Long before the outbreak of World War II, the man who unleashed it was serving a five-year sentence (in fact, he spent only 8 months behind bars - B.K.) in the Landsberg fortress for participating in the “Beer Hall Putsch.” It was Adolf Hitler. He spent his time in prison with great benefit for himself: the future Fuhrer of the Third Reich was writing his main work, which was to become the bible of National Socialism - “Mein Kampf”.
Addressing issues of marriage and family, he argued the following:
“Sins against blood and race are the most terrible sins in this world. A nation that indulges in these sins is doomed..."
...It is necessary to understand that marriage is not an end in itself, that it must serve a higher goal: the reproduction and preservation of the species and race. This alone is the real meaning of marriage. This is his great task alone.”…
In the 30s of the 20th century, the film “The Rich Bride” was very popular in the Soviet Union, where the song “Come on, girls, come on, beauties!” was played. Soviet propaganda created the image of a patriotic woman, selflessly devoted to her Motherland, ready to do anything to accomplish a labor and military feat. Simple human relationships seemed ordinary, bourgeois, and not even quite decent.
The film “Hearts of Four” was not released on the big screen just before the war. He seemed too frivolous and dissolute to the leadership of the USSR.
Any, even small, mistake by the enemy is a benefit for the opposing side. And Hitler’s propaganda took advantage of it in the first months. In the article “Russian woman - martyr and heroine,” addressed to the population of the occupied territory, the following was written:
“What happened in the family life of the Soviet family? What changes did Soviet life bring to it? Under the influence of rough, cruel reality, the romance of love, the romance of family life disappeared.
In the practice of the notorious Soviet equality, a woman had to do hard men’s work in production, bear all sorts of social burdens and, in addition, devote some part of her time to family and household work. In the absence of household appliances and technical equipment one Homework became a difficult and thankless task.
The October Revolution and the Soviet government did not fulfill their solemn promise to the Russian woman. They did not liberate her, but strengthened her even more. And yet, the Soviet woman selflessly sacrificed her time, her youth, her outfits in order to support her family and her children, in order to put the latter on their feet.”
The German propagandist wrote with pathos that “the lot of the factory worker was hard - this cheap labor force, called upon at Stakhanov’s pace to carry out five-year plans - gigantic plans for the militarization of the country. Her life became grayer and more joyless. 
Hairdresser in occupied Pskov
Life was even more joyless and even harder was the lot of the Soviet peasant woman, forced from dawn to dusk to grind out workdays on the collective farm corvee. Courageous women of “dispossessed” families endured incredible suffering and drank the cup of grief to the dregs.
The fate of the great martyr - the Russian woman - was difficult. But then came the war provoked by the Bolsheviks. New suffering began, deprivation worsened, poverty and hunger arose at the very threshold. A wife who had lost her husband in the dungeons of the NKVD saw off her only son to a senseless war. The sister of an engineer exiled to Siberia gave Moloch the wars of her younger brother. The mother of a dispossessed family mourned the death of her sons at the front. Inexpressible grief flooded the families of Soviet women in a wide wave.”
Further, the author angrily noted the fact that: “Of course, there is a black mark in the family. In the Soviet Union we will meet women who went for the sake of an easy life and outfits to be supported by large officials, or women who, taking advantage of the ease of divorce, get married for the fourth or fifth time. We will meet cheeky, rude women who became agents of the NKVD, accustomed to their male professions, who have lost their femininity. Some even went through schools of sabotage and espionage, became paratroopers and are in gangs of so-called “partisans.” There is nothing sadder in the world than the rudeness and licentiousness of a woman who has lost her feminine appearance and likeness.”
There was only one way out of all this: “A real Russian woman, who meekly bears all the hardships and humiliations, is the pride and adornment of the Russian people. We bow to the mystery of the courage of the Russian woman, who managed to keep herself pure and unsullied in this age of crude materialistic calculation and undeserved suffering that befell her.
We are calling her, and she must go to a joint fight against the common evil, against the common enemy that is tearing apart our unfortunate, long-suffering Motherland.”
In the context of the outbreak of hostilities against the Soviet Union, Nazi propaganda sought to convince the civilian population of Russia that the German soldier brings them not only “liberation from the damned yoke of Judeo-Bolshevism,” but is also a defender of “primordial Russian values, to which, first of all, belongs to the family." Criticizing family foundations in the USSR in the pre-war years, the occupation press wrote:
“What was happening in the Soviet Union? A generation grew up, corrupted from an early age, accustomed from the cradle to espionage and deprived of everything sacred. It is not for nothing that the ideal of the Soviet young generation was a vile and disgusting type - the pioneer Pavlik Morozov, who denounced his own father.” 
The population of the occupied regions of Russia was taught that “the Judeo-Bolshevik authorities benefited from such depraved families: it was incomparably easier to control frosty peacocks than strong-willed, strong people who grew up in firm family rules and foundations. By eliminating the clergy and destroying the peasantry, the Bolsheviks thereby destroyed the biological strength of the people.”
Officially, issues of marriage and family law were the responsibility of the collaborationist “new Russian administration.” In words, it was representatives of the Russian population who put forward various proposals regarding marriage and family relations.
But in fact all these problems were under the strict control of the Nazi occupation services.
Legal departments were created under Russian city administrations. They operated civil registration desks. The functions of the latter included registration of marriages, births and deaths.
In their actions, they were guided by various instructions and directions emanating from both German and collaborationist authorities. In the mass media, these documents were characterized as “rules that streamlined marriage relations and eliminated the chaos caused in this area by Bolshevism.” They were adopted in almost all major Russian cities that found themselves under Nazi occupation. Thus, in Pskov, at the beginning of 1942, the civil registration department received detailed instructions from the city government on how to perform a marriage. It wrote that “marriage is not an ordinary contract or simply a statement to an official in the ordinary sense. By their declaration, those entering into marriage undertake not only to live together and support each other, but also to establish a life together in a spiritual sense. In a well-organized state, such a connection cannot arise without the knowledge and assistance of state power. Therefore, the intervention of a government agency is necessary here, in this case - the civil registry office.”
It was noted that the registry office’s desk was supposed to cover all changes in the civil status of each person individually. One of the main goals of the registry office was formulated as follows:
“In some cases, marriage may not be permitted, desired, or tolerated in the interests of individuals. Therefore, before concluding a marriage, it is necessary to accurately determine whether the marriage can be celebrated in this case. If, therefore, at the present time marriage is an act of outstanding significance, then its registration should be carried out in accordance with this significance.”
According to the new rules, a marriage was recognized as valid only when it was registered according to all the rules in the civil registry department.
The marriage process involved several stages. First of all, those wishing to get married submitted a corresponding petition. At the same time, an identity check was carried out. The head of the registry office had to obtain accurate evidence of the correctness of the testimony of the spouses. A marriage could not be properly concluded if the parties could not prove their identity and origin. Thus, refugees, persons who did not reside permanently in a given area before the outbreak of hostilities, and undocumented citizens did not have the right to marry.
One of the instructions of the Smolensk city government stated that “this measure will not allow Soviet agents to dissolve among the civilian population of our district...”.
Marriages were prohibited:
Between Jews and persons of other population groups. Jews included persons who professed Judaism or had Jews in their family among relatives up to the third generation.
Between half-bloods in a straight line; full and half-brothers and sisters of marital or illegitimate origin.
Men under 18 years of age and women under 16 years of age.
Persons already legally married.
If the above reasons were discovered after the marriage was concluded, then the illegally registered marriage was declared invalid, and the record of it was destroyed.
If the officials had no doubts about the legality of the marriage, then the newlyweds were given a time to “perform the sacrament of marriage.” It should have taken place no earlier than two and no later than three weeks after the filing of the application for permission to marry. During this period, a so-called “announcement” was made, which was placed in a special section of the newspaper and on a special board posted at the city administration. Signed by the burgomaster, it included certain information about both the groom and the bride: information about the place of birth, place of residence and profession.
If during these days no information was received that contradicted what the citizens about to get married reported about themselves, a “wedding” day was set. The newlyweds and their witnesses were required to appear at a certain hour at the registry office in neat clothes.
The instructions prescribed that the wedding take place in a special room. It had to be festively furnished: “you need to take care of flowers and baskets...” The instructions contained detailed instructions on the procedure for the wedding: “The head of the registry office desk should sit at a beautiful table. The bride and groom sit in front of him, and there are seats for witnesses on both sides. Head The registry office first announces the names: they came today (the full names, surnames, place and date of birth of the spouses and witnesses are read out). They, by mutual consent, declared their desire to get married. Then everyone present is invited to stand. The registry office official also stands up and continues as follows: “I ask you (follows the name of the groom) if the person present here (follows the name of the bride) agrees to get married.” After “Yes” from the bride and groom, the head of the registry office announces to the newlyweds that, according to civil law, their marriage is concluded.”
Kursk girl and her “lover”
Upon marriage, the bride was given her husband's surname. Officially, this was explained by the desire to “eliminate the bedlam that reigned under Soviet power, when the husband bore one surname, the wife another, and the children often a third, i.e. the surname of the wife’s first husband.” However, in practice this was intended to prevent Jews or people with similar Jewish surnames from changing them.
It was assumed that the young couple would then receive a small gift from the city government. The editor of the major collaborationist newspaper Rech, Mikhail Oktan, put forward a proposal that “the newlyweds should receive, as in Germany, Adolf Hitler’s immortal book “My Struggle.” However, this idea was indignantly rejected by representatives of the Nazi occupation services. They considered it unacceptable to distribute the Bible of National Socialism among the “Untermensch” (subhumans).
It was possible to go to church and get married there according to a religious rite only after registering the marriage in the civil registry office. The order to the priests stated the following: “According to the order of the German command, church weddings are allowed only after the marriage has been registered in the registry office. Priests who perform a wedding without first registering the marriage at the registry office are subject to punishment by imprisonment or a fine.” In Pskov, a church ceremony could be performed only after registering a marriage with the city government. Only entries in the metric books of the city administration had the force of a document. Clergy and laity were warned that “witnessing marriages performed in the church does not replace the indicated entries in the registry office.”
Divorce in German-occupied Russian territory was prohibited. Such actions can be explained by the desire of the occupiers to exercise strict control over the population. Thus, in the instructions for magistrates' courts dated July 2, 1943, it was noted that in exceptional cases, when resolving divorce cases, it is necessary to keep in mind the following: “The mutual desire of the spouses is not a legal reason for divorce.” The new marriage of the spouse through whose fault the divorce was effected (as determined by the magistrate's court) was prohibited. Therefore, the court decision was sent to the registry office, where a stamp on the divorce with the words “no fault” or “due to fault” was placed on the identity card.
In cases of changes in civil status entered in the metric books, interested persons were issued certificates in the form of extracts from these books. Each certificate was subject to a fee of 20 rubles. Marriage registration was paid for by a fee of 100 rubles.
Any departure from the rules related to marriage registration was punishable by a fine of up to 1,000 rubles and forced labor.
When analyzing various instructions and orders of collaborationist administrations relating to issues of marriage and family in various cities in the occupied territory of Russia, it is clear that they are all very similar to each other. Consequently, these documents came from one center, in this case from Berlin. Considering the main features of marriage and family law in the occupied territory of Russia, it can be noted that all instructions, decrees and orders of both the German occupation services and the puppet “new Russian administration” were aimed at solving one global problem: total control over the population.
But under the conditions of the many months of Nazi occupation of Russia, everyday life developed far from the way Berlin officials saw it. In addition, there was a clear shortage of Russian men in the occupied territory of Russia. Many of them fought in the Red Army and partisan detachments. They were the ones who were taken first of all to work in Germany. And many German soldiers saw local girls and women primarily not as representatives of “Untermensch” (subhumans), but rather as girls and women.
Another Kursk girl and another “lover”
In one of the issues of the collaborationist newspaper “For the Motherland”, which was distributed in the territory of North-West Russia occupied by the Nazis, the poems “On the benefits of learning a language” were published:
Any science is always useful.
German and Russian are a good thing.
But the students’ choice and taste is strange:
All the girls learn - “ikh libe” and “kus”.
But knowledge without practice is empty.
And where two students meet,
All you hear from a girl’s lips:
Oh, darling, oh, darling, one more bite.
And he answers, out of frustration, no matter what:
Oh medchen, oh medchen, noh ain... kiss.”
For those who are not quite proficient German language I translate: “their libe” - I love, “kus” - kiss, “medchen” - girl.
Why did such meetings take place? There are several reasons for this. Of course, in many cases German soldiers acted from a position of strength. It is not at all necessary that it was rape. It’s just that the occupiers could get the desired result through threats, intimidation and blackmail. Material well-being also played a significant role. In the face of the daily threat of starvation, many women agreed to cohabit with the Germans for food. Food was also necessary for their children and elderly relatives. Someone saw in a German lover protection from the advances of other soldiers or Russian policemen.
There were cases when sincere feelings arose. Of course, these novels were doomed to a bad ending. But in the face of the everyday threat of death, even one day of relative happiness is very expensive.
But there were also women who wanted a “feast during the plague.” Ilya Ehrenburg wrote about one of these in his book “War”:
“Cute girl. Plucked eyebrows. Carmine lips. She was previously a student. She was seduced by handouts from German officers, dancing, and French champagne. Her compatriots fought bravely. People gave their lives. And she delighted the executioners of her people.
She is now sitting in her room and crying. Later repentance Betrayal, like rust, ate away at her heart. There is a celebration on the street - people laugh and hug the fighters. And she sits in dark room and cries. She became an outcast - for herself, there is no heavier punishment.”
Another episode from the book of a famous Soviet writer:
“I was sitting in the same house. I was surprised by the hostess’s eyes: they seemed to be made of opal glass, there was no life in them. The hostess was reluctant to answer my questions, and I asked her only to defuse the overly heavy silence. A five-year-old boy was playing in the corner. I asked the hostess: “Did the Germans come to you?” She replied: “No.” I said, "You're lucky." But then the boy shouted: “Otto came,” and, stubbornly banging his fist on the chair, he repeated for a long time: “Otto came.” The woman silently left the room. I couldn't sit in this house anymore. It seemed to me that there was no air in the room. I ran out into the street. It was a frosty bright day. Hundreds of women squinted and smiled at the first red flag on the facade of a shell-damaged house. The world lived and rejoiced. Only one tall, blond woman with empty opal eyes could not find a place for herself in this world.”
Lyudmila Giovanni, who survived the occupation of Novgorod, recalled that every morning German soldiers ran away from the apartments where local residents lived like cockroaches. They hurried to the barracks from their Russian friends.
In the memoirs of the chief of the Novgorod Gestapo Boris Filistinsky, which he published while already a professor at the University of Washington, life in the Ilmen region in the winter of 1942 is described as follows:
“Beyond the wall one could hear the monotonous playing of an accordion, Russian-German conversation, squeals and smacking.
“They’re fattening,” the foreman, the former chairman of the collective farm “Testament of Ilyich,” nodded somehow completely indifferently in that direction. And he added a minute later in the same indifferent tone, turning to the wall and loudly knocking on it with his fist:
Sanka, come here.
Knocking with her new boots, the eldest daughter of the foreman, a plump, red-cheeked girl of about nineteen, entered the room with a defiant look. Her blouse was wrinkled, several buttons were undone.
Watch me, don't overdo it. Fat, but with caution: your hauptman is arriving tomorrow. Do you hear? - the father warned in the same indifferent voice.
“Get rid of me, I know without you,” the girl snapped, and her eyes added: “You yourself, look, don’t bully me: I know what you would be without me...
So go. There is no point in tormenting your guest. Whom do you have? Sergeant?"
In addition to the Germans, Spanish soldiers of the Blue Division also tried to find their love on Novgorod soil:
“Two hundred paces away, in the only surviving house, in a hotly heated room, a Spanish lieutenant was sitting at a table. He was half naked, in front of him stood several bottles of cognac and vodka, a frying pan with half-eaten fish and coarsely chopped onions. Wonderful homemade fresh rye bread and oatmeal jelly, almost untouched, gave the feast a local flavor. The entire family of the owner of the house - the owner himself and his wife, and his young daughters, and the old grandmother - sat at the table with flushed faces and dull eyes. The owner's son, a guy of about fourteen, tormented the accordion with all his strength, and the Spanish orderly played along with him out of tune on the guitar and howled something wild and inarticulate. I showed the officer my pass and my documents. He looked drunkenly at me and the driver and thrust voluminous mugs of cognac into our hands:
Drink! Drink, they tell you! - He didn’t even look at the documents.
They are nothing, the Spaniards are generous. All their soldiers got married to our girls. Orthodox. And they go to our church. And the girls were given both cows and pigs as gifts. Neighboring villages were robbed. “They are good people, suitable,” the owner of the house, the assistant to the volost mayor, explained to me in a slurred tongue...
And we are back on the woodwork again. The road winds, monotonous and dull, and the driver tells me:
In Kuritsko, the Spanish commandant forbade soldiers to walk with girls... Well, will the Spaniards listen to anyone? The commandant caught girls and women with soldiers partying at a club. The girls’ heads were shaved bald, the women’s heads were cut off, and the soldiers were flogged... Laughter and sin!”
The Spaniards from the Blue Division were friends with the locals
The Nazi leadership was extremely concerned about the facts of the “moral decay” of its soldiers. On June 8, 1942, the “Memo to Soldiers on Conduct in the Occupied Eastern Regions” was published. In particular, it said the following:
“In the occupied areas, the German warrior is the representative of the German Empire and its power. He must feel it and behave accordingly. A protracted war and being in garrison service are fraught with the danger that relations with the female half of the civilian population become closer than is desirable.
The maintenance of the prestige of the armed forces and the threat of harm to the purity of the race require that serious attention be given to this matter and that constant pressure be exerted upon the soldiers in this regard.
The commander issued a decree prohibiting the further stay of German soldiers with local residents. All soldiers, without exception, must be housed together. Since this requires residential buildings, the civilian population must be evicted from them. In such cases, local residents move to other apartments or are evacuated.
In a combat area, in the context of developing military operations, when a parking space is required for a short period of time, there is no need to resettle local residents.”
It should be noted that this order, despite all the notorious love and respect of the Germans for order and order, was practically not carried out. Most likely, the local “father-commanders” were irritated by such demands of the “Berlin bureaucrats” who could not understand the complexity of the life of ordinary front-line soldiers.
When it became clear to the German command that this problem could not be solved solely by repressive measures, it took a number of measures. In particular, in March 1943, a decision was made according to which, at the birth of a child from a German soldier, Russian mothers had the right to alimony:
“When registering illegitimate children who descend from German fathers, it is necessary to simultaneously provide evidence that confirms the paternity of the German soldier. Every time, if the mother, when registering an illegitimate child at the registry office, indicates that the child’s father is a German soldier, the registry office official must take testimony from the mother who the father is (last name, first name, rank or insignia, military unit, postal number, in extreme cases , only the branch of the father’s military) and what led to sexual intercourse (staying in an apartment, the mother’s work in a military unit, etc.) and whether the soldier recognizes paternity. At the same time, you need to ask the mother what other men she had sexual intercourse with during the period of conception.
Various evidence of paternity in the mother’s hands (letters, photographs of the father, or the like) must be attached to the act.
The volost foreman gives an opinion on whether the mother’s testimony is trustworthy, interrogates other possible witnesses from the mother’s side, takes the mother’s fingerprints of all 10 fingers and, as soon as possible, sends the materials with his conclusion to the district burgomaster.
If a person has special circumstances, then the maintenance allowance at the request of the mother or guardian can be increased to 300 rubles. monthly. The amounts paid by the districts to such children should be taken from the general provision fund, but held in special accounts. The districts will receive instructions about their return in the near future.
If the paternity of a German citizen is not established with sufficient certainty, then the current maintenance allowance is not paid. In this case, mothers should receive assistance from the district office from general support funds.”
Pskov girl and soldiers
But if a child born to a German soldier could be a certain form of income under occupation, the situation changed dramatically after the arrival of Soviet troops. And here we were talking not only about moral condemnation from neighbors. A more severe punishment was also expected.
One of the partisan memoirs describes the following incident: for three years, while the North-West of Russia was occupied by the Nazis, a local resident “gave birth” to two children from them. On the very first day after the liberation of her village, she went out onto the road, put her babies there and, shouting: “Death to the German occupiers!”, killed them with a cobblestone.
To satisfy the sexual needs of soldiers and officers, brothels were opened in the occupied territory of Russia. There were also fashionable ones among them: for example, in Smolensk, in a former hotel, there was a brothel exclusively for officer pilots. It employed professionals who arrived from Poland and France.
In other Russian cities everything was “simpler.” Soon after the liberation of Pskov from the Nazis, the regional party committee received an information note from the security officers about the life of the city under occupation. It also talked about brothels:
“Brothel houses or “brothel houses” in Pskov
In Pskov, large brothels or “brothel houses”, as the Germans themselves called them, were created on Gornaya and Detskaya streets. Girls even under age were often taken into these houses. Some of the girls went to these houses because of material insecurity, and some in order to earn extra “rags” with their bodies and live an idle and depraved life. “Brothel houses” were in great demand among the Germans, and there were days when queues lined up in front of these houses. Despite the weekly medical examination of all women in these houses, the infection with sexually transmitted diseases was still mutual, and most of the women from these houses returned with venereal diseases.
Institute of Sanitary Supervisors
Since the brothels available in Pskov were not enough for the Germans, they created the so-called institute of sanitary-supervised women or, simply put, they revived free prostitutes who sold their bodies on the streets of the city. Periodically, they also had to appear for a medical examination, for which they received appropriate notes on special tickets, which they received in their hands. Prostitution without special tickets was legally prohibited by the Germans, but in fact it flourished because... The Germans, with their unbridled debauchery, contributed to this.
Lists of sanitary inspectors have been established, photographs of brothel house employees are available.”
Old Rakomo. Great friendship of peoples
Ilya Ehrenburg wrote about the occupation of Kursk:
“Schools have been closed. Theaters were closed. Libraries were closed. What did they discover? House of Tolerance on Nevsky Street. It was officially opened. Herr Dr. Vogt gave a speech: “We bring joy to the icy desert.”
They weren't fun. They brought the infection. Before the war, syphilis completely disappeared in Kursk. The Germans infected Kursk. According to German statistics, from 70 to 80 cases of venereal diseases were registered among the civilian population per decade. The sick were sent to the city prison. The Germans killed over a hundred of them.”
The last statement is not an invention or exaggeration of the writer. Registration cards with the names of the victims have been preserved in the archives.
The operation of brothels in the occupied territory attracted special attention from the Soviet authorities state security. This can be explained by two reasons: firstly, in such establishments it was possible to carry out work to collect information that tipsy clients could blab. Secondly, the opening of such establishments caused an extremely negative reaction among the Russian population, and this, in turn, was beneficial to the anti-fascist resistance. So in a memo to the head of the NKVD Directorate for the Kalinin Region, Tokarev, the following was written:
“In the last days of October 1942, on the instructions of the field commandant’s office, the burgomaster of the city of Velikiye Luki Pomortsev began creating a house of brothel called the “House of Noble Maidens,” which should “serve” German soldiers and officers.
The equipment of the brothel was entrusted to the head of the construction department of the council, and the provision of furniture was entrusted to the head of the housing department Snegotsky. For the premises in which this house should be located, a one-story brick building was selected, located on Botvin Street, next to the 7th school. The city government allocated 50,000 rubles from its budget for the equipment of the brothel and its repairs and allocated the required amount of building materials. The house was designed for 20-25 people. The staff of the brothel was supposed to be as follows; manager of the house of “noble maidens”, directly subordinate to Burgomaster Pomortsev, mentor and girl. In addition, there should have been: a doctor, porters, manicurist, masseuse and other service personnel.
By internal structure the brothel was supposed to represent the following: an introduction hall, in which there should be a buffet, a stage, and tables for snacks. There is a dance floor in the middle of the hall. Further, offices were equipped with separate entrances and exits, connected only by a common corridor. The classrooms were equipped differently and were divided into several classes. The first class office had a nickel-plated bed, a bathtub and other amenities.
Pomortsev and the police chief Filippkov, in agreement with the field commandant’s office, appointed a certain Drevich, who at one time was a brothel-keeper in Odessa, as the manager of the house. The house manager was supposed to recruit girls and women to this institution. All persons selected by her had to go through the field commandant's office, where they underwent a medical examination and external examination. Those wishing to “work” in the “house of noble maidens” in the brothel submitted an application directly to the field commandant’s office.
First of all, such applications were submitted by persons who had previously been involved in prostitution. The Germans assumed that if the contingent they needed was not recruited from those who volunteered, then they would carry out a special recruitment of girls suitable for this purpose.
The impression among the population about the opening of the brothel by the Germans was the most disgusting. Citizen Lidiya Andreevna Vishnyakova, born in 1890, a housewife, spoke about the brothel like this:
“When I found out that such a vile institution was being organized in our city, I said that I was glad that my niece died from the bombing, that she would not know about this terrible house and would not end up in it.”
The Germans failed to open the house of tolerance. It was hit by a shell and burned down. Manager Drevich, as a Jew, was shot by the Germans themselves.”
Brothel in Pskov
But not all Russian women met with the occupiers of their own free will. There were also those who, following the orders of the Soviet command, collected various intelligence information. Doing this in front of my fellow countrymen was very difficult and difficult. The vast majority of them bore the nickname “fascist litter.” And in many ways it was worse and worse when the Center forgot or lost its agents.
KGB Colonel Zinaida Voskresenskaya in her memoirs “Now I can tell the truth. From the Memoirs of a Scout” describes one of her meetings in Vorkuta in 1954:
“At the 2nd mine there was a ladies’ atelier; Vorkuta women were dressed there. This studio was headed by a deconvoyed prisoner, sentenced to twenty-five years “for collaboration with the Nazi occupiers.” Her name was Olya. She asked what she had done that warranted the maximum sentence. “Oh, citizen boss. I’ll tell you, but you still won’t believe me.” - “But still...”
And she told me her story. Olya from Orel. She was a Komsomol member. When the war started, I asked to go to the front. The Germans were approaching the city. At the military registration and enlistment office, a young man suggested that she stay in Orel and, since she speaks German to some extent, try to earn the trust of the Nazis, find out their plans, mood, losses, in general, become an intelligence officer. Twice a month she had to come to a designated place and put her report in a cache and take out the next task from there (from the hollow).
Olya gave her consent, sent her mother to evacuate, told her that she was staying here on Komsomol business and would come later.
After the occupation of the city, Olya quickly and easily entered the officer environment, spending her evenings in restaurants, pretending that she knew only a few words of German. As agreed, she went to the cache on certain and control days and... found her reports there and no tasks.
She was desperate. I tried to sneak out of the city, to avoid the dirty hands of the invaders. But she failed.
The eagle was in the hands of the Nazis for more than twenty months, and all this time Olya did not lose hope that she would be found.
After the liberation of Orel from the invaders, the Soviet command received reports about the treacherous behavior of this “girl Olga”, who danced with the SS men in restaurants, drank wine and vodka with them, and drove around in their cars. She was arrested and tried as a war criminal before a military tribunal.
From her story, based on specific details familiar to me as an intelligence officer, I realized that she was telling the truth, and advised her to describe her misadventures in detail and ask the Supreme Court to reconsider her case. I sent Olya’s confession via field communication.
Several months passed, and then one evening, while sorting out the mail, I opened the government envelope and, to my indescribable joy, read the resolution on the complete rehabilitation of Olya “for lack of corpus delicti.”
But not all such stories ended happily. And although usually a woman was not brought to criminal responsibility just for sexual intercourse, living with the stigma of “fascist litter” was not easy. It was even worse for children who had been accustomed since childhood to the nicknames “fascist”, “German” or “Spaniard”.
If we talk about all the women who found themselves in the most difficult conditions of enemy occupation, then, humanly speaking, there was no “corpus delicti” in the actions of most of them. The Holy Scripture says, “Judge not, lest ye be judged.” And you can’t judge a woman when she, without betraying anyone, wanted to feed her loved ones, wanted love and protection. Or maybe their own judgment on themselves was much more terrible and severe. But it’s not for us to judge this.
Weekly "Secret"
September 2013
A brilliant scientist, a charming Russian spy and a passionate romance during the Second World War - a plot worthy of the pen of Ian Fleming and his unrivaled hero 007 James Bond, but, it would seem, not Albert Einstein...However, facts are stubborn things. Nine previously unknown letters from the “grandfather of the atomic bomb”, addressed to Margarita Konenkova, the wife of the famous Soviet sculptor Sergei Konenkov, put up for auction at Sotheby’s in New York in 1998, eloquently indicate that a love story took place in the life of the 20th century genius. allowing experts to link Einstein’s name with the USSR’s foreign intelligence service.
Old letters are worth their weight in gold
The intimate messages, written in elegant Gothic handwriting and dated 1945-1946, undoubtedly belong to the pen of the great physicist. Einstein narrates the events in them trustingly, touchingly and mockingly Everyday life and about his unquenchable love for Margarita. At that time, Albert was 66 years old, and his passion was 45.
The epistles were given to the organizers of the Sotheby's auction by one of Konenkova's relatives, who wished to remain anonymous.
In the same lot, which was valued at a quarter of a million dollars, five instant photographs went under the hammer (four of them show Albert and Margarita together, and one was personally signed by the “father of the theory of relativity” - “As a sign of heartfelt sympathy. A. Einstein” ), a leather-bound address book indicating Einstein's residence in Princeton and Saranac Lake (New York), as well as a gold watch - the physicist's parting gift to his beloved.
Arriving in Moscow in 1915 from the provincial Russian town of Sarapul, the daughter of a sworn attorney, Margarita Ivanovna Vorontsova, entered Madame Poltoratskaya’s law courses and lived on Povarskaya Street in the family of Doctor Ivan Bunin. Soon she met her future husband Sergei Konenkov, who at that time was already quite famous and had his own workshop in Presnya.
In 1923, the Konenkovs went to New York to participate in an exhibition of Russian and Soviet art. Officially - for several months, but it turned out differently: they returned to their homeland only after twenty-two years. Moreover, this return looked very unusual.
To transport numerous works by Sergei Konenkov, Stalin personally ordered the charter of a personal steamship, and in Moscow on Gorky Street the sculptor was immediately allocated a huge room for a workshop. Until now, none of the re-emigrants had received such attention, and reproaches fell on the Konenkovs, saying that, having waited out the most difficult war years for the country abroad, they undeservedly received too much from the authorities.
The confrontation went so far that Margarita Konenkova was forced to turn to Lavrentiy Beria with a request to protect the family from unfounded attacks, taking into account “her services and the services of S. T. Konenkov to the Motherland.”
By the way, the 30s were the most mysterious period in the life of the Konenkovs in America. Almost everything is known about the 20s - expensive orders, exhibitions, stunning success. And suddenly Konenkov locked himself in his workshop and began to lead the life of a hermit...
History is silent about who came up with the idea to arrange the photographs from the Konenkov archive in chronological order. But the result exceeded expectations. The very first photo shows the Konenkov couple together with the Einstein couple. Then Sergei Konenkov disappears from the view, in the photographs there are only Einstein’s relatives, with the physicist next to his wife, and Margarita Konenkova on the sidelines.
But the most important surprise came from the museum archive, where a photo was found in which Margarita Konenkova is depicted with Albert Einstein, his wife Elsa, daughter Margot and a smiling stranger. One of the Americans who visited the Konenkov Museum in Moscow immediately identified the unknown person as Robert Oppenheimer, the head of the Manhattan nuclear project. This means that the wife of the Soviet sculptor was familiar with the “father of the American atomic bomb.”
So what were the “special services” of Margarita and Sergei Konenkov to the Motherland, which she did not fail to remind Lavrentiy Beria himself about?
The answer to this question was the revelations of the former head of the Fourth (sabotage and intelligence) department of the NKVD-NKGB, Lieutenant General Pavel Sudoplatov, who managed to publish memoirs shortly before his death. According to him, Margarita Konenkova was ... a Soviet agent working under the operational pseudonym "Lukas".
In his book “Intelligence and the Kremlin” Sudoplatov wrote: “The wife of the famous sculptor Konenkov, our trusted agent, acting under the leadership of Lisa Zarubina (wife of Vasily Zarubin, resident of the NKVD in the USA - author’s note), became close to the leading physicists Oppenheimer and Einstein in Princeton. She managed to charm Oppenheimer's inner circle. After Oppenheimer broke off ties with the American Communist Party, Konenkova, under the leadership of Lisa Zarubina and an employee of our residency in New York, Pastelnyak (Luka), constantly influenced Oppenheimer and even earlier persuaded him to hire specialists known for their leftist beliefs, the development of which had already Our illegals and agents were targeted..."
And one more quote from the book by Pavel Sudoplatov: “The role of Mikhoels and Fefer was also significant in the intelligence operation to reach the circles of scientific specialists close to Einstein, engaged in the development of an unknown “superweapon” at that time.” These people met with the Russian emigrants, the Konenkovs, who were close to Einstein’s family, and through them, albeit orally, we received important information about the prospects for the new “superweapon” discussed in Princeton with the participation of Fermi and Oppenheimer. In addition to the Zarubins, Kheifetz and Pastelnyak coordinated all this work through our intelligence in the United States.”
Lucas's job was to "influence" scientists involved in the development of nuclear weapons as part of the Manhattan Project. Konenkova was supposed to bring Einstein together with the deputy Soviet consul in New York, Pavel Mikhailov, who oversaw scientific relations. Apparently, the order was successfully completed - Einstein mentions the consul in his letters.
Margarita Konenkova is a controversial personality, talented in her own way, and was marked by the love of many great men. Family tradition has preserved the memory of her intimate connections with representatives of the Russian aristocratic world in exile, in particular with the sculptor Bromirsky, father and son Chaliapin, Sergei Rachmaninov...
And now serious documentary evidence has appeared that Konenkova captured the heart of the brilliant physicist.
... Albert Einstein first crossed the threshold of Konenkov’s workshop in 1935 - his bronze bust was commissioned by the administration of Princeton University. However, the acquaintance of both families occurred even earlier, thanks to the mediation of Einstein’s adopted daughter Margot, who married in Berlin in 1930 the Russian journalist Dmitry Maryanov, assigned to the Soviet embassy. Margarita and Margot became close friends. And if Sergei Konenkov visited Princeton only once, when he worked on a bust of Einstein, then Margarita, as they say, became a frequent visitor. And at first it didn't seem piquant.
In order to be able to spend summer holidays together and be alone for a long time, Albert Einstein wrote a letter to Sergei Konenkov, in which he informed him of Margarita’s allegedly serious illness - the letter was accompanied by a report from a doctor, Einstein’s friend, with a recommendation for Konenkova to spend more time in the “blessed climate on Saranac Lake,” where Albert Einstein is known to have rented a cottage and kept his famous yacht.
Perhaps the Soviet sculptor had no idea that the world celebrity was leading him by the nose with childish spontaneity, so he easily let Margarita go.
It is not known how many years Einstein and Konenkova were lovers, but it is clear that by the time of their separation in August 1945, their relationship remained the most passionate. At the same time, Margarita had to constantly maneuver between Einstein, Konenkov and the NKVD officer who controlled her, Pastelnyak, whom she introduced to Einstein as vice-consul Pavel Mikhailov. She played three difficult roles at the same time - wife, mistress and spy...
Sonnet signed "A.E."
The contents of the letters of the brilliant physicist indicate that Einstein and Konenkova used their own “lovers’ dictionary.” The apartment in which they secretly met in Princeton was called the “nest.” By combining the first letters of their names, Albert and Margarita came up with a common nickname for themselves - Almar.
“I just washed my hair, but I wasn’t very successful in this matter,” the physicist wrote to Konenkova on November 27, 1945. “I don’t have your skill and accuracy.” Everything around reminds me of you - Almar’s shawl, dictionaries, a wonderful pipe that we at one time considered lost - in a word, various trinkets that fill my hermit’s shelter, our empty nest.”
“...I have completely neglected my hair, it is falling out at an incomprehensible speed. Soon there will be nothing left. The nest also looks abandoned and doomed. If it could speak, it would have nothing to say. I am writing this to you, covering my knees with an Almar blanket, and it’s a dark, dark night outside the window...” (December 25, 1945).
... Among Konenkova’s personal belongings, after her death, several funny drawings made with the “eternal pen”, sheets covered with formulas and a sonnet in German, signed with the initials “A. E."
Albert Einstein's distinctive handwriting was easily recognizable. But since no one could read the sonnet, the find was transferred for storage to the archives of the USSR Academy of Sciences.
A few years later, “real” Germans also experienced problems with translating the sonnet – “Einstein’s language is not quite German.” And only in 1993 was it possible to fully “decipher” this amazing confession in poetic form. After some poetic processing it became even more elegant.
“I tormented you for two weeks
And you wrote that you are unhappy with me.
But understand - I was also tormented by others
Endless stories about yourself.
You can't escape the family circle,
This is our common misfortune.
Through the sky is inevitable
And our future is truly visible.
My head is buzzing like a beehive
My heart and hands were weak.
Come see me in Princeton
Peace and relaxation await you.
We will read Tolstoy,
And when you get tired, you pick it up
Eyes full of tenderness look at me,
And I will see a reflection of God in them.
You say you love me
But that's not true.
I call Cupid for help,
To persuade you
be merciful to me.
A.E. Christmas. 1943"
The sonnet left no doubt: the relationship between Margarita Konenkova and Albert Einstein was much closer than friendly.
Parting gift
...In mid-August 1945, Margarita visited Einstein on a special mission. Moreover, she went on a date with her lover very hastily, abandoning the packing of things - the Konenkovs had to immediately return home to the USSR.
And a month earlier, on July 16, 1945, in New Mexico, the Americans successfully tested the world's first atomic bomb. By the way, the New York station of the NKVD reported to Moscow two weeks before the event about all the parameters of the explosive device and the expected date of the test. Boss foreign intelligence The NKVD of the USSR Pavel Fitin informed Stalin, Molotov, Beria and Kurchatov, the head of the Soviet atomic project, on the same day. Therefore, on the opening day of the Potsdam Conference on July 18, 1945, when American President Harry Truman informed Stalin about the creation in the United States of a new weapon of “extraordinary destructive power,” the Soviet leader remained unperturbed. Drawing attention to the indifference of the Soviet leader, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill concluded: Stalin did not understand anything from what was said. But he was deeply mistaken. Already on August 18, 1945, Resolution of the State Defense Committee of the USSR No. 9887-ss/op “On the Special Committee under the State Defense Committee” appeared, according to which the production of the atomic bomb in the Soviet Union was put on an industrial basis. The last paragraph of this document prescribed “to entrust comrade. Beria to take all measures to organize overseas reconnaissance work to obtain more complete technical and economic information about the uranium industry and atomic bombs.”
To do this, it was necessary to clarify a number of fundamental technical points. This was what was entrusted to the famous NKVD department “S”, headed by Pavel Sudoplatov. On his instructions, Soviet intelligence officers found Niels Bohr, who once sympathized with the USSR. It was also planned to arrange a meeting in the United States with American nuclear physicists who considered America’s monopoly on atomic weapons dangerous. Margarita Konenkova, as is now obvious, was another link in this intelligence operation.
It should also be noted that the return of the Konenkovs to the USSR and the organization of the meeting between Soviet Vice-Consul Pavel Mikhailov and Albert Einstein were carried out almost simultaneously. Moreover, the main role in this was played not by the world-famous sculptor, but by his wife.
By the way, in one of his letters to Margarita, Albert Einstein personally testified that he met with a Soviet intelligence officer and even visited his family. He completed some “difficult task” that allowed Margarita Konenkova to return to her homeland. At the same time, it is noticeable that the physicist was not delighted with what the person undoubtedly dear to him was doing. If so, the conclusion is obvious: Albert Einstein knew that Margarita Konenkova was connected with Soviet intelligence.
“Princeton. 8 IX 45
I received your unexpected telegram back in New York, from where I was able to return only last night. It’s such a difficult task that brings with it big changes for you, but I believe that everything will end well. Although, as time passes, you may bitterly perceive your strong connection with the country where you were born, looking back at what you have passed before the next important step. But unlike me, you still have, perhaps, several decades for an active life in creativity. For me, everything is moving towards the point (not just the listing of years) that my days will end pretty soon. I think about you a lot and with all my heart I wish that you enter into your new life with joy and courage and that you both successfully endure the long journey. In accordance with the program, I paid a visit to the consul... Kisses. Yours A. Einstein.”
...The final explanation between them occurred at the end of August 1945, during their last joint vacation on Saranac Lake. It is quite obvious that Margarita Konenkova went all-in and showed her cards. It is possible that this was not done spontaneously, but after the appropriate sanction from Moscow.
Einstein was aware that failure to comply with the order would threaten Margarita with great trouble. Otherwise, nothing would have forced the world's first physicist to make contact with USSR intelligence. He did it for the woman he loved. His last love. And when she was arrested by the FBI, it was Einstein’s intervention that allowed Margarita to go free.
When parting, Albert Einstein put his personalized gold watch on Margarita Konenkova’s hand. They understood that they were saying goodbye forever...
By the way, the Konenkovs left the USA quickly. This is evidenced by a very interesting document on the letterhead of the USSR Consulate General in New York, signed by the same Mikhailov, which ordered all Soviet institutions in the United States to ensure unimpeded passage for the Konenkovs to Seattle, where the ship was already waiting for them, as well as from Vladivostok to Moscow. But since in the Soviet Union there did not exist and could not exist any diplomatic institutions that could be directed from New York, it is not difficult to guess which services “Consul Mikhailov” gave instructions to.
Did Einstein really help the Soviets create the atomic bomb? American researchers dismiss this assumption as an obsession. Yale University history professor Gaddis Smith claims that the great scientist was not involved in the nuclear project at a technical level, did not work at Los Alamos, Oak Ridge or the Chicago laboratories where the US “atomic club” was forged.
At the same time, Sotheby's auction consultant Paul Needham, who valued the unique collection of letters and photographs at a quarter of a million dollars, declared himself to be the discoverer of a previously unknown page of Einstein's "Don Juan list", and took the liberty of suggesting that at the request of his beloved The “grandfather of the atomic bomb” could provide certain services to Soviet intelligence, which in the 40s was actively interested in the achievements of American nuclear physics.
In turn, the intelligence services of the Russian Federation issued a refuting statement that Albert Einstein “was of no interest to Soviet intelligence.”
But this statement seems convincing only at first glance. Indeed, Einstein was not involved in the atomic project, but had full information about the progress of the creation of the American atomic bomb. Suffice it to recall that it was he who convinced President Roosevelt to engage in nuclear development. This detail also seems important: materials about the departure of the Konenkovs from America were under the control of an employee of the New York station, Anatoly Ayatskov, who was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of Russia for his contribution to solving the Soviet atomic problem.
According to some experts, Konenkova’s task included only “moral recruitment” of Einstein - Moscow was extremely interested in public support for the socialist system from a man whose words had significant weight throughout the world.
What really happened? Perhaps the answer to this question is still hidden in the archives of the foreign intelligence service of the Russian Federation.
Based on Internet materials
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© collage InoSMI
The most famous Russian and Soviet intelligence officer of all time is radio operator Kat from the film “Seventeen Moments of Spring.” She is a fictional character. She can.
Real scouts and scouts work, as they themselves like to say, “without the right to glory.” However, some things are still made public.
No sooner had the “spy scandal” in the United States, the “face” of which was the Russian Anna Chapman, died down than a new one arose, connected with the former assistant of British MP Michael Hancock, Ekaterina Zatuliveter.
Court hearings into the legality of her stay in Britain are nearing completion.
Apparently, there is no solid evidence of Zatuliveter’s intelligence activities - otherwise they would not have tried to deport her, but would have been tried for espionage.
Perhaps she is just an ambitious person trying to make a career.
Meanwhile, the history of Russian and Soviet intelligence knows the names of women whose role, years later, is beyond doubt. These were extraordinary individuals, whose destinies are worthy of a thriller and a love story at the same time.
Femme fatale
Dorothea Lieven is a graduate of the Smolny Institute, maid of honor to the wife of Paul I Maria Feodorovna, sister of the future chief of gendarmes Alexander Benckendorff and wife of the Russian ambassador to Berlin and Britain Christopher Lieven.
After the death of her husband, she settled in Paris, where she opened a social salon in which politicians and diplomats had frank conversations.
Not being a classical beauty, but possessing a sharp mind and irresistible charm, Dorothea Lieven was consistently in romantic relationships with three of the largest statesmen in Europe - the Austrian Chancellor Clemens Metternich, the head of the Foreign Office George Canning and the French Prime Minister Francois Guizot.
The most valuable agent was personally “led” by Alexander I, and then Foreign Minister Karl Nesselrode - they gave tasks and analyzed the encryption received from her.
“Dorothea Lieven became an agent solely out of a sense of patriotism,” says modern historian Lyudmila Mikhailova. “She had more than enough money and jewelry.”
Romance and kidnapping
The performer of Russian romances and silent film actress Nadezhda Plevitskaya was so popular in emigration that newspapers wrote about “Plevitskomania.”
Fans did not know about her second, secret life: in 1930, Plevitskaya and her husband, white general Nikolai Skoblin, were recruited by the OGPU.
According to some reports, it was through them that German intelligence fed Stalin disinformation about Mikhail Tukhachevsky and other Soviet military leaders.
The spouses' most famous operation is the kidnapping in Paris of the head of the Russian All-Military Union, the former head of the white government in Arkhangelsk, Evgeniy Miller.
Skoblin invited Miller to a meeting allegedly with German intelligence officers who turned out to be NKVD agents. The general was sedated, placed in a container and taken out of Le Havre on board the Soviet steamer Maria Ulyanova.
The idea was to place Skoblin in Miller's place. However, he, apparently suspecting something, left a letter to his deputy Pyotr Kusonsky: if I don’t return, then Skoblin is a traitor.
Kusonsky opened the envelope when the Maria Ulyanova had already left the port. The French intended to send a destroyer to intercept, but retreated after the Soviet ambassador Yakov Surits made it clear that the security officers would still not give up their victim alive.
Miller was taken to Leningrad, and from there to the internal prison at Lubyanka. On May 11, 1939, he was shot. Shortly before his death, the general asked to be allowed to pray in the church incognito and accompanied by guards in civilian clothes, but was refused.
Skoblin fled to the USSR, where he lived for several months under surveillance at a secret NKVD facility, sending letters praising Stalin to the leadership of Soviet intelligence. Then, under unclear circumstances, he found himself in Republican Spain, where he died in 1938: according to official data, during the bombing of Barcelona by Franco aircraft, according to unofficial data - at the hands of the famous “terminator” Leon Eitingon, who two years later organized the assassination attempt on Trotsky.
Plevitskaya was arrested by French counterintelligence. For espionage and participation in kidnapping, she received 20 years in prison and died in a women's prison in Rennes on October 1, 1940.
Einstein's girlfriend
Soviet intelligence officer Margarita Konenkova (agent pseudonym "Lucas") spent half her life in the United States - from 1924 to 1945.
The beauty was admired by Albert Einstein, whom she met in 1935 in New York. Taking advantage of Einstein's favor, Konenkova established friendly relations with Robert Oppenheimer and other creators of the atomic bomb.
Among her acquaintances was US First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt.
The FBI failed to expose Konenkova. She died in Moscow in 1980 at the age of 84.
It is not known for certain what kind of relationship Einstein and Konenkova had. However, in 1998, at Sotheby's auction, several letters from the creator of the theory of relativity were sold, beginning with the address: “My beloved Margarita!” and ending with the word: “I kiss you.”
After Konenkova’s death, a sonnet was discovered in her papers, written by Einstein in 1943 in German and containing, in particular, the words: “You cannot escape from the family circle. This is our common misfortune.”
The piquancy of the situation was that the intelligence officer lived in the USA with her husband, the famous sculptor Sergei Konenkov, under whom she served as a manager and translator.
When the couple went home in 1945, a whole steamship was allocated to transport Konenkov’s works by order of Stalin, and in Moscow he was given a huge workshop on Gorky Street.
There was talk that Konenkov lived the most difficult time for the country overseas, and when he returned, he was showered with benefits.
A copy of Margarita Konenkova’s letter to Lavrenty Beria has been preserved with a request to “protect the family from attacks, taking into account my merits and the merits of S.T. Konenkova in front of the Motherland."
The fact that it was not Konenkov himself who made the petition, but his wife, makes historians think that the “Russian Rodin,” having lived with his wife for about half a century, never learned about her special merits.
Waltz with the Ambassador
Zoya Voskresenskaya-Rybkina (agent pseudonym “Irina”) began working for the Soviet intelligence services at the age of 14 during the Civil War - as a secretary at the headquarters of special forces units of the Smolensk province.
In the Foreign Department of the OGPU - since 1929. She carried out secret missions in China, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Turkey, Latvia, Finland and Sweden. She mastered the German language perfectly and pretended to be a Russian emigrant baroness.
On the eve of the war, Rybkina worked in Moscow as an analyst for the “Zateya” direction, which was trying to find out Germany’s intentions.
In May 1941, an intelligence officer under the name Yartsev and the “roof” of an employee of the All-Union Society for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries was at a reception at the German embassy, where she was invited to a waltz tour by Werner von Schulenburg himself.
Rybkina drew attention to the light rectangles on the walls of the hall, left over from the removed paintings, and through the slightly open door of the service room she noticed a pile of suitcases. In the report, she wrote that the Germans were preparing the evacuation of the embassy, and, consequently, war, but the warning, like many others, was ignored.
During the war, she trained intelligence officers and saboteurs, and subsequently recalled a funny episode in connection with this.
Two Komsomol volunteers were being prepared to be transported to the Germans under the guise of members of an anti-Soviet religious organization that allegedly existed in Kuibyshev. When one of them was asked during the exam whether he had learned the prayers, he said: “Our Father - spread the pancakes! Bring it to the table!" “Veselchak” was sent to all four directions.
In 1935, while working in Helsinki, the intelligence officer married Soviet resident Boris Rybkin. By the way, he had the agent pseudonym Kin. It was this surname that radio operator Kat and her husband Erwin bore in the novel by Yulian Semenov and the film by Tatyana Lioznova.
The words of the song were applicable to the scouts, like no one else: “An order was given to him to the west, to her in the other direction.” The couple separated for a long time. The first and last time they spent a vacation together was only 12 years later.
But the love, apparently, was strong. Having received the task of becoming the mistress of a pro-German Swiss general, Zoya Rybkina replied to the leadership that she would carry out the order, but after the end of the operation she would shoot herself. The operation was cancelled.
Shortly after his vacation in Karlovy Vary, Boris Rybkin, who worked as a resident in Prague, died in a car accident. Until the end of her life, the widow suspected that his former colleagues had killed him, and connected this with the anti-Semitic campaign that had unfolded in the USSR. Rybkin was a Jew.
When Rybkina’s long-time boss, Pavel Sudoplatov, was convicted in the mid-1950s, she was fired from intelligence. There was a year left before her 25-year service, and she was offered to work in the Vorkuta camp administration.
The appearance of the mysterious and beautiful colonel created a furor among local officials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. At meetings with her participation, they began to say “cooperate” instead of the usual “get together.”
After retiring, Rybkina became a children's writer, signing stories and tales with her maiden name “Voskresenskaya”, and even received a State Prize in 1968. She was allowed to write her memoirs only shortly before her death, already during perestroika.
By the way, another Soviet intelligence officer, having retired, proved that a talented person is talented in everything. Elena Kosova, who carried out secret missions in the USA, the Netherlands and Hungary in the 1940s and 1950s, became a famous sculptor.
The mystery of the "star"
Olga Chekhova, nee Knipper, the daughter of a railway engineer from the Russified Germans, the niece of Anton Chekhov's wife Olga Leonardovna Knipper-Chekhova, a student of Stanislavsky, after the revolution emigrated to her historical homeland, where over 25 years she starred in several dozen films, mostly costume films, with music and dancing.
She also worked in Hollywood, was well acquainted with Charlie Chaplin, Clark Gable, Gary Cooper and Mary Pickford, but after the Nazis came to power, to the surprise of many, she remained in Germany, where she received the official title of “State Actress of the Third Reich.”
Shortly before the revolution, she married Moscow Art Theater actor Mikhail Chekhov, with whom she lived for only four years, but remained Chekhov forever, although Goebbels demanded that she return her German surname.
The Minister of Propaganda could not stand her, according to rumors, because she rejected his advances, but the movie star was patronized by the Fuhrer, who sent her baskets of flowers every year for her birthday and Christmas. Hitler's chosen one Eva Braun looked somewhat similar to Olga Chekhova.
In 1937, when the Moscow Art Theater troupe was returning through Berlin from a Paris tour, Olga Chekhova settled her aunt in her house for several days and organized a reception in her honor, which was attended by the entire Nazi elite. Neither this fact nor regular correspondence with her niece had any consequences for Olga Leonardovna in the USSR.
On April 27, 1945, Olga Chekhova was arrested in Berlin by Soviet counterintelligence and taken to Moscow, but two months later she returned to West Berlin and then left for Germany.
In 1955, she ended her film career and created a cosmetics company. Olga Chekhova died in Munich in 1980 at the age of 83.
Even during her lifetime, rumors arose that she was a Soviet “super agent” during the war.
German newspapers wrote that in 1945 she traveled to Moscow to secretly receive the Order of Lenin from Stalin and to talk with Beria, Abakumov and Merkulov. The actress herself claimed that she was kept in a safe house, where well-mannered young officers played chess with her, and was released to Germany without explanation.
Pavel Sudoplatov and Beria's son Sergo reported that Olga Chekhova allegedly participated in the preparation of the assassination attempt on Hitler, then canceled by Stalin out of fears that under the new chancellor Germany would make peace with the Western allies.
According to unconfirmed reports, Olga Chekhova allegedly completed the last task of Soviet intelligence in the summer of 1953: Beria, who set a course for the unification of Germany on the terms of its neutrality, tried through the famous actress to get in touch with Konrad Adenauer, and the already mentioned Zoya Rybkina played the role of a liaison.
Olga Chekhova denied any connection with Soviet intelligence until the end of her life. Moscow also does not officially confirm this information.
Atomic espionage
Ethel Rosenberg and her husband Julius (alias "Volunteers") are the only civilians executed in the United States for espionage.
Children of Jewish emigrants from the Russian Empire and convinced communists, they collaborated with Soviet intelligence since 1938 for ideological reasons.
The couple recruited Ethel's brother David Greenglass, a US Army sergeant who worked as a mechanic at Los Alamos. Unlike his sister and brother-in-law, he gave away secrets for money.
The Russian Foreign Intelligence Service has not yet disclosed the full list of information obtained through the mediation of the Rosenberg spouses.
However, it is known that they met at least 40 times with Soviet resident Alexander Feklisov, who was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union for his role in atomic espionage, and handed over, in particular, working drawings of the plutonium bomb dropped on Nagasaki, Greenglass’s 12-page report on his work in a nuclear center and a ready-made sample of a radio fuse for an atomic bomb, the production of which was then established in the USSR.
In February 1950, in Britain, based on information received from the FBI, the main Soviet “atomic spy” Klaus Fuchs was arrested. He betrayed his contact Harry Gold, who had also previously been in contact with Greenglass. Gold betrayed Greenglass, who betrayed the Rosenbergs.
Unlike Fuchs, Gold and Greenglass, the Rosenbergs denied guilt to the end.
They explained their persecution by “anti-communist provocation” and the allegedly anti-Semitic sentiments of FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover and Chairman of the Senate Un-American Activities Committee Joseph McCarthy. However, the judge and prosecutor at their trial were Jews.
The trial began in New York on March 6, 1951. The Rosenbergs were charged with “a pre-planned conspiracy with accomplices to give the Soviet Union information and weapons that it could use to destroy us.” On April 5, they were sentenced to death.
Despite petitions from Albert Einstein, Thomas Mann and Pope Pius XII, they were executed in the electric chair at Sing Sing Prison on June 19, 1953.
“The execution of two human beings is a sad and difficult thing, but even more terrible and sad is the thought of the millions of dead whose deaths can be directly attributed to what these spies did. I will not interfere in this matter,” President Eisenhower said.
The trial took place against the backdrop of the Korean War, which, according to American politicians and the public, Stalin would not have dared to fight without an atomic bomb.
In 1983, on the 30th anniversary of the execution of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg, the newspaper Izvestia called them “innocent people who became victims of the ruthless mechanism of American “justice.”
Currently, Russia does not deny their cooperation with the USSR.
In the spirit of the times
On June 27, 2010, the FBI arrested ten Russians accused of “carrying out deeply undercover missions.”
In the old days, exposed intelligence officers everywhere in the world faced harsh interrogations, many years of imprisonment or death, and their native state disowned them. In our humane age, nothing bad has happened to anyone. Within a few days, the illegal immigrants were exchanged for four Russian citizens who had previously been convicted of spying for the United States and were urgently pardoned by the President of the Russian Federation for such a case.
Although there were reportedly more significant figures among the failed agents, the main character of the scandal was 28-year-old Anna Kushchenko-Chapman, who by that time had spent only four months in the United States and, according to the FBI, did not have time to cause significant harm to the American state.
Vice President Joseph Biden joked that it was a pity to send such a beautiful girl from America.
At home, Anna Chapman took part in a number of business and PR projects and entered politics in the ranks of the pro-Kremlin youth movement “Young Guard”.
Students of St. Petersburg University, whom she recently tried to agitate for United Russia, greeted her with posters: “Spy from here!”
The transformation of Anna Chapman into a public figure contradicts centuries-old traditions, according to which information about the affairs of former intelligence officers, if made public, is done decades later, and, as a rule, after their death.
According to many, the popularization of Anna Chapman is a PR move.
Thus, they are trying to demonstrate to the Western public that Russian spies are not monsters, but nice people who should not be feared and to whom they can happily transfer the secrets of their state.
The word “intelligence” is feminine, but it itself was considered a purely masculine matter. Even during the Great Patriotic War. In the film “Seventeen Moments of Spring” the main character seems to be not radio operator Kat, but SS Standartenführer Stirlitz. However, it was the heroine of Ekaterina Gradova, like her colleagues, playing “second roles”, who made the impossible possible.
Women are responsible for the most dangerous intelligence operations, the most sophisticated moves, the most incredible recruitments.
Each of these women had a special natural gift. One was a great singer, whom Chaliapin himself worshiped, the second knew how to be unnoticed and fit into any image (it was she who was entrusted with the assassination attempt on Hitler himself), the third had the mind of a grandmaster and a unique ability to persuade... But above all, they had the talent to love. To love so much that their feeling changed the political beliefs of specific people and the destinies of entire nations. Three scouts, three exploits and three love stories. Some documents about them are published for the first time.
Still from the film “Seventeen Moments of Spring.”
Operative nickname: Farmer. Secret weapon - voice
I look at old photographs... They are almost a century old. And the young woman in these photographs seems to be from the beginning of the 21st century. A dazzling and luxurious singer who clearly knows the value of her talent. Are scouts really like that?
Nadezhda Plevitskaya was one of the most talented,” says the historian of the Foreign Intelligence Service and hands over the sheets. - Here, read her diaries, they will tell you a lot about her character.
Nadezhda talks about her poor peasant family, where she was the 12th child. About how hard she had to work as a child, but at the same time how she loved her village life. About how she began to sing in the choir to feed her family, how she went to a monastery, how she returned “to the world”... And all this time she sang and sang.
And here is a description written by NKVD employees. Judging by her, Plevitskaya was considered an emotional, inspired, sublime person, ready to devote her whole life to art. I have no doubt that this was the case. Just look at this excerpt from her diary: “Russian song does not know slavery. And there is no musician who could record the music of the Russian soul: there is not enough music paper, not enough musical notes.”
“If you ever decide to write about her, be sure to listen to her songs,” this was a testament that intelligence veteran Vladimir Karpov, who, unfortunately, has already passed away, once gave me. He insisted that Plevitskaya was one of the most prominent figures in intelligence. - A woman with a big heart and a wonderful voice... Before she was attracted to cooperation, she said that she was an artist and sang for everyone: “I am out of politics!” And she really sang both for the poor people and for the royal family. Emperor Nicholas II cried when he listened to her.
“The Emperor was sensitive and attentive. The choice of songs was left to me, and I sang what I liked. She also sang a revolutionary song about a miserable peasant who ended up in Siberia for arrears. Nobody made any comments to me. ...And who should sing and tell songs about bitterness, about the peasant’s lot, if not the Tsar, his father? He heard me, and I saw a sad light in the king’s eyes.”
From the singer's diaries.
During the revolution, Nadezhda sang for the soldiers of the Red Army. And then she was captured by the White Guards, who took her abroad. General Nikolai Skoblin fell passionately in love with Plevitskaya, and she began to sing for the whites. Red, white - what's the difference for the singer? And again a quote from her diary: “I can sing “God Save the Tsar” and “We Will Bravely Go into Battle” with the same feeling.” It all depends on the audience." But while in exile, Nadezhda became very homesick. Abroad, she was a stranger even to some Russians: the wives of the White Guards, a peasant by birth, did not accept her into their circle even after marriage (she became Skoblina). Behind her back they called her that - “peasant”.
And the intelligence of the Soviet government needed sources of information among the White Guards in order to destroy the terrorist and dangerous ROVS (Russian Combined Arms Union) at all costs. They could not get close to Skoblin and recruit him either with the help of his brother or with the help of close friends and classmates. The general was unshakable. And then they began to act through Nadezhda. I don't know how she managed to do the impossible. Maybe she sang Russian songs to him especially poignantly, maybe she cried at night about her longing for her homeland. But, probably, the whole point is that Skoblin loved his wife, like Russia, with all his heart and could not refuse her. At the center he was given the operational pseudonym Farmer, Plevitskaya - Farmer.
“To the head of the foreign department of the OGPU of the USSR. Memorandum. The recruited "Farmer" and his wife became the main sources of information. The main results of the work boil down to the following:
Firstly, he liquidated the fighting squads created by Shatilov and General Fok.
Secondly, it nullified the nascent idea of organizing a special terrorist nucleus.
Thirdly, he got his hands on Zavadsky, the main agent of French counterintelligence, and in addition to transferring information material exposed an agent provocateur who was slipped to us by the French and worked for us for 11 months.
Fourthly, he reported on the organization that was preparing the murder of drug dealer Comrade. Litvinov during a visit to Switzerland..."
Plevitskaya served as a liaison. She copied secret reports that her husband brought home and wrote intelligence reports. In general, Skoblin did not like to write and did not know how. And Nadezhda did this with obvious desire, since for her it was an opportunity to also show her literary talent. The center knew about this, and the Farmers’ reports were read with particular pleasure. By the way, they were full of details that only a woman could notice. Here is another report to the center:
“Over four years of cooperation with “Farmer” and “Farmer Woman”, on the basis of information received from them, 17 agents abandoned by the EMRO in the USSR were arrested. 11 safe houses have been installed in Moscow..."
Plevitskaya and Skoblin were arrested after the kidnapping of the white general, head of the EMRO, Evgeniy Miller. The center decided that it was Skoblin who should have made an appointment for him, at which he would have been captured and taken to Moscow for trial. And Miller seemed to have a presentiment of such a denouement and left a note on the table: “I have a date with Skoblin today. Perhaps this is a trap...”
Intelligence historians say that if not for her arrest, during the Great Patriotic War she could have become one of the best intelligence officers. The Nazis seemed to know this.
“There is every reason to believe that they poisoned her,” say the Foreign Intelligence Service. - And they did this after they saw the verdict and materials on her criminal case. It was written there that she was collaborating with Soviet foreign intelligence. She did not agree to work against Russia.
* Nadezhda Plevitskaya was sentenced in 1938 to 20 years for complicity in the kidnapping of Yevgeny Miller. The Gestapo captured the Rennes prison where Nadezhda was imprisoned in 1940. Soon Nadezhda died under unclear circumstances.
Operative pseudonym Zina. Hitman for Hitler
Remember the scene where Stirlitz talks to the pregnant radio operator Kat?
“- How do you think about giving birth, baby?
- It seems that a new method has not yet been invented.
-...You see, women scream during childbirth.
- I thought they were singing songs.
- They shout in their native language... So you will shout “Mommy!” in Ryazan."
Photo: FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE SERVICE
Anechka Kamaeva did not scream in Russian during childbirth. But it was she who was the prototype of radio operator Kat.
“Director Tatyana Lioznova came to Anechka’s (we still all call her that) home and asked her about working in intelligence,” recalls a close relative of Anna Kamaeva. - This was after she retired, but before she was “declassified.” Anechka lived in Moscow with her children, grandchildren and her beloved husband and colleague. In many ways, it was from her husband, Mikhail Filonenko (and not just from agent Willy Lehman), that Lioznova wrote the image of Stirlitz. Actor Vyacheslav Tikhonov also came to visit them and became close friends with both intelligence officers.
So, Anna Kamaeva. She's Zina. This operational pseudonym, by the way, is being announced for the first time. Researchers cite facts from her biography that show her originality.
- At the age of 16, she, a weaver at a Moscow factory, was nominated by the work collective to the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. The Election Commission was surprised and rejected the candidacy, citing his obvious youth. And the second fact is that in the very first days of the Great Patriotic War, Anna was included in the group of special assignments, subordinate to Beria personally.
In six years, the girl made a mind-blowing career - from a weaver to one of the country's main military intelligence officers. How is this possible? Luck? Providence? Nobody can say for sure. A fighting, energetic, intelligent, smart girl. But were there many of them? Perhaps it is her unparalleled courage. She wasn’t afraid of anything, that’s all. Anna was one of the few from the special task group who survived this war. Although she was always ready to die.
“From the very beginning of the war, a sabotage plan was developed in case the Nazis occupied Moscow,” says the veteran intelligence officer. - Every detail was thought out. For example, they calculated that in case of victory, the Germans would want to celebrate it in one of the landmark buildings for the USSR. They compiled lists of such buildings - the Kremlin, the Bolshoi Theater, the Moscow Hotel, etc. They were all supposed to be blown up. Anya mined buildings both alone and in a group of other scouts. She knew all the intricacies of minecraft after completing a special training course. At the same time, she was preparing to assassinate Hitler. There were several options for how she should carry out the “attempt of the century.” Neither of them thought she could survive.
BY THE WAY
All the scouts who mined Moscow in case it was captured by the Nazis then went to the front or to become partisans. And when it became clear that there was no need to blow up the city, other specialists began demining. However, the “bookmarks” were hidden so skillfully that not everyone could be found. Some buildings were cleared of mines quite recently! Among them is the Column Hall of the House of Unions. A secret room containing several boxes of explosives was found there after a member of a special sabotage squad showed the place.
Now think about what the girl had to be like so that none of the military leaders would doubt that it was she (and perhaps only she!) who could kill Hitler himself by sacrificing her life. However, according to some reports, several such “kamikazes” were being prepared.
Then Kamaeva was sent to a partisan detachment. There she served as a liaison, again mined (now bridges and railways), and together with others attacked enemy headquarters.
Documents, documents... For many intelligence operations that took place during the war, the “secret” classification was removed quite recently. And thanks to this, it is now known how radio operator-reconnaissance Anna blew up columns, obtained offensive plans, recruited, and destroyed serious German detachments. The Nazis guessed about the existence of a scout with unique abilities (capable of quietly penetrating behind enemy lines and blowing up everything there). Any reward was given for her head. But they couldn't catch her. Because of her, the Germans, already on the outskirts of Moscow, were losing the remnants of their fighting spirit: “If one young girl can do this, then is it even possible to defeat this people?” The authorities reported on her dryly, but always nominated her for awards (which were presented personally by Zhukov).
Report from the commander of the special forces detachment of the 4th Directorate of the NKVD:
“Anna Kamaeva, radio operator. Takes direct part in carrying out special large-scale sabotage actions against the Nazi invaders on the near approaches to Moscow.”
After the war, Anna was reincarnated again! From a partisan she turned into a lady who knew several foreign languages (again she underwent serious intelligence training). She married intelligence officer Mikhail Filonenko, whom she met in the reception room of Marshal Zhukov, where he came, like her, to receive an award. The couple was sent to Mexico, then to Latin America, Brazil, and Chile. Anna was an illegal intelligence officer in Shanghai. All life is on the road. Airports, railway stations, new passports and names, meetings, appearance passwords, encryption to the center...
“At first the children did not speak Russian and did not know that their parents were Russian,” says a family friend. - But when the scouts returned forever by train to Moscow, both Anya and Mikhail sang songs in Russian. The children were shocked: “Dad, mom, are you Russian spies?!” Then they quickly mastered the Russian language. By the way, Anya was carrying a suitcase of money with her. These were... party contributions that they saved abroad.
* Anna Kamaeva (Filonenko) retired in 1963. However, only the KGB leadership knew about her existence and her exploits. The Foreign Intelligence Service declassified her name in 1998, immediately after the intelligence officer’s death. Anna's husband, intelligence officer Mikhail Filonenko, was the commander of the legendary reconnaissance and sabotage detachment "Moscow". Filonenko died in 1982.
Operative alias Helen. Agent Love Letters
I have letters in front of me. Hundreds of letters! This is the most wonderful and most touching correspondence I have ever read. And this is not at all the case when reading other people's letters is not good. The intelligence officer Leontina wrote them from an English prison, knowing full well that they would undergo strict censorship. Surely she would not mind having these letters published in the newspaper of the country she was saving from nuclear war.
Photo: FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE SERVICE
“You can talk endlessly about Leontyne,” the intelligence service historian begins his story. And from the lighted eyes it is clear that Leontine Cohen is one of his favorite heroines. - Imagine an ordinary poor girl who earned a piece of bread in America with whatever she could (housekeeper, waitress, unskilled factory worker). At one of the anti-fascist rallies she met her future husband, our agent Morris. She didn't know that he was a Russian intelligence officer. And he, in turn, doubted for a long time whether to tell her about work or not. But soon they reported from Moscow that Leontina was suitable for the service. And Morris brought her into his work. This happened about six months after their wedding.
NEW YORK RESIDENCE CENTER, NOVEMBER 1941:
“Characteristics of Leontyne Cohen. She has the qualities necessary for a foreign source: she is beautiful, brave, smart, and has the amazing ability to win over her interlocutor. Sometimes she is overly emotional and straightforward, but we think this is a fixable matter. The main thing is that she is able to transform herself and play the role assigned to her.”
It was thanks to Leontina that a sample of the new American aircraft machine gun was delivered to Moscow. To do this, she recruited an engineer from an aircraft factory and persuaded him to remove the weapons from the factory piece by piece. The machine gun was transported to the center in a double bass case.
One day she entered a closed town where nuclear weapons were being developed and took out secret documents in a box of paper napkins.
“At the station, FBI officers carefully checked each passenger,” intelligence historians say. “She thrust the box into the hands of one of the secret service officers and pretended to be rummaging through her bag in search of a ticket. “I found” him when the train started moving. They hurriedly put her on the train without inspection and handed her that priceless box of “napkins.”
NEW YORK RESIDENCE CENTER, DECEMBER 1945:
“Leontina is inventive, resourceful, brave and persistent in achieving her goal... She takes intelligence work extremely responsibly, and is ready to devote her whole life to it. A little emotional. But he may well work independently in illegal conditions.”
This was a new stage in the life of the “spy.” Leontyna was included in the station of the legendary intelligence officer Rudolf Abel, where she provided secret communication with those involved in the development of American nuclear weapons.
“It was largely thanks to her that the Cold War did not turn into a nuclear war,” writer Vladimir Karpov, an expert on the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service, repeated more than once.
In 1954, Leontina and her husband Morris, disguised as New Zealand businessmen from Moscow, arrived in England. And the center began to receive the most secret information about NATO naval forces and the development of missile weapons. British counterintelligence spent a lot of time and effort searching for “Russian spies.” But in the end, the couple was detained and sentenced to 20 years in prison.
These letters are correspondence between Leontyna and Morris. They were in different prisons in Britain, she in a women's prison, he in a men's prison. I read the letters and understand that the couple did not extradite anyone from the station; they never admitted their involvement in Soviet intelligence (although MI5, the British security service, offered them freedom and a prosperous life in exchange for cooperation). But they confessed their love for each other in every letter... They were allowed to write 4 pages once a week.
“It’s Sunday evening, very quiet. The only sounds from outside are sorrowful sighs and the creaking of the beds in the next “cage”. I can't stop thinking about you. I still remember how your eyes glow, like two soft blue lakes filled with liquid flame. I hear the security guard nearby turning off the lights. Good night, Expensive".
“There was so much in your letter, dear, that I re-read it many times! I’m a little sick, but don’t worry.”
“If only we were allowed to write letters on 8 pages instead of 4! Maybe someday, like curlers and nylon stockings, this will be allowed when the staff increases. Even if you are sick, I will still take the opportunity to kiss you again and again. What a pity that I won’t be able to serenade you, my precious flower!”
“I hope the day will come when married couples will be allowed to share a cell, but I’m getting used to the idea of living alone in a cramped cage.”
Once a month (and then once every three months) they were entitled to a meeting lasting 1 hour. During it, spouses were forbidden to touch each other. They could only watch, talk and drink tea and snack on cookies. And these were the most romantic dates that the royal prison once knew.
* In 1969, the efforts of the Soviet government and foreign intelligence were crowned with success. Morris and Leontina ended up in Moscow. Until her death, Leontina was a scout. Folders "owls" secret”, where materials about this are stored, are waiting in the wings. Leontina died in 1992, and in 1996 she was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of Russia “for the successful completion of special tasks to ensure state security in conditions involving a risk to life.” Her husband, intelligence officer Morris Cohen, was awarded the title of Hero of Russia in 1995, posthumously.
Eva Merkacheva
The word “intelligence” is feminine, but it itself was considered a purely masculine matter. Even during the Great Patriotic War. In the film “Seventeen Moments of Spring” the main character seems to be not radio operator Kat, but SS Standartenführer Stirlitz. However, it was the heroine of Ekaterina Gradova, like her colleagues, playing “second roles”, who made the impossible possible. Women are responsible for the most dangerous intelligence operations, the most sophisticated moves, the most incredible recruitments.
In honor of March 8, the archives of the SVR were opened for MK so that we could talk about three known, alas, only in narrow circles of Soviet intelligence officers. Each of these women had a special natural gift. One was a great singer, whom Chaliapin himself worshiped, the second knew how to be invisible and fit into any image (it was she who was entrusted with the assassination attempt on Hitler himself), the third had the mind of a grandmaster and a unique ability to persuade... But above all, they had the talent to love. To love so much that their feeling changed the political beliefs of specific people and the destinies of entire nations. Three scouts, three exploits and three love stories.
Some documents about them are published for the first time.
Still from the film “Seventeen Moments of Spring.”
Operative nickname: Farmer. The secret weapon is the voice
I look at old photographs... They are almost a century old. And the young woman in these photographs seems to be from the beginning of the 21st century. A dazzling and luxurious singer who clearly knows the value of her talent. Are scouts really like that?
“Nadezhda Plevitskaya was one of the most talented,” says the historian of the Foreign Intelligence Service and hands over the sheets. “Here, read her diaries, they will tell you a lot about her character.”
Nadezhda talks about her poor peasant family, where she was the 12th child. About how hard she had to work as a child, but at the same time how she loved her village life. About how she began to sing in the choir to feed her family, how she went to a monastery, how she returned “to the world”... And all this time she sang and sang.
And here is a description written by NKVD employees. Judging by her, Plevitskaya was considered an emotional, inspired, sublime person, ready to devote her whole life to art. I have no doubt that this was the case. Just look at this excerpt from her diary: “Russian song does not know slavery. And there is no musician who could record the music of the Russian soul: there is not enough music paper, not enough musical notes.”
“If you ever decide to write about her, be sure to listen to her songs,” this was a testament that intelligence veteran Vladimir Karpov, who, unfortunately, has already passed away, once gave me. He insisted that Plevitskaya was one of the most prominent figures in intelligence. - A woman with a big heart and a wonderful voice... Before she was attracted to cooperation, she said that she was an artist and sang for everyone: “I am out of politics!” And she really sang both for the poor people and for the royal family. Emperor Nicholas II cried when he listened to her.
“The Emperor was sensitive and attentive. The choice of songs was left to me, and I sang what I liked. She also sang a revolutionary song about a miserable peasant who ended up in Siberia for arrears. Nobody made any comments to me. ...And who should sing and tell songs about bitterness, about the peasant’s lot, if not the Tsar, his father? He heard me, and I saw a sad light in the king’s eyes.”
From the singer's diaries.
During the revolution, Nadezhda sang for the soldiers of the Red Army. And then she was captured by the White Guards, who took her abroad. General Nikolai Skoblin fell passionately in love with Plevitskaya, and she began to sing for the whites. Red, white - what's the difference for the singer? And again a quote from her diary: “I can sing “God Save the Tsar” and “We Will Bravely Go into Battle” with the same feeling.” It all depends on the audience." But while in exile, Nadezhda became very homesick. Abroad, she was a stranger even to some Russians: the wives of the White Guards, a peasant by birth, did not accept her into their circle even after marriage (she became Skoblina). Behind her back they called her that - “little peasant.”
And the intelligence of the Soviet government needed sources of information among the White Guards in order to destroy the terrorist and dangerous ROVS (Russian Combined Arms Union) at all costs. They could not get close to Skoblin and recruit him either with the help of his brother or with the help of close friends and classmates. The general was unshakable. And then they began to act through Nadezhda. I don't know how she managed to do the impossible. Maybe she sang Russian songs to him especially poignantly, maybe she cried at night about her longing for her homeland. But, probably, the whole point is that Skoblin loved his wife, like Russia, with all his heart and could not refuse her. At the center he was given the operational pseudonym Farmer, Plevitskaya - Farmer.
“To the head of the foreign department of the OGPU of the USSR. Memorandum. The recruited "Farmer" and his wife became the main sources of information. The main results of the work boil down to the following:
Firstly, he liquidated the fighting squads created by Shatilov and General Fok.
Secondly, it nullified the nascent idea of organizing a special terrorist nucleus.
Thirdly, he got his hands on Zavadsky, the main agent of the French counterintelligence, and in addition to transferring information material, he exposed the agent provocateur who was palmed off to us by the French and who worked for us for 11 months.
Fourthly, he reported on the organization that was preparing the murder of drug dealer Comrade. Litvinov during a visit to Switzerland..."
Plevitskaya served as a liaison. She copied secret reports that her husband brought home and wrote intelligence reports. In general, Skoblin did not like to write and did not know how. And Nadezhda did this with obvious desire, since for her it was an opportunity to also show her literary talent. The center knew about this, and the Farmers’ reports were read with particular pleasure. By the way, they were full of details that only a woman could notice. Here is another report to the center:
“Over four years of cooperation with “Farmer” and “Farmer Woman”, on the basis of information received from them, 17 agents abandoned by the EMRO in the USSR were arrested. 11 safe houses have been installed in Moscow..."
Plevitskaya and Skoblin were arrested after the kidnapping of the white general, head of the EMRO, Evgeniy Miller. The center decided that it was Skoblin who should have made an appointment for him, at which he would have been captured and taken to Moscow for trial. And Miller seemed to have a presentiment of such a denouement and left a note on the table: “I have a date with Skoblin today. Perhaps this is a trap...”
Intelligence historians say that if not for her arrest, during the Great Patriotic War she could have become one of the best intelligence officers. The Nazis seemed to know this.
“There is every reason to believe that they poisoned her,” say the Foreign Intelligence Service. “And they did this after they saw the verdict and materials on her criminal case. It was written there that she was collaborating with Soviet foreign intelligence. She did not agree to work against Russia.
FROM THE MK DOSSIER
Nadezhda Plevitskaya was sentenced in 1938 to 20 years for complicity in the kidnapping of Yevgeny Miller. The Gestapo captured the Rennes prison where Nadezhda was imprisoned in 1940. Soon Nadezhda died under unclear circumstances.
Operative pseudonym Zina. Hitman for Hitler
Remember the scene where Stirlitz talks to the pregnant radio operator Kat?
“How do you think about giving birth, baby?
- It seems that a new method has not yet been invented.
-...You see, women scream during childbirth.
“I thought they were singing songs.”
- They shout in their native language... So you will shout “Mommy!” in Ryazan."
Anechka Kamaeva did not scream in Russian during childbirth. But it was she who was the prototype of radio operator Kat.
“Director Tatyana Lioznova came to Anechka’s (we still all call her that) home and asked her about working in intelligence,” recalls a close relative of Anna Kamaeva. — This was after she retired, but before she was “declassified.” Anechka lived in Moscow with her children, grandchildren and her beloved husband and colleague. In many ways, it was from her husband, Mikhail Filonenko (and not just from agent Willy Lehman), that Lioznova wrote the image of Stirlitz. Actor Vyacheslav Tikhonov also came to visit them and became close friends with both intelligence officers.
So, Anna Kamaeva. She's Zina. This operational pseudonym, by the way, is being announced for the first time. Researchers cite facts from her biography that show her originality.
— At the age of 16, she, a weaver at a Moscow factory, was nominated by the work collective to the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. The Election Commission was surprised and rejected the candidacy, citing his obvious youth. And the second fact is that in the very first days of the Great Patriotic War, Anna was included in the group of special assignments, subordinate to Beria personally.
In six years, the girl made a mind-blowing career - from a weaver to one of the country's main military intelligence officers. How is this possible? Luck? Providence? Nobody can say for sure. A fighting, energetic, intelligent, smart girl. But were there many of them? Perhaps it is her unparalleled courage. She wasn’t afraid of anything, that’s all. Anna was one of the few from the special task group who survived this war. Although she was always ready to die.
“From the very beginning of the war, a sabotage plan was developed in case the Nazis occupied Moscow,” says the veteran intelligence officer. — Every detail was thought out. For example, they calculated that in case of victory, the Germans would want to celebrate it in one of the landmark buildings for the USSR. They compiled lists of such buildings - the Kremlin, the Bolshoi Theater, the Moscow Hotel, etc. They were all supposed to be blown up. Anya mined buildings both alone and in a group of other scouts. She knew all the intricacies of minecraft after completing a special training course. At the same time, she was preparing to assassinate Hitler. There were several options for how she should carry out the “attempt of the century.” Neither of them thought she could survive.
BY THE WAY
All the scouts who mined Moscow in case it was captured by the Nazis then went to the front or to become partisans. And when it became clear that there was no need to blow up the city, other specialists began demining. However, the “bookmarks” were hidden so skillfully that not everyone could be found. Some buildings were cleared of mines quite recently! Among them is the Column Hall of the House of Unions. A secret room containing several boxes of explosives was found there after a member of a special sabotage squad showed the place.
Now think about what the girl had to be like so that none of the military leaders would doubt that it was she (and perhaps only she!) who could kill Hitler himself by sacrificing her life. However, according to some reports, several such “kamikazes” were being prepared.
Then Kamaeva was sent to a partisan detachment. There she served as a liaison, again mined (now bridges and railways), and together with others attacked enemy headquarters.
Documents, documents... For many intelligence operations that took place during the war, the “secret” classification was removed quite recently. And thanks to this, it is now known how radio operator-reconnaissance Anna blew up columns, obtained offensive plans, recruited, and destroyed serious German detachments. The Nazis guessed about the existence of a scout with unique abilities (capable of quietly penetrating behind enemy lines and blowing up everything there). Any reward was given for her head. But they couldn't catch her. Because of her, the Germans, already on the outskirts of Moscow, were losing the remnants of their fighting spirit: “If one young girl can do this, then is it even possible to defeat this people?” The authorities reported on her dryly, but always nominated her for awards (which were presented personally by Zhukov).
Report from the commander of the special forces detachment of the 4th Directorate of the NKVD:
“Anna Kamaeva, radio operator. Takes direct part in carrying out special large-scale sabotage actions against the Nazi invaders on the near approaches to Moscow.”
After the war, Anna was reincarnated again! From a partisan she turned into a lady who knew several foreign languages (again she underwent serious intelligence training). She married intelligence officer Mikhail Filonenko, whom she met in the reception room of Marshal Zhukov, where he came, like her, to receive an award. The couple was sent to Mexico, then to Latin America, Brazil, and Chile. Anna was an illegal intelligence officer in Shanghai. All life is on the road. Airports, railway stations, new passports and names, meetings, appearance passwords, encryption to the center...
“At first the children did not speak Russian and did not know that their parents were Russian,” says a family friend. “But when the scouts returned forever by train to Moscow, both Anya and Mikhail sang songs in Russian. The children were shocked: “Dad, mom, are you Russian spies?!” Then they quickly mastered the Russian language. By the way, Anya was carrying a suitcase of money with her. These were... party contributions that they saved abroad.
FROM THE MK DOSSIER
Anna Kamaeva (Filonenko) retired in 1963. However, only the KGB leadership knew about her existence and her exploits. The Foreign Intelligence Service declassified her name in 1998, immediately after the intelligence officer’s death. Anna's husband, intelligence officer Mikhail Filonenko, was the commander of the legendary reconnaissance and sabotage detachment "Moscow". Filonenko died in 1982.
Operative alias Helen. Agent Love Letters
I have letters in front of me. Hundreds of letters! This is the most wonderful and most touching correspondence I have ever read. And this is not at all the case when reading other people's letters is not good. The intelligence officer Leontina wrote them from an English prison, knowing full well that they would undergo strict censorship. Surely she would not mind having these letters published in the newspaper of the country she was saving from nuclear war.
“You can talk endlessly about Leontyne,” the intelligence service historian begins his story. And from the lighted eyes it is clear that Leontine Cohen is one of his favorite heroines. - Imagine an ordinary poor girl who earned a piece of bread in America with whatever she could (housekeeper, waitress, unskilled factory worker). At one of the anti-fascist rallies she met her future husband, our agent Morris. She didn't know that he was a Russian intelligence officer. And he, in turn, doubted for a long time whether to tell her about work or not. But soon they reported from Moscow that Leontina was suitable for the service. And Morris brought her into his work. This happened about six months after their wedding.
NEW YORK RESIDENCE CENTER, NOVEMBER 1941:
“Characteristics of Leontyne Cohen. She has the qualities necessary for a foreign source: she is beautiful, brave, smart, and has the amazing ability to win over her interlocutor. Sometimes she is overly emotional and straightforward, but we think this is a fixable matter. The main thing is that she is able to transform herself and play the role assigned to her.”
It was thanks to Leontina that a sample of the new American aircraft machine gun was delivered to Moscow. To do this, she recruited an engineer from an aircraft factory and persuaded him to remove the weapons from the factory piece by piece. The machine gun was transported to the center in a double bass case.
One day she entered a closed town where nuclear weapons were being developed and took out secret documents in a box of paper napkins.
“At the station, FBI officers carefully checked each passenger,” intelligence historians say. “She thrust the box into the hands of one of the secret service officers and pretended to rummage through her bag in search of a ticket. “I found” him when the train started moving. They hurriedly put her on the train without inspection and handed her that priceless box of “napkins.”
NEW YORK RESIDENCE CENTER, DECEMBER 1945:
“Leontina is inventive, resourceful, brave and persistent in achieving her goal... She takes intelligence work extremely responsibly, and is ready to devote her whole life to it. A little emotional. But he may well work independently in illegal conditions.”
This was a new stage in the life of the “spy.” Leontyna was included in the station of the legendary intelligence officer Rudolf Abel, where she provided secret communication with those involved in the development of American nuclear weapons.
“It was largely thanks to her that the Cold War did not turn into a nuclear war,” the Russian SVR expert, writer Vladimir Karpov, has repeatedly repeated.
In 1954, Leontina and her husband Morris, disguised as New Zealand businessmen from Moscow, arrived in England. And the center began to receive the most secret information about NATO naval forces and the development of missile weapons. British counterintelligence spent a lot of time and effort searching for “Russian spies.” But in the end, the couple was detained and sentenced to 20 years in prison.
These letters are correspondence between Leontyne and Morris. They were in different prisons in Britain, she in a women's prison, he in a men's prison. I read the letters and understand that the couple did not extradite anyone from the station; they never admitted their involvement in Soviet intelligence (although MI5, the British security service, offered them freedom and a prosperous life in exchange for cooperation). But they confessed their love for each other in every letter... They were allowed to write 4 pages once a week.
“It’s Sunday evening, very quiet. The only sounds from outside are sorrowful sighs and the creaking of the beds in the next “cage”. I can't stop thinking about you. I still remember how your eyes glow, like two soft blue lakes filled with liquid flame. I hear the security guard nearby turning off the lights. Good night, darling".
“There was so much in your letter, dear, that I re-read it many times! I’m a little sick, but don’t worry.”
“If only we were allowed to write letters on 8 pages instead of 4! Maybe someday, like curlers and nylon stockings, this will be allowed when the staff increases. Even if you are sick, I will still take the opportunity to kiss you again and again. What a pity that I won’t be able to serenade you, my precious flower!”
“I hope the day will come when married couples will be allowed to share a cell, but I’m getting used to the idea of living alone in a cramped cage.”
Once a month (and then once every three months) they were entitled to a meeting lasting 1 hour. During it, spouses were forbidden to touch each other. They could only watch, talk and drink tea and snack on cookies. And these were the most romantic dates that the royal prison once knew.
FROM THE MK DOSSIER
In 1969, the efforts of the Soviet government and foreign intelligence were crowned with success. Morris and Leontina ended up in Moscow. Until her death, Leontina was a scout. Folders "owls" secret”, where materials about this are stored, are waiting in the wings. Leontina died in 1992, and in 1996 she was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of Russia “for the successful completion of special tasks to ensure state security in conditions involving a risk to life.” Her husband, intelligence officer Morris Cohen, was awarded the title of Hero of Russia in 1995, posthumously.
