On October 24, 1921, the legendary Soviet intelligence officer was born. Hero of the Soviet Union Nadezhda Troyan. We will tell about her and other famous Soviet intelligence officers of the times of the Great Patriotic War.
Hope Troyan
When the Great Patriotic War began, Nadezhda Viktorovna Troyan lived in Belarus. Immediately with the beginning of the German occupation, she became a member of a youth underground organization in the city of Smolevichi, Minsk region. The Komsomol members of the underground collected intelligence data about the enemy troops necessary for the Soviet army, put up leaflets, and helped the families of those who went to partisan detachments in the Belarusian forests.
In July 1942, Nadezhda Troyan also went to the partisans. She was a scout and, concurrently, a nurse in the Stalinist Five, Storm, etc. detachments. The brave girl personally participated not only in the collection of intelligence, but also in undermining bridges, attacking enemy carts and other military operations.
In 1943, Nadezhda Troyan took an active part in the preparation and conduct of the operation to destroy the Gauleiter of Belarus Wilhelm Kube. Already in the post-war period, the film “The Clock Stopped at Midnight” was made about this feat of Nadezhda Troyan and her comrades-in-arms. In 2012, the operation to eliminate Wilhelm Kube formed the basis of the television series Gauleiter Hunt.
For her courage during this operation, Nadezhda Troyan was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union in October 1943, received the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal.
After the war, Nadezhda Troyan moved to Moscow, graduated from a medical institute, worked as a surgeon, and defended her Ph.D. thesis. Nadezhda Viktorovna headed the Research Institute of Health Education of the Ministry of Health of the USSR, was an associate professor of the Department of Surgery at the 1st Moscow Medical Institute, a member of the Presidium of the Soviet Committee of War Veterans, a member of the Peace Defense Committee, chairman of the executive committee of the Union of Societies of the Red Cross and Red Crescent of the USSR, a member of the Council International Federation resistance fighters, co-chair international organization health education.
Soviet intelligence officer Nadezhda Troyan died in 2011 in Moscow.
Anna Morozova
Probably everyone watched the cult Soviet four-part film directed by Sergei Kolosov “Calling Fire on Ourselves”. This is one of our best war films. The main female role was brilliantly played by Lyudmila Kasatkina.
But not everyone knows that the film heroine Lyudmila Kasatkina had a real prototype - intelligence officer Anya Morozova, a girl who became a legend.
Anna Afanasievna Morozova was born in 1921. When the war began, a twenty-year-old girl lived and worked as an accountant in the Bryansk region. In May 1942, Anya Morozova headed an underground international Soviet-Polish-Czechoslovak organization in the village of Sescha as part of the 1st Kletnyanskaya partisan brigade. Morozova and her comrades collected valuable intelligence data on enemy forces and carried out subversive activities. On the mines laid by the organization of Anna Morozova, from May 1942 to September 1943, two German ammunition depots, twenty aircraft and six railway trains took off into the air.
With the help of intelligence obtained by Anya Morozova, on June 17, 1942, the partisans defeated the garrison of the German air base in the village of Sergeevka, destroyed 200 flight personnel and 38 combat vehicles.
In September 1943, the underground, led by Anna Morozova, managed to connect with regular units. Soviet army. Anya graduated from the courses of radio operators. Considering her experience in the underground and intelligence abilities, in June 1944, the command assigned the girl to the Jack intelligence group. As part of this group, Anna Morozova was abandoned in East Prussia. From there, the "Jack" fighters crossed into the Polish territory occupied by the Germans. Since the end of 1944, Morozova fought in a joint Soviet-Polish partisan detachment. On December 31, 1944, the fighters of the "Jack" detachment entered into battle with the Germans on the Nova Ves farm. Anya Morozova was wounded and, in order not to fall into the hands of the Germans alive, blew herself up with a grenade.
The feat of the Soviet intelligence officer became known after the war, when in 1959 the former intelligence officer Ovid Gorchakov published an essay about Anna Morozova in Komsomolskaya Pravda. It was on the basis of this essay that the script for the film “Calling Fire on Ourselves” was written. In 1965, war veterans, after watching this film, turned to the country's leadership with a proposal to award Anna Morozova the title of Hero of the Soviet Union posthumously, which was done on May 8, 1965.
Zoya Voskresenskaya
"Mother's Heart", "Password - Hope", "Meeting" and other books that Soviet children read ... Their author is the writer Zoya Voskresenskaya, she is also the legendary intelligence officer, twice order bearer Zoya Ivanovna Voskresenskaya (Rybkina).
Zoya Voskresenskaya has been working in foreign intelligence since 1929. She was sent with various assignments to China, Latvia, Germany, Austria. From 1935 to 1939 Zoya Ivanovna worked as a deputy resident in Finland. According to the official version, Zoya Voskresenskaya was called Madame Yartseva, and she was the head of the Soviet representative office of Intourist in Helsinki.
In 1936, Boris Rybkin (underground nickname "Kin") became a new resident of our foreign intelligence in Finland. Officially, he was the consul of the Soviet embassy). Six months later, two scouts - Voskresenskaya and Rybkin - asked the leadership in Moscow for permission to get married.
Before the start of the Soviet-Finnish war, Voskresenskaya was called to work in Moscow. Zoya Ivanovna was an excellent analyst, data from many intelligence officers flocked to her, including from members of the famous "Red Chapel" (remember the film of the same name).
From 1941 to 1944 Zoya Voskresenskaya worked at the Soviet embassy in Sweden. Like any undercover spy, she had an official position - the press secretary of the embassy. In the same place, in our embassy in Sweden, she worked and the famous Alexandra Kollontai. Largely thanks to the efforts of these two women, Finland on September 20, 1944 left the coalition with Nazi Germany and signed a peace treaty with the USSR. In addition, while in Sweden, Zoya Voskresenskaya, with the help of an agent network, collected information about the political and economic situation in Germany, its military plans. The scout organized monitoring of the transit of goods from Germany, the transfer of military equipment from Germany to Finland. Zoya Ivanovna and her husband Boris Rybkin again established contact with the Red Chapel. True, the members of this team, for reasons beyond the control of our scouts, were soon arrested by the Germans.
Zoya Voskresenskaya served in foreign intelligence until the mid-1950s. She retired with the rank of colonel, with a large number state awards. And a new milestone in the life of Zoya Ivanovna began - she became a children's writer. Already shortly before her death in 1992, Voskresenskaya wrote her last, not at all children's book - “Now I can tell the truth. (From the memoirs of a scout). The book was published after the death of Zoya Ivanovna.
Vera Voloshina
Everyone knows about the feat of Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya. But the name of her no less heroic friend in arms, Vera Voloshina, is known, alas, to a few. Even the title of Hero of Russia was awarded to her more than fifty years after her death.
Professional athlete Vera Voloshina became famous even before the war. She became "The Paddle Girl". Sculptor Ivan Shadr chose Vera Voloshina as a model for his famous work, which was installed at the main entrance of the Central Park of Culture and Culture among the fountains. Then numerous copies of "Girl with an oar" appeared in almost all cities of the country.
On June 22, 1941, third-year student Vera Voloshina was in practice in Zagorsk near Moscow. Together with her friends, the girl went to the department store to buy White dress: Vera and her childhood friend Yuri Dvuzhilny were going to get married. In the department store, Vera Voloshina learned that the war had begun.
In October 1941, Vera Voloshina volunteered for the front. The girl was sent to military unit No. 9903 of the intelligence department of the headquarters Western Front. Voloshina's task was to carry out tasks behind enemy lines. Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya served in the same unit since November 1941. The girls became friends.
Vera Voloshina managed to successfully go to the rear of the Germans seven times, return alive and obtain valuable information. On November 21, 1941, two groups of scouts immediately went to the rear of the Germans. In one group was Vera Voloshina, in the other - Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya. Both groups were ambushed. The seriously wounded Vera Voloshina ended up in the hands of the Germans.
The inhabitants of the village of Golovkovo described what happened to Vera Voloshina on November 29, 1941: “They brought her, poor, by car to the gallows, and there the noose dangles in the wind. All around the Germans gathered, there were many of them. And our prisoners who worked behind the bridge were brought in. The girl was in the car. At first it was not visible, but when lowered side walls, so I gasped. She lies, poor thing, in only her underwear, and even then it is torn, and all in blood. Two Germans, fat like that, with black crosses on their sleeves, climbed into the car, wanted to help her up. But the girl pushed the Germans away and, clinging to the cab with one hand, got up. Her second hand was, apparently, broken - it hung like a whip. And then she started talking. At first she said something, you see, in German, and then, she became ours.
I, he says, am not afraid of death. My comrades will avenge me. Ours will still win. Here you will see!
And the girl sang. And you know what song? The one that is sung every time in meetings and played on the radio in the morning and late at night.
- "International"?
Yes, that very song. And the Germans stand and listen in silence. The officer who commanded the execution shouted something to the soldiers. They threw a noose around the girl's neck and jumped off the car. The officer ran up to the driver and gave the command to move off. And he sits, turned white all over, you see, he’s not used to hanging people yet. The officer pulled out a revolver and shouted something to the driver in his own way. Apparently, he cursed a lot. He seemed to wake up, and the car started moving. The girl still had time to shout, so loudly that my blood froze in my veins: "Farewell, comrades!" When I opened my eyes, I saw that it was already hanging.” On the same day, ten kilometers from Golovkovo, in the village of Petrishchevo, the Germans executed Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya. The fiance of Vera Voloshina, Yuri Dvuzhilny, died in the battles near Mogilev, received the posthumous title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
Long time comrades-in-arms did not know anything about the fate of Vera Voloshina. She was considered missing. Her grave and the circumstances of her death were clarified only in 1957. In 1994, Vera Voloshina was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of Russia.
Violetta Basha, "My Family" weekly
"HONEY TRAP"
The elusive and charming James Bond ends each special operation in bed with a beauty. To create myths is the right of cinema illusions. Do not judge intelligence work by the adventures of agent 007 in the popular spy series of the last century. But the use of sex in the service of intelligence is not a myth. In a professional environment, there is a term - "honey trap". As the history of intelligence has shown, this technique is quite effective. However, there are also "misfires" ...
"Honey Trap"
Strictly speaking, a “honey trap” is any use in the interests of the special services of sexual attractiveness or even just charm sent by counterintelligence to an intelligence agent of another state of the fair sex. In professional language, such an action has another name - "a woman's eyeliner." Somewhat less often, another combination is also possible - an intelligence officer and a counterintelligence officer of the “host state” sent to her (this name is accepted in professional language to refer to the country against which intelligence work is being carried out).
A provocation of this kind was used against our well-known intelligence officer Mikhail Vladimirovich Fedorov, who served with his wife Galina Ivanovna Fedorova in foreign intelligence for more than 40 years, and half of this period - in illegal conditions. This married couple has established a communications residency in Western Europe since the height of the Cold War.
... So, the heroine of the exciting episode was called Zhuzha, she was about 25 years old and she once appeared in a chess club where Mikhail Vladimirovich used to visit
(having "according to legend" the name Sep) ...
A life-long performance, or features of illegal intelligence ...
...Before we return to the events of the chess club, it is necessary to get acquainted with the way of life of illegal intelligence officers. All countries have intelligence. Legal intelligence works under the guise of embassies, consulates, trade missions, firms. Failure here threatens with an international scandal and expulsion. Illegal scouts work without cover. A mistake for them is deadly and threatens with capital punishment or life imprisonment. In a foreign state, an illegal intelligence agent is a citizen of this state, most often he has original documents. Before the trip, the so-called "legend" is carefully worked out ( new biography). An illegal immigrant in the host state starts a house, a family, gets a job. Friends, neighbors, colleagues appear. New habits emerge. They must comply with both the national traditions of the host state and the "legend" of the illegal immigrant. Most importantly, lifestyle, habits and much more should not attract unnecessary attention. An illegal immigrant can start a family that will never know what kind of person lives nearby. Illegal children grow up without knowing who their father is or
mother, where is their real homeland. All this is called "deep settling". Illegals not only do not have the right to speak the language of their native country, but they are also obliged to think in the language of the host country. For many years, the language of the Motherland is forgotten. The Fyodorovs forbade themselves to speak Russian even in private, somewhere remote from human eyes, say, in a forest. The most accurate way to compare them with the artists. With one difference... They have no right to fail! Most of the illegal immigrants with whom I was able to talk agreed with this definition of the lived: the stage on which you play most of your life.
… Visiting a chess club in one of the cities of the host country for Sep was a good way to make more contacts, reach the right people…
Zhuzha
A woman met Sep in a chess club. She introduced herself as a nurse, a remigrant from Hungary. She was about 25 years old. Her name was Zhuzha. Once, when Sep was at the club, she called the club on the phone and asked to call Sep. When Sep answered the phone, he heard that a stranger who had recently appeared in the club asked him for an urgent meeting "on a personal matter." She made an appointment at the Russian cafe Natalie. This alarmed the Soviet intelligence officer. He wanted to refuse, but the girl insisted. In the cafe, Zhuzha did not really explain anything, but asked Sep to take her to the hostel where she lived. Then came… an invitation for a cup of coffee. However, everything was played out quite delicately, without excessive obtrusiveness or swagger, but insistently. Zhuzha behaved correctly, and she needed advice - whether she should marry a man from Hungary, a country "behind the iron curtain." She structured the conversation in such a way that Sep was forced to give ... an assessment of this country.
Suddenly Sep thought he heard a click. Their conversation was being taped!
Sep, of course, called Hungary "totalitarian" and spoke highly of Western democracy. It became clear to him that this was the work of counterintelligence. After the incident, Zhuzha disappeared, having completed the task.
Modest charm of Russian beauties
In October 1941, Vasily Zarubin (agent "Cooper" or "Maxim") was sent to Washington, who began active work as a resident under the cover of the post of secretary of the embassy "Zubilin". Vasily's wife, prominent intelligence officer Liza Zarubina, played a unique role in leaking information on the American atomic bomb, becoming not only a close friend of Kitty Harrison, the wife of project manager Robert Oppenheimer. Lisa Zarubina and the wife of the sculptor Konenkov managed to conquer the inner circle of the elegant Oppie, who had no idea that the charming Russians were Soviet agents, and Konenkov's wife worked under Lisa. They managed to persuade him to hire specialists known for anti-fascist beliefs. "Oppie" should not have known at all that Semyonov's agents were developing these people. Liza Zarubina, according to the recollections of the legendary intelligence officer Pavel Sudoplatov, was not only a woman of classical beauty, refined in nature and outstanding personality. She knew how to attract people like a magnet.
Mp3 - soundtrack from the movie "We Only Live Twice", basic. theme, james bond agent 007
Beautiful, smart, 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, external attractiveness and seductiveness. Scouts have no right to glory, their names and exploits become known only after they officially cease to fulfill their duties.
Plevitskaya's most high-profile operation 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 made it possible to expose Russian spies. Plevitskaya was arrested by French counterintelligence. She was charged with espionage for the USSR and kidnapping, for which she was given 20 years. In 1940, she died within the walls of the women's prison in Rennes.
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 connected Margarita and Einstein is not exactly known. However, letters to each other with very tender content were found in their personal belongings.
In 1941, working in the All-Union Society for Cultural Relations with Foreign States, she ended up at 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 could make out traces of paintings hanging on the walls and packed suitcases in an ajar office. Then she reported that the Germans were planning to evacuate, which means they were preparing for war. The authorities ignored her message.
During the war, Zoya trained scouts and saboteurs. The episode became famous when she refused to follow the order of the leadership. They wanted to instruct her to become the mistress of a general from Switzerland who had ties 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 her dismissal from intelligence, Zoya served in the administration of camps in Vorkuta, and after finishing her work until retirement, she began writing children's stories under the pseudonym "Voskresenskaya".
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 the intelligence of the USSR, 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 preparing the assassination attempt on Hitler, which, due to Stalin's fears, never took place. There is evidence that in the summer of 1953 Chekhov completed her last task - she became link for fruitful communication between Beria and Konrad Adenauer.
The spy died in 1980 in Munich. It is interesting that all her life she denied any connection with intelligence, the Moscow authorities also did not officially confirm these data.
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.
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. One day, leaving a strategically important area near nuclear facilities, Leontina came under police inspection. 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 tissues. The policeman kindly helped, flirting with a beautiful lady along the way. The inspection ended, Leontina took the box and went to the platform. In fact, this box contained secret documents that, thanks to the resourcefulness of the intelligence officer, were not discovered and went to Moscow to the leading atomic engineer of that time.
This feat became the basis for the creation of the film Calling Fire on Ourselves. After watching it, the veterans turned to the leadership of the USSR with a request to award Anna the title of Hero of the Soviet Union posthumously, which was done in May 1965.
At one time, a spy drama with a tragic ending caused a huge resonance - not everyone knew then.
The intelligence profession - that is, the practice of collecting information about the enemy, competitor and even ally - is one of the oldest in the world. It appeared in primitive society, when the tribes began to fight each other for the possession of territory and resources. And over time, the role of intelligence only increased. It has become one of the most popular and effective tools public policy. The security of the state and its actions in the international arena largely depended on how accurate the intelligence data was about the alignment of political forces in the camp of a potential enemy (ally), about his hidden intentions, weapons and moods in the army, economic potential and moods in society. And at all times, women in intelligence have played an important role.
However, many professionals were negative about attracting women to work in intelligence. So, for example, the head of department III-b of the General Staff (the German intelligence service in 1913-1919), Colonel Walter Nicolai, was convinced that there was no place for women in the secret order of the knights of the cloak and dagger. For a long time, they were skeptical in the intelligence services of Great Britain, France, and Italy. The head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the USSR and at the same time the first chairman of the KGB of the USSR Ivan Serov and some other leaders of Soviet intelligence did not like them either.
At the heart of this attitude towards female agents was the belief that intelligence is still a man's business, since it requires good physical training, self-confidence, composure, the ability to think logically and analyze the information received. And women, by their nature, are too emotional, trust feelings more than logic, are physically weak and poorly versed in politics and military affairs, it is easier to “split” them during interrogation, etc. In general, with the qualities necessary in intelligence, women are not going smoothly. Especially with logic. No wonder there are so many anecdotes on this topic.
True, not everyone agrees with this. Arthur Conan Doyle, for example, believed that "Women's direct instinct can sometimes be more valuable than any logical arguments", and not less famous English writer, poet and novelist, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1907, Rudyard Kipling wrote that "Women's intuition is much more accurate than men's confidence." The famous French psychologist, sociologist, anthropologist, historian and undisputed founder of social psychology Gustave Lebon: "A woman's great advantage over a man is her instinctive ability, often quickly and unconsciously, to guess things that a man comes to only after prolonged deep reflection," he wrote.
Some of the skeptics may say that this is the opinion of non-professionals, and it is hardly worth relying on it. Let's not argue. Let's turn to the opinion of professionals.
The legend of illegal intelligence, Hero of the Soviet Union Gevork Vartanyan believes that women play a special role in intelligence. “It is sometimes easier for them to establish contact with a person of interest to us. Often in such cases, my wife Gohar acted first - she met the wife of the right person, and this did not arouse suspicion in anyone. Slowly, friendships developed between the families. And it turned out that I met this man on neutral ground, and he could no longer say anywhere: they say, I was getting close to him. It's always best to work in pairs. If you are with your spouse (as I have been all my life), you are more trustworthy. It is more difficult for one to penetrate into the right circle. These are the words of a man who knows what he is talking about - the Vartanyan married couple, who have more than thirty years of illegal work abroad behind them, is considered one of the most productive in the history of modern intelligence. And the fact that during the Tehran Conference in November 1943 it was possible to prevent the assassination attempt on the leaders of the "Big Three" - Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill - is their considerable merit.
Aliza Magen, former deputy director of the Mossad, Israel's political intelligence agency, which is considered one of the most efficient and professional intelligence agencies in the world, believes that “women's intuition is more developed than men's. And intelligence is a job where intuition is indispensable. In addition, there are places where a woman can safely pass and, without arousing suspicion, see everything that is needed. And if a man appears there, and one more, without a lady, he will inevitably arouse suspicion.
And here is how she answered the question of the correspondent: Russian newspaper”, why women are taken to analytical intelligence, Baroness Paulina Neville-Jones, Deputy Head of the British Home Office for Security Affairs. At one time she served as Assistant to the Prime Minister and Chairman of the Joint Inter-Services Intelligence Committee of Great Britain and became the prototype of Lady M - the head of His Majesty's Secret Service and the boss of James Bond.
“I think women are more observant and considerate than men. If you take mine personal experience working in government, I noticed that many women who have held positions of responsibility pay great attention to detail. I think this is very important in intelligence and special services. When performing tasks of a special nature, one must be an exceptionally attentive and meticulous person. Women just have such abilities. And we appreciate it."
So those who considered and continue to consider women as beings weak and good for nothing are mistaken. Many intelligence agencies have long been convinced that the so-called "weakness" is an excellent cover for a female intelligence officer. And in the art of impersonation, resourcefulness and acting talent, they have no equal. Here they may well give odds to male scouts.
Here is one example of female resourcefulness.
Atomic Secrets in a Gasket Bag
In the early 40s of the last century, Soviet intelligence managed to recruit the young American atomic physicist Arthur Fielding (operational pseudonym - "Perseus"), who held a very responsible post at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. In July 1943, he was supposed to hand over to the agent of the I Directorate of the NKGB of the USSR (foreign intelligence) Leontine Teresa Cohen (operational pseudonym - Helen Kroger) a package with materials on the Manhattan Project, within which work was carried out to develop nuclear weapons. This was not easy to do. The FBI was aware of the interest shown by foreign intelligence in this project, and all contacts of employees associated with nuclear research were carefully monitored. Already on the distant approaches to Los Alamos there were dense police cordons, which carefully checked the documents of all suspicious persons.
Nevertheless, the meeting between Arthur Fielding and Leontine Teresa Cohen took place and was successful, though not in Los Alamos itself, but in Santa Fe - the capital of the state of New Mexico - which is located about 60 kilometers from Los Alamos. And now Cohen was faced with the task of safely getting out of Santa Fe. At each car of the train, on which Leontina was supposed to return to New York, there were police officers who carefully checked the documents and luggage of passengers. What to do? In wartime conditions, the least that threatened a Soviet intelligence officer when secret documents were discovered was an electric chair. Leontina went into the station building, went to the toilet, threw out half of the contents of the bag with gaskets and put the documents received from Fielding into it. Then she waited a little and at the last moment ran to the train. Here she pretended to have lost her ticket and frantically looked for it in her purse, asking the policeman to hold the bag of gaskets. Having finally found a ticket, she jumped on the bandwagon of the already departing train, and the policeman ran after her, holding out a package with the words: “Miss, miss, take it, you forgot it!” ...
Soon, these most important materials were transported to Moscow and handed over to the leading nuclear scientist of the USSR, Academician Igor Kurchatov, under whose leadership the first Soviet atomic bomb RDS-1 (the so-called "product 501").
This case is another proof that women can find a way out in the most critical situation. After all, it is no coincidence that during the Second World War, the British intelligence and sabotage service of the USO began to use as couriers for the transfer classified information it was female agents - they were much less likely to be stopped and searched than men, and they could play some kind of mini-performance to divert attention, they could be much more professional than male agents. They also had one more "professional" weapon - tears. And women used it very skillfully.
The Ministry of State Security of the People's Republic of China also stakes on women. In its depths, a strategy was developed based on working with agents within the Chinese diasporas around the world. In accordance with this strategy, Chinese intelligence penetrated the state apparatus and law enforcement agencies of many countries through the multi-million Chinese communities, gaining the opportunity to influence decisions. Thus, according to experts, the Ministry of State Security of the People's Republic of China controls the main information and financial flows, as well as many branches of legal and illegal business in the countries of Southeast Asia. This strategy earned Chinese intelligence the laurels of the third most powerful in the world. And the “dragon lady”, who is fluent in the art of hand-to-hand combat, foreign languages and special knowledge, plays an important role in it.
Chinese scientists generally believe that women are better suited than men not only for intelligence, but even for military service. They tolerate better stressful situations, are less sensitive to pain, learn new information faster, adapt better to a changing environment, etc. And physically, a woman is not so weak as it seems at first glance.
Weaker sex?
The ancient Greek historian Herodotus, the author of the first full-scale historical treatise "History", describing the Greco-Persian wars, mentioned in his writings the Greek diver Cyana, who made a significant contribution to the victory of the Greek naval commander Themistocles in the famous naval battle between the Greek and Persian fleets on September 28, 480 BC e. near the Greek island of Salamis. It was a decisive battle, because if the Greeks were defeated, slavery and death awaited.
Cyana was the daughter of Scyllius, who knew no equal in diving. No one could so deftly retrieve treasures from sunken Greek and Persian ships. Scillius taught his art to Cyana, and she excelled in it.
On the night before the battle, when a storm was raging on the sea and the sails were torn to shreds, the father and daughter sailed 15 km. The Greeks, delighted with the feat of the girl, sculpted a statue of Cyana and placed it in the temple of Apollo in Delphi, and Herodotus told her story. So Cyan can rightfully be called the first underwater saboteur or combat swimmer.
And remember the legendary Amazons, who considered their patron goddess Artemis as the embodiment of a warrior woman! For many women, they have become a symbol of female independence and a role model, sometimes literally, and for men - a model of beauty and attractiveness.
The ancient Greek historian Diodorus Siculus wrote that Amazon women lived on the borders of the inhabited world (that is, outside the territories known to the Hellenes). They ruled the tribe and were engaged in military affairs, and the men busied themselves with the housework, following the instructions of their wives. And when children were born, men were also entrusted to take care of them. Legends and testimonies of ancient historians attribute to the Amazons participation in the Trojan War, the invasion with the Cimmerians (a nomadic people who lived in the Crimea and the nearby steppes) into Asia Minor, a campaign in Attica (the country of ancient Greek city-states) and the siege of Athens. They had excellent mounted and foot reconnaissance. Who would have thought that among the hundreds of women roaming the local market, there are Amazon spies who weak spots in the defense of the enemy.
The Spanish conquistador Francisco de Orellana, the first European to cross the Amazon from the foothills of the Andes to Atlantic Ocean in 1541-1542 Indian scouts, among whom were women, followed Orellana's detachment, and on June 24, 1542, he was attacked in one of the parking lots. Here is the testimony of the monk Carvajal, who participated in the expedition: “The battle that took place here was not for life, but for death, because the Indians mixed with the Spaniards and defended themselves with marvelous courage ... We saw with our own eyes that in battle they fight ahead of everyone and are for them something like leaders ... These wives are very tall and white-skinned, their hair is very long, braided and wrapped around their heads. They are very strong, and they walk almost naked - they only cover their shame. They have a bow and arrows in their hands, and in battle they are not inferior to a good dozen Indians, and many of them - I saw it with my own eyes - fired a whole armful of arrows at one of our brigantines ... ".
The Indian Amazons fought against the Spaniards in the forefront and showed unparalleled courage and outstanding martial arts. It was not possible to capture at least one of them in order to show the Spanish Catholic Majesties as a trophy. As it was not possible to conquer the country, which the Spaniards called "Amazonia", and the river - "Amazon". (The name "Brazil" appeared later on the basis of the old Celtic legends about the fabulous island "O Brazil" - the island of happiness inhabited by women).
So the concept of “weaker sex” is very relative. Especially in our time. And even more so in intelligence. A woman is naturally endowed with such qualities and abilities that are far from superfluous in this very specific kind of activity. Charm and sensuality, sexual attractiveness, and, if necessary, ostentatious modesty, cunning, the ability to intrigue and, let's say, unconventional logic, more than once rescued her in the most difficult situations. And if a female agent is also beautiful, then this can generally become a trap for men. In the desire to give significance to their person and make an impression, men sometimes forget and begin to talk about what is known only to a narrow circle of initiates. And it is no secret that women achieved great success in intelligence precisely because, as the well-known aphorism says, “the weaker sex is stronger than the strong due to the weakness of the stronger sex to the weaker one.” No wonder that beauty, charm and even deliberate defenselessness (read - weakness) have been used in intelligence since biblical times.
Vladimir Mayevsky
