Stalin's Spies and The Secrets Of The NKVD | Secrets Of War | Timeline

[Music] Joseph Stalin the most powerful and ruthless dictator in modern history for decades until his death in 1953 he ruled the largest country in the world of the Soviet Union with an iron fist he based his absolute power and his secret police the NKVD then the largest intelligence service in the world his agents were highly professional and unspeakably brutal the NKVD --zz primary mission was to serve Stalin and destroy his enemies both at home and abroad the might of the nkvd was deeply rooted in a common turn an international communist organization headquartered in Moscow can in turn a community organizer by the middle of the 1930s the Comintern United over 60 communist parties around the world the Comintern had its own intelligence department on orders from the Soviet leadership communists began spying in their own countries the Soviet spy apparatus in the 30s and 40s had an international flavor to it so they would very carefully try to see if they couldn't get some people to do some things for them under the guise of you are cooperating with the worldwide communist movement this is for a better future for the world delegates from around the world regularly came to Moscow to attend Comintern congress's here they received their marching orders in the fight for global dominance fanatically devoted to communist ideas many of them would become Soviet spies some would become assassins Soviet intelligence the NKVD in the middle of the 1930s had two priorities one is very difficult in the West for us at all understand and the first priority was who actually to kill Stalin's opponents outside the Soviet Union simply to kill Trotsky and the leading Trotskyists the other priority which is easier for us to understand was to collect intelligence about the West Leon Trotsky was Stalin's greatest enemy he was everything Stalin wasn't a prodigious intellect a charismatic organizer of the Russian October Revolution in 1917 the founder of the Red Army Trotsky had loyal supporters around the world who called themselves trotskyists many Russians believed Trotsky would succeed Lenin as the head of the new red Empire but Stalin had other plans he knew how to work the levers of power through backroom intrigues blackmail and terror within five years of Lenin's death Trotsky was stripped of all political offices exiled and branded a traitor an enemy of the people but Leon Trotsky didn't give up from Mexico he organized an international campaign to fight Stalinism in 1936 Spain erupted in civil war the red wing nationalists to General Francisco Franco led a coup against the socialist Republican government Adolf Hitler rushed to general Franco's aid sending weapons and military advisors the Socialists formed a left-wing coalition with Trotskyists and communists Stalin supported the left with an eye to strengthen the communist movement in Europe as well as heavy artillery planes and military advisors he sent secret agents experts in guerrilla warfare and terrorism the NKVD succeeded in infiltrating the socialist Republican government this allowed them to launch their own secret war taking the Spanish secret services under full control the nkvd was to help the republican government defeat General Franco but the desire to help the left against the right in the Spanish Civil War was quickly overtaken by Stalin's traditional obsessions Stalin ordered the NKVD to make as its main appellate not the Nationalists but the Trotskyists within the republican movement communist volunteers from France Britain the United States and Germany flocked to Spain together with Spanish socialists they formed International Brigades after a quick course in warfare taught by Soviet military experts they were armed and ready to go into battle unaware the danger posed by NKVD agents French agitator and remati also came to Spain ostensibly to represent comment on the International communist organization but he was also an NKVD agent with a secret mission to kill trotsky's supporters he personally signed the execution warrants for over 500 interbred members suspected of Trotskyism American writer in journalist Ernest Hemingway then wrote about him marty is as crazy as a bedbug he has a mania for shooting people the nkvd also made use of the passports held by communist volunteers for espana on the way to spain a volunteers first had to go through a reception center in France it was controlled by NKVD agents who took passports from all the newcomers to keep them safe as they put it in fact they sent the most suitable passports to Moscow to the Secret Service headquarters with the pictures changed Soviet agents would use these passports on their secret missions around the world while thousands died for freedom and democracy on the battlefields of Spain Stalin hatched another plot he ordered the NKVD spy master in Spain Alexander all off to find a way to secure Spain's gold reserves and to bring them to Moscow without leaving any written receipts of the transaction acting through leading Spanish communists or lost persuaded the spanish republican government to send the gold to moscow for safekeeping the golden nuggets then valued at 500 million dollars were loaded onto a Soviet steamer and sent to Moscow years later Franco's government repeatedly petitioned Soviet leaders to return the gold each time the Russians refused claiming that during the Civil War the Spanish socialist government spent all the money on weapons used to fight General Franco meanwhile the war in Spain dragged on elsewhere in Europe a wave of mysterious political killings swept through the land people who had been defined by Joseph Stalin and by the intelligence leadership as enemies of the people they were killed by so-called mobile groups who wandered around Europe largely under false identities searching out opportunities and techniques for killing people Lausanne Switzerland on the 4th of September 1937 three men entered a cafe and requested permission to join a man sitting alone at one of the tables the man was ignited I see a disillusioned and KVD agent who had broken ties with a Secret Service and had become an outspoken critic of Stalin after a while all four men stood up and left in the street they stepped into a car the next day the dead body of dignity rice was found on a country road outside of Lausanne riddled with bullets posted evil uchi we're in a particular dance cabrini the Bolshevik Revolution made three million Russians flee the country among them were officers and soldiers of the Russian Czars army they formed an opposition group called the white movement the Bolsheviks considered the white movement dangerous to their regime and planned a series of terrorist acts against its leaders generally Evgeny Miller became one of the targets Paris France on the 22nd of September in 1937 two NKVD agents and French police uniforms approached generally Afghani Miller in the street they pushed him into a car and sped off general Miller was drugged and brought to Moscow by ship he was tortured and then executed without a trial Ukrainian nationalists were also on the list of Stalin's enemies they had never accepted the Soviet regime in the Ukraine their leader in exile colonel he Afghani Konev alit's lived in Rotterdam Holland in the twenties gonna valid said fought against Russian communists for an independent Ukraine known for his tireless hatred of communists konavle 'it's continued his fight from Holland Stalin gave a special mission to one of his best agents Pavel's who the blood off solo Platt off was to pose as a nephew of one of Konev Alice's friends who died recently Stalin listen to my report and kana varlets and said he likes chocolates doesn't he well let's give him some chocolates m'kay VD experts made a special box of chocolates with a miniature but powerful time bomb set to explode a few minutes after delivery the explosive was hidden under a layer of real chocolates so the plot off arrived in Holland aboard a Soviet ship carrying two boxes of chocolates one harmless another charged he made plans to meet Colonel Connor violets in Rotterdam at a small downtown restaurant McGreevy color wallets and gave him both foxes as a present from Ukraine he said in Ukranian thank you my friend and put both boxes into his pockets we talked a little then I excused myself and left I was in a small shop nearby when I heard the explosion I didn't go back to look I couldn't do anything more anyway the explosion tore Colonel Connor valance to pieces in the late 1930s Stalin continued his fierce fight against his enemies both real and imagined inside the country he launched mass repression against his own people no suspects were spared including his secret police abroad his number-one enemy Leon Trotsky was still alive in general has ceased to be the center of the world it is foolish to hope that Europe as it is will again occupy that position the present terrific crisis in spite of its devastating effects on the United States will change the relation of forces still further not in favor of Europe with in favor of the United States in the colonial countries Moscow 1937 the Bolshoi Theatre Nikolai Jakov head to the NKVD presided over the 20th anniversary celebration of the establishment of the secret police glory to NKVD glory to Conrad basil who teaches us to work in comrade Stalin's way Nikolai Azov was a sadist and a willing executioner for Josef Stalin by now Stalin growing increasingly paranoid had launched an era of unprecedented repressions and terror known as the great purges mass murder became institutionalized in the Soviet Union millions were arrested and executed as enemies of the people Stalin's secret police were put in charge of the purges and loyally served their master but no one was safe not even Stalin's most feared accomplices the agents in the NKVD what were the reasons for Stalin's purges in the intelligence service first Stalin did not trust anybody who had ever been abroad in his opinion they could have been re recruited second many agents were close to Trotskyism and other ideas opposing Stalin's policy this was much worse than being suspected as a double agent even Stalin's loyal executioner Nikolay gears off was arrested an executioner came straight two years off cell to kill him an experienced master of martial arts years off kept running around the cell dodging bullets the gunman had to empty his pistol before he actually hit ears off the new head of Stalin's secret police was Lavrentiy Beria yessuf sequel was a sadist and murderer Stalin entrusted him with a mission he'd been cherishing for over 15 years the assassination of Leon Trotsky Trotsky had become in Stalin's imagination the devil incarnate a true Antichrist Trotsky hoped that he was beyond Stalin's reach at a lonely heavily guarded villa near Mexico City MJ VD chief Lavrentiy Beria took one of his best agents pavel sudoplatov to meet stalin it came in to Stalin's office he asked are you ready to perform the operation I answered I'm sorry I cannot perform it personally as I've never been to Mexico but I don't speak Spanish but I suggested he assigned this mission to my deputy nam haeseong an experienced and highly qualified agent stalin said they cake - you gon take whoever you want and start now I'm eating gone was an NKVD veteran of the Spanish Civil War and a wily recruiter for his agency he had brought Mexico's foremost painter dahveed see Karros one of the founders of the Mexican Communist Party into his fold in time 18 gone developed two plans to kill Trotsky on the night of the 23rd of May 1940 see Karros and 20 hit men armed with submachine guns burst into trotsky's villa and sprayed his bedroom with bullets a Trotsky and his wife managed to throw themselves under the bed the police subsequently accounted 70 bullet holes in his bedroom wall but not one of those bullets hit Trotsky [Music] now I'm eating horn had a lover Spanish communists Caridad mercado together with her son Ramon the threesome launched a standby operation posing as a Trotskyist Ramon Mercado seduced Trotsky secretary soon he was a frequent visitor to trance keys Villa and a familiar face to his security guards by the 20th of August 1940 Ramon Mercado was ready he drove to trotsky's villa with his mother and now meeting all inside the premises Mercado played shy he asked Trotsky to have a look at an article that he'd written on Trotskyism Trotsky took him up to his study started reading the article while he was reading the article Ramon Mehcad took out from his pocket and I speak he lifted it up in his two hands and he brought it down on the back of Trotsky's head Trotsky left out a terrible scream trotsky's security men ran into the study and grabbed Ramon Mercado when his mother in now mating gone saw police cars arriving at the villa they hastily beat a retreat Leon Trotsky was taken to a nearby hospital he suffered horribly through the night and died the next day from an export company's office building in New York now maiden gone had masterminded Trotsky's assassination Soviet intelligence agents had also used this company and many others like it as a front for their communication centers abroad from the early 1930s when they began setting up their spy network on the American continent Soviet intelligence agents were making themselves very comfortable in the United States Soviet spies had been operating in North America long before the Second World War they were researching for information related to American foreign policy economic developments and military potential later during the war the Soviets used this knowledge to build their relationship with the United States they decided that a good recruitment pool for spies and spying in the United States was the commies party if you look at the American Communist Party in the 30s and 40s there was no reason to not like the Soviet Union they represented tomorrow in a way Soviet intelligence had a well-developed spy network at all levels of President Roosevelt's administration journalist Whitaker chambers served as the main link between them and Moscow his contacts included Alger Hiss at the Ministry of Agriculture Gary white to the Ministry of Finance and others in the 1930s over 50 officials summit very senior levels cooperated with Soviet intelligence and if you happen to be working for the United States government at that time and you were in the Communist Party at that time and you had been recruited by one of the Soviet recruiters the line would be help us help the world the Soviets received a treasure trove of secret scientific economic and military information not only on the United States but also on Germany Britain and other countries the secret information files and rolls of microfilm were passed to Soviet handlers through two key couriers Whittaker Chambers and Elizabeth Bentley American and British security in the mid 1930s was so absurdly weak that collecting British secrets and collecting American secrets has never been easier for years the Soviet spying operation gathered intelligence then in 1939 a series of shocking events made many Americans cooperating with the NKVD completely changed their views of the Soviet Union [Music] on the 23rd of August the Nazi Minister of Foreign Affairs yo Keem von Ribbentrop flew to Moscow his visit had been arranged in such haste that Soviet anti-aircraft units had not been notified a few shots were actually fired a trip and drops plane as if it were an enemy aircraft later that day the unthinkable happened Soviet Russia signed a non-aggression pact with its archrival Nazi Germany then they signed a friendship pact the pact had several secret appendices with plans to divide a conquered Europe between Germany and the Soviet Union the Soviet Nazi pact sealed the fate of Europe within days on the 1st of September Germany invaded Poland from the West two weeks later Stalin joined in the dismemberment of Poland from the east the world was at war [Music] [Music] [Music] by 1939 Whittaker Chambers had become disillusioned with communist ideals and had been avoiding his Soviet handlers for nearly a year but he kept silent until September 2nd 1939 the Soviet Nazi pact so incensed chambers that with no fear of the consequences he revealed his spying activities to President Roosevelt's advisor Adolf Berle jr. Burrell immediately sent an urgent report on Soviet espionage to President Roosevelt titled underground espionage agent Roosevelt ignored the report he underestimated the potential the Soviet intelligence in the u.s. and refused to believe that the Soviets had so thoroughly infiltrated his administration the signing of the non-aggression pact and the friendship treaty with Germany marked one of the most dramatic moments in the history of Soviet intelligence within hours it seemed Germany had turned from enemy number one into the closest friend and Ally stellen ordered intelligence activities inside Hitler's Germany cut down insulins phraseology to cut down meant to ban it almost completely Stalin's behavior during the last months before Hitler's invasion still remains a mystery some historians claim that he trusted Hitler or he believed that Hitler would follow conventional military wisdom not to fight on two fronts at the same time it meant that he wouldn't attack the Soviet Union before the end of the war with Great Britain with Hitler tied up in a war against Britain Stalin saw his opportunity at a secret meeting with his closest aides he declared that communism would need a global war to conquer the world Stalin said that the Soviet Union should help Hitler to fight against Britain and France to make the u.s. join the war to save according to Stalin the Soviet Union would wait till the capitalists weakened each other and then deliver a crucial strike from the east to liberate Europe part of Stalin's plan was to strike at Nazi Germany when Hitler's army was heavily engaged in Western Europe perhaps Stalin's ordered to cut down spying activities and Nazi Germany was simply to help maintain his appearance at friendship he did not want to alert Hitler to his intentions Stalin refused to revise his plans even after receiving crucial intelligence about Hitler's preparations for an invasion of the Soviet Union for the particulars on the progeny Romani but there were several sources warning us of a coming German invasion we were receiving information from practically all over Europe and even from the United States but the key information came from the red orchestra the red orchestra was the largest intelligence network of the war under the leadership of Leopold trapper one of the brightest agents in Soviet military intelligence the Red Orchestra had agents all over Europe and they were getting very disturbing news just before the war Leopold trappers set up a company in Paris it successfully traded in construction materials and remained in business even after the Nazis occupied Paris the company was a front for Trevor's real job as a Soviet military spy master by the spring of 1940 trapper controlled seven major intelligence networks with over 200 active agents based in France Holland Belgium and Germany throughout the fall of 1940 the battle for Britain raged on in the first stage of Germany's operation sea lion which called for the eventual invasion of Britain Luftwaffe bombers rained terror on British cities including the devastating non-stop bombing of London the world waited for the invasion of the beleaguered Island german paratroopers were still on invasion alert when Leopold troopers sent an urgent coded message to Moscow Hitler had cancelled his plans for the invasion something was afoot soon after three German divisions stationed at the Atlantic coast were transferred to the Polish town of Poznan close to the Soviet border on the 18th of December 1940 Hitler signed directive number 21 Operation Barbarossa his plan to invade the Soviet Union less than two weeks later Stalin received information about Barbarossa from his agents in Europe soon after the intelligence was confirmed by Stalin's key spy in Japan he hunts organ saw he was among the most clever and fearless spies of World War two the information he sent back to Russia was priceless and instrumental in changing the outcome of the war Richard saw he was born in Russia of German father Russian mother as a kid went to Germany served in the German army in World War one not 1920 he gets enamored with the communist party building the new Russia building the new world he begins to work for Russian military intelligence in 1933 Sergei went to Germany on a secret mission he joined the Nazi Party and started working for one of the major German daily newspapers the Frankfurter Zeitung shortly thereafter he was sent to Japan as the papers Asian correspondent in Tokyo representing a German newspaper and letting out very Pro Nazi views and feelings were to whomever he meets he gets along beautifully with the Japanese who are fascists he's a hero to them he's a German and he is Nazism personified in his political views so a lot of Japanese politicians and even some military share their views with him which Sergei immediately sends back to Russia in Tokyo Richard Sergei began a frequent and welcome visitor at the German Embassy in 1939 the German ambassador to Japan general Ogun Otto appointed Sergei the official press attache of the embassy the two men became close friends by that time saw gay had a well-functioning operation his agents infiltrated the highest echelon of military and political power in Japan miles away in Siberia a secret Soviet radio station regularly received transmissions containing top-secret information about military preparations both in Japan and Germany signed by Sergei's codename Brahms I one of his cables contained key excerpts from the top-secret operation barbarossa had read the Armed Forces of their macht must be ready to destroy Soviet Russia in a blitzkrieg campaign before the end of the war against Great Britain a secret Barbarossa was a top-secret plan only eight people knew about it in Germany a few weeks later the plan was on Stalin's table but Stalin did not believe his own intelligence he could not acknowledge that his intelligence service was so brilliant that it managed to get this information so quickly when Stalin learned Sergey was the source his only remark was it's a provocation he's a double agent sagas fate was sealed he was ominously summoned to Moscow but the hard saga did not obey he decided not to return meanwhile Stalin's agents in other countries were warning of a coming invasion Geneva Switzerland Hungarian scientists Jean Durazo had established a highly successful cartographic company his reputation was so good that he actually received orders for large-scale maps of different European regions from the German military unknown to them shondo Rado was also a spy the head of one of the largest Soviet intelligence networks in Switzerland and Germany he operated under the codename Dora two weeks before Hitler's invasion of the Soviet Union LaRhonda sent a secret message of extreme importance to Moscow to director all the German motorized divisions stationed earlier along the Swiss border are now transferred to the southeast at present Germany keeps 150 divisions on the eastern border the preparations are much more intense than in April and May signed Dora a few days before the invasion shondo Rado sent another message from Switzerland our solo kuchenski codenamed Sonya was one of the top female spies working for Rado during this period in Switzerland I trained three radio operators for Jean Dorado I don't remember which of them maybe it was my husband who transmitted to Moscow the message from Rado it was a coded message and this radio operator did not know the content the message informed Moscow that the war would begin on June 22nd with the repositioning of German troops the answer that came back read your source is not reliable now rato was desperate stellen rejected any information that didn't correspond to his plan is either a lie a mistake or a provocation the new head of the NKVD pavel hidden decided to double check the accuracy of these alarming reports he sent a charming woman an experienced agent named Zoe Robina to a reception at the German Embassy in Moscow I came to the embassy German ambassador count for Schulenburg invited me for a tangle Schulenburg looked depressed I asked are you in a bad mood count he answered oh no who could possibly be in a bad mood in such company as you I looked at the walls there were light spots on the wallpaper from where pictures had been removed then through a half-open door to one of the rooms I saw several packed suitcases I asked him again are you living current by now German embassies from Moscow to Tokyo were buzzing with activity from Japan's all-gay reported to Moscow the German ambassador in Tokyo general Otto got a confirmation from von Ribbentrop that Germany would invade in the second part of June there is no doubt that this information true sign drums and a few days later Thor gates and another cable the message was brief the war will start on June 22nd 1941 Moscow replied we doubt the authenticity of your information now saga was desperate even insistent the fate of millions hung in the balance he sent yet another cable to Stalin it carried his most chilling message I repeat nine armies incorporating 150 divisions will invade the Soviet Union crossing the border On June 22nd Stalin was deaf to all pleas blind to the reports that lay before him on the 22nd of June 1941 Hitler's armies struck it was a devastating attack [Music] [Music] on the very first day the German blitzkrieg destroyed practically all the Russian tanks artillery pieces and aircraft stationed near the border most Soviet planes never made it off their runways over the next four months the Germans slaughtered nearly all of the Red Army three and a half million men another one and a half million soldiers were taken prisoner only then did Stalin turned to his my masters for help and he had one very crucial question for them by the end of October 1941 Hitler's army was closing in on Moscow Stalin's defenses were further weakened by fear of a Japanese strike in Siberia army divisions badly needed to defend Moscow were tied down in the Far East to face a possible Japanese attack the Japanese were still contemplating where to strike next at the Soviets in Siberia or at the British and Americans in Southeast Asia the key Soviet spy in Japan we hadn't saw he had many agents and friends close to the Japanese government for months he'd been trying to convince them that the Japanese would be much better off getting hold of the precious resources of tin rubber and oil in Southeast Asia rather than face a difficult winter campaign in Siberia in time Georgia learned that Japan had abandoned all plans to attack the Soviet Union this was the news Stalin had been waiting for having correctly predicted the German invasion Georgia had the ear of Moscow months earlier Tsar gate bought a fishing boat together with his radio operator they installed a radio transmitter and began regular boat trips into the open sea to transmit radio messages on a day when his operator was ill zorga took the boat out himself and transmitted critical news probably the most important information he sends back to Moscow is that he is able to tell Stalin that the Japanese have no intention of invading Siberia to support the Germans and Stalin is able to take many of the divisions that he had in Siberia to counter the Japanese push them to his Western Front at the last minute saved Moscow saved the Russian capital on November 7th 1941 on the 24th anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution the fresh Russian troops from Siberia paraded through Moscow straight from the parade they marched to the front line a mere 40 kilometers from Red Square outside Moscow the German advance ground to a halt it was their first defeat in the Second World War three HUDs orgas greatest triumph was also his last after eight years undercover he was unmasked and imprisoned by Japanese military intelligence zorga was one of a handful of dedicated imaginative and fearless Soviet intelligence agents who made a substantial contribution to the Russian war effort early in 1942 the Soviets managed to place one of their top men in a key German position in an operation codenamed monastery Alexandra demyanov was an experienced NKVD agent in February of 1942 he crossed the front line and convinced the Germans that he was loyal to their cause the Germans sent him to be trained in their own military intelligence school after completing the course Daniela F was given the codename max and sent back to Moscow to coordinate Nazi spying in espionage DIMM Jana was to meet terrorists sent by Germans to Russia and to help them organize sabotage missions as a result of his activities some of the terrorists were arrested by the NKVD and executed in Moscow alone demyanov helped the NKVD to neutralize over 50 German agents the NKVD placed Dima off in general rokossovsky's headquarters as a communications officer Dini onif regularly supplied the Germans with misinformation sprinkled with just enough true intelligence to keep them from discovering the truth even if at times it meant sacrificing Russian blood for example in early November 1942 max sent a cable to his German masters which read the Red Army will deliver strikes in the Northern Caucasus and at reshef on November 15th this information was correct although the best Soviet general Georgy Zhukov was in charge of the preparations for the advance the Germans warned by denying off successfully repelled the offensive [Music] Zhukov himself never knew the plot behind his failed advance at four as a man the Soviet assault there was in fact a feint designed by Stalin and his close advisers to draw the German troops from Stalingrad a vital strategic supply center the siege of Stalingrad had been going on for six months a vicious fight for every inch of soil for every house after the fainted reserve the main Soviet force launched a massive offensive against the German army the Germans suffered their second devastating defeat of the war 300,000 men were taken prisoner thousands more died Stalingrad marked the end of Hitler's blitzkrieg it was also a decisive turning point of the war double agent alexander de gnyana offers the only man who was decorated for the same operation by both sides the Germans honored him with the Military Cross with swords the Russians with the red star another Russian agent Nicolay Kuznetsov mingled freely among the Nazis in the occupied territories when your own abode o ugv tema nicolay kuznetsov was a unique man just imagine that as a young man from a village in siberia he learned the German language almost by himself you know judging by a dialect Germans can tell what area this person comes from whose niece often spoke seven or eight German dialects Kuznetsov was based in a partisan group at the Ukranian town of Vinnitsa from there he made raids into german-occupied territories posing as a German officer named poles Ebert this was a carefully protected zone visited by Hitler himself one day Kuznetsov reported to Moscow that a well-known German spy master Otto Skorzeny was training a squad of terrorists in Vinnitsa for a special secret mission Kuznetsov became friends with one of score Zanies officers the officer dated a girl who was one of kuznetsov s-- agents one day the officer told the girl that he would be leaving soon and promised to bring her a Persian rug as a present the girl did not take it seriously but being a good agent she reported the conversation to Kuznetsov he informed Moscow and that was the missing link Soviet intelligence officers looked to Persia or Iran for clues they came to the conclusion that an assassination attempt would be made in Teheran were the three allied leaders Stalin Roosevelt and Churchill were to meet to discuss a vital issue the opening of the second European front the Soviets sent additional army units and a strong anti terrorist and KVD group to prevent the attempt when President Roosevelt arrived in Tehran stunned and invited him to stay in the Soviet residence as a safety precaution Roosevelt accepted the invitation on December 2nd 1943 at 6 o'clock a.m. the NKVD team liquidated a German terrorist squad in Tehran if Stalin had listened to his own agents a Russian victory might have come sooner and with far less loss of life but he never admitted to any errors of judgment in 1944 he addressed party members celebrating a 27th anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution history shows that aggressive nations which are ready to attack usually are more prepared for a new war than peace-loving nations there is no doubt that in the future peace-loving nations can still be caught unprepared even as Stalin offered this explanation he was looking to eliminate the few people who knew the real price the country had to pay for his mistrusting his own intelligence service alexander Orloff fled to the US terrified of Stalin's purges he lived the rest of his life in fear of the NKVD 'he's revenge Leopold tripper the head of the Red Orchestra who brought the news of the impending Nazi invasion was arrested and spent ten years in a Soviet prison jean dorado the hungarian scientist who'd confirmed that the exact date of Hitler's invasion was also arrested he spent eight years in prison the rehad soldier the man who warned of the German invasion and whose intelligence coup brought Russian troops from the east to save Moscow should have been a national hero but Stalin refused an offer to exchange him for a Japanese agent being held in Moscow on the very day Stalin made his speech Sergei was executed by the Japanese [Music] in the years before in during the Second World War Soviet intelligence was probably the finest in the world bold dedicated and resourceful its agents were driven mostly by idealism not by Stalinist terror in one of the bitter ironies of Soviet history many Russian intelligence agents were to learn that they served a tyrant as dangerous to them as any foreign enemy ever was

Channel: Timeline - World History Documentaries

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Keywords: History, Full Documentary, Documentaries, Full length Documentaries, Documentary, TV Shows - Topic, Documentary Movies - Topic, 2017 documentary, BBC documentary, Channel 4 documentary, history documentary, documentary history, stalin spies, stalin, russian counterintelligence, cold war, nkvd

Id: jxtyFW4MBz0

Length: 49min 55sec (2995 seconds)

Published: Sun Jun 07 2020