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Oleg Gordievsky, recognized as one of the most influential double agents during the Cold War while serving inside the KGB, has passed away at the age of 86 at his home in Surrey.
Initially stationed in Moscow, Gordievsky ultimately defected to Britain due to fears of exposure, playing a vital role for UK intelligence agencies operating within the Soviet framework.
Authorities have reported that, while counter-terrorism police are assisting the coroner, there are no suspicions surrounding the circumstances of his passing.
Gordievsky’s life as a double agent resembled the intricate narratives found in John le Carré’s espionage novels, capturing the perilous nature of spy activities that once defined Cold War tensions.
As a colonel within the KGB, the predecessor to Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), he was instrumental in providing MI6 and MI5 with intelligence that resulted in the expulsion of numerous Soviet agents from the UK.
His contributions were notably significant during the Thatcher-Reagan years. He alerted Western leaders to Moscow’s growing paranoia regarding nuclear strategies, which potentially brought it closer to considering a nuclear first strike. His insights led to NATO modifying a significant military exercise, averting a dangerous escalation.
Gordievsky’s recruitment as a British agent emerged after he expressed his concerns regarding Soviet actions, like the suppression of the Prague Spring in 1968 while serving in Denmark. He was subsequently enlisted in the 1970s, operating under the codename “Sunbeam,” and later took on the role of KGB rezident in London.
Despite his accolades for intelligence-gathering, Gordievsky’s assertion in his writings that former Labour leader Michael Foot served as a Soviet “agent of influence” led to a significant legal settlement arising from a defamation claim.
He did provide critical information that uncovered the activities of Michael Bettaney, a former MI5 officer who had attempted to expose UK intelligence methods.
His career unfolded under great risks; a tip-off from CIA officer Aldrich Ames, who was spying for the Soviets, threatened his safety. In 1985, he was recalled to Moscow and placed under surveillance. Recognizing the imminent danger, he executed a carefully orchestrated escape plan facilitated by MI6, managing to evade his KGB pursuers and fleeing to the Finnish border.
In an archival recording featured in the BBC documentary “Secrets and Spies: A Nuclear Game,” Gordievsky expressed his motivation by stating, “I hated the communist system, I wanted to fight against it.”
“Gordievsky was once described to me by an MI6 guy as the only truly ideological Soviet spy he could think of,” journalist Mark Urban noted on social media following the announcement of his death. “He despised the USSR and sought to undermine it by passing secret intelligence to the west.”
After relocating to the UK, Gordievsky settled near Godalming in Surrey, living under a veil of protection for his identity.
However, as noted in Richard Norton-Taylor’s obituary in The Guardian, he struggled with loneliness without his family and faced the emotional toll that many spies encounter after the initial thrill of a secret life subsides.
Encouraged by MI6, he authored several books, although one led to legal action from Foot over claims made regarding his influence.
In recognition of his service, Gordievsky was appointed a Companion of the Most Distinguished Order of St Michael and St George by Queen Elizabeth II in 2007.
His first marriage to KGB officer Yelena Akopian ended in divorce. In 1979, he married Leila Aliyeva, whom he met in Copenhagen where she worked for the World Health Organization. They had two daughters, Maria and Anna, who are believed to still reside in the UK.
Source
www.theguardian.com