Hunter for double agents-moles - Rem Sergeevich Krasilnikov
The Cold War period was characterized by a global ideological and geopolitical confrontation between the USSR and the USA. It was during this period that the term “agent-mole” appeared in the vocabulary of foreign special services. And this is not just an enemy intelligence agent in an enemy country. Everything is much more complicated - this is an agent recruited in the very heart of the enemy, in his intelligence service. The State Security Committee, especially intelligence and the GRU of the General Staff of the country's armed forces, were the main objects of "concern" for the CIA. The presence of "moles" in these departments was a coveted dream of Americans. This became especially noticeable in the eighties, when the confrontation between the two world powers reached its peak. During this period, American intelligence was making significant efforts to recruit "agents-moles" in the special services of the USSR. And I must admit that many of their attempts were successful. It was the eighties that is now often called the “decade of espionage.”
Now we can say that Rem Sergeevich Krasilnikov, from 1972 to 1992 year, who headed the counterintelligence department in counterintelligence of the special services, and his subordinates, achieved the greatest success in exposing and apprehending secret intelligence agents in the Soviet Union. He was also called the "hunter for double agents-moles".
Born Rem Krasilnikov 14 March 1927, in Moscow. He graduated from MGIMO, from 1949, he served in state security agencies. From 1956, he led first English and then the American section of the Second Main Directorate of the KGB of the USSR. He retired as a major general, was awarded 13 orders, 14 medals. In the last years of his life, Rem Sergeevich lectured at the FSB Academy, wrote several books: “Ghosts from Tchaikovsky Street”, “The End of the Mole”, “KGB vs. Mi-6. Spy Hunters.
It is with the name of Krasilnikov that the scandalous revelations and failures of the CIA are connected. Despite the fact that most of the materials are still in the archives under the heading "Top Secret", yet information about some high-profile operations became the property of the general public.
In particular, in 1986, there were reports in the press that on March 16 was detained in Moscow during a conspiracy meeting with the second secretary of the US embassy Michael Sellers, recruited by American intelligence from a Soviet citizen. In the course of the investigation, it turned out that Sellers was a CIA residency intelligence officer in Moscow, and the arrested agent was one of the KGB officers in Moscow and the Moscow Region, Major Sergei Vorontsov. Evidence was obtained that an employee of the US embassy was engaged in intelligence activities incompatible with his official status. Later Michael Sellers was declared persona non-grant. Major Vorontsov - "mole", agent Hood. Assigning pseudonyms was not just a whim, but a professional duty of intelligence officers. All agents then had underground nicknames, even the heads of departments were endowed with nicknames.
It is noteworthy that Vorontsov introduced himself to representatives of American intelligence as an employee of the central counterintelligence apparatus, the Second Main Directorate, a subordinate of General Krasilnikov himself. The fact is that in those years it was unheard of "cool" to have a "mole" in the Lubyanka, and even in the American department. The impostor spy was calculated personally by Rem Krasilnikov. But the details of this operation are not subject to disclosure.Another operation under the direction of Krasilnikov to catch the mole is known. Then carried out the surveillance of the American spy Paul Zalaki. Employees of the Soviet secret service traced how Zalaki in one northern region of Moscow arranged a hiding place. Two weeks later, in this place, the agents saw a stocky middle-aged man carrying a shopping bag. The unknown person was caught on the spot red-handed when he took out the contents of the cache. During the interrogation, it was found out that the captured agent was Lieutenant Colonel of the First Main Directorate Poleshchuk, who had come on leave from the USSR Embassy in Nigeria. The Americans then were very worried about the failure of Poleshchuk, the agent of Libra.
There were dozens of such operations on the account of Rem Krasilnikov. According to declassified data, thirteen scouts from the CIA Moscow residency were expelled from the Soviet Union since 1985, all of them were caught red-handed during espionage actions. About twenty Soviet citizens who are agents of the CIA, were exposed and brought to justice. Foreign agents Fitness, Jogger, Village, Gleising, Teim, Backband, West, Prolog agent, who had already been prepared for evacuation from the Soviet Union by the American special services, were disclosed. Agent Langley Eastbound came to confess.
In those years, the CIA was led by Robert Gates, who was very dissatisfied with the failures of the department. Numerous revelations could not but affect the reputation of American intelligence, the CIA agent network suffered heavy losses. The huge failures of the American special services in the eighties literally destroyed the Moscow residency.
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