Adolf Tolkachev, CIA agent: biography, arrest, court, death sentence

The Kazakh city of Aktyubinsk, where Adolp Georgievich Tolkachev was born on January 6, 1927, the future spy did not remember. Already at the age of two, his parents took him to Moscow, where he lived his whole life. The exception was in 1948-1954, when Tolkachev studied at the Kharkov Polytechnic Institute. The young man became an engineer in the field of radar. The Soviet state valued such personnel and, at the same time, rigidly regulated their activities. Tolkachev on the order was sent to the Research Institute of Radio Engineering. The city of Aktyubinsk, a native city for a specialist, has always remained in the past - it was waited years of work in closed enterprises.

Initiator

Adolf Tolkachev tried to establish his first contact with the American resident in 1977, when he was already 50 years old. In his specialty, he had access to important documents related to the Soviet "defense industry." For foreign intelligence, such an informant could become a very valuable employee.

Adolf Tolkachev understood that it was extremely difficult to get in touch with the CIA in his situation. Usually, special services organized their own networks of agents in the departments that they needed. Tolkachev was also an "initiator" - a citizen of the USSR who volunteered to cooperate with the Americans. To look for CIA officers, he started near the embassy. Intelligence did have agents under diplomatic cover. Adolf Tolkachev left his first note to Americans under the windshield wiper of the car. Calculate the diplomat's car was easy - they drove on rare for Soviet roads foreign cars.

Anonymous letter

With the skepticism of the CIA they reacted to the note left by the anonymous author. The author claimed that he has access to important military documents and is ready to cooperate with the Americans. However, intelligence did not believe that first note. Such an attempt to get in touch looked too desperate. The CIA feared that the note could be a forgery of the KGB's counterintelligence.

In the Soviet secret services there was no information about some American agents who worked undercover. The search for opponents continued every day, and the KGB officers could well leave a false note for verification.

New scraps

Despite the first setback, Adolf Tolkachev was persistent. A few weeks later he left another note. It already contained insignificant information about some characteristics of the Soviet radar system. These were valuable information, which the Americans had not yet had access to. However, this paper did not convince the head of the CIA Stensfield Turner.

Tolkachev would not have been able to communicate with foreign intelligence, had it not been for the initiative of the resident Gardner Hathaway. He did not share the point of view of his superiors and was afraid that the CIA could miss an important shot for her. Therefore, after another note, Hathaway sent a categorical telegram to Langley headquarters, asking permission to call the number indicated by the anonymous person. After some doubts, Turner finally gave the go-ahead. Hateuyu was lucky - just on the eve of the CIA from the Pentagon came a memorandum - the US Department of Defense expressed interest in any information about Soviet radio technology.

First contact

American residents phoned Tolkachev and near the Institute of Radio Industry left for him a package containing a list of questions about Soviet radar. Agents carefully watched from the windows of his car, as an elderly and unattractive man at the appointed time took away the bundle intended for him.

A week has passed. The anonymous author in exactly the same way left the Americans with his answer. When the CIA analyzed the data, it became clear that it was no longer possible to talk about the KGB trap. The new information about radars was so valuable and fundamentally important that the "committers" would never risk it to identify an enemy spy network.

Sphere

In early 1979 Tolkachev finally met with an American resident. The newly-minted agent of the CIA received the call sign "Sphere" (this pseudonym was chosen due to the fact that in the letter the man spoke about access to information about the development of a system of target destruction in the lower hemisphere). Tolkachev also claimed that he would hand over the drawings of the newest radar, which would soon receive high-speed MiG-25.

The value of the system described by the volunteer agent was colossal. Such a Soviet radar allowed the aircraft to track high-altitude low-flying equipment and enemy missiles at high altitude. So far, nothing like this has been in the USSR aviation. The vulnerability of the old Soviet radars enabled the Americans to effectively use low-altitude bombers and improved cruise missiles flying beyond the field of view of enemy equipment.

Intentions of the agent

It is interesting that Tolkachyov, in one of his first letters, himself set out a long-term plan for working with the CIA. He wanted to transfer classified documents for 12 years. All work was divided into seven stages. Tolkachev described in detail what papers and when he would hand over to his liaison.

The agent's plan showed the seriousness of his intentions. The engineer was preparing for the first contact with the Americans for a long time. He wrote that he was going to inflict as much damage as possible to the Soviet Union. The transfer of secret drawings deprived him of the opportunity to turn back and forget about this story, but Tolkachev did not intend to back down.

The success of the CIA

Today, intelligence historians believe that Tolkachev is the most valuable agent of the CIA for the entire existence of the American residency in the USSR. The importance of the documents handed over by the volunteer was also that with the help of the latter, the Americans managed to save huge amounts of money. Cooperating with the CIA, Tolkachev received money in cash Soviet rubles. In addition, in his name, an account was opened in an American bank, on which about two million dollars was accumulated (he would have been useful if the agent flew overseas). The sum is huge on the scale of one human life. However, for the US military budget, it was ridiculous compared to the money that could have been spent in the future on the arms race with the USSR aircraft.

American intelligence services for a few pennies provided their army an additional advantage over the enemy. Although the war between the USSR and the US did not happen, data on radar and aircraft to the Pentagon still useful. The Americans shared valuable secrets with the Israelis, who fought with the Arabs in the 80s, whose armies were manned by Soviet technology. After receiving strategically important information, the Allied air defense began to easily shoot down planes received by their opponents from the USSR.

Curator of Tolkachev

Connected with the "Sphere" was John Gilsher, who at the time of their first meeting turned 47 years old. His parents were Russian aristocrats, whose life was destroyed by the October Revolution. They emigrated to the United States, where John was born. He knew Russian perfectly, although he spoke it with a Baltic accent. Prior to acquaintance with Tolkachev, Gilsher had already taken part in two important operations of the American special services. He was involved in the appearance of the "Berlin tunnel" and the development of the spy Oleg Penkovsky.

In the KGB, they were followed closely by Gilcher. In his apartment was a wiretapper. Once, Gilcher even noticed how the coat had disappeared from the cabinet - the Russians took it to install the microphone, but they did it very awkwardly. Despite the interest of the Soviet special services to him, it was he who was chosen by the head of the Moscow residency as a liaison with Tolkachev.

Dangerous encounters

Engineer Tolkachev Adolf Georgievich met Gilsherom dozens of times. The agent transmitted written materials and a huge amount of film. Thanks to his position, he had access to special literature in the library of the All-Union Scientific Research Institute. Tolkachev received for official use documents under the signature "Of particular importance" and "Top Secret", took them home and photographed there on a Pentax camera attached to a dining chair.

Gilsher was a master of reincarnations and did equally difficult work. In order to quietly get into the place of a secret meeting, he first came to the embassy for a dinner party, then left there through the back door, got into the prepared car, where he changed into the typical clothes of a Soviet proletarian. Once Gilcher put money and papers with encrypted information in a dirty construction mitten, which he hid in a telephone booth. Tolkachev imperceptibly picked up the things left to him. The curator was constantly under the hood of the KGB. He could cancel a personal meeting if he realized that she was too dangerous because of the "outdoor" hunting for him. Then Gilcher parked the hood on the agreed side, showing that the agent must leave. In case of disclosure, a death sentence was threatened by everyone, so it was necessary to contact with extreme caution.

Cassettes with rock'n'roll and imported blades

Tolkachev understood that he could not spend too much money from Americans (although he received about 789,000 rubles in cash). Living on a broad foot was too dangerous - defiant behavior could interest in the KGB. Therefore Tolkachev led a rather modest way of life. He had his own car and dacha, but all this was due to him for his high status in the research institute. Against a large cash flow acted in the CIA. It was cash that often caused the failure of agents. Money intoxicated and led to carelessness. In addition, to spend them in Moscow, suffering from a deficit, was simply not worth it.

Curious are other non-financial ways Americans pay with their agent. The son of Adolp Tolkachev (in the early 80's he was a teenager) loved Western music, which it was extremely difficult to find in the USSR. Upon learning of this, the residents began to transfer to the "Sphere" cassettes with rock and roll. Tolkachev also asked for rare information books, medicines, imported razor blades instead of his information. Fearing for his safety, he demanded from Americans a capsule with poison for the case of the KGB round. The CIA refused to give poison.

Arrest

In 1980, John Gilsher received a new appointment and left Moscow. Nevertheless Tolkachev continued to cooperate with the CIA. But with the new connected he was extremely unlucky. It was Edward Lee Howard. In 1983, after a check on the polygraph, the CIA learned that he used drugs prior to work in the special services. The scandal led to the dismissal. The angry Howard contacted the KGB and gave out to the Committee the names of several spies who worked for the Americans. Among them was Adolp Tolkachev.

A documentary film about his case as part of the Traitors project (hosted by Andrei Lugovoy) included several interviews of people involved in the arrest of a research worker. The detention took place in June 1985. Tolkachev, who received no poison from the CIA, could not commit suicide. Soldiers of the Alpha, who grabbed him in the car, immediately cut the spy's clothes, looking for a hidden ampule of poison.

Court and execution

The arrested agent did not deny it and right away confessed everything. He threatened to shoot under the provisions of the article of charges "Treason." Tolkachev began to ask for pardon. He was awaited with a death sentence, and under these circumstances a spy would be glad to any jail term.

The investigation and the court lasted more than a year. Art. 64 required the careful work of many bodies from intelligence to prosecution. After the arrest of the Sphere, the KGB managed to cover most of that spy network. In particular, curator Paul Stroumbach was also arrested. The fate of the agent itself was actually solved at the time of his arrest. According to Art. 64 of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR he was sentenced to capital punishment. The shooting took place on September 24, 1986.