novel. It paved the way for a further eleven novels by Fleming himself, in addition to two short story collections, followed by many "continuation" Bond novels by other authors....
— Ian FlemingIan FlemingIan Lancaster Fleming was a British author, journalist and Naval Intelligence Officer.Fleming is best known for creating the fictional British spy James Bond and for a series of twelve novels and nine short stories about the character, one of the biggest-selling series of fictional books of... - Live and Let DieLive and Let Die (novel)Live and Let Die is the second novel in Ian Fleming's James Bond series, first published in the UK by Jonathan Cape on 5 April 1954, where the initial print run of 7,500 copies quickly sold out. As with Fleming's first novel, Casino Royale, Live and Let Die was broadly well received by the critics...
— Ian FlemingIan FlemingIan Lancaster Fleming was a British author, journalist and Naval Intelligence Officer.Fleming is best known for creating the fictional British spy James Bond and for a series of twelve novels and nine short stories about the character, one of the biggest-selling series of fictional books of... - From Russia, with Love — Ian FlemingIan FlemingIan Lancaster Fleming was a British author, journalist and Naval Intelligence Officer.Fleming is best known for creating the fictional British spy James Bond and for a series of twelve novels and nine short stories about the character, one of the biggest-selling series of fictional books of...
- Goldfinger — Ian FlemingIan FlemingIan Lancaster Fleming was a British author, journalist and Naval Intelligence Officer.Fleming is best known for creating the fictional British spy James Bond and for a series of twelve novels and nine short stories about the character, one of the biggest-selling series of fictional books of...
- James Bond, The Spy Who Loved MeJames Bond, The Spy Who Loved MeJames Bond, The Spy Who Loved Me is the official novelisation of the EON film, The Spy Who Loved Me.-Background:When Ian Fleming sold the film rights to the James Bond novels to Harry Saltzman and Albert R. Broccoli, he only gave permission for the title The Spy Who Loved Me to be used...
(novelisation) — Christopher WoodChristopher Wood (writer)Christopher Wood is an English screenwriter and novelist best known under the pseudonym 'Timothy Lea' for the Confessions series of novels and films. Under his own name, he adapted two James Bond novels for the screen: The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker .Wood has written many novels... - IcebreakerIcebreaker (novel)Icebreaker, first published in 1983, was the third novel by John Gardner featuring Ian Fleming's secret agent, James Bond. Carrying the Glidrose Publications copyright, it was first published in the United Kingdom by Jonathan Cape and is the first Bond novel to be published in the United States by...
— John GardnerJohn Gardner (thriller writer)John Edmund Gardner was an English spy novelist, most notably for the James Bond series.-Early life:Gardner was born in Seaton Delaval, Northumberland. He graduated from St John's College, Cambridge and did postgraduate study at Oxford... - No Deals, Mr. BondNo Deals, Mr. BondNo Deals, Mr. Bond, first published in 1987, was the sixth novel by John Gardner featuring Ian Fleming's secret agent, James Bond. Carrying the Glidrose Publications copyright, it was first published in the United Kingdom by Jonathan Cape and in the United States by Putnam...
— John GardnerJohn Gardner (thriller writer)John Edmund Gardner was an English spy novelist, most notably for the James Bond series.-Early life:Gardner was born in Seaton Delaval, Northumberland. He graduated from St John's College, Cambridge and did postgraduate study at Oxford... - Devil May CareDevil May Care (novel)Devil May Care is the thirty-sixth original James Bond novel. Written by Sebastian Faulks , it was published on 28 May 2008, the 100th anniversary of the birth of Ian Fleming, creator of Bond.-Background:...
— Sebastian FaulksSebastian Faulks-Early life:Faulks was born on 20 April 1953 in Donnington, Berkshire to Peter Faulks and Pamela . Edward Faulks, Baron Faulks, is his older brother. He was educated at Elstree School, Reading and went on to Wellington College, Berkshire...
Films:
- From Russia with LoveFrom Russia with Love (film)From Russia with Love is the second in the James Bond spy film series, and the second to star Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Released in 1963, the film was produced by Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman, and directed by Terence Young. It is based on the 1957 novel of the...
- The Living DaylightsThe Living DaylightsThe Living Daylights is the fifteenth entry in the James Bond series and the first to star Timothy Dalton as the fictional MI6 agent 007. The film's title is taken from Ian Fleming's short story, "The Living Daylights"...
- Casino Royale (1967)Casino Royale (1967 film)Casino Royale is a 1967 comedy spy film originally produced by Columbia Pictures starring an ensemble cast of directors and actors. It is set as a satire of the James Bond film series and the spy genre, and is loosely based on Ian Fleming's first James Bond novel.The film stars David Niven as the...
SMERSH agents
Notable villains in the Bond novels who were SMERSH agents include:- Le ChiffreLe ChiffreLe Chiffre is a fictional character and the main antagonist in Ian Fleming's James Bond novel Casino Royale. On screen Le Chiffre has been portrayed by Peter Lorre in the 1954 television adaptation of the novel for CBS's Climax! television series, by Orson Welles in the 1967 spoof of the novel and...
: Le Chiffre is the villain in Casino RoyaleCasino Royale (novel)Casino Royale is Ian Fleming's first James Bond novel. It paved the way for a further eleven novels by Fleming himself, in addition to two short story collections, followed by many "continuation" Bond novels by other authors....
. He is paymaster of the "Syndicat des Ouvriers d'Alsace", a SMERSH-controlled trade union.
- "Adolph Gettler": A SMERSH agent who shadowed Bond and Vesper while they are on French holiday in Casino RoyaleCasino Royale (novel)Casino Royale is Ian Fleming's first James Bond novel. It paved the way for a further eleven novels by Fleming himself, in addition to two short story collections, followed by many "continuation" Bond novels by other authors....
. He was identifiable by his eyepatch,screwed in like a monocle. His real name is unknown, but he posed as a Swiss wristwatch salesman named Adolph Gettler.
- Mr. Big: Mr. Big is the villain in the novel Live and Let DieLive and Let Die (novel)Live and Let Die is the second novel in Ian Fleming's James Bond series, first published in the UK by Jonathan Cape on 5 April 1954, where the initial print run of 7,500 copies quickly sold out. As with Fleming's first novel, Casino Royale, Live and Let Die was broadly well received by the critics...
. He is head of the "Black Widow Voodoo Cult", and, according to MM (James Bond)M is a fictional character in Ian Fleming's James Bond series, as well as the films in the Bond franchise. The head of MI6 and Bond's superior, M has been portrayed by three actors in the official Bond film series: Bernard Lee, Robert Brown and since 1995 by Judi Dench. Background =Ian Fleming...
, is one of the most powerful living criminals in the world.
- Auric GoldfingerAuric GoldfingerAuric Goldfinger is a fictional character and the main antagonist in the James Bond film and novel Goldfinger. His first name, Auric, is an adjective meaning of gold...
: The villain in Goldfinger. He is SMERSH's treasurer, yet also a jeweller, metallurgist, and smuggler. In the film, though an international communist, he has no apparent SMERSH affiliation.
- Colonel Rosa KlebbRosa KlebbColonel Rosa Klebb is a fictional character and the main antagonist from the James Bond film and novel From Russia with Love. She was played by Lotte Lenya in the film version...
: Head of Otdyel II, the SMERSH torture and death department in the novel From Russia, with Love. She hires Corporal Tatiana Romanova as lure for James Bond in Istanbul, where he would be killed and disgraced before the intelligence community. Ultimately, she fails and René Mathis captures her. In the film, Klebb (Lotte LenyaLotte LenyaLotte Lenya was an Austrian singer, diseuse, and actress. In the German-speaking and classical music world she is best remembered for her performances of the songs of her husband, Kurt Weill. In English-language film she is remembered for her Academy Award-nominated role in The Roman Spring of Mrs...
), defected from SMERSH to SPECTRESPECTRESPECTRE is a fictional global terrorist organisation featured in the James Bond novels by Ian Fleming, the films based on those novels, and James Bond video games...
. She is shot in the back by Romanova, who is in love with Bond.
- Donovan "Red" Grant: In the novel, he is Chief Executioner of SMERSH; originally a British soldier during World War IIWorld War IIWorld 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...
, he defected to the USSR. In the film From Russia with Love, working under Rosa Klebb makes him a SPECTRE agent.
- Colonel-General Grubozaboyshikov: He was selected head of SMERSH after Lavrenty Beria's death, in the From Russia, with Love novel. He is one of many SMERSH personnel conspiring to kill and disgrace James Bond.
- Colonel Tov Kronsteen: He is planning department head for SMERSH in the From Russia, with Love novel; (his name, Tov, is Jewish). He was a ChessChessChess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
expert and the champion of MoscowMoscowMoscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
for two years running. During the championship game for his third year, SMERSH summoned him to plan Bond's killing and discrediting. In the film, Kronsteen (Vladek SheybalVladek SheybalVladek Sheybal , born Władysław Sheybal, was a Polish character actor, whose career lasted from the 1950s into the 1980s. He was probably best known for his portrayal of the chess grandmaster Kronsteen in the 1963 James Bond film From Russia with Love, a role for which he had been personally...
), works for SPECTRE, and is tasked with planning Bond's killing and disgrace for killing Dr. Julius No. Ultimately, he fails and is murdered at Ernst Stavro BlofeldErnst Stavro BlofeldErnst Stavro Blofeld is a fictional character and a supervillain from the James Bond series of novels and films, who was created by Ian Fleming and Kevin McClory. An evil genius with aspirations of world domination, he is the archenemy of the British Secret Service agent James Bond and is arguably...
's behest.
- Colonel Niktin: Heads the Soviet Secret Service (MGBMinistry for State Security (USSR)The Ministry of State Security was the name of Soviet secret police from 1946 to 1953.-Origins of the MGB:The MGB was just one of many incarnations of the Soviet State Security apparatus. Since the revolution, the Bolsheviks relied on a strong political police or security force to support and...
, KGBKGBThe 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...
post-1953) in From Russia with Love. Later in the James Bond, The Spy Who Loved MeJames Bond, The Spy Who Loved MeJames Bond, The Spy Who Loved Me is the official novelisation of the EON film, The Spy Who Loved Me.-Background:When Ian Fleming sold the film rights to the James Bond novels to Harry Saltzman and Albert R. Broccoli, he only gave permission for the title The Spy Who Loved Me to be used...
film novelisation he is promoted to Colonel-General and is head of SMERSH; he is not in the film, and is replaced by General Gogol who is head of KGB.
- Lieutenant-General Slavin: Slavin was the head of the intelligence department for the General Staff of the Army (GRUGRUGRU or Glavnoye Razvedyvatel'noye Upravleniye is the foreign military intelligence directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation...
). He was one of many SMERSH personnel who conspired to kill and disgrace James Bond.
- Lieutenant-General Vozdvishensky: Is head of RUMID, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs intelligence department. He is one of many SMERSH personnel who conspire against James Bond.
- Sergei Borzov: Sergei was a member of Otdyel II, the operations and executions branch of SMERSH in the film novelisation of The Spy Who Loved MeThe Spy Who Loved Me (film)The Spy Who Loved Me is a spy film, the tenth film in the James Bond series, and the third to star Roger Moore as the fictional secret agent James Bond. It was directed by Lewis Gilbert and the screenplay was written by Christopher Wood and Richard Maibaum...
, but was never mentioned as a member in the actual film. Borzov was the romantic love interest of agent XXX before being killed by James Bond in the opening teaser.
- Anya AmasovaAnya AmasovaMajor Anya Amasova is a fictional character and the deuteragonist in the James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me, portrayed by Barbara Bach...
: Anya, aka agent XXX, was a member of Otdyel IV in the film novelisation of The Spy Who Loved Me, James Bond, The Spy Who Loved MeJames Bond, The Spy Who Loved MeJames Bond, The Spy Who Loved Me is the official novelisation of the EON film, The Spy Who Loved Me.-Background:When Ian Fleming sold the film rights to the James Bond novels to Harry Saltzman and Albert R. Broccoli, he only gave permission for the title The Spy Who Loved Me to be used...
.
- Kolya Mosolov: Mosolov is a KGB agent who is a member of the Icebreaker team in the novel IcebreakerIcebreaker (novel)Icebreaker, first published in 1983, was the third novel by John Gardner featuring Ian Fleming's secret agent, James Bond. Carrying the Glidrose Publications copyright, it was first published in the United Kingdom by Jonathan Cape and is the first Bond novel to be published in the United States by...
. He is discovered to have planned the entire Icebreaker team in coordination with von Glöda. The two have a deal in which Mosolov would betray his country and sell arms to von Glöda in exchange for the capture of secret agent 007. Mosolov being not only an agent of the KGB, but also an agent working within "Department V" (formerly SMERSH). Mosolov believes that von Glöda will not succeed and is merely going along with the deal for the time being in order to capture Bond for the Soviets.
- General Konstantin Nikolaevich Chernov: Codenamed "Blackfriar", Chernov (also known as Koyla Chernov) is the Chief Investigating Officer of Department Eight, Directorate S (formerly SMERSH). He appears in John Gardner's No Deals, Mr. BondNo Deals, Mr. BondNo Deals, Mr. Bond, first published in 1987, was the sixth novel by John Gardner featuring Ian Fleming's secret agent, James Bond. Carrying the Glidrose Publications copyright, it was first published in the United Kingdom by Jonathan Cape and in the United States by Putnam...
as the villain who is systematically targeting former members of a secret operation in East Germany.
Spoof
A joking reference to SMERSH also appears in the spoof film, Casino RoyaleCasino Royale (1967 film)
Casino Royale is a 1967 comedy spy film originally produced by Columbia Pictures starring an ensemble cast of directors and actors. It is set as a satire of the James Bond film series and the spy genre, and is loosely based on Ian Fleming's first James Bond novel.The film stars David Niven as the...
in which anyone who uttered the name was quieted by someone else saying "SHHHHHHHH!" thereby making the acronym sound like "SMERSHHHHHHHHH..."