Cold War – Read Write Reflect

Agent Sonya: The Spy Next Door

Ben Macintyre (Penguin Random House, NY)

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What’s it about?

It’s the fascinating true story of Ursula Kaczynski — code name Sonya — who spied for the Soviet Union before, during and after World War II. Despite being Jewish, she became an avowed communist, going on to spy for the Soviets in China, Poland, Switzerland, and the UK.

What was her biggest impact?

Without doubt, her most devastating contribution to the Cold War was the work she did in running Klaus Fuchs, one of the expert western scientists building the atomic bomb. The material Fuchs provided enabled the Soviets to catch up and build their own atomic weaponry.

A fascinating true spy story

Was she ever caught?

No. The book brings to light the shocking incompetence of the spy catchers in MI5. They consistently missed meaningful clues and failed to capitalize on the opportunities that came their way. Ultimately, after Klaus Fuchs was caught and Ursula knew that her cover was almost certainly blown, she fled to East Germany where she made her new home for the remainder of her life. She died in her eighties in 2000, an acclaimed Soviet hero.

What was the most shocking part of the book?

One might assume that it was the many affairs and lovers she had but that wasn’t it. It was the fact that she continued to believe in communism long after it had become clear to her that it was a failed philosophy. In East Germany she saw first hand the devastating consequences of the communist system in action and yet she still believed.

Most powerful quote?

“She spent her adult life fighting for something she believed to be right, and died knowing that much of it had been wrong” (Chapter 24).

Was it worth reading?

Absolutely. Ben Macintyre is a brilliant writer. The book is incredibly well researched and is a fascinating read. There are parts that get a little dry to read but they are nonetheless important parts of the overall story. Ultimately, it’s an amazing account of the critical role that Sonya played in Cold War history and the way in which the great minds of the spy world overlooked her, largely because she was a woman and a mother.

“The Spy and the Traitor”

Ben Macintyre (Broadway Books)

This is an incredible true spy story. I knew this book was going to be awesome when I saw that John LeCarre described it as “The best true spy story have ever read” but it surpassed my expectations.

The spy is KGB Colonel Oleg Gordievsky who becomes an MI6 double agent and today lives in hiding in the UK. Gordievsky became disillusioned with the lie that was the Soviet Union and set out to bring an end to the communist system.

The traitor is Aldrich Ames, the CIA double agent who spied for the KGB and is believed to be the mole who ultimately betrayed Gordievsky. Ames is serving a life sentence in a US prison.

The book is well researched and contains multiple quotes from key KGB, CIA, MI6 and MI5 participants. The narrative is compelling and the story is so incredible that it would be unbelievable except for the fact that it’s true. The author makes clear that there is no moral equivalence between these two double agents: Ames betrayed his country for money; Gordievsky sought to save his country from the clutches of the communist regime.

[Spoiler alerts] The book traces Gordievsky’s life from loyal KGB agent, to MI6 informant, his posting to Scandinavia and London, his recall to Moscow after he became the subject of suspicion, his torture and interrogation, and ultimately his incredulous escape from the Soviet Union.

One of the most compelling personal elements of the story is Gordievsky’s love for his wife (the daughter of a KGB general) and his daughters who knew nothing of his betrayal of the Soviet Union. He struggles desperately in deciding whether to escape alone or risk taking the entire family in an escape attempt that seems destined to fail. Ultimately, he escapes alone, leaving his wife to endure relentless KGB interrogation. Efforts by the UK to extract Gordievsky’s family from the USSR were unsuccessful. Finally, in the dying months of the Soviet Union, six years after their separation, the family was reunited. Tragically, the precious love they shared had died and the author states that Gordievsky’s wife believed that his “loyalty to an idea had taken precedence over his love for her” (Epilogue).

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Compelling Quotes:

“The decision to leave his family behind was either an act of monumental self-sacrifice, or one of selfish self-preservation, or both. He told himself he had no choice, which is what we all tell ourselves when forced to make a terrible choice” (p.249).

The Telegram from MI6 to the extraction team: “The Prime Minister has personally approved this operation and expressed her confidence in your ability to carry it out. We all here join in standing 100% behind you and are confident you will succeed” (p. 270).

“Gordievsky risked his life for a cause; Ames wanted a bigger car” (Epilogue).

“He is one of the bravest people I have ever met, and one of the loneliest” (Epilogue).

Summation:

In the Afterword, the author states:

“Oleg Gordievsky did not read the book before publication; he then read it twice, and sent his assessment in a single line, written in a wobbly hand: “It is flawless.” This book is certainly not flawless, but if it has helped to bring to the world’s attention a remarkable, brave, and complex man and an important episode in recent hisotry, then it will have served its purpose” (Afterword).

I would assure the author that he most definitely got my attention. I had never heard of Oleg Gordievsky and now I wonder why. The book had a remarkable impact. I’m glad I had the chance to read it and I recommend it wholeheartedly to anyone with an interest in history and especially the Cold War era.

Tag: Cold War

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MI6, the KGB & the CIA: Treachery, betrayal and sacrifice

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