"You can be sure of my devotion, dedication, and determination in fighting for your (and now my) cause. You will remember me kindly, I will win your recognition," wrote Oleg Penkovsky in a secret message to Queen Elizabeth II, U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower, and ten leading Western politicians.
This was one of several letters drafted by the GRU colonel in the summer of 1960 for the eyes of the CIA and MI6, along with Soviet military secrets. In this way, the high-ranking Soviet officer made overtures to the Western special services.
Codenamed HERO, Penkovsky is widely seen as the most important spy of the Cold War, and the CIA-MI6 operation, run as the world stood on the brink of nuclear destruction, has never been bettered. But how exactly did the Russians detect Penkovsky, and why did they let him continue his contact with his handlers for months afterward?"You can be sure of my devotion, dedication, and determination in fighting for your (and now my) cause. You will remember me kindly, I will win your recognition," wrote Oleg Penkovsky in a secret message to Queen Elizabeth II, U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower, and ten leading Western politicians.
Codenamed HERO, Penkovsky is widely seen as the most important spy of the Cold War, and the CIA-MI6 operation, run as the world stood on the brink of nuclear destruction, has never been bettered. But how exactly did the Russians detect Penkovsky, and why did they let him continue his contact with his handlers for months afterward?