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documents without leaving a record and finding ways to take documents home or to areas of the facility where he had access to better light and more privacy. When the CIA-provided cameras failed to work, Tolkachev devised a way to use a civilian camera instead. He developed his own procedures that greatly increased the output and quality of his work. In one meeting alone, he provided almost 200 rolls of film and over 150 rolls in another meeting. He also included detailed notes and explanations of the information within the photos to assist in understanding the documents.
428:
behalf of the U.S. Historian
Nicholas Dujmovic criticized Fischer's article as "speculative," saying that he makes "few factual statements". Hoffman rebutted Fischer's theory, reasserting that Tolkachev furnished genuine technical information. Fischer responded that the CIA had not released the intelligence provided by Tolkachev; that the Politburo transcript is "suspicious" and possibly falsified; and that the KGB, which ran other "dangles" providing intelligence on Soviet weapons technologies, was also in control of Tolkachev.
305:
leave the Soviet Union because his wife believed she would become homesick. He eventually requested that the interest from his accounts be paid to him in rubles so that he could attempt to bribe any coworkers who might discover his activity. In case he could not bribe his way out of a situation, Tolkachev requested a
341:
Tolkachev was arrested by the KGB while returning to Moscow from the countryside and was later put on trial and executed. With much planning over the years, Tolkachev had carefully compartmentalized his spy work from his family; however, his wife
Natalia was also imprisoned for three years in 1986 on
403:
Since
Tolkachev claimed to be asking for documents that were outside his area of work or security clearance, then he would not be able to obtain them without arousing suspicion in the secure, KGB-guarded facility. This ignores that Tolkachev raised these concerns and that Tolkachev replaced the card
300:
Tolkachev found that many of the procedures provided by the CIA were ineffective and risked giving him away. Tolkachev developed many different ways to bypass Soviet security despite routine changes that interfered with his activities. He repeatedly found holes in security, finding ways to check out
399:
Tolkachev claimed that he took documents home to photograph them during lunch, but traveling by means of public transit would have taken about an hour. This ignores both that it was standard procedure for employees to leave during lunch to carry out errands and that
Tolkachev was unable to continue
427:
discussed
Tolkachev on 25 September 1986, and top Soviet officials stated that he "was caught with two million rubles" and "handed over very important military-technical secrets to the enemy". The conversation transcript states that Tolkachev had been executed the previous day for his espionage on
304:
Tolkachev initially refused any payments for his service, knowing they would draw suspicion. He requested art supplies, music, and other items for his son. Because he would not take payments himself, token payments were deposited in an overseas account as a sign of gratitude. Tolkachev refused to
309:
to commit suicide in case he was captured and to limit the information the KGB could acquire from interrogating him. The payments were made despite
Tolkachev knowing that he would never be able to access the remaining funds. He went beyond anything required by his payment agreement and provided
296:
and radios. He preferred personal meetings, as he enjoyed meeting with agents. During visits, he was also given medicine and medical checkups. A KGB-linked newspaper later wrote that the CIA showed a great deal of care for
Tolkachev and that the way they treated him was "touching."
256:
A story whose plausibility has been questioned tells how
Tolkachev began his spy career. From January 1977 to February 1978, Tolkachev attempted to approach cars with U.S. diplomatic license plates in Moscow five times, coincidentally approaching the CIA Moscow bureau chief
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Since
Tolkachev "made no less than six or seven attempts to contact the Moscow Station," including senior CIA officials, it is implausible that the KGB did not detect him. This ignores that he only asked if agents were American, then dropped notes for
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420:" agent run by the KGB to obtain CIA technical equipment such as spy cameras, project a false image of Soviet military and economic vitality, and absorb the CIA in a resource- and time-consuming operation.
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KGB headquarters and prison, and incriminating materials, including spy equipment such as cameras, were seized from him. The source of the exposure is believed to have been
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using his home to collect intelligence, instead finding bathrooms and other locations in the facility where he could take pictures in privacy.
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At some point in 1985, Tolkachev was compromised. While attempting to meet with
Tolkachev, a CIA officer was arrested and questioned at the
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group. Zaitsev also says that the KGB kept Tolkachev's arrest secret in order to feed the CIA misinformation over the course of 10 months.
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used for keeping records of his book withdrawals, and that no system existed for the KGB to filter document withdrawals by subject.
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Tolkachev claimed his distrust of the Soviet government arose from the persecution of his wife's parents, who had suffered under
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416:'s decision-making process, Tolkachev cannot be credited with saving billions of dollars. He concludes that Tolkachev was a "
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as one of the chief designers, Adolf Tolkachev gave the CIA complete detailed information about projects such as the
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information any time it became available to him, not only when he was scheduled to receive compensation or care.
391:, the former chief historian of the CIA, has presented a contrary view of the Tolkachev case. He argues that:
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286:
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184:
782:
Fischer, Benjamin (2008). "The Spy Who Came in for the Gold: A Skeptical View of the GTVANQUISH Case".
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Fischer also questions the value of the intelligence furnished by Tolkachev, asserting that since CIA
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The arrest of Tolkachev, commanded by KGB Lt. Colonel Vladimir Zaitsev, was carried out by the KGB's
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17:
530:
Tolkachev, A Worthy Successor to Penkovsky, An Exceptional Espionage Operation, Barry G. Royden 2007
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The Billion Dollar Spy: A True Story of Cold War Espionage and Betrayal by David E. Hoffman, pg. 214
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Tolkachev, A Worthy Successor to Penkovsky , Exceptional Espionage Operation, Barry G. Royden
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with intelligence data that proved to be of "incalculable" value to US experts. The
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completely reversed direction on a $ 70 million electronics package for the
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269:. On his fifth attempt, the CIA assigned a Russian-speaking officer named
683:"The Billion Dollar Spy: A True Story of Cold War Espionage and Betrayal"
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The Billion Dollar Spy: A True Story of Cold War Espionage and Betrayal
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Fischer, Benjamin B. (Winter 2016). "Tolkachev Evidence Still Skimpy".
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says that this was "the projected overall cost, not a cost savings".
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Tolkachev resisted the use of traditional CIA methods, including
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missile systems; fighter-interceptor aircraft radars used on the
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745:
International Journal of Intelligence and CounterIntelligence
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International Journal of Intelligence and CounterIntelligence
233:. KGB Police executed him in Moscow for being a spy in 1986.
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488:"Cold War Spy Tale Came to Life on the Streets of Moscow"
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However, contradicting Fischer's assertions, the Soviet
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Soviet people executed for spying for the United States
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Hoffman, David (Fall 2016). "Tolkachev's Bona Fides".
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to contact him. Eventually, Tolkachev established his
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due to Tolkachev's intelligence, although historian
187:(CIA) between 1979 and 1985. Working at the Soviet
183:. He provided vital documents to the United States
582:"How the CIA ran a 'billion dollar spy' in Moscow"
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851:
338:apparently also passed his name to the Soviets.
656:"Soviet Politburo Discussed Billion-Dollar Spy"
412:only constituted "one small ingredient" of the
890:People executed by the Soviet Union by firearm
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832:"Tolkachev, A Worthy Successor to Penkovsky"
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261:at a gas station, but the CIA was wary of
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27:Soviet engineer and CIA spy (1927–1986)
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654:Blanton, Tom; Savranskaya, Svetlana.
245:. He told the CIA he was inspired by
342:charges of supporting high treason.
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380:, about Tolkachev's life, in 2015.
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662:. The George Washington University
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681:Dujmovic, Nicholas (March 2016).
326:, an ex-CIA officer who fled to
784:Journal of Intelligence History
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870:CIA agents convicted of crimes
796:10.1080/16161262.2008.10555148
557:"The Downfall of Agent Sphere"
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1:
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757:10.1080/08850607.2016.1177413
722:10.1080/08850607.2016.1148511
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134:Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute
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166:Adolf Georgiyevich Tolkachev
7:
362:A painting of Tolkachev by
185:Central Intelligence Agency
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174:Адольф Георгиевич Толкачёв
115:Adik, CKSPHERE, CKVANQUISH
43:Адольф Георгиевич Толкачёв
660:National Security Archive
561:Espionage History Archive
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143:Electronic engineer, spy
839:Studies in Intelligence
815:. New York: Doubleday.
811:Hoffman, David (2015).
687:Studies in Intelligence
364:Kathy Krantz Fieramosca
875:Soviet anti-communists
830:Royden, Barry (2003).
377:The Billion Dollar Spy
247:Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
314:Compromise and arrest
106:Execution by shooting
368:Langley headquarters
181:electronics engineer
693:(1). Archived from
586:The Washington Post
492:The Washington Post
389:Benjamin B. Fischer
366:hangs in the CIA's
287:Benjamin B. Fischer
263:counterintelligence
102:Cause of death
895:People from Aktobe
265:operations by the
697:on June 30, 2016.
632:, pp. 43–44.
608:, pp. 40–42.
324:Edward Lee Howard
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151:Natalia Tolkachev
87:24 September 1986
16:(Redirected from
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880:Soviet engineers
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307:cyanide pill
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229:; and other
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95:Soviet Union
89:(1986-09-24)
865:1986 deaths
860:1927 births
540:Royden 2003
120:Citizenship
854:Categories
776:References
566:2015-08-24
497:2010-04-23
384:Skepticism
374:published
294:dead drops
283:F-15 Eagle
275:bona fides
73:Kazakh SSR
65:Aktyubinsk
57:1927-01-06
804:155965016
765:156593068
730:156233086
432:Citations
425:Politburo
370:. Writer
334:charges.
330:to avoid
195:Phazotron
130:Education
18:Tolkachev
414:Pentagon
351:spetsnaz
320:Lubyanka
231:avionics
201:, R-24,
156:Children
332:treason
170:Russian
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802:
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418:dangle
410:HUMINT
358:Legacy
328:Moscow
237:Career
225:, and
223:MiG-31
219:MiG-29
209:, and
178:Soviet
148:Spouse
835:(PDF)
800:S2CID
761:S2CID
726:S2CID
666:4 May
591:4 May
396:them.
347:Alpha
227:Su-27
215:S-300
189:radar
845:(3).
817:ISBN
668:2016
593:2016
249:and
211:R-60
207:R-27
203:R-33
199:R-23
124:USSR
84:Died
77:USSR
51:Born
792:doi
753:doi
718:doi
267:KGB
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