Selmer Nilsen
Encyclopedia
Selmer Nilsen was a Norwegian
fisherman spying for the GRU
during the Cold War
.
He was active in Bodø
from 1956 to 1963, and reported Bodø landings and take-offs of the American espionage
plane Lockheed U-2
to the Soviet Union
. These operations culminated with the U-2 Crisis of 1960
, when one of the U-2 planes was forced down over Soviet Union on 1 May 1960.
Nilsen, originally from Bakfjord, Finnmark
, was recruited in 1948 after threats from Soviet agents towards his family. The 17 year old boy was sent for training in the Soviet Union. He returned seven months later, with a radio transmitter and knowledge of telegraphy. After twenty years as foreign agent he was arrested in 1967, and sentenced to seven and a half years imprisonment in a trial held behind closed doors in the court of Bodø
. He was however pardoned from further imprisonment after 3 years. The disclosure shocked Norway, as well as its NATO allies, as the espionage had been carried out through the peak of the Cold War. After the arrest, and the subsequent premature release, Nilsen spoke openly about his activities as an agent for the Soviet regime.
A televised documentary about Nilsen, featuring himself as the main story-teller, was shot in 1971, but was not broadcast on Norwegian television until December 2007. The documentary was originally stopped following discussions in the press, as well as between representatives from the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation and the National Defense Administration.
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
fisherman spying for the GRU
GRU
GRU or Glavnoye Razvedyvatel'noye Upravleniye is the foreign military intelligence directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation...
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...
.
He was active in Bodø
Bodø
is a city and a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the Salten region.The city of Bodø was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 . Bodin was merged with Bodø on 1 January 1968. Skjerstad was merged with Bodø on 1 January 2005...
from 1956 to 1963, and reported Bodø landings and take-offs of the American espionage
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...
plane Lockheed U-2
Lockheed U-2
The Lockheed U-2, nicknamed "Dragon Lady", is a single-engine, very high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft operated by the United States Air Force and previously flown by the Central Intelligence Agency . It provides day and night, very high-altitude , all-weather intelligence gathering...
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....
. These operations culminated with the U-2 Crisis of 1960
U-2 Crisis of 1960
The 1960 U-2 incident occurred during the Cold War on May 1, 1960, during the presidency of Dwight D. Eisenhower and during the leadership of Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev, when a United States U-2 spy plane was shot down over the airspace of the Soviet Union.The United States government at...
, when one of the U-2 planes was forced down over Soviet Union on 1 May 1960.
Nilsen, originally from Bakfjord, Finnmark
Finnmark
or Finnmárku is a county in the extreme northeast of Norway. By land it borders Troms county to the west, Finland to the south and Russia to the east, and by water, the Norwegian Sea to the northwest, and the Barents Sea to the north and northeast.The county was formerly known as Finmarkens...
, was recruited in 1948 after threats from Soviet agents towards his family. The 17 year old boy was sent for training in the Soviet Union. He returned seven months later, with a radio transmitter and knowledge of telegraphy. After twenty years as foreign agent he was arrested in 1967, and sentenced to seven and a half years imprisonment in a trial held behind closed doors in the court of Bodø
Bodø
is a city and a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the Salten region.The city of Bodø was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 . Bodin was merged with Bodø on 1 January 1968. Skjerstad was merged with Bodø on 1 January 2005...
. He was however pardoned from further imprisonment after 3 years. The disclosure shocked Norway, as well as its NATO allies, as the espionage had been carried out through the peak of the Cold War. After the arrest, and the subsequent premature release, Nilsen spoke openly about his activities as an agent for the Soviet regime.
A televised documentary about Nilsen, featuring himself as the main story-teller, was shot in 1971, but was not broadcast on Norwegian television until December 2007. The documentary was originally stopped following discussions in the press, as well as between representatives from the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation and the National Defense Administration.