Resident in Israel
It has long been assumed that an imperceptible person of an unobtrusive appearance who does not attract outside attention on the streets of foreign cities and is able to dissolve may become a professional intelligence officer. The legendary heartbreaker James Bond - a person who is almost a mythological (or purely advertising and cinematographic). Perhaps it was the classical dissimilarity of Vladimir Ivanovich Vertiporokh - a two-meter bogatyr of a truly Slavic appearance - to a scout and allowed him to obtain and transfer valuable information to the Center for many years in different countries. Total 46 years let the fate of this remarkable man, for which he managed to do a lot, went from working to a general security officer. THE BEGINNING OF THE CHEKIST
Vladimir Vertiporoh was born on December 26 on 1914 in the city of Berdyansk, Tavricheskoy province, in an employee family, a Ukrainian. In 1930, after graduating from high school, he began his career as a packer of the packaging base of the city of Berdyansk to send fruit. Then he worked as a student mechanic, he studied in the trade school. From 1932 of the year - a fitter named after 1 May in Berdyansk. At the same time, he continued to prepare for admission to university. It was during these years that the character of the young man formed by the working environment — stubborn, purposeful, persistent.
In 1933, Vladimir successfully passed the entrance exams to the Moscow Institute of Chemical Technology and became his student. Five years of intensive study passed quickly, but after graduating from the institute Vladimir did not have to work in his specialty. The Komsomol organization recommended a capable and active guy to work in state security agencies.
So Vladimir in 24 year became a security officer. In November, 1938 was sent to work at an exceptionally difficult and important area - the Main Economic Directorate of the People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs of the USSR.
At the end of the 1930s, the main efforts of the country's leadership were concentrated in the area of its economy. This was quite explicable, since the country still felt the effects of the devastation caused by the Civil War and the intervention of Western states against the young Soviet Republic. There was a shortage of raw materials, equipment, qualified personnel, and specialists. There have been sabotage and sabotage, especially on its industrial outskirts.
Vertiporokh made his first steps in the security agencies far from Moscow - in the Far East, where he was sent to ensure uninterrupted supply of fish products. In the 1939 year, for example, with his direct participation, the threat of disrupting fish supplies from Kamchatka and the shores of the Sea of Okhotsk was eliminated, and as a result, millions of rubles were saved from valuable food supplies. Later he took a personal part in exposing and neutralizing the activities of an experienced Japanese intelligence officer in the Far East, in recruiting valuable agents.
IN THE YEARS OF THE GREAT DOMESTIC
In the first days of the Great Patriotic War, Vertiporokh was sent as a member of a special detachment to Gomel, and then to Kiev to organize an underground fight against the Nazi occupiers. Using his experience as an intelligence officer of the Cheka, he prepared and threw reconnaissance groups and agents into the rear of the German troops.
The next stage of Vertiporokh was closely connected with Iran, where events of exceptional importance were taking place at that time. A kind of preparation for further work was his participation in the development of a plan of operational activities related to the introduction of 25 in August 1941 in Iran to Iran. Participation in this work required a scrupulous study of the agent-operational situation developing there, as well as special knowledge in the field of culture, customs, and the psychological warehouse of Iranians.
Recall the events of that period.
Literally on the eve of World War II, Iran’s dictator Reza Shah Pahlavi actively supported his country's rapprochement with Germany in all areas, especially in the military. By the beginning of the war in Iran there were about 20 thousand German citizens: military instructors, intelligence officers and agents under the guise of traders, businessmen, engineers. Through the residencies of their intelligence and their network of agents, including numerous agents of influence, the Nazis influenced Iranian political circles, the command of the armed forces, the gendarmerie and the police. And although 4 September 1939, the Iranian government declared its neutrality, but in fact it openly continued to follow the pro-German course.
Months went by, and Iran moved further from declared neutrality. In June 1941, Berlin demanded that the Iranian government enter the war on the side of Germany. Despite the hesitations of Reza Shah Pahlavi, the Supreme Military Council of Iran created by him rejected this demand. Then the Nazi intelligence services began preparing a coup d'état with the aim of overthrowing the Iranian dictator, who did not dare to enter the war. For this purpose, the head of the German military intelligence (Abwehr), Admiral Canaris, secretly came to Tehran in early August 1941. At the same time, the reconnaissance and sabotage activity of the fascist agents was sharply intensified on Iranian territory.
It should be emphasized that with the beginning of the Second World War, Iran began to play a key role not only in the Middle East. The seizure of Norway and Spitsbergen by fascist Germany made it extremely difficult to use the sea roads leading to the northern ports of the USSR. And Iran with its non-freezing Persian Gulf and the railway crossing its entire territory could become and became a strategic way for supplying to our country under the lend-lease of weapons, ammunition, food, medicine and other goods necessary for waging war. The command of the Wehrmacht, of course, took this into account and tried in every way to prevent.
The Soviet government could not remain indifferent to the development of events in Iran. It warned the Iranian government three times about the threat of Iran’s involvement in the war. Since the statements of the USSR were ignored, and the situation continued to deteriorate, Moscow, on the basis of Article 6 of the Soviet-Iranian Treaty of February 26 of 1921, and in agreement with London and Washington decided to deploy Red Army units in Iran, which was notified by the August 25 of Iran 1941 of the year.
By September 1941, the Soviet assault force in the two armies occupied the northern provinces of Iran. This step was taken in order to stop the subversive activities of Nazi agents and prevent the attack of Hitler's troops from this bridgehead on the southern borders of the USSR. At the same time, in accordance with an international agreement, units of British troops entered the south-western provinces. Soviet and British units united in the Qazvin region, south of Tehran, and on September 17 entered the Iranian capital.
Although the Soviet-British military action and turned the tide in Iran, the position of the Nazi intelligence services in the country and their Iranian accomplices remained. The tough confrontation with the Abwehr of Canaris and the political intelligence of Schellenberg (SD) in Iran continued until the end of the war. Moreover, Iran was used by the Nazi secret services and for conducting espionage and subversive work on the territory of the USSR. In particular, the Tehran residency reported to the Center in 1941 year: “The Germans from Iran lead their intelligence officers working in the USSR, they“ fly over ”from Iran to the USSR and back like locusts”.
TRIP TO IRAN
It was the successful development of the young intelligence officer Vertiporokh (and he was only 27 years old at that time) of the whole complex of necessary knowledge that allowed the intelligence leadership to send him in 1942 on a long-term business trip to Iran, where he headed the foreign intelligence station in Mashhad.
The foreign intelligence officers who worked at that time in Iran were tasked with creating an agent network “to identify the agents of foreign intelligence services hostile to the USSR organizations, to prevent possible sabotage and other subversive work aimed at disrupting the military economic activities conducted by the USSR in Iran ". And this task was successfully solved.
Employee of the Soviet foreign intelligence Vladimir Vertiporoh.As the head of the “legal” residency, Vertiporokh participated in the development and implementation of operational activities against Hitler’s agents in the country, and carried out a large undercover and recruiting work. To a large extent, thanks to his personal efforts and skillfully organized work, the station in Mashhad managed to obtain valuable intelligence information.
During the Tehran Conference of the leaders of the three allied states, held in November-December 1943, Vertiporokh performed the responsible task of ensuring the safety of its participants. How difficult the task was, one can imagine today at least from what we know about the attempts of the fascist intelligence to organize the physical destruction of the leaders of the Big Three. Dozens of Soviet intelligence agents in many countries of the world took part in organizing the disruption of these attempts, but Vladimir Ivanovich Vertiporokh fulfilled his clearly defined task with honor.
In addition to the English language he had during his time in Iran, Vertiporokh perfectly mastered the language of Farsi. He was keenly and thoroughly interested in the life of ordinary Iranians, their manners and customs, as much as he tried to provide them with any assistance. According to the recollections of the staff of the residency in Mashhad, the local population was personally impressed by the personal repair of the only artypian well in the city. This strengthened the sympathies of ordinary Iranians to the Soviet representatives.
TRIP TO ISRAEL
After returning to the USSR in 1947, Vertiporokh worked for some time in the central apparatus of foreign intelligence. In 1948, he was sent to Israel as a resident.
He successfully organized the work of the residency, which created an effective agent network capable of solving problems not only in Israel and the Middle East region, but also in the United States, where several reliable agents were deployed. Overseas, they conducted active reconnaissance work during the Cold War.
The resident personally drew a number of valuable sources to cooperate with Soviet intelligence, who transmitted important information. The activity of Vladimir Ivanovich as a resident in Israel was awarded the medal "For Military Merit." In 1953, he returned to Moscow.
In the memoirs of Intelligence: Persons and Persons, Lieutenant-General Vadim Kirpichenko, former First Deputy Head of Foreign Intelligence, who began his operational activities under Vladimir Ivanovich, wrote “after the death of Stalin to the leadership of state security organs, Beria managed to arrest 26 June 1953 of the year withdraw all residents to Moscow, ostensibly for a report. Among those recalled was a resident in Israel, Vertiporokh. After hearing the resident's report and expressing his satisfaction, Beria released Vertiporokh and asked the foreign intelligence chief: “Who are the Vertiporok ex officio and how do you intend to use it?” “We plan to appoint him to the position of deputy to the head of department comrade Startsev”. Beria winced and said: "Let's do the opposite." So in 1953, Vertiporokh was appointed head of the department. ”
WORK IN THE CENTER
During the period of his activity as head of the foreign intelligence department, Vladimir Ivanovich worked a lot with young employees, passing on his rich operational experience to them. Confidently-leisurely style of his work, deep and thoughtful attitude to all, even the most insignificant at first glance, problems, have always been a guarantee that any issue will be solved correctly and thoroughly.
From the memoirs of Vadim Kirpichenko: “In the first days of work in intelligence, I met with the heads of the department. I was brought to the head of the department, Vladimir Ivanovich Vertiporokh, who told me that there was a need to urgently send an operational officer to Cairo and that after some short training in the department I would need to go to Egypt.
Vertiporokh was probably the most prominent and interesting man in intelligence. Very tall (almost two meters), a powerful physique, light curly hair, a well-groomed mustache, smiling face, he looked like a picture epic hero - some Mikula Selianinovich. Immediately there was a thought: how could such a man hide from outdoor sports?
I did not have long to work with him, but each visit to his office left a feeling of satisfaction and joy. “I was lucky with my boss,” I thought. From communication with him, I especially remember two cases.
In one of the first days of my work, Vertiporokh ordered me to write a telegram on some operational issue. I have not yet been allowed to cipher translation and did not know how to write telegrams. In my understanding, guided by the principle of saving words and places, I wrote it as a regular telegram - without prepositions and punctuation, without the use of cases, with a minimum of verbs and nouns. Vladimir Ivanovich laughed for a very long time, but I stood there, confused, not understanding what was the matter. Then he explained to me in detail that telegrams should be written in ordinary language, without any abbreviations, so that everything would be clear. My telegram, on the other hand, did not succumb either to encryption, much less to decoding.
The second time I went to him myself and asked me to give me the laid-on weapon. The fact is that in 1953 a whole army of criminals was released from places of detention under a mass amnesty and robberies and gangster attacks began in Moscow, and in the evening Moscow was even fired. My wife and I were renting a room on the outskirts, in the village of Cherkizovo, where it was scary to come back late at night. Vladimir Ivanovich began to gently persuade: “Why do you need a gun? Shoot someone, and then do not turn away. And I need you in Cairo. I will not give you a pistol, and do not be offended. ”
Vertiporokh also spent his last long-term business trip in difficult conditions - in China, whose leadership was already preparing for a turn from friendship and full cooperation with the Soviet Union to confrontation.
In 1957, Major General Vertiporokh was appointed senior adviser to the KGB with the USSR Council of Ministers on security issues under the Ministry of Public Security of the PRC. And again, Vladimir Ivanovich did not change his exposure and composure. He carefully studied the situation and made appropriate conclusions for himself. Many of his reports to Moscow reflected the complex processes taking place at that time in China, and made us think a lot about things.
Vladimir Ivanovich died on duty in China 15 February 1960 year of a heart attack. He was buried at the Novodevichy cemetery in Moscow.
For specific results in the work, Major General Vertiporokh was awarded the Order of Lenin and the Red Star, many medals, and the badge "Honorary Officer of State Security."
Foreign intelligence veterans, who worked together with Vladimir Ivanovich in the Center and abroad, recall him in such a way: “Tall, big, energetic, he never went unnoticed either in the corridors of the Center or in the diplomatic lounges of foreign cities. If you try to briefly define the essence of Vladimir Ivanovich, then perhaps the most suitable word for this is confidence. Confidence in his own rightness, confidence in the utmost necessity and importance of the cause he served. ”
And now Vladimir Ivanovich Vertiporokh, a talented intelligence officer, occupies an honorable place in stories domestic foreign intelligence.
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