The date is August 14th, 1961. The location:
a dingy basement in the American Central Intelligence Agency's West Berlin headquarters.
Just a few miles distant lies the Soviet KGB's own headquarters, both sides separated by
a political demarcation splitting Germany into East- under influence of the Soviet Union,
and the democratic West- under the protection of the United States and its allies. For years,
a secret spy war has waged between both sides, the life of each operative always just
a single trigger-pull away from ending. And now, sitting at a table lit only by two 40
watt lights hanging from the ceiling, is one of those trigger pullers- the Soviet assassin Bohdan
Stahynsky, and he wants to flip to the Americans. Or, at least that's what the man claims to be
and want. He appears to be in his late thirties or early forties, a tall handsome man with dark
hair, a clean shaven face, and an easy going manner. Nothing about him screams assassin,
and yet the man insists that he is the one responsible for at least two major political
assassinations on the Soviet side of Europe. The American agents interrogating
him are skeptical. The West German intelligence officer assisting his
American partners is less skeptical. “Go on”, the German officer
nods, “Tell us how it happened.” Stashynksy takes a sip of
water and clears his throat... It's now October 1957 and the weather
is pleasantly cool. Stashinsky sits on a park bench in the middle of Munich,
newspaper on his lap. To all appearances, he's nothing more than another German citizen
enjoying the mild weather. In reality, he is a dangerous predatory animal, carefully
eyeballing every man who crosses his path. He's looking for his prey, and
he knows he'll find him soon. Originally, Stashinsky was
instructed to abduct Lev Rebet, the editor of a Ukranian nationalistic
newspaper that called for independence for Ukraine from the Soviet Union. Needless to say
this didn't sit well with the Soviet government, and with the paper's growing influence
something had to be done to stop the agitators. Six months after his original
tasking to abduct Rebet, the KGB changed its mind and encouraged
the assassination of Rebet instead. Soviet premier Nikita Kruschev
personally approved of the killing, and soon Stashinsky found himself with different
orders- kill Lev Rebet and leave no witnesses. Stashinsky watches the crowd carefully as it
moves. He's been here in the city center for two days, knowing that eventually Rebet will appear.
He doesn't have long to wait, and early on the second day, Stashinsky spots Rebet from a distance
as he steps off a tram, and immediately picks up his newspaper and begins to follow him.
Rebet has only minutes left to live now. Hidden in the rolled up newspaper is
a very simple device- a single-shot, single-barreled pipe gun of sorts, loaded with
a nearly foolproof tool for assassination: a capsule of potassium cyanide. The weapon fires
the capsule directly into the face of its victim, which bursts on impact releasing a small cloud of
the deadly poison. Within seconds the victim will be unconscious. Moments later, dead, and best of
all- any medical examination that doesn't look too closely will determine the cause of death
to be nothing more than a simple heart attack. Now, Stashinsky follows Rebet, the
deadly weapon hidden in his newspaper. On an ankle holster, Stashinsky
carries a small revolver, just in case there are any witnesses. Nobody can
be left alive to tell the tale of Rebet's death, and certainly not to link it back to the people
who most want him dead: the Soviet Union. Rebet leads Stashinsky through the streets of
Berlin, finally arriving at his apartment block. He opens the front door and lets himself
in, Stashinsky slipping in behind him just before the door closes. Rebet begins
to climb the stairs to the second floor, completely unaware of the deadly
assassin stalking his every step. Stashinsky clears his throat. The surprised
Rebet immediately spins around to face him, only to stare into the barrel of the deadly
poison gun. With a silent hiss, the weapon fires, a potassium cyanide capsule bursting directly
in Rebet's face. Rebet staggers forward, but falls to the floor. The assassination
has been perfect. No witnesses, and the medical examiners will discover only a small
amount of potassium cyanide in Rebet's system, not enough to trigger suspicions that
his death was anything but natural. Back in 1961, the CIA officers look skeptical.
A poison gun that shoots potassium cyanide capsules? That sounds ridiculous to them,
pure fantasy. They're growing less and less convinced by the minute that this man is truly
who he says he is, let alone a Soviet assassin. The German officer however isn't so sure.
An autopsy of Rebet did discover potassium cyanide in his system. And the same
was discovered in another prominent political enemy of the Soviet Union just
two years later. Could the two be connected? “Tell me more, Herr Stashinsky.” It's once more October, but this time it's 1959, two years after the assassination of Lev Rebet.
Today, the target is another Ukranian antagonist, a political leader now living in exile from his
former home, and still calling for independence from the Soviet Union, Stepan Bandera. This has
naturally placed him in the crosshairs of the KGB. Bandera lives in Munich, on an apartment
block at Kreittmayer Street not far from his office. Stashinsky has been watching Bandera
closely for months, the man is not easy to track or to approach. Bandera is all too
aware that there is a target on his back, and has been careful to mix up his routines
and maintain tight security at all times. This has made pinning down his commute and
best places to ambush him, very difficult. Stashinsky has already tried to penetrate
Bandera's home on a previous occasion, but the lockpicking tools provided to him by
the KGB failed to open the lock to the front door of the apartment building. He tried his own
key to see if perhaps they were similar enough, but that too failed and actually broke off in
the lock. Panicked, Stashinsky called off the assassination attempt, fearful that the
sabotaged lock might give the plot away. Lucky for him, the building inspector
fixed the lock and suspected no foul play. Bandera remained unaware of just how close he had
come to death. Stashinsky was determined to kill him on this first trip though, and as he followed
closely from behind through the streets of Munich, Bandera happened to glance
behind him and spot Stashinsky, making the assassin fear he'd
been made. The hit was called off. But now, weeks later, Stashinsky is
determined to at last get his victim. He has filed down one of his own keys to match
the lock to Bandera's apartment building door, and he undertakes a quick
trial run to ensure it works. Sure enough, the key fits and the
door opens. The assassination is a go. The next day, Stashinsky takes a yellow pill meant
to protect him from the potassium cyanide he'll be using to kill Bandera with. His weapon is an
improved version of the one he used two years ago, featuring two barrels which will allow
him to ensure a deadly dose is delivered. The assassin makes his way to the Ludwig
Bridge near the German Museum in Munich, and from there finds a place to
observe the Ukranian emigre office. He spots Bandera's car, and an
hour later at about 1130 hours, Stashinsky watches a man and a woman exit the
office and enter Bandera's vehicle, driving down the street. He's not close enough to identify
the man, but is convinced that it's Bandera. Stashinsky decides to simply wait for Bandera at
his home, and takes a streetcar to the apartment building Bandera lives in under a fake name. He
finds a place to sit and observe the street, and not long after spots Bandera's car drive past him.
Bandera, who is typically escorted by a bodyguard everywhere he goes, is completely alone.
Now is the time to strike. Stashinsky watches Bandera drive into the
apartment building's garage, and quickly makes his way inside the building using his
filed-down key. He heads up the stairs and takes a perch in between the ground and second
floor. It's still early in the afternoon and the building is quiet, there is no foot traffic
coming or going- perfect for an assassination. Suddenly there’s the sound of a door opening
somewhere above Stashinsky, and two women bidding goodbye to each other. Stashinsky tries to calm
his nerves, and wills the woman to quickly move to the elevator and take her leave. She
doesn't. She decides to take the stairs. Stashinsky grips the weapon hidden in his
newspaper roll. It has two barrels, two charges. He could kill two people with it if need be. The woman draws nearer, and at the last second,
Stashinsky decides against killing her. He moves down the stairs and begins to fiddle with the
elevator button, pretending to be waiting for it. The woman passes by him and exits the building.
The moment the door closes behind her, Stashinsky curses silently and
rushes back towards the stairs. But before he can take more than two steps towards
the stairs, the front door once more opens. It's Bandera, and he's spotted Stashinsky.
For one brief moment, the assassin fears that the game is up. Maybe Bandera will
run. Maybe he will reach for his weapon. Stashinsky is only armed with the poison
gun, useless except at point blank range. Bandera would surely kill him
before he could get that close, it's well known that the Ukranian leader in exile
always carries a firearm in a shoulder holster. The question racing through Stashinsky's
mind is- does he recognize me? Did he spot me weeks ago as I was
following him and he happened to glance over his shoulder directly
at me? Will he remember my face? Bandera does not. He nods briefly
at Stashinsky before turning his attention back to extricating his key
from the front door. His arms are loaded with groceries and he is having trouble
removing the key from the sticky lock, his back turned to the deadly Soviet
assassin standing only a dozen feet away. Stashinsky makes his move, it's now or never. Walking to the door, Stashinsky grabs the front
door knob as if to help Bandera. “Doesn't it work?”, asks Stashinsky, causing Bandera to look
directly at him. “Yes, it works.” comes the reply. As Bandera turns to look and answers Stashinsky's
question, he's met by both barrels of the poison gun. Two capsules of potassium cyanide
burst at point blank range in Bandera's face, and the Ukranian leader staggers backwards.
Groceries fall to the floor as Bandera struggles to free his pistol from its holster hidden
under his jacket. It's too late for him though. Stashinsky doesn't even wait to confirm Bandera's
death. He walks out the door and closes it behind him as Bandera falls to the floor. The massive
dose of poison takes only seconds to kill him, the police will find him with his hand still
clutching at the weapon in its holster. Back in 1961 once more, the Americans still aren't
buying it. “A poison gas gun? Whoever heard of such a thing. What a load of hooey.” The CIA
agents do not believe Stashinsky or his stories, and make a recommendation to headquarters
that he is useless as a double agent and is possibly a Soviet mole
himself. His stories don't add up, and the CIA releases him to the
West German intelligence service. The Germans however aren't as skeptical of
Stashinsky's stories. They have Stashinsky walk them through a recreation of the murders
and become increasingly convinced that he's the real deal given his incredible
familiarity with the murder scenes. Maybe he can be a valuable intelligence asset-
but first, he has to answer for his crimes. As a valuable asset, Stashinsky is jailed for
only eight years. Shortly after his release, the CIA changes its mind on Stashinsky and brings
him into the fold. They eventually provide new identities for him and his German wife and fly
them to South Africa, where he is granted asylum. But not before he delivers a goldmine of
intelligence to the West on Soviet operations. Now that you’ve made it to the end, comrade, check
out what happens if you displease the great Soviet premier with The Horrible LIfe Of People IN Soviet
Gulags. Or check out this other video instead!
