9 fatal Soviet intelligence officers, before the cunning and charm of which Einstein, Hitler and other powerful of this world could not resist

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Beautiful, intelligent, selfless - these were the women who, by the will of fate, embarked on the path of espionage. Each of them led their own arranged life until the moment when the state made it clear that it needed their work. Spy women are a combination of cold prudence, courage, willpower, visual appeal and seduction. Scouts do not have the right to fame, their names and exploits become known only after they officially cease to fulfill their duties.

1. Nadezhda Plevitskaya - sweet romances and insidious kidnapping

Emigrant Nadezhda Plevitskaya was an incredibly popular singer and actress. Her romances were literally heard, and fans remembered the roles in silent films to the smallest detail. But no one suspected that the "star" was leading a second life - she and her husband were recruited by the United State Political Administration under the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR.

The loudest operation of Plevitskaya is the abduction of Yevgeny Miller, the head of the Russian All-Military Union. The result was to be the appointment of Plevitskaya's husband to the position of Miller. But Miller began to suspect something was wrong and managed to write a note to his deputy, which allowed him to expose the Russian spies. Plevitskaya was arrested by French counterintelligence. She was charged with espionage for the USSR and kidnapping, for which she was sentenced to 20 years. In 1940, she died within the walls of the women's prison in Rennes. READ MORE …

2. Margarita Konenkova - a woman to whom Einstein was not indifferent

Under the pseudonym "Lucas" she spent half of her life in the United States. With a bright appearance and a shrewd mind, Margarita won the favor of Albert Einstein. It was he who helped her make friends with the creators of the atomic bomb.

Communicating with scientists, with the help of seduction and female cunning, she learned the details of atomic research, was aware of the stages of creation and transmitted all this information to Soviet intelligence. What kind of relationship between Margarita and Einstein is not known exactly. However, in their personal belongings, letters were found to each other with very gentle content. READ MORE …

3. Zoya Voskresenskaya-Rybkina - a scout who wrote children's stories

Zoya, under the pseudonym "Irina", became part of the intelligence service during the Civil War. The geography of her special assignments is very extensive - Austria, Germany, China, Turkey, Sweden, Latvia, Switzerland and Finland. For everyone, she played the role of a Russian emigrant with aristocratic roots. The task of the department where Zoya worked was to find out the further plans of Germany.

In 1941, while working in the All-Union Society for Cultural Relations with Foreign States, she went to the German Embassy for a reception. The local ambassador was fascinated by the Russian beauty and invited her to dance. While the German diplomat whispered compliments to her, circling in a waltz, she was able to make out the traces of the hanging paintings on the walls and the collected suitcases in the ajar office. Then she reported that the Germans were planning to evacuate, which meant they were preparing for war. The authorities ignored her message.

Zoya led the training of scouts and saboteurs during the war. An episode became famous when she refused to obey the order of the leadership. They wanted to instruct her to become the mistress of a general from Switzerland, who had connections with Germany. But she did not want to betray her husband, by the way, also a scout, and told her superiors that she would shoot herself. After leaving the intelligence service, Zoya served in the administration of camps in Vorkuta, and after working until retirement, she began writing children's stories under the pseudonym "Voskresenskaya".

4. Olga Chekhova - an actress who never acknowledged her connection with intelligence

Olga Knipper starred in Hollywood. Her partners included Charlie Chaplin, Clark Gable and other famous actors of the time. During the Nazi era, she was considered a state-level actress.

Having married a colleague of Mikhail Chekhov, she forever kept his last name, although the German authorities forced her to return her maiden name. Goebbels openly showed dislike for the actress because she rejected him. But at the same time, the Fuhrer himself sympathized with her.

In April 1945, Olga was arrested by Soviet intelligence, and the spy was taken to Moscow. After that, she traveled to West Berlin, and then moved to Germany. This visit was shrouded in mystery. Local newspapers began to write that Chekhova was a super-agent of the USSR and went to Moscow to receive the Order of Lenin for services to the state from the hands of Stalin himself.

Persons close to the Soviet leadership claimed that Olga took an active part in the preparation of the assassination attempt on Hitler, which, due to Stalin's fears, never took place. There is evidence that in the summer of 1953 Chekhova completed her last task - she became a connecting link for fruitful communication between Beria and Konrad Adenauer.

The spy died in 1980 in Munich. Interestingly, all her life she denied any connection with intelligence, the Moscow authorities also did not officially confirm these data. READ MORE …

5. Elizaveta Zarubina - working with 22 agents and FAU missiles

Elizaveta Zarubina is rightfully considered one of the brightest personalities of Soviet intelligence. She has been working under the pseudonym "Vardo" for over 20 years. The spy had an agent in Paris. From him she learned about the anti-Russian plans of the French. Elizabeth, risking her own life, was able to establish contact with the most valuable informer of Soviet intelligence in the Gestapo - Lehman. With his help, Zarubina was able to obtain classified data on the creation of an innovative weapon - the FAU cruise missiles and transfer it to the Soviet leadership.

During the Second World War, Lisa was one of the most valuable employees of the USSR residency in the United States. The most important informants were in touch with her, and in total she supervised 22 agents.

6. Leontina Cohen - a spy on a postage stamp

Leontina became the first woman - the Hero of Russia. She was directly involved in the search for classified information about the creation of atomic weapons in America. The most dangerous and difficult tasks of the Soviet residency in New York were up to this beautiful, intelligent and courageous woman.

Leontina brilliantly mastered the skills of a radio operator. The scout was famous for her extraordinary resourcefulness, the ability to instantly navigate in difficult situations. Once, leaving a strategically important area near nuclear facilities, Leontina came under police search. While the agents were examining her suitcase, the spy pretended to be looking for a train ticket in her purse and, smiling charmingly at the inspector, asked him to hold a box of napkins. The policeman kindly helped, flirting with a beautiful lady along the way. The inspection was over, Leontina took the box and went to the platform. In fact, this box contained secret documents, which, thanks to the intelligence of the intelligence officer, were not found and went to Moscow to the leading atomic engineer of that time.

7. Irina Alimova - from cinema straight to intelligence

Irina worked under the pseudonym "Bir". Her acting talent and knowledge of 8 foreign languages, among which were very rare, helped her to become a first-class spy. After training and internships, Irina was sent to Japan. Over the 30 years of her service, she provided the Motherland with a lot of valuable information regarding the military development of Japan, its rearmament, and the establishment of relations with the United States. It was Irina who was able to obtain aerial photographs of US military bases and Japanese military airfields. In the archives, all the information obtained by the scout is stored in folders that number more than 7 thousand pages.

8. Nadezhda Troyan and her participation in the destruction of the Belarusian Gauleiter

During the Second World War, Nadezhda was a member of an underground Komsomol organization. She collected important information, on the basis of which the Soviet military developed action plans, fought against the German invaders, and helped the families of the partisans. Subsequently, Troyan became a partisan, carried out reconnaissance missions and worked as a nurse, blew up bridges, attacked fascist units, and participated in hostilities. The most striking episode of her career was the operation that allowed the destruction of the Belarusian Gauleiter Wilhelm Kube. For services to the Motherland, the woman received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, in her arsenal the Order of Lenin, the Gold Star medal. The selfless actions of Nadezhda and her colleagues have become the leitmotif of several films.

9. Anna Morozova and the creation of the film "Calling fire on ourselves"

In May 1942, Anna became the head of the underground organization. Together with her associates, she obtained important information, participated in subversive activities. On the shells they laid down, German ammunition depots, planes and trains were blown up. Thanks to the data she obtained, Soviet soldiers were able to destroy more than 35 combat units and 200 fascists. Having mastered the profession of a radio operator, Anna was sent to East Prussia. Working as part of the "Jack" squad at the time of the Nazi attack, the girl was wounded. In order not to get alive to the enemies, Anya blew herself up with a grenade.

This feat became the basis for the creation of the film "Call the Fire on Ourselves." After watching it, the veterans turned to the leadership of the USSR with a request to assign Anna the title of Hero of the Soviet Union posthumously, which was done in May 1965.

A spy drama with a tragic ending caused a huge resonance at one time - not everyone then knew why the Rosenberg spouses were executed.