Gurevich Anatoly Markovich. Legend of Soviet military intelligence

Anatoly Markovich Gurevich(November 7, 1913, Kharkov, Russian Empire - January 2, 2009, St. Petersburg, Russia) - an employee of the Soviet military intelligence, illegal intelligence agent, one of the leaders of the Red Chapel.

Studies

At school (Gurevich studied in Leningrad), Anatoly's favorite subjects were literature and German. Gurevich actively participated in the Osoaviakhim circle.

After leaving school, Gurevich studied at the Institute of Railway Transport, and then at the Intourist Institute (specializing in working with foreigners).

Spanish Civil War

Participated in the Spanish Civil War as a volunteer, served as an interpreter under the commander G. M. Stern. In parallel, he also conducted intelligence work. In Spain, Gurevich worked under the name of Antonio Gonzalez, a lieutenant in the Republican Navy.

Red Chapel

For six months, Gurevich trained as a cryptographer and radio operator. He received a passport in the name of the Uruguayan Vincent Sierra, the son of wealthy parents. According to legend, he came to Europe as a tourist, but with the aim of establishing business and making business connections. Gurevich received only a few days to study the city of Montevideo, in which he was allegedly born, and his new “biography”. In the Intelligence Agency, he is given a pseudonym - Kent. It should be noted GRU blunder with the issuance of a fake Uruguayan passport. Another member of the reconnaissance group, Mikhail Makarov, received exactly the same fake passport in the name of Carlos Alamo, with the following serial number.

On July 17, 1939, Gurevich reached Brussels, where he had an appointment with GRU resident Leopold Trepper, head of the reconnaissance group.

The Uruguayan Vincente Sierra began to appear in Brussels in restaurants, on horseback rides, in the theater, he manages to make influential acquaintances in Belgian high society.

In March 1940, Gurevich went to Switzerland to meet with another Soviet intelligence officer, Shandor Rado. Rado informed Gurevich that Germany was preparing to attack the USSR. After the meeting, Kent returns to Brussels.

In Brussels, Anatoly Markovich settled in the same house with a family of millionaires - refugees from Czechoslovakia. They were afraid, apparently because of their Jewish origin, German occupation and therefore decided to leave Belgium. Their daughter Margaret Barcha, common-law wife of "Kent", refused to leave with her parents. Margaret's father offered to hand over his commercial connections to Vincente Sierra. Soon opened trading company Simex and Co. Vincent Sierra became its president. This cover company for the intelligence group brought a lot of profit and helped financially the activities of the GRU residency.

It should be noted that, by chance, Simex and Co. and the Gestapo Sonderkommando, which investigated the activities of the reconnaissance group, were located in Brussels in the same building, without suspecting it. This fact was reflected, in a slightly different form, in the film about the activities of the Red Chapel. According to the film, Trepper (the "big" chief, Jean Gilbert) lived in Paris in the same house with the chief of the Sonderkommando, Karl Giering.

On Atrebat Street in Brussels, Kent rents a villa in someone else's name, there is a turnout, and Mikhail Makarov settles there.

In March 1940, he reported to Moscow about the impending attack. Nazi Germany to the Soviet Union.

Gurevich established contact with a high-ranking German officer- the anti-fascist Schulze-Boysen, who was one of the leaders of the Red Chapel, which made it possible for Soviet military intelligence to regularly receive information of extreme importance.

In the autumn of 1941, he reported to Moscow about the impending attack by enemy troops in the Caucasus and near Stalingrad, which largely ensured the success of the Red Army in these operations, and saved thousands of lives of our compatriots.

The failure of the Red Chapel

On December 12, 1941, on Atrebat Street, the Germans located Makarov's transmitter. Trapper arrived from Paris the day before. However, for some reason, he did not say that the next day he was gathering the Kent reconnaissance group at the villa. In the morning, Trepper called Gurevich and said that radio operators and a cryptographer had been arrested at the villa, and Trepper himself miraculously managed to escape. Gurevich called Margaret, and they fled without taking any things so as not to arouse suspicion. They hid for some time in the house of friends, and then moved to Marseille. There they lived in freedom for another eleven months. One of the radio operators, unable to withstand the torture, revealed the cipher he was using. The Germans began to read radio messages, and with amazement the Gestapo read the addresses of Schulze-Boysen and other underground workers in Berlin. Many underground workers were arrested and subsequently executed.

In November 1942, "Kent" and Margaret were arrested in an apartment they rented in Marseille. Only after the arrest did Margaret find out that she had fallen in love with a Russian intelligence officer.

Arrest of Kent

On November 10, 1942, the French police handed Gurevich and his wife over to the Gestapo. Based on the latest research of archival documents, it was concluded that 2 weeks after the arrest of Kent, German counterintelligence arrested Otto, who was involved in a radio game with the GRU, under the control of the Germans.

During interrogation, Kent was shown radiograms outlining the tasks that he received, his encryption to the Center. The blow for Gurevich was the radiograms that the Gestapo sent on his behalf to the Center when he was already under arrest. However, the Germans reported that he was at large. The center responded, gave him new tasks. Thus, the "Kent" fell into a trap prepared by the Sonderkommando.

Kent accepted the rules of the game from Heinz Pannwitz, who led the Red Chapel Sonderkommando in 1943, perhaps hoping that he would find a way to reverse its course, turn it against the Gestapo.

At the end of 1943, Kent realized that the chief of the Sonderkommando was afraid of the defeat of Germany. Kent persuaded Pannwitz to join the Soviet intelligence service. Kent succeeded in secretly from Pannwitz sending radio messages to Moscow and obtaining security guarantees for Pannwitz.

Conviction and rehabilitation

On June 21, 1945, on a military plane, Gurevich returned to Moscow with the German counterintelligence officers recruited by him, including the criminal adviser Pannwitz.

Immediately upon arrival, he was arrested by counterintelligence agencies. In 1945-1947 he was in the NKVD prison on charges of treason; the investigation was headed, according to Gurevich, by the head of the SMERSH Main Directorate of Counterintelligence and Deputy People's Commissar Defense General Viktor Abakumov. Gurevich's father was officially announced that he "disappeared under circumstances that do not give the right to benefits", that his son was alive, he learned only in 1948.

In January 1947, by a special meeting at the Ministry of State Security of the USSR, he was sentenced to 20 years in prison under Article 58-1 "a" of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR ("treason to the Motherland"); until October 1955 he was in the camps of Vorkuta. Other survivors were also condemned, including Leopold Trepper and Sandor Rado.

In 1955 he was released under an amnesty, but not rehabilitated. Leopold Trepper, Sandor Rado, Heinz Pannwitz, Emme Kempa, Gustav Sluka were also released and left the USSR. Trepper subsequently wrote a book where he laid the blame for the failure of the Red Chapel on Kent, naming his real name; the writer Gilles Perrault stated the same version in his book "Red Chapel"

I.A. Damascene in his book "One Hundred Great Spies" writes:

“Most of the participants in the Belgian Red Chapel were executed after torture. But the worst thing is that many were undeservedly stained with betrayal, such as K. Efremov and M. Makarov. testimonies and in the book "The Great Game" by Gurevich, Efremov, Makarov and some others.

In 1958 Anatoly Markovich Gurevich was arrested; in 1960 he was released from the Mordovian camp on parole.

On July 22, 1991, he was fully rehabilitated: the conclusion on rehabilitation was signed by the Deputy Prosecutor General of the USSR - Chief Military Prosecutor, Lieutenant General of Justice A.F. Katusev.

passed away after prolonged illness in St. Petersburg on the night of January 2, 2009. He was buried at the Bogoslovsky cemetery. Not far from the grave of Viktor Tsoi.

Notes

1 2 Guilty of staying alive NVO January 23, 2009. A. M. Gurevich. The truth about the "Red Chapel" Russian newspaper November 5, 2004. Gilles Perrault. L'Orchestre rouge, Librairie Artheme Fayard, Paris, 1967; Gilles Perrot. Red chapel. Yauza, EKSMO, 2004.

Literature

• Gurevich A. Intelligence is not a game. Memoirs of the Soviet resident Kent. St. Petersburg: Nestor, 2007. - 500 p. - ISBN 978-5-3030034. (RNB)
• Sergei Poltorak. Scout Kent
• Sergei Poltorak. Soviet intelligence agent Kent or the big lie about the "little boss"
• Gilles Perrot. "Red Chapel"
• Leopold Trepper. "Big game"
• Kolpakidi A. [I.] GRU in the Great Patriotic War. - M.: Yauza: Eksmo, 2010. - 608 p. - (GRU) - 3000 copies. -ISBN 978-5-699-41251-8
• V.L. Peschersky. Red chapel. Moscow: Tsentrpoligraf, 2000.
• P.A. Sudoplatov. Intelligence and the Kremlin. Moscow: Geya, 1997.

Anatoly Markovich Gurevich(November 7, Kharkov, Russian Empire - January 2, St. Petersburg, Russia) - an employee of the Soviet military intelligence GRU, an illegal intelligence officer, one of the leaders of the Red Chapel.

studies

Born in Kharkov in a Jewish family. Father, pharmacist Mark Osipovich Gurevich (1870 - after 1952), was the owner of the large "Mariinsky Pharmacy of M. O. Gurevich" at the corner of Sumy and Veterinary streets, which served as a safe house for underground revolutionaries. Mother, Yulia Lvovna (nee Vinnitskaya, 1879-1959), worked in the family pharmacy as a laboratory pharmacist. After establishing Soviet power, father worked in RKI and People's Commissariat healthcare. In 1924 the family moved to Petrograd.

In the 3rd gymnasium (now 181 schools in St. Petersburg), my favorite subjects were literature, social science and the German language. Gurevich actively participated in the circles of Osoaviakhim.

After leaving school, Gurevich studied at the Institute of Railway Transport, and then at the Intourist Institute (specializing in working with foreigners).

Spanish Civil War

On Atrebat Street in Brussels, Kent rents a villa in someone else's name, there is a turnout, and Mikhail Makarov settles there.

Gurevich established contact with a German officer, Oberleutnant - anti-fascist Schulze-Boysen, who was one of the leaders of the Red Chapel, which made it possible for Soviet military intelligence to regularly receive information of extreme importance. (Not confirmed by an official source).

In October 1941, the resident in Brussels "Kent" received a cipher telegram by radio, according to which he was to leave for Berlin with a radio transmitter. He handed it over to agents "Corsican" and "Sergeant". Upon returning to Brussels, "Kent" confirmed by radio the successful completion of the mission and reported to Moscow the information received in Berlin about the difficulties that the Germans were experiencing in supplying and replenishing reserves, about a realistic assessment German command the failure of the blitzkrieg, about the possible offensive of the enemy in the spring - summer of 1942 with the aim of mastering our oil fields.

The failure of the Red Chapel

On December 12, 1941, on Atrebat Street, the Germans located Makarov's transmitter. Trepper arrived from Paris the day before. However, for some reason, he did not say that the next day he was gathering the Kent reconnaissance group at the villa. In the morning, Trepper called Gurevich and said that radio operators and a cryptographer had been arrested at the villa, and Trepper himself miraculously managed to escape. Gurevich called Margaret, and they fled without taking any things so as not to arouse suspicion. They took refuge for some time in the house of friends, and then moved to Marseille. There they lived in freedom for another eleven months. One of the radio operators, unable to withstand the torture, revealed the cipher he was using. The Germans began to read radio messages, and with amazement the Gestapo read the addresses of Schulze-Boysen and other underground workers in Berlin. Many underground workers were arrested and subsequently executed.

In November 1942, "Kent" and Margaret were arrested in an apartment they rented in Marseille. Only after the arrest did Margaret find out that she had fallen in love with a Russian intelligence officer.

Arrest of Kent

I. A. Damaskin in the book “One Hundred Great Scouts” writes:

“Most of the members of the Belgian Red Chapel were executed after being tortured. But the worst thing is that an undeserved stain of betrayal fell on many, such as K. Efremov and M. Makarov. Great in this is the “merit” of L. Trepper, who slandered Gurevich, Efremov, Makarov and some others in his post-war testimony and in the book The Great Game.

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Notes

Literature

• Gurevich A. St. Petersburg: Nestor, 2007.- 500 p.- ISBN 978-5-303-00304-0. ()
• Sergei Poltorak. Scout Kent
• Sergei Poltorak. Soviet intelligence agent Kent or the big lie about the "little boss"
• Gilles Perrot. "Red Chapel"
• Leopold Trepper. "Big game"
• Kolpakidi A. [I.] GRU in the Great Patriotic War. - M.: Yauza: Eksmo, 2010. - 608 p. - (GRU) - 3000 copies. - ISBN 978-5-699-41251-8
• V.L. Peschersky. Red chapel. Moscow: Tsentrpoligraf, 2000.
• P.A. Sudoplatov. Intelligence and the Kremlin. Moscow: Geya, 1997.

Sudoplatov, Pavel Anatolyevich Special Operations. Lubyanka and the Kremlin 1930–1950

Links

An excerpt characterizing Gurevich, Anatoly Markovich

I turned around abruptly... and once again faced with beautiful purple eyes - Veya was standing behind me...
– Oh, is it really you?!!.. – I almost squealed from unexpected happiness.
“I saw that you unwrapped the crystal, I came to help,” the girl replied calmly.
Only her big eyes again peered very attentively into my frightened face, and deep, “adult” understanding flickered in them.
“You have to trust me,” the “star” girl whispered softly.
And I really wanted to tell her that, of course - I believe! .. And that this is just my bad character, which all my life makes me “beat my head against the wall”, and comprehend the world... But Veya apparently understood everything perfectly, and, smiling with her amazing smile, said affably:
- Do you want me to show you my world, since you are already here? ..
I just happily nodded my head, already fully perked up again and ready for any "exploits", just because I was no longer alone, and that was enough to instantly forget all the bad things and the world again seemed fascinating and beautiful.
"But you said you've never been here, did you?" I asked boldly.
“But I’m not here right now,” the girl answered calmly. “My essence is with you, but my body never lived there. I never knew my real home... – her huge eyes were filled with deep, not at all childish sadness.
- Can I ask you - how old are you? .. Of course, if you don’t want to, don’t answer, - I asked a little embarrassed.
“By earthly calculation, it will probably be about two million years,” the “baby” answered thoughtfully.
For some reason, my legs suddenly became completely cottony from this answer ... This simply could not be! .. No creature is able to live so long! Or, depending on what kind of creature? ..
"Then why do you look so small?" We only have children like that... But you know that, of course.
- This is how I remember myself. And I feel it's right. So that's how it should be. We live for a very long time. I'm probably the little one...
All this news made me dizzy... But Veya, as usual, was surprisingly calm, and this gave me the strength to ask further.
- And who do you call an adult? .. If there are such, of course.
- Well, of course! The girl laughed sincerely. - Want to see?
I just nodded, because my throat was suddenly completely seized with fright, and my “fluttering” conversational gift was lost somewhere ... I perfectly understood that right now I would see a real “star” creature! .. And, despite the fact that, as far as I could remember, I had been waiting for this all my conscious life, now all of a sudden all my courage for some reason quickly “went to the heels” ...
Veya waved her hand - the terrain has changed. Instead of golden mountains and a stream, we found ourselves in a marvelous, moving, transparent "city" (in any case, it looked like a city). And right towards us, along a wide, wet, silver-shiny “road”, an amazing man was slowly walking ... He was a tall, proud old man, who could not be called anything else but majestic! sometimes very correct and wise - and pure, like crystal, thoughts (which for some reason I heard very clearly); and long silvery hair covering him with a shimmering cloak; and the same, surprisingly kind, huge violet "Vaina" eyes ... And on his high forehead shining, wonderfully sparkling with gold, diamond "star".
“Rest to you, Father,” Veya said softly, touching her forehead with her fingers.
“And you, the departed one,” the old man answered sadly.
From him emanated endless kindness and affection. And all of a sudden I really wanted to to a small child, bury in his knees and, hide from everything for at least a few seconds, breathing in the deep peace emanating from him, and not think about the fact that I'm scared ... that I don't know where my house is ... and that I I don’t know at all - where I am, and what is happening to me in this moment really happening...
– Who are you, creature?.. – I mentally heard his gentle voice.
“I am human,” I replied. “Sorry to disturb your peace. My name is Svetlana.
The elder looked at me warmly and attentively with his wise eyes, and for some reason approval shone in them.
“You wanted to see the Wise One – you see him,” Veya said quietly. - Do you want to ask something?
- Please tell me, does evil exist in your wonderful world? – although ashamed of my question, I still decided to ask.
- What do you call "evil", Human-Svetlana? the sage asked.
- Lies, murder, betrayal ... Don't you have such words? ..
- It was a long time ago ... no one remembers anymore. Only me. But we know what it was. This is embedded in our "ancient memory" to never forget. Have you come from where evil lives?
I nodded sadly. I felt very sorry for my native land, and for the fact that life on it was so wildly imperfect that it made me ask such questions ... But, at the same time, I really wanted Evil to leave our House forever, because I loved this house with all my heart , and very often dreamed that someday such a wonderful day would come when:
a person will smile with joy, knowing that people can only bring him good ...
when a lonely girl is not afraid to walk through the darkest street in the evening, not being afraid that someone will offend her...
when you can open your heart with joy, without fear that your best friend will betray you...
when it will be possible to leave something very expensive right on the street, not being afraid that if you turn away - and it will be immediately stolen ...
And I sincerely, with all my heart, believed that somewhere such a wonderful world really exists, where there is no evil and fear, but there is simple joy life and beauty... That is why, following my naive dream, I took the slightest opportunity to learn at least something about how it is possible to destroy this same, so tenacious and so indestructible, our earthly Evil... And also - so that it would never be ashamed to tell someone somewhere that I am a Human ...
Of course, these were naive childhood dreams ... But then I was still just a child.
– My name is Atis, Svetlana Man. I live here from the very beginning, I have seen Evil... A lot of evil...
– And how did you get rid of him, wise Hatis?! Did someone help you? .. - I asked hopefully. - Can you help us? .. Give at least advice?
– We found the reason... And killed it. But your evil is beyond our control. It is different... Just like others and you. And not always someone else's good may be good for you. You must find your own reason. And destroy it, - he gently put his hand on my head and a wonderful peace flowed into me ... - Farewell, Human Svetlana ... You will find the answer to your question. Rest to you...
I stood deep in thought, and did not pay attention to the fact that the reality surrounding me had changed a long time ago, and instead of a strange, transparent city, we now “floated” on dense purple “water” on some unusual, flat and transparent device, which there were no handles, no oars - nothing at all, as if we were standing on a large, thin, moving transparent glass. Although no movement or pitching was felt at all. It glided over the surface surprisingly smoothly and calmly, making you forget that it was moving at all ...
– What is it?.. Where are we sailing? I asked in surprise.
“To pick up your little friend,” Veya replied calmly.
- But how?!. She can't...
- Will be able. She has the same crystal as yours, was the answer. - We will meet her at the "bridge", - and without explaining anything else, she soon stopped our strange "boat".
Now we were already at the foot of some kind of brilliant “polished” black as night wall, which was sharply different from everything bright and sparkling around, and seemed artificially created and alien. Suddenly, the wall “parted”, as if in that place it consisted of dense fog, and in a golden “cocoon” appeared ... Stella. Fresh and healthy, as if she had just gone for a pleasant walk... And, of course, she was wildly pleased with what was happening... When she saw me, her pretty face beamed happily and, out of habit, she immediately chattered:
– Are you here too?!... Oh, how good!!! And I was so worried! .. So worried! .. I thought something must have happened to you. But how did you get here? .. - the baby stared dumbfounded at me.
“I think the same as you,” I smiled.
- And when I saw that you were carried away, I immediately tried to catch up with you! But I tried and tried and nothing worked ... until she came. Stella pointed at Wei with her pen. “I am very grateful to you for this, Wei girl! - according to her funny habit of addressing two people at once, she thanked sweetly.
- This "girl" is two million years old... - I whispered in my friend's ear.
Stella's eyes widened in surprise, and she herself remained standing in a quiet tetanus, slowly digesting the stunning news ...
“Ka-a-ak - two million? .. Why is she so small? ..” breathed Stella, stunned.
- Yes, she says that they live a long time ... Maybe your essence is from the same place? I joked. But Stella, apparently, did not like my joke at all, because she was immediately indignant:
- How can you?! .. I'm the same as you! I'm not purple at all!
I felt funny, and a little ashamed - the baby was a real patriot ...
As soon as Stella appeared here, I immediately felt happy and strong. Apparently, our common, sometimes dangerous, “floor walks” had a positive effect on my mood, and this immediately put everything in its place.
Stella looked around in delight, and it was clear that she was eager to bombard our “guide” with a thousand questions. But the little girl heroically restrained herself, trying to appear more serious and mature than she really was...
“Tell me please, Weya’s girl, where can we go?” Stella asked very politely. Apparently, she was never able to "put" in her head the idea that Veya could be so "old" ...
“Wherever you want, since you are here,” the “star” girl calmly replied.
We looked around - we were pulled in all directions at once! .. It was incredibly interesting and I wanted to see everything, but we perfectly understood that we could not stay here forever. Therefore, seeing how Stella fidgets in place with impatience, I suggested that she choose where we would go.
- Oh, please, can we see what kind of "animal" you have here? – unexpectedly for me, asked Stella.
Of course, I would like to see something else, but there was nowhere to go - she herself suggested that she choose ...
We found ourselves in the likeness of a very bright forest, raging with colors. It was absolutely amazing! .. But for some reason I suddenly thought that I would not want to stay in such a forest for a long time ... It was, again, too beautiful and bright, a little oppressive, not at all the same as our soothing and fresh, green and light earthy forest.
Perhaps it is true that everyone should be where he truly belongs. And I immediately thought about our sweet "star" baby ... How she must have missed her home and her native and familiar environment! .. Only now I could at least understand a little how lonely she must have been on our imperfect and sometimes dangerous Earth...
- Please tell me, Veya, why did Atis call you gone? I finally asked the question that was circling in my head.
“Oh, that’s because, a long time ago, my family volunteered to help other beings who needed our help. This happens to us often. And the departed never return to their home... This is the right of free choice, so they know what they are doing. That's why Atis took pity on me...

In the history of the Second World War, he entered as "the number one illegal intelligence officer." Hundreds of articles and books have been published about him in the English, German, French and Spanish press. In Russia, until recently, almost nothing was known about him: Leningrader Anatoly Gurevich was considered a traitor to the Motherland. He was rehabilitated only in 1991. Starting in Paris to shoot the television feature series "Red Chapel", dedicated to the anti-fascist intelligence network, RTR reported: "None of the members of the Red Chapel are already dead." Anatoly Markovich Gurevich, aka Agent Kent, heard this news with his own ears. At 90, he retained a clear mind and an excellent memory. Where does the boy get Spanish sadness Anatoly Gurevich learned the word "conspiracy" in childhood: the apartment of his father, a Kharkov pharmacist, before the revolution was a "turnout" for underground communists. In 1924, the Gurevich family moved from Kharkov to Leningrad, and Tolya continued his studies at one of the best St. Petersburg schools, where teachers who taught in pre-revolutionary gymnasiums worked. The favorite subjects of the future intelligence officer were literature, social science, and especially the German language. Gurevich's "career" began at school: having instantly mastered big city, the boy became the chairman of the Osoaviakhim school council, the premier of the school drama club, the "Voroshilov shooter" and an excellent student of the TRP, in a word - an activist. After school he went to college railway transport, then to the Intourist Institute, which trained "specialists to work with foreigners." - I was a member of the air defense group of our region, already in 1934 I was admitted to top secret work - drawing up a mobilization plan for the region, - says Anatoly Gurevich. - This went on until the moment I read that the civil war in Spain was starting. My comrades and I decided to organize a Spanish language study group and expressed our desire to get to this country as volunteer translators. And then one fine day we were called to the Evropeyskaya Hotel, where people in civilian clothes talked to each of us and selected some of us to be sent to Spain. Already in Spain, I met for the first time with Grigory Stern, senior adviser at the headquarters of the Spanish Republic. He asked me: "Do you want to be a translator and not only?" I agreed. I was issued a lieutenant of the Republican Spanish fleet and given the name - Antonio Gonzalez. In September 1939 he returned to Moscow. In the GRU, I was offered to work in intelligence. They said: "We will prepare you - you will become a cryptographer and a radio operator." After studying at a school near Moscow, I received my first assignment - I had to work abroad. Son of wealthy Uruguayan parents - I had no clear idea of ​​how a young man, "the son of wealthy Uruguayan parents", behaves. There was no detailed briefing, and I acted almost "by touch". Then many Soviet agents were forced to learn about political structure, industries and sights of their "native" states exclusively from literature. Sometimes - only encyclopedic dictionary... We were simply sent to libraries to read. - Such unprofessionalism? Where does professionalism come from? There was still no own experienced and professional agency: the country is young, the tradition of educating personnel in this area was interrupted after 1917. At that time, the security officers were engaged in foreign intelligence almost exclusively. It is hard to imagine, but it happened that the documents were given to us with spelling errors! There were also serious punctures in our "legends": information about safe houses, reliable hotels and "friendly" firms often turned out to be outdated, and our fictional past was painted so generally that abroad in the very first casual conversations we were forced to fantasize on the move. Fortunately, this was easy for me: my love for acting saved me. Models of our behavior in case of failure were not worked out either ... So here is the "son of rich Uruguayans." I got to Brussels. I got into a taxi, gave the address of the hotel where, in accordance with the instructions of the Center, I was to be accommodated. The driver was dumbfounded: it turns out that there had been a brothel there for several years, and the fact that a "serious gentleman" was heading there straight from the station caused a smile and bewilderment. Having corrected this oversight, I made another mistake, already through my own fault: when the concierge woke me up in the morning, I asked in Russian: "Who is there?" So I made my debut as the Uruguayan Vincent Sierra. My work has begun. In Brussels, the "Uruguayan", who was listed in the Center as Agent Kent, met with the curator of the Belgian intelligence "bush" Leopold Trepper, kept in touch with legal signalmen - employees of the Soviet trade mission. And he was actively taking root on Wednesday: he went to study at Select School, a privileged school for wealthy youth, went to parties, rotated in an elite student environment. Kent quickly became the soul of the company, was nimble and talkative. He adopted the style of life, made friends and useful acquaintances. - We kept in touch with Trepper through his wife, with whom I went to ballroom dancing school. Then many wondered why I always dance with the same partner, who is much older than me ... In general, having "mothballed", I did not get close to women, remembering the GRU warning that they could be spies. - This distance certainly aroused suspicion? - Of course. But after all, in the Soviet Union, morals were completely different, and I did not immediately understand this. I urgently came up with a legend: I was engaged to a Uruguayan girl and, returning to my homeland, I would play a wedding with her. I also had another problem: as the beloved son of Uruguayan parents, I would have to receive letters and money orders from them - otherwise what would I be able to live in Belgium? I had to get out, unobtrusively explaining to the curious that I receive both letters and money through Switzerland. But practically no money was received from the Center for the maintenance of agents. I decided that it was necessary to organize my own company. (This company - "Simeksko" - for several years fed the Soviet residency in Belgium. - Yu.K.) The beautiful blonde served as a "roof" - At that time I became friends with the Singer family of millionaires. Their daughter, Margaret, by Barch's husband, was recently widowed. When the threat of Nazi occupation arose, the family was forced to urgently leave. But Margaret decided to stay in Belgium, not wanting to leave the grave of her beloved husband. She did not look like a Jew at all, and she had a chance to hide her origin. Margaret's father invited me - a friend of the family, and, moreover, "an enterprising foreigner with a well-developed business" - to patronize his daughter and passed on some of his business connections. So I got an extra roof. At this time, Trepper was forced to emigrate from Belgium, legalized as a Canadian citizen - that is, a citizen of the country that fought on the side of the Allies. And I actually took over the entire Belgian network. - And, of course, everyone immediately "married" you and Margaret? - Yes, but this game was spoiled by her maid, who did not understand why the young free man drinks coffee with a young beauty, after which he retires to his home. Margaret, described as "Blonde" in my reports, socialite, raised in an elitist environment, has always been the center of attention. Communication with her gave me additional weight in the Belgian high circles. We settled together in one of the magnificent villas, however, on different floors. They arranged magnificent parties, which were attended by many people, including those I needed. I played the role of a person who was absolutely far from politics, very sociable (the latter was not at all difficult), and gradually my guests stopped lowering their voices when discussing last news. And even began to answer the questions "accidentally" thrown by me. Of course, this was only the outer, the most simple part work. - Didn't you worry that Margaret, who played the role of your "roof", in case of your failure, would fall into the hands of the Gestapo, as, in fact, happened later? - It constantly tormented me, especially since I sincerely became attached to her. But there was no other choice. Gradually, infiltrating the highest circles of Belgium and converging with people close to the Nazis, I - as a representative of the company - began to cooperate with the Nazi quartermaster. This made it possible to receive information about plans for the development of hostilities. Soon I even managed to establish a joint-stock company and become its president. - Did your company carry out military orders? - Yes. But, of course, we did not deal with weapons. Our work was somewhat different. For example, once we were asked to order special fabrics. I asked: for what? And thus found out that the war is starting in Africa. Some time later, I was ordered one and a half million aluminum spoons. I, as a businessman, was surprised at the number of products made from such a low-value metal. The answer shocked me: "War is being prepared against Soviet Union, it may be necessary to organize camps for prisoners of war - these spoons are for them. "Of course, I urgently transferred all this data to Moscow. This was even before Sorge ... And in 1942, Kent reported to Moscow that the Nazi command , abandoning the idea of ​​​​a second strike on Moscow, decided to send troops to the Caucasus. The goal was to seize the oil-rich region. Stalin thanked Kent for this information, which allowed the Red Army to urgently regroup troops and repel the enemy’s attack. Under Muller’s cap From the memoirs of Walter Schellenberg: "In May 1942, Himmler took over the coordination of the activities for the operation" Red Chapel "... In June 1942, he ordered Muller and I to arrive at Headquarters ... with a detailed report on the activities of the" Red Chapel ". The Red Chapel was a Russian spy network that operated throughout the territory that was then under German rule, as well as in those countries that so far remained neutral. This network, which had at its disposal many illegal shortwave radio stations, expanded its activities from Norway to the Pyrenees, from Atlantic Ocean to the Oder, from North Sea to the Mediterranean ... The main agent in Belgium, working under the nickname "Kent", remained undetected. Only thanks to the tireless work of our agents, we managed to get on the trail of Kent in Brussels "... The Gestapo arrested Kent and Margaret in November 1942. In Berlin, he was not tortured as a particularly valuable "player", only interrogated. The Gestapo created a special Sonderkommando, which was called the "Red Chapel". - Among those gathered stood out a taut general with a hard face and small, but literally boring eyes. It was Muller, - recalls Gurevich. - Looking at me, he suddenly asked sharply: "Do you want me to to prove that because of this boy there were such leaks of information, because of him we lost so many soldiers of the Fuhrer? ”Having heard an affirmative answer from the criminal commissioner Strübing, he left. Kent was later offered a radio game against the Soviet Union in exchange for saving his life. Finally, they read a transcript of a radiogram from the Center to him: Moscow congratulated its "Uruguayan" on the Day of the Red Army and the assignment of another military rank. And he was also shown materials of a radio exchange between the Center and the Gestapo, acting on his behalf. Kent was again offered to join the game. And he agreed. - I decided to "recognize" what the Gestapo and the Abwehr already knew. In addition, when preparing texts for the Center, I changed the style of my report, the manner of documentation, and other characteristics of my "handwriting", hoping that the GRU officers would guess about my work under control. From the conclusion on the case of Kent's rehabilitation: "From the protocols of Gurevich's interrogations, it is seen that he evaded giving specific evidence on his own initiative about the activities of the Soviet residency, referring to forgetfulness or lack of information. Confirmed known to the Germans from other sources, facts only after he was exposed at face-to-face confrontations by other arrested or presented documents ... Gurevich never gave his real name ... At the same time, in an effort to drag out the investigation and not harm the Soviet intelligence agents not identified by the Germans, he gave false testimony to the Gestapo ... The objectivity of Gurevich's testimony is confirmed by the materials of the Gestapo investigation attached to the case ... Their analysis indicates that during interrogations he chose the right course of action, which prevented the German counterintelligence from disclosing Soviet agents ... During this period, he also did not extradite and saved the lives of the Soviet agents he personally recruited earlier in Czechoslovakia, Belgium and France - only 15 employees. "And then there was a story that even a detective with the most unbridled imagination would not have dared to come up with: Kent recruited the head of the Red Chapel Sonderkommando Heinz Pannwitz and two more Kent played on Pannwitz's fear: after escaping from arrest, Leopold Trepper, the Parisian resident of the Red Chapel, a high-ranking Gestapo man was threatened with being sent to the Eastern Front. That the war is coming to an end and his best case prison awaits, he had no doubts either. And he went to cooperate with Kent, that is, with Soviet intelligence. In February 1945, Kent saw Margaret Barcha and his young son Michel for the last time. He was sure that soon, after the end of the war, they would live together in Leningrad. Kent returned to Moscow in May 1945 and brought with him recruited Germans. - We were returning to Moscow, and it seemed to me that the plane was crawling, not flying. What is it, the post-war capital, what happened to my Leningrad after the blockade? I haven't been home for seven years. I didn't know anything about my parents, I lost the habit of being Tolya Gurevich. I didn't speak my native language for seven years. Through Red Square - to Vorkuta - I already dreamed of walking around Moscow and Leningrad, finally seeing my parents. And so we get off the plane, go down the ladder, and NKVD officers approach each of us with a quick step and, after politely greeting us, put each of us in a separate car. I asked my escort: "Let's pass through Red Square." He replied dryly: "Don't you see where we've come?" For some reason, we arrived at the NKVD, at the Lubyanka, and not at the GRU. When I got out of the car, I saw the inscription: "Reception of the arrested." Then everything was in a fog - a sharp command: "Hands back!" and the clatter of closing doors. And then I was taken to the office of the head of the special department of the NKVD, General Abakumov, who also headed SMERSH. My case was not particularly carefully studied, the investigators did not bother to build logical chains of evidence of my "guilt". The investigation lasted 16 months. During all this time, Anatoly Gurevich was not presented with a single protocol with evidence against him from Pannwitz and other Germans brought by him. He demanded confrontation with them, but to no avail. Tried to insist on the opportunity to meet with the prosecutor. Also unsuccessful. There was no trial, of course. The former "agent number one" was sentenced by a special meeting as a traitor to the Motherland to 20 years in prison under Article 58. As a civilian. They did not remember that he was a staff member of the GRU. In a freight car - "calf-house" - Anatoly Gurevich was transferred to Vorkuta. He was released only in 1955 under the decree "On amnesty Soviet citizens who collaborated with the occupiers during the period Patriotic War 1941-1945." - I was still a "traitor" in the eyes of my country, just a lucky prisoner - this poisoned the joy of liberation. I returned to Leningrad, finally saw my mother. My father, who could not bear my arrest, was ill for a long time and died ", never lived to see my release. Mom said that he did not believe that his Tolya was a traitor ... I don’t know how I could have lived on after everything if I hadn’t met Lidochka. Quick-eyed and graceful Lida Kruglova was younger her future husband for 13 years.A girl from an intelligent Leningrad family, an engineer, calm and homely, she was not afraid to link her fate with a recent convict who had an "indistinct" past and not removed Article 58, the meaning of which was known to everyone. her decision to become the wife of an "enemy of the people" was treated as inevitable. The fact that her husband is a scout, Lydia found out 30 years later. - I somehow immediately believed that he was a very good person, - says Lydia Vasilievna. - Do not succumb his charm was impossible.Of course, I knew that there were camps behind him, but even then I understood: in our country an innocent could be imprisoned. I intuitively felt that wit, gaiety are only the external features of his nature, that next to me is a very reliable person, a real man. I wasn't wrong. Do you know why he survived? He could not get angry. Anatoly and Lida counted the days until the wedding. Seven days before the wedding, Gurevich was arrested again. His "crime" fell under the decree Supreme Council USSR, stating that the amnesty does not apply to persons who participated in Nazi punitive actions. So Gurevich, again in absentia, was also charged with participation in fascist punitive actions. And de facto, "landing" was the response of the authorities to a letter asking for a review of the case. - At some point, I had a feeling that I would not wait for justice. I did not know what happened to my beloved, because she could be arrested, they could be intimidated, and she could decide not to link her fate with mine. But Lidochka immediately dismissed all my anxieties by coming to my camp in Mordovia. She was waiting for me, and that's what I lived for. Anatoly Markovich left the camp in 1960 - the term was reduced from 20 to 15 years, and he was released on parole. They got married and have been together for 43 years. Homeland for life The honest name of the state returned to him only 45 years later after it had been slandered. Rehabilitation came on August 9, 1991. Izvestia was the first to report on it: "In a series of legendary Soviet intelligence officers, such as Richard Sorge, Nikolai Kuznetsov, Rudolf Abel, another name returned - Anatoly Markovich Gurevich ... On August 8, Deputy Prosecutor General of the USSR, Chief Military Prosecutor - Lieutenant General of Justice Anatoly Katusev handed Anatoly Gurevich a certificate of rehabilitation. "In The resolution on rehabilitation states: “For treason to the Motherland, Gurevich was unjustifiably brought to criminal responsibility by a resolution of a special meeting at the Ministry of State Security of the USSR of January 18, 1947. In accordance with paragraph 1 of the Decree of the President of the USSR "On the restoration of all rights of victims political repression 20-50 years." dated August 13, 1990, Anatoly Markovich Gurevich is considered rehabilitated. - Once in our apartment there was a phone call, intercity. This was at the end of November 1990. Male voice asked in French for Mr. Gurevich. I said it was me. And I heard: "Dad, I finally found you!". It was my and Margaret's son Michel, who lives in Spain. Margaret, it turns out, survived and, until her death in 1985, was looking for me, turning to everything Soviet embassies. And our "channels" told me that they died during the bombing at the very end of the war. I found a son 45 years later. I couldn't even believe that it was all true. But when Michel came to me in Leningrad, all doubts dissipated: he is like two drops of water like me. Since then, we meet annually, often correspond and call back. My wife is sincerely attached to him. - We were happy when Michel appeared in our life. Tolya and I do not have our own children, although we really wanted a child. But it was dangerous. Tolya was an "enemy of the people" when we got married, he could be arrested again at any moment, and me, as the wife of a "traitor to the Motherland", too. And then our child would end up in a special orphanage. And we did not dare, - Lidia Vasilievna is barely holding back her tears. And here we have Michelle. And his son, the grandson of Anatoly Markovich, Sasha. When Anatoly Gurevich and his wife first came to Spain to Michel, they were offered to stay there forever. Showed a chic villa with a huge garden - the future place of residence. They admired, thanked and ... returned to their tiny Leningrad Khrushchev. “I can’t imagine that I could live in another country. Of course, if it were on assignment, I would agree. But just like that - why?” Kent smiles. one for life, like true love." Sergey POLTORAK, doctor historical sciences, retired colonel, author of the book "Scout Kent", published in October 2003: "He knew too much" I can not leave the feeling of blatant injustice committed against Anatoly Markovich Gurevich. A legendary man, the only one in the world of the leaders of the "Red Chapel" who has survived to this day, a fantastically talented person - he lived slandered all his life. They disfigured his life, not only not considering him a hero - and he undoubtedly deserves this title - but also stigmatizing him as a traitor. Gurevich actually became a hostage of the struggle between the GRU and the counterintelligence of the NKVD, who competed with each other, as in Nazi Germany departments of Muller and Schellenberg competed. Competing with each other, the special services seized the initiative from each other. The NKVD caught another major "spy", and the GRU remained indifferent to the fate of its employee, apparently because Kent was, like no one else, informed about the punctures foreign intelligence. He knew too much. As a historian who has been dealing with the fate of Agent Kent for many years, I have questions for our authorities and for power structures. Anatoly Gurevich is recognized as an internationalist soldier for the war in Spain. His military experience was restored, having issued a certificate stating that he had been dismissed from the ranks of the Armed Forces of the USSR on June 20, 1960, including the years of Soviet camps in the experience. Only in 1992 he was granted benefits as a participant in the Great Patriotic War. Why is the veteran of domestic intelligence still not awarded the Motherland? Why did he not receive a penny for his many years of service in the Armed Forces of the USSR? Why, having been repressed and rehabilitated, does he not receive a pension supplement guaranteed by our legislation? Why is there still a wall of unforgivable indifference around him?

Participated in the Spanish Civil War as a volunteer. He served as an interpreter under the commander G. M. Stern. In parallel, he also conducted intelligence work. In Spain, Gurevich worked under the name of Antonio Gonzalez, a lieutenant in the Republican Navy.

Studies

At school (Gurevich studied in Leningrad), Anatoly's favorite subjects were literature and the German language. Gurevich actively participated in the Osoaviakhim circle.

After leaving school, Gurevich studied at the Institute of Railway Transport, and then at the Intourist Institute (specializing in working with foreigners).

Spanish Civil War

A. M. Gurevich participated in the Spanish Civil War as a volunteer. He served as an interpreter under the commander G. M. Stern. In parallel, he also conducted intelligence work. In Spain, Gurevich worked under the name of Antonio Gonzalez, a lieutenant in the Republican Navy.

Red Chapel

For six months, Gurevich trained as a cryptographer and radio operator. He received a passport in the name of the Uruguayan Vincent Sierra, the son of wealthy parents. According to legend, he came to Europe as a tourist, but with the aim of establishing business and making business connections. Gurevich received only a few days to study the city of Montevideo, in which he was allegedly born, and his new “biography”. In the Intelligence Agency, he is given a pseudonym - Kent. It should be noted GRU blunder with the issuance of a fake Uruguayan passport. Another member of the reconnaissance group, Mikhail Makarov, received exactly the same false passport in the name of Carlos Alamo, with the following serial number.

On July 17, 1939, Gurevich reached Brussels, where he had an appointment with GRU resident Leopold Trepper, head of the reconnaissance group.

Uruguayan Vincent Sierra began to appear in Brussels in restaurants, on horseback rides, in the theater, he manages to make influential acquaintances in Belgian high society.

In March 1940, Gurevich went to Geneva to meet with another Soviet intelligence officer, Shandor Rado.

In Lausanne, Sandor Rado informed Gurevich that Germany was preparing to attack the USSR. During the Second World War, Sandor Rado transmitted information of such high awareness to the Center that it was as if he were at Hitler's headquarters. And Kent has a good memory of Rado.

After the meeting, Kent returns to Brussels.

In Brussels, Anatoly Markovich settled in the same house with a family of millionaires - refugees from Czechoslovakia. They were afraid, apparently because of their Jewish origin, the German occupation, and therefore decided to leave Belgium. Their daughter Margaret Barga, common-law wife of "Kent", refused to leave with them. Margaret's father offered to transfer his commercial connections to Gurevich. This is how the trading company "Simeksko" was opened. Vincent Sierra became its president. This cover company for the intelligence group brought a lot of profit and helped financially the activities of the GRU residency.

It should be noted that by chance, Simesko and the Gestapo Sonderkommando, which was investigating the activities of the reconnaissance group, were located in Brussels in the same building, without suspecting it. This fact was reflected, in a slightly different form, in the film about the activities of the "Red Chapel". According to the film, Trepper (the "big" chief, Jean Gilbert) lived in Paris in the same house with the chief of the Sonderkommando, Karl Giering.

On Atrebat Street in Brussels, Kent rents a villa in someone else's name, there is a turnout, and Mikhail Makarov settles there.

The Schulze-Boysen group in Berlin was also in touch with Kent.

The failure of the Red Chapel

On December 12, 1941, on Atrebat Street, the Germans located Makarov's transmitter. To be more precise, Trepper arrived from Paris the day before. However, for some reason, he did not say that the next day he was gathering the Kent reconnaissance group at the villa. In the morning, Trepper called Gurevich and said that radio operators and a cipher clerk had been arrested at the villa, and Trepper himself miraculously managed to escape. Gurevich called Margaret, and they fled without taking any things so as not to arouse suspicion. They hid for some time in the house of friends, and then moved to Marseille. There they lived in freedom for another eleven months. One of the radio operators, unable to withstand the torture, revealed the cipher he was using. The Germans began to read radio messages, and with amazement the Gestapo read the addresses of Schulze-Boysen and other underground workers in Berlin. Many underground workers were arrested and subsequently executed.

In November 1942, "Kent" and Margaret were arrested in an apartment they rented in Marseille. Only after the arrest did Margaret find out that she had fallen in love with a Russian intelligence officer.

Work under the control of the Gestapo

During interrogation, “Kent” was shown radiograms. In them - the tasks that he received, his encryption to the Center. The real blow for Gurevich was the radiograms that the Gestapo sent on his behalf to the Center when he was already under arrest. However, the Germans reported that he was at large. The center responded, gave him new tasks. Thus, the "Kent" fell into a trap prepared by the Sonderkommando.

At this time, Margaret gave birth to a son, Michel. Before the end of the war, Gurevich and Margaret had the opportunity to flee to another country. but "Kent" thought only of her duty as a scout. The couple said goodbye in February 1945 - forever.

Then happened incredible case: in 1945, Gurevich brought to Moscow as a prisoner Pannwitz, chief of the Sonderkommando (who replaced Karl Giering in this post).

Heinz Pannwitz dreamed of becoming a pastor, but made a career in the Gestapo. By his order, after the assassination of Heydrich in Prague, the village of Lidice was wiped off the face of the earth. Hundreds of people were executed. Since 1943, he led the Sonderkommando "Red Chapel".

After painful deliberation, Kent accepted Pannwitz's rules of the game, but hoping that he would find a way to reverse its course, turn it against the Gestapo.

His goal was to minimize the transmission of disinformation to Moscow. Gurevich convinced Pannwitz that there were other spies at large, whom he did not know about, and who could check and report that the facts being transmitted were disinformation.

Already at the end of 1943, Kent realized that the chief of the Sonderkommando was afraid of the defeat of Germany. There was a frank conversation. Kent was able to convince Pannwitz to join the Soviet intelligence service. "Kent" managed to secretly from Pannwitz send radio messages to Moscow and obtain security guarantees for Pannwitz.

Homecoming

In May 1945, Gurevich and Pannwitz were taken to Moscow on a military plane.

After his arrival, Anatoly Markovich was arrested by the state security authorities and sentenced to 20 years. Unlike Trepper and Rado, who were foreign citizens (Poland and Hungary, respectively), Gurevich was a Soviet citizen, which led to a longer sentence. After Stalin's death, Gurevich was released, but not rehabilitated. During the so-called. Khrushchev's "thaw", he was subjected to a new arrest. In total, Gurevich was unfairly imprisoned in the USSR for about 25 years. Only in 1991 did he receive a document on rehabilitation, which cleared him of charges of betrayal.

In the same year, his son Michel, who lives in Spain, was also found. He found his father's address with the help of writer Gilles Perrault, author of a book about the Red Chapel.

On the night of January 2, 2009, the famous Soviet illegal military intelligence officer ANATOLY MARKOVIC GUREVICH died at the age of 96.

KENT - THE BEST Illegal Scout

When he was rehabilitated and declassified in the summer of 1991, it was officially reported in the press that from now on, Anatoly Markovich Gurevich, better known under the pseudonym Kent, can be safely added to such famous names as Richard Sorge, Rudolf Abel and Nikolai Kuznetsov. He was a brilliant scout, experts call him the king of illegal immigrants.

Many years have passed since the time when the named four acted. Many are gone, but Kent lives in good health in St. Petersburg. True, due to bad weather, health is playing tricks, but he still enthusiastically talks about amazing stories his adventures, as if everything happened to him yesterday.

I met him quite by accident. Resting in the summer in the wilderness in the Tver region, I a terrible secret I heard from the headman of the village that a few steps from our house every year the legendary "little chief" of the "Red Chapel", who successfully fought against the Nazis, an organization, most of whose members were subsequently executed or tortured, also rests. Since I knew almost nothing about Kent's activities (to my shame), I turned to the local library, where, to my surprise, they gave me a small book about Kent by Sergei Poltorak. After reading it from cover to cover, I considered myself, if not an expert in this matter, then clearly knowledgeable. And I was gravely mistaken. Kent and I were introduced, and he told so much about himself and his comrades-in-arms that we may have to write a book ...

KENT - ABOUT MYSELF

I was born in the family of a pharmacist on November 7, 1913 in the city of Kharkov. My father kept in touch with the Bolsheviks, one of whom, Chudakov, later became the head of the Ukrainian Cheka. I remember how they often met, talked, then my father left somewhere and soon returned. Then it turned out that we had a hiding place in the attic, as well as a room adapted for the underground workers. In 1923 we moved to Petrograd, where we began to live in a house on the corner of Tchaikovsky and Chernyshevsky. After graduating from the seventh grade, with the consent of my father, I entered the labor exchange, and at the age of 16 I was sent to the Znamya Truda No. 2 plant as an apprentice metal scriber. While working and at the same time continuing my studies, I participated in civil defense duties. And since he showed himself better side, then he was sent to the courses of the Leningrad City Council for the training of specialists in civil defense. I was the youngest, but I graduated with honors and with a certificate. And when, upon admission to the plant, he presented it, he immediately began to lead the chemical detachment of the plant.

One day, a commission came to us to check the readiness of the enterprise for civil defense, headed by the chairman of the district council of the Narva region and the secretary of the district committee of the party, Ivan Gaza. Oddly enough, Ivan Ivanovich especially liked my detachment. Literally a day later, I was summoned to the district committee of the party, and Gaza suggested that I go to the district council, to the headquarters air defense, which was then just organized. This happened on November 30, 1930. At almost the age of 18, I became a detachment commander, then an inspector of the district and reached the deputy chief of the air defense headquarters. And in 1934 I was already involved in drawing up a mobilization plan for the region.

After the tragic date for Leningrad - December 1, 1934 - the death of Sergei Mironovich Kirov, I had to take part in organizing his funeral. Soon I was appointed head of the special department and air defense group of the razhilsoyuz. And then he went to the institute "Intourist" to study.

FOREIGN BUSINESS

This continued until the moment when, together with his comrades, he read that the civil war in Spain was beginning. We decided to organize a Spanish language group and expressed our desire to get to this country as translators. One fine day we were summoned to the Evropeiskaya Hotel, where people in civilian clothes talked to each of us individually and eventually gave us the go-ahead to go.

I was appointed deputy chief of the echelon, which sailed from Leningrad on a ship through Belgium and Germany to France. From there, I had to send in groups all those on the ship to Spain. There were about 300 of us, including quite a few Spaniards who graduated from an aviation school in the Soviet Union.

Already in Spain, I met with senior adviser Grigory Mikhailovich Stern. "Would you like to work as an interpreter for civil defense and not only?" I agreed, but a man in civilian clothes sitting next to me said: "Stern, listen, sell it to us." He introduced himself to me as a submariner of Egipko and offered to become an interpreter on a submarine. In the end, I went with him to Cartagena. I was registered as a lieutenant of the Republican Spanish fleet and appointed as an adjutant-translator of the submarine commander Ivan Alekseevich Burmistrov, who was supposed to arrive from the Soviet Union. When he arrived, we went to France, where, after the occupation of northern Spain by the Francoists, there were two republican submarines. Ours was in Bordeaux. Only the two of us turned out to be Soviet on the submarine, the rest of the crew - 45 people - were Spaniards. Moreover, we were warned that among them there are those who cannot be trusted.

ON A SUBBOAT TO SPAIN

After a month and a half of preparation, I studied both the submarine and some of the commands that had to be given. We soon received orders to put to sea for Spain. Burmistrov warned me not to tell the crew that we are heading via Gibraltar to Spain. According to legend, we are only going out for an in-depth check after the repair. Some time after the start of the campaign, Burmistrov called me and said - now gather all the officers and say that we are going to Cartagena through Gibraltar. The sailors did not take this news very kindly, because many had acquaintances of girls on the French coast, and, besides, they did not have time to buy anything for their families in Spain.

When we passed through the Atlantic, the periscope suddenly broke down. Prior to that, we had lost radio contact with Cartagena. As a result, almost all the time we were on the surface, alternately on duty on the bridge and in the central command post. Once, after surfacing, Burmistrov noticed an enemy ship nearby. He gave the command for a quick dive. I saw how the sailors began to hastily close the hatch, and I realized that the captain, who remained on the surface, would die. When I ordered to tear open the hatch, reluctantly, but still they obeyed, although the situation was critical.

Together with the water, Burmistrov dived into the boat, and we began to sink again. After that, he firmly decided that his sons would not be submariners ... But both of them followed in his footsteps. Subsequently, one of them died on a submarine, and the second, a captain of the second rank in the reserve, lives in Stavropol in his father's house on the street named after Burmistrov.

We safely returned to Cartagena, where we were given a solemn welcome. After that, with senior naval adviser Orlov, I participated in the passage from Cartagena to Barcelona on warships transporting gold from vaults that belonged to the USSR and other countries in payment for weapons. Upon arrival in Barcelona, ​​our destroyers were attacked from the air, but we held out.

When we returned to Cartagena, Orlov was suddenly summoned to Moscow. He offered me to go with him, especially since the deadline - 6 months - had already expired. Everything went according to plan, but on the day of departure, military attache Vasilchenko arrived in Le Havre. And then he began to say goodbye to everyone except me. Noticing that I was embarrassed, Vasilchenko took a document out of his pocket and gave it to me to read: an order for Gurevich to return to Spain in order to illegally escort pilots across the border. Which was done.

BECOMING VINCENT SIERRA

I spent several months at the front. In September 1939, together with Rear Admiral Yakhnenko and Captain 1st Rank Mikhailov, we left by train through Belgium, Germany and Poland for our homeland, where we were placed in a dacha near Moscow and asked to write activity reports. Then we were given 5 minutes each for a personal report to the head of the GRU, Gendin.

After our report, everyone was released, Gendin asked only me to stay. He said that Orlov and Burmistrov spoke very well of me and offered me a job in the GRU. But I had no idea about working in intelligence and said that I could not give an answer right away. And went home to Leningrad.

I had two months of vacation ahead of me. But three weeks later I was urgently summoned from Kislovodsk to Moscow. They said that the international situation, as I understand it, is becoming more complicated, and therefore there is a need to strengthen intelligence. I replied that I had nothing to do with intelligence and that I could be useful only by working in the apparatus. But I was reassured that I would have to work as a cryptographer and radio operator. As a result, after studying at a school near Moscow, I left through Leningrad for Finland, Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands and, having arrived in Paris as a Mexican, received a passport of Uruguayan citizen Vincent Sierra.

NOT THAT TICKET

The first time I, one might say, pierced immediately when boarding a train to Helsinki. The fact is that Intourist should have given me a ticket from Leningrad to Helsinki and a reservation for a hotel room. The conductor did not immediately look at the ticket and let me into the car. But when I went out for a smoke, he nevertheless asked about my travel documents, and it turned out that the ticket was from Beloostrov to Helsinki. I spent all Soviet money on a taxi and a porter. There were only a few seconds left before departure, but I ran to change 100 dollars.

Playing on the fact that although I am a foreigner, I still speak Russian a little, I went up to the station duty officer, got on the policeman, and he took pity on me, giving me 50 kopecks for an additional payment.

My misadventures didn't end there. In the carriage, foreign tourists boasted of photographs, but I had nothing. But it passed. The nightmare began at the border. When they began to show passports and documents, I saw an interpreter who knew me well - she studied with me at Intourist. The girl turned out to be quick-witted: when she saw my passport and knowing that I was in Spain, she realized that I was obviously traveling as an illegal immigrant ...

From Finland, by plane through Sweden and the Netherlands, I got to Paris, and from there to Brussels, legalized as a citizen of Uruguay, Vincent Sierra. There I met with the resident, whom I knew under the pseudonym Otto - it was Leopold Trepper. With him, I had to arrange to settle in Sweden as a representative of the firm that Otto allegedly created in Brussels. We decided that we would keep in touch through his wife, since I would not be able to meet with him often.

To facilitate contacts, we entered ballroom dancing courses with her. There was only one snag - she was a lady of quite respectable age, and I was often asked why I was dealing with such an unattractive-looking person ...

While still at school, I worked in a theater group, graduated from the university sunday society "Knowledge" and, in addition, he studied at a decent university, so he knew history, literature, and languages. It was easy for me to register with the police and infiltrate secular society. This helped - unlike Trepper, who could mostly only meet with members of the Jewish community. Neither in the secular nor in business society he never got in. It was a big blow for him, and he did not hide it.

And it soon became clear that Trepper misled the center, saying that I could be its representative in Sweden - there none of the foreigners could manage a branch of a foreign company. Only the Swedes had this right by law.

THE SOCIAL LION

In 1940, as an assistant to Trepper, I kept in touch with legal signalmen - employees of our trade mission. Once again, having received a package from them, I informed the management about this, and we gathered at my apartment on Be Ko Avenue.

We usually worked until late at night sorting through the mail. Suddenly we were awakened by the sound of aircraft, which seemed strange: after all, the Belgian king would not conduct exercises at such an inopportune time for this. I turned on the receiver. They played a march. It was suddenly announced that Germany had shown aggression against Belgium, in connection with which hostilities began. It was absolutely unexpected - after all, the day before, the German ambassador announced that his country would completely adhere to neutrality with respect to Belgium. Already at six in the morning, when we decided on our actions in the situation that had arisen and went out into the street, we saw a group of people being led past us, who had previously been suspected of working for German intelligence. We went home.

Shortly thereafter, Trepper and I met at a safe house with a representative of the GRU, who announced that Trepper was to leave the country. After all, if he is well known as a Canadian Jew, he can be arrested at any moment both for his nationality and for being a citizen of a country participating in the war against Germany. A man from the GRU offered to hand over the management of the residency to me. But I objected that before the start of the war I was engaged only in communications issues and now I am not ready for intelligence work. The trepper replied that this was not true, and that I could be an illegal resident intelligence officer.

The Trepper left soon after. His wife, left without protection, I managed to hide in our trade mission. Then she was transferred to Moscow. His company, of course, collapsed, but he was able to take 300,000 francs with him. According to some reports, he managed to transfer the money through the bank, according to others, an employee of the Bulgarian consulate helped.

The residency has collapsed completely. Only one Soviet intelligence agent - Makarov - was legalized as the owner of a rubber shop in Ostend. But he quite often violated the conspiracy: having a lot of money, he was very interested in girls ... Thus, only I remained from the current employees. By that time, I had the opportunity to continue living in Belgium. I met the millionaires Singer and Barcha. Their children were married and lived next to their parents. And suddenly, even before the start of the aggression, Singer unexpectedly turned to me and asked what I thought about the possible start of the war. I replied that I had normal business relationship and I'm not going to leave. "Tell me, can't you patronize my daughter Margarita? You know, her husband has died, and she refuses to go to America with us, preferring to constantly visit his grave." I thought about it and agreed to help. Singer offered me money for expenses, handed over all his business connections and left. Thus began my business life. At that time, Margarita Barcha and I were only on friendly terms.

TREPPER'S LAST MYSTERY

On December 25, 1942, Trepper started the game with the center (Moscow). I also played the game. The official date is March 3rd, but I started the game much later because Trepper didn't want it, afraid I might give him away. And he continued the radio play on my behalf.

Trepper managed to convince the Gestapo that he needed to hide his arrest by moving around Paris frequently. They went towards him. On December 13, 1943, he was driving with Berg. He felt unwell, and Trepper offered to drop in at the pharmacy for medicines, volunteering to buy them. Berg was convinced that by volunteering with the Gestapo, Trepper would never allow himself to escape. Entering the pharmacy, Trepper left through the back door.

By this time former boss Sonderkommando Giering was forced to resign and go to the hospital for an operation, as a result of which he died. Heinz Pannwitz, a Gestapo man known for his brutality in Prague, was appointed in his place. Fearing that Trepper's flight might negatively affect his reputation, and, having calculated that after the war he might fall into the hands of the Americans, Pannwitz decided to cooperate with me. By this decision, he contributed to the rescue of Soviet intelligence officers and a number of leaders of the French Resistance movement.

In August 1944, on the eve of the uprising in Paris, the Sonderkommandos were disbanded. Pannwitz, his secretary Kempa and radio operator Stluka left for Germany. Together with Margarita and the children, I was placed in the camp. Having convinced Muller that only I could help him in his future work, I received a new appointment. "Joint work" allegedly continued until April 1945. Further, having received guarantees of inviolability, we took refuge in the Austrian Alps. In case of the appearance of allies, I came up with a legend that I am a major Soviet army Vladimir Sokolov and I am in Germany to assist Soviet prisoners of war who escaped from the camps, and German citizens with me are anti-fascists.

Soon we were with the French. A request was sent to confirm my legend, and soon a positive answer came to Paris. After that, the French took us to Paris with archival materials and radio equipment. But there, Colonel Novikov, a representative of SMERSH, "arrested us," and upon arrival in Moscow, we were taken directly from the airfield to Lubyanka, where the investigation began.

Hiding our arrest from the GRU, the People's Commissariat of Defense was forced to send my parents a certificate stating that I was missing under circumstances that did not give me the right to benefits. My parents found out that I was alive and in the camp only in 1948. I was sentenced in 1947 by a special meeting of SMERSH as a civilian to 20 years in labor camps under Article 58-1-a. While in the camp in Vorkuta, I was convinced that a mistake had occurred and that the truth would prevail. I worked conscientiously, understood economics and accounting, and I was appointed dispatcher of camp divisions and senior economist of planning and production departments.

I was rehabilitated in August 1991. Prior to that, for 45 years, I had applied to various authorities for reconsideration of my case, but to no avail. After rehabilitation, an order was issued by the Ministry of Defense that I was a captain of the Soviet army and served with grace years for 46 years and 1 month. During my service - and even while working abroad - I have never received a salary, and even more so - compensation for material and moral losses.

"DAD, IT'S ME!"

After serving a total of 12 years in the camps, I nevertheless returned home to Leningrad, to my mother. Then there was a meeting with my faithful friend of life - Lydia Vasilievna. It’s hard to talk about what happened next. Somehow the phone rang, and I picked up the phone. "Dad, it's me!" I did not believe and demanded details. When the man told me those who were godparents at his birth, I fainted. It was Michel, the son of Marguerite Bartsch and Vincent Sierra, who was born in the Gestapo in April 1944. Then Michel came to St. Petersburg. He said that Margarita was constantly searching, but did not know my real surname. Only Michel managed to find his father. He conducted his own investigation, compared some facts and figured out (after all, the son of a scout) who his father was. And they told me at the Lubyanka that Margarita and her baby died in the camp under the Allied bombing.

P.S. Michel and his family visit their father almost every year, they exchange letters. Anatoly Markovich still does not lose hope of receiving compensation for the time of work and exile and writes his memoirs. By the way, for all the time he worked in intelligence, Kent did not receive any award from the state. Even the presentation for the order - for the rescue of the submarine commander - was lost somewhere. Kent - a living legend and the pride of our intelligence - lives in a small apartment in "Khrushchev" on a modest military pension. All money goes to medicines. He was not even congratulated on the anniversary of the city. But he is well remembered and loved by those who at least somehow touched his biography. Anatoly Markovich once said that for him the best reward is his friends.

Mikhail BUREnin

http://www.nevskoevremya.spb.ru/