On May 17, 1985, Oleg Gordievsky became
a true spymaster at the pinnacle of his career. He was just promoted to rezident,
or chief, of the KGB station in London, England. Moscow seemed to have no clue
he’d been secretly working for MI6, the British secret intelligence service,
for 11 years.
A worthy double agent he was! Gordievsky
received a cable ordering him to report to Moscow “urgently” to confirm his
promotion and meet with the KGB’s two highest officials. “Cold fear started to
run down my back,” he told his handler. “Because I knew it was a death
sentence.”
He’d been back at headquarters only
four months earlier, and all seemed well. Now, he feared, the KGB’s
counterspies had become suspicious and were recalling him to confront him. If
he refused the summons, he would destroy his career. But if he returned home,
he could be shot.
His MI6 handlers assured him they’d
picked up no sign anything was wrong. They urged him to go to Moscow, but they
also provided him with an escape plan in case he signaled that he was in
danger.
Gordievsky decided to risk his life
and go. Click HERE to read more of this article.
Robert Morton writes about the U.S. Intelligence Community and authors the Penumbra Database: Corey Pearson- CIA Spymaster spy thriller series.
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