The fate of Abel after the exchange for Powers. Dismissal due to suspicion. Rudolf Abel - Short Biography

Arrested for espionage in East Berlin in August 1961.

Biography

In 1920, the Fisher family returned to Russia and took Soviet citizenship without renouncing English, and together with the families of other prominent revolutionaries at one time lived on the territory of the Kremlin.

In 1921, William Harry's older brother dies in an accident.

Abel, upon arrival in the USSR, first worked as a translator in the Executive Committee of the Communist International (Comintern). Then he entered VKHUTEMAS. In 1925 he was drafted into the army in the 1st Radiotelegraph Regiment of the Moscow Military District, where he received the specialty of a radio operator. He served together with E. T. Krenkel and the future artist M. I. Tsarev. Having an innate penchant for technology, he became a very good radio operator, whose superiority was recognized by everyone.

After demobilization, he worked as a radio engineer at the Research Institute of the Air Force of the Red Army. On April 7, 1927, he marries a graduate of the Moscow Conservatory, harpist Elena Lebedeva. She was appreciated by the teacher - the famous harpist Vera Dulova. Subsequently, Elena became a professional musician. In 1929 their daughter was born.

On December 31, 1938, he was dismissed from the NKVD (due to Beria's distrust of personnel working with "enemies of the people") with the rank of lieutenant of the State Security Service (captain) and worked for some time in the All-Union Chamber of Commerce, and then at an aviation plant as a paramilitary guard shooter. Repeatedly applied with reports about his reinstatement in intelligence. He also addressed his father's friend, the then secretary of the Central Committee of the party Andreev.

Since 1941, again in the NKVD, in a unit organizing a partisan war in the rear of the Germans. Fischer trained radio operators for partisan detachments and reconnaissance groups sent to the countries occupied by Germany. During this period, he met and worked with Rudolf Abel, whose name and biography he later used.

After the end of the war, it was decided to send him to illegal work in the United States, in particular, to obtain information from sources working at nuclear facilities. He moved to the US in November 1948 on a passport in the name of US citizen of Lithuanian origin Andrew Kayotis (who died in the Lithuanian SSR in 1948). He then settled in New York under the name of the artist Emil Robert Goldfuss, where he ran the Soviet spy network and owned a photo studio in Brooklyn for cover. Spouses Coen were singled out as liaison agents for "Mark" (V. Fisher's pseudonym).

By the end of May 1949, Mark had resolved all organizational issues and was actively involved in the work. She was so successful that already in August 1949 he was awarded the Order of the Red Banner for specific results.

In 1955 he returned to Moscow for several months of summer and autumn.

Failure

In order to unload "Mark" from current affairs, in 1952, an illegal intelligence radio operator Reino Heihanen (pseudonym "Vic") was sent to help him. "Vik" turned out to be morally and psychologically unstable, and four years later it was decided to return to Moscow. However, "Vic", having suspected something was wrong, surrendered to the American authorities, told them about his work in illegal intelligence and betrayed "Mark".

In 1957, "Mark" was arrested at New York's Latham Hotel by FBI agents. In those days, the leadership of the USSR stated that it was not engaged in espionage. In order to let Moscow know about his arrest and that he was not a traitor, William Fischer, during his arrest, named himself after his late friend Rudolf Abel. During the investigation, he categorically denied belonging to intelligence, refused to testify at the trial and rejected attempts by US intelligence officials to persuade him to cooperate.

In the same year he was sentenced to 32 years in prison. After the announcement of the verdict, "Mark" was in solitary confinement at a remand prison in New York, then was transferred to a federal correctional facility in Atlanta. In conclusion, he was engaged in solving mathematical problems, art theory, and painting. He painted oil paintings. Vladimir Semichastny claimed that the portrait of Kennedy painted by Abel in custody was presented to him at the request of the latter and after a long time hung in the Oval Office.

Liberation

After rest and treatment, Fisher returned to work in the central intelligence apparatus. He took part in the training of young illegal immigrants, painted landscapes at his leisure. Fisher also participated in the creation of the feature film Dead Season (1968), the plot of which is connected with some facts from the biography of the scout.

William Genrikhovich Fisher died of lung cancer at the age of 69 on November 15, 1971. He was buried at the New Donskoy Cemetery in Moscow next to his father.

Awards

Memory

• His fate inspired Vadim Kozhevnikov to write the famous adventure novel The Shield and the Sword. Although the name of the protagonist is Alexander Belov and is associated with the name of Abel, the plot of the book differs significantly from the real fate of William Genrikhovich Fisher.
• In 2008, a documentary film "Unknown Abel" was filmed (directed by Yuri Linkevich).
• In 2009, Channel One created a feature two-part biographical film "The US Government against Rudolf Abel" (starring Yuri Belyaev).
• For the first time, Abel showed himself to the general public in 1968, when he addressed his compatriots with an introductory speech to the film " Dead Season" (as an official consultant for the picture).
• In the American film Steven Spielberg's Bridge of Spies (2015), his role was played by British theater and film actor Mark Rylance, for this role Mark received many awards and prizes, including the Academy Award "Oscar".
• On December 18, 2015, on the eve of the Day of employees of state security bodies, a solemn ceremony of opening a memorial plaque to William Genrikhovich Fisher took place in Samara. The plate, the author of which was the Samara architect Dmitry Khramov, appeared on the house number 8 on the street. Molodogvardeiskaya. It is assumed that it was here in the years

Exactly 55 years ago, on February 10, 1962, on the bridge separating the FRG and the GDR, the exchange of the Soviet illegal intelligence officer Rudolf Abel (real name William Genrikhovich Fischer) took place for the American pilot Francis Powers shot down over the USSR. Abel behaved courageously in prison: he did not disclose to the enemy even the smallest episode of his work, and he is still remembered and respected not only in our country, but also in the United States.

Shield and sword of the legendary scout

Released in 2015, Steven Spielberg's film "Bridge of Spies", which told about the fate of the Soviet intelligence officer and his exchange, was recognized by film critics as one of the best in the work of the famous American director. The tape was made in the spirit of deep respect for the Soviet intelligence officer. Abel, played by British actor Mark Rylance, is strong-willed in the film, while Powers is a coward.

In Russia, the intelligence colonel was also immortalized on film. He was played by Yuri Belyaev in the 2010 film "Fights: the US government against Rudolf Abel", partly about his fate tells the cult picture of the 60s "Dead Season" by Savva Kulish, at the beginning of which the legendary intelligence officer himself addressed the audience from the screen with a little comment .

He also worked as a consultant on another famous Soviet spy film - "Shield and Sword" by Vladimir Basov, where the main character, played by Stanislav Lyubshin, was called Alexander Belov (A. Belov - in honor of Abel). Who is he, a man who is known and respected on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean?

Artist, engineer or scientist

William Genrikhovich Fisher was a very talented and versatile person with a phenomenal memory and a very developed instinct, which helped him find the right solution in the most unexpected situations.

Since childhood, he, who was born in the small English town of Newcastle upon Tyne, spoke several languages, played various musical instruments, perfectly drew, drew, understood technology and was interested in the natural sciences. An excellent musician, engineer, scientist or artist could have come out of him, but fate itself predetermined his future path even before birth.

More precisely, the father, Heinrich Matthaus Fischer, a German citizen who was born on April 9, 1871 on the estate of Prince Kurakin in the Yaroslavl province, where his parent worked as a manager. In his youth, after meeting the revolutionary Gleb Krzhizhanovsky, Heinrich became seriously interested in Marxism and became an active participant in the "Union of Struggle for the Emancipation of the Working Class" created by Vladimir Ulyanov.

Named after Shakespeare

The Okhrana soon drew the attention of Fisher, after which he was arrested and exiled for many years - first to the north of the Arkhangelsk province, then transfer to the Saratov province. Under these conditions, the young revolutionary proved to be an outstanding conspirator. Constantly changing names and addresses, he continued to wage illegal struggle.

In Saratov, Heinrich met a young like-minded woman, a native of this province, Lyubov Vasilievna Korneeva, who received three years for her revolutionary activities. They soon married and left Russia together in August 1901, when Fischer was presented with a choice: immediate arrest and deportation in shackles to Germany, or voluntary departure from the country.

The young couple settled in Great Britain, where on July 11, 1903 their youngest son was born, who received his name in honor of Shakespeare. Young William passed the exams at the University of London, but he did not have to study there - his father decided to return to Russia, where the revolution had taken place. In 1920, the family moved to the RSFSR, obtaining Soviet citizenship and retaining British citizenship.

The best of the best radio operators

William Fisher entered the VKhUTEMAS (Higher Artistic and Technical Workshops), one of the then leading art universities in the country, but in 1925 he was drafted into the army and became one of the best radio operators in the Moscow Military District. His superiority was also recognized by his colleagues, among whom were the future participant of the first Soviet drifting station "North Pole-1", the famous polar explorer-radio operator Ernst Krenkel and the future People's Artist of the USSR, artistic director of the Maly Theater Mikhail Tsarev.

© AP Photo

After demobilization, Fisher seems to have found his calling - he worked as a radio engineer at the Research Institute of the Red Army Air Force (now the Valery Chkalov State Flight Test Center of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation). In 1927 he married Elena Lebedeva, a harpist, and two years later they had a daughter, Evelina.

It was at this time that political intelligence, the OGPU, drew attention to a promising young man with an excellent knowledge of several foreign languages. Since 1927, William has been an employee of the Foreign Department of Foreign Intelligence, where he worked first as an interpreter and then as a radio operator.

Dismissal due to suspicion

In the early 1930s, he asked the British authorities to issue him a passport, since he had quarreled with his revolutionary father and wanted to return to England with his family. The British willingly gave Fisher documents, after which the intelligence officer worked illegally for several years in Norway, Denmark, Belgium and France, where he created a secret radio network, transmitting messages from local residencies to Moscow.

In 1938, fleeing large-scale repressions in the Soviet intelligence apparatus, Alexander Orlov, a resident of the NKVD in Republican Spain, fled to the West.

After this incident, William Fisher was recalled to the USSR and at the end of the same year he was dismissed from the bodies with the rank of lieutenant of state security (corresponding to the rank of army captain).

Such a change in attitude towards a completely successful intelligence officer was dictated only by the fact that the new head of the People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs, Lavrenty Beria, frankly did not trust the employees who worked with the previously repressed "enemies of the people" in the NKVD. Fischer was still very lucky: many of his colleagues were shot or imprisoned.

Friendship with Rudolf Abel

Fischer was returned to service by the war with Germany. Since September 1941, he worked in the central intelligence apparatus in the Lubyanka. As head of the communications department, he took part in ensuring the security of the parade, which took place on November 7, 1941 on Red Square. He was engaged in the preparation and transfer of Soviet agents to the Nazi rear, led the work of partisan detachments and participated in several successful radio games against German intelligence.

It was during this period that he became friends with Rudolf Ivanovich (Johannovich) Abel. Unlike Fischer, this active and cheerful Latvian came to reconnaissance from the fleet, in which he fought back in the civil war. During the war, they lived with their families in the same apartment in the center of Moscow.

They were brought together not only by a common service, but also by common features of their biography. For example, like Fischer, in 1938 Abel was dismissed from the service. His older brother Voldemar was accused of participating in a Latvian nationalist organization and shot. Rudolf, like William, was in demand with the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, performing responsible tasks for organizing sabotage in the rear of the German troops.

And in 1955, Abel died suddenly, never knowing that his best friend was sent to work illegally in the United States. The Cold War was in full swing.

The enemy's nuclear secrets were required. Under these conditions, William Fisher, who under the guise of a Lithuanian refugee managed to organize two large intelligence networks in the United States, turned out to be an invaluable person for Soviet scientists. For which he was awarded the Order of the Red Banner.

Failure and paint

The amount of interesting information was so great that over time, Fisher needed another radio operator. Moscow sent him Major Nikolai Ivanov as an assistant. It was a personnel error. Ivanov, who worked under the undercover name of Reino Heihanen, turned out to be a drunkard and a lover of women. When in 1957 they decided to recall him back, he turned to the US intelligence services.

Fisher was warned about the betrayal and began to prepare to flee the country through Mexico, but he himself recklessly decided to return to the apartment and destroy all evidence of his work. The FBI agents arrested him. But even at such a stressful moment, William Genrikhovich was able to maintain amazing composure.

He, who continued to paint in the United States, asked the American counterintelligence officers to wipe the paint off the palette. Then he quietly threw a crumpled piece of paper with a cipher telegram into the toilet and flushed it. During the arrest, he called himself Rudolf Abel, thereby making it clear to the Center that he was not a traitor.

Under a false name

During the investigation, Fisher resolutely denied his involvement in Soviet intelligence, refused to testify at the trial, and stopped all attempts by American intelligence officers to work for them. They got nothing out of him, not even his real name.

But Ivanov's testimony and letters from his beloved wife and daughter became the basis for a harsh sentence - more than 30 years in prison. In conclusion, Fischer-Abel painted oil paintings and worked on solving mathematical problems. A few years later, the traitor suffered punishment - a huge truck crashed into a car on a night highway, driven by Ivanov.

The fate of the intelligence officer began to change on May 1, 1960, when the pilot of the U-2 spy plane Francis Powers was shot down in the USSR. In addition, newly elected President John F. Kennedy sought to ease tensions between the US and the USSR.

As a result, it was decided to exchange the mysterious Soviet intelligence officer for three people at once. On February 10, 1962, at the Glienik Bridge, Fischer was handed over to the Soviet secret services in exchange for Powers. Also released were two American students previously arrested on charges of espionage, Frederick Pryor and Marvin Makinen.

Lieutenant-General Vadim KIRPICHENKO, former deputy head of the First Main Directorate (intelligence) of the KGB of the USSR, consultant of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service, tells about Rudolf Abel.

- Vadim Alekseevich, were you personally acquainted with Abel?

The word "familiar" is the most accurate. No more. We met in the corridors, greeted each other, shook hands. You take into account the difference in age, and we worked in different directions. I knew, of course, that this was "the same Abel." I think, in turn, Rudolf Ivanovich knew who I was, could know the position (at that time - the head of the African department). But, in general, everyone has their own area, we did not intersect on professional matters. This was in the mid sixties. And then I went on a business trip abroad.

Later, when Rudolf Ivanovich was no longer alive, I was unexpectedly recalled to Moscow and appointed head of illegal intelligence. Then I got access to the questions that were led by Abel. And he appreciated - Abel the scout and Abel the man.

"We still don't know everything about him..."

In Abel's professional biography, I would single out three episodes when he rendered invaluable services to the country.

The first - the war years: participation in the operation "Berezino". Then Soviet intelligence created a fictitious German group of Colonel Schorhorn, supposedly operating in our rear. It was a trap for German intelligence officers and saboteurs. To help Schorhorn, Skorzeny dropped more than twenty agents, they were all captured. The operation was based on a radio game, for which Fischer (Abel) was responsible. He conducted it masterfully, the command of the Wehrmacht until the very end of the war did not understand that they were being led by the nose; the last radiogram from Hitler's headquarters to Schorhorn is dated May 1945, it sounds something like this: we can no longer help you, we trust in the will of God. But here's what is important: the slightest mistake of Rudolf Ivanovich - and the operation would have been thwarted. Further, these saboteurs could be anywhere. Do you understand how dangerous this is? How many troubles for the country, how many of our soldiers would pay with their lives!

Next - Abel's participation in the hunt for American atomic secrets. Perhaps our scientists would have created a bomb without the help of scouts. But scientific research is a waste of effort, time, money... Thanks to people like Abel, we managed to avoid dead-end research, the desired result was obtained in the shortest possible time, we simply saved a lot of money for a devastated country.

And of course - the whole epic with the arrest of Abel in the United States, the trial, imprisonment. Rudolf Ivanovich then really risked his life, while from a professional point of view he kept himself impeccable. Dulles' words that he would like to have three or four people like this Russian in Moscow require no comment.

Of course, I name the most famous episodes of Abel's work. The paradox is that there are many other, very interesting, and now remain in the shadows.

- Secret?

Not necessary. The seal of secrecy has already been removed from many cases. But there are stories that, against the background of already known information, look routine, discreet (and journalists, of course, are looking for something more interesting). Something is just hard to restore. The chronicler did not follow Abel! Today, documentary evidence of his work is scattered across many archival folders. Bringing them together, reconstructing events is a painstaking, long work, who can get their hands on it? The only pity is that when there are no facts, legends appear ...

- For example?

I didn’t wear the Wehrmacht uniform, I didn’t take out the Kapitsa

For example, I had to read that during the war Abel worked deep in the German rear. In fact, at the first stage of the war, William Fisher was busy training radio operators for reconnaissance groups. Then he participated in radio games. He then was on the staff of the Fourth (reconnaissance and sabotage) directorate, the archives of which require a separate study. The maximum that was - one or two transfers to partisan detachments.

- Valery Agranovsky's documentary book "Profession: Foreigner", written based on the stories of another famous intelligence officer, Konon the Young, describes such a story. The young soldier of the reconnaissance group Molodoy is thrown into the German rear, soon they grab him, bring him to the village, there is some kind of colonel in the hut. He looks squeamishly into the clearly "left" Ausweiss, listens to inconsistent explanations, then takes the arrested person to the porch, gives a kick in the ass, throws the Ausweiss into the snow ... Many years later, Young meets this colonel in New York: Rudolf Ivanovich Abel.

Not supported by documents.

But Young...

Konon could recognize himself. He could tell something, but the journalist misunderstood him. There could be a beautiful legend deliberately launched. In any case, Fischer did not wear a Wehrmacht uniform. Only during Operation Berezino, when German agents were parachuted into Schorhorn's camp and Fischer met them.

- Another story is from Kirill Khenkin's book "Hunter Upside Down". Willy Fisher, during a business trip to England (thirties), was introduced into Kapitsa's laboratory in Cambridge and facilitated Kapitsa's departure to the USSR ...

Fischer worked in England at that time, but did not infiltrate Kapitsa.

- Henkin was friends with Abel...

He's confused. Or invents. Abel was an amazingly bright and versatile person. When you see someone like that, when you know that he is a scout, but you don’t really know what he was doing, myth-making begins.

"I would rather die than give away the secrets I know"

He painted well, at a professional level. In America, he had patents for inventions. Played several instruments. In his free time, he solved the most difficult mathematical problems. Understood higher physics. I could literally build a radio receiver out of nothing. He worked as a carpenter, a locksmith, a carpenter ... A fantastically gifted nature.

- And at the same time he served in a department that does not like publicity. Didn't regret? Could take place as an artist, as a scientist. And as a result ... He became famous because he failed.

Abel didn't fail. It was failed by the traitor, Reino Heihanen. No, I don't think that Rudolf Ivanovich regretted joining intelligence. Yes, he did not become famous as an artist or a scientist. But, in my opinion, the work of a scout is much more interesting. The same creativity, plus adrenaline, plus mental tension... This is a special state that is very difficult to explain in words.

- Courage?

If you want to. In the end, Abel went on his main business trip to the USA voluntarily. I saw the text of the report with a request to be sent to illegal work in America. It ends like this: I would rather accept death than give out the secrets known to me, I am ready to fulfill my duty to the end.

- What year is it?

- Here's why I clarify: in many books about Abel it is said that at the end of his life he was disappointed in his former ideals, he was skeptical about what he saw in the Soviet Union.

Don't know. We weren't close enough to take the liberty of assessing his moods. Our work does not encourage special frankness, even at home you can’t say too much to your wife: you proceed from the fact that the apartment can be tapped - not because they don’t trust, but simply as a preventive measure. But I would not exaggerate... After returning from the USA, performances were organized for Abel at factories, institutes, even collective farms. There was no arrogance over the Soviet regime there.

Here's what else you should consider. William Fisher's life was not easy, I would like to be disappointed - there were enough reasons. Do not forget that in 1938 he was dismissed from the organs and endured it very painfully. A lot of friends were imprisoned or shot. He worked abroad for so many years - what prevented him from defecting, starting a double game? But Abel is Abel. I think he sincerely believed in the victory of socialism (even if not very soon). Do not forget - comes from a family of revolutionaries, people close to Lenin. Belief in communism was imbibed with mother's milk. Of course, a smart man, he noticed everything.

I remember a conversation - either Abel spoke, or someone in his presence, and Abel agreed. It was about over-fulfillment of plans. The plan cannot be overfulfilled, because the plan is the plan. If it is overfulfilled, it means that either the calculation was incorrect, or the mechanism is unbalanced. But this is not a disappointment in the ideals, but rather a constructive, cautious criticism.

- A smart, strong person in Soviet times constantly travels abroad. He could not but see that they live better there ...

In life, there is no only black or only white. Socialism is free medicine, the opportunity to educate children, cheap housing. Precisely because Abel had been abroad, he knew the price of such things too. Although, I do not exclude, many things could irritate him. One of my colleagues almost became an anti-Soviet after visiting Czechoslovakia. He was trying on shoes in the store, and suddenly the then Czechoslovak president (I think Zapototsky) sat down next to him with boots. "You understand," said a friend, "the head of state, as calmly as everyone else, goes to the store and tries on shoes. Everyone knows him, but no one fusses, the usual polite service. Can you imagine this with us?" I think that Abel had similar thoughts.

- How did Abel live here?

As everybody. My wife also worked in intelligence. Once she comes in shocked: "The sausages were thrown out in the buffet, you know who was standing in front of me in line? Abel!" - "So what?" - "Nothing. I took my half a kilo (they don't give more in one hand), I went satisfied." The standard of living is normal average Soviet. An apartment, a modest cottage. As for the car, I don't remember. Of course, the colonel of intelligence did not live in poverty, a decent salary, then a pension - but he did not live in luxury either. Another thing is that he did not need much. Well-fed, dressed, shod, a roof over your head, books... Such a generation.

Without a Hero

- Why was Abel not given the title of Hero of the Soviet Union?

Then the scouts - especially the living, who were in the ranks - were not given the Hero at all. Even the people who obtained the American atomic secrets received the Gold Stars only at the end of their lives. Moreover, the Heroes of Russia, they were already awarded by the new government. Why didn't they give it? They were afraid of information leakage. The hero is additional instances, additional papers. Can attract attention - who, for what? Other people will know. And it’s simple - a man walked without a Star, then he was gone for a long time, he appears with the Star of the Hero of the Soviet Union. There are neighbors, acquaintances, the question is inevitable - why would? There is no war!

- Abel tried to write memoirs?

Once he wrote memoirs about his arrest, his stay in prison, the exchange for Powers. Something else? I doubt. Too much would have to be discovered, and professional discipline has ingrained in Rudolf Ivanovich, what can be said and what not.

- But incredibly much has been written about him - both in the West, and in our country, and during Abel's lifetime, and now. What books to believe?

I edit "Essays on Foreign Intelligence" - the professional activities of Rudolf Ivanovich are most accurately reflected there. What about personal qualities? Read "Strangers on the Bridge" by his US lawyer Donovan.

- I do not agree. For Donovan, Abel is an iron Russian colonel. But Evelina Vilyamovna Fisher, the daughter, recalls how her father argued with her mother over the beds in the country, was nervous if papers were shifted in his office, whistled contentedly while solving mathematical equations. Kirill Khenkin writes about his soulmate Willy, who ideologically served the Soviet country, and at the end of his life thought about the rebirth of the system, was interested in dissident literature...

So all the same, we are one with enemies, others with our family, at different times - different. A person must be judged by concrete deeds. In the case of Abel - making allowances for time and profession. But like him, any country will be proud of at all times.

Reference

Abel Rudolf Ivanovich (real name - Fischer William Genrikhovich). Born in 1903 in Newcastle-on-Tyne (England) in a family of Russian political emigrants. Father - from a family of Russified Germans, a revolutionary worker. Mother also participated in the revolutionary movement. For this, the Fisher couple were sent abroad in 1901 and settled in England.

At the age of 16, Willy successfully passed the exam at the University of London. In 1920 the family returned to Moscow, Willy worked as a translator in the office of the Comintern. In 1924, he entered the Indian department of the Institute of Oriental Studies in Moscow, but after the first year he was drafted into the army and enlisted in the radiotelegraph regiment. After demobilization, he went to work at the Air Force Research Institute of the Red Army, in 1927 he was accepted into the INO OGPU as an assistant commissioner. Carried out secret missions in European countries. Upon his return to Moscow, he was awarded the rank of lieutenant of state security, which corresponded to the military rank of major. At the end of 1938, without explanation, he was dismissed from intelligence. He worked at the All-Union Chamber of Commerce, at a factory. Repeatedly applied with reports about his reinstatement in intelligence.

In September 1941, he was enrolled in a unit that organized sabotage groups and partisan detachments in the rear of the Nazi invaders. During this period, he became especially close friends with his workmate Rudolf Ivanovich Abel, whose name would later be called during his arrest. At the end of the war, he returned to work in the illegal intelligence department. In November 1948, it was decided to send him to illegal work in the United States to obtain information about American nuclear facilities. Nickname - Mark. In 1949 he was awarded the Order of the Red Banner for successful work.

In order to unload Mark from current affairs, in 1952 a radio operator of illegal intelligence Heihanen (pseudonym - Vik) was sent to help him. Vic turned out to be morally and psychologically unstable, he drank and quickly sank. Four years later, it was decided to return to Moscow. However, Vick informed the American authorities about his work in the Soviet illegal intelligence service and betrayed Mark.

In 1957 Mark was arrested by the FBI. In those days, the leadership of the USSR stated that our country "does not engage in espionage." In order to let Moscow know about his arrest and that he was not a traitor, Fischer named himself after his late friend Abel during his arrest. During the investigation, he categorically denied his affiliation with intelligence, refused to testify at the trial and rejected attempts by American intelligence agencies to persuade him to cooperate. Sentenced to 30 years in prison. He served his sentence in a federal prison in Atlanta. In the cell he was engaged in solving mathematical problems, art theory, painting. On February 10, 1962, he was exchanged for American pilot Francis Powers, convicted by a Soviet court of espionage.

After rest and treatment, Colonel Fisher (Abel) worked in the central intelligence apparatus. He took part in the training of young illegal intelligence officers. He died of cancer in 1971. He was buried at the Donskoy Cemetery in Moscow.

He was awarded the Order of Lenin, three Orders of the Red Banner, the Order of the Red Banner of Labor, the Order of the Patriotic War 1st degree, the Order of the Red Star and many medals.

Rudolf Abel - Short Biography

The real name of the man who is considered the most outstanding intelligence officer of the twentieth century is Fisher William Genrikhovich. He was born on July 11, 1903 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. His father, Heinrich Fischer, a Russified German from the Yaroslavl province, was a committed Marxist who knew Lenin personally. Mother - Lyubov Vasilievna, a native of Saratov, was his wrestling comrade-in-arms. In 1901, the tsarist government arrested them for revolutionary activities and sent them abroad. After leaving school, William passed the entrance exams to the University of London, but did not have time to start studying there. After the Bolsheviks came to power in Russia, his family returned to their homeland. As old party members, his family even lived for some time on the territory of the Moscow Kremlin. Before becoming a scout, William Fisher changed many professions.

Immediately upon arrival in Soviet Russia, he worked for some time as an interpreter in the executive committee of the Communist International, which was the governing body of the Comintern. Later, being very gifted in artistic terms, he entered the Higher Artistic and Technical Workshops, which before the revolution were the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. However, he did not study there for long, and in 1924 he became a student at the Institute of Oriental Studies. Here he studied for only one year and in 1925 was drafted into the army. He served in the first radiotelegraph regiment of the Moscow Military District, where he mastered the profession of a radio operator, knew how to assemble radio receivers in a short time from improvised means and was considered the best radio operator in the regiment. After demobilization, not finding an occupation for himself, he enters the Foreign Department of the OGPU on the recommendation. With a good background, technically literate and fluent in foreign languages, Fischer was an ideal candidate for a job as an intelligence officer. At first, he performs the duties of an interpreter, well known to him, and then a radio operator. Since England was his homeland, the leadership of the OGPU decided to send Fischer to work in the British Isles.

Scout Rudolf Abel (William Fisher)

Beginning in 1930, he lived in England for several years as a resident of Soviet intelligence, periodically traveling to other countries of Western Europe. Acted as a station radio operator, organized a secret radio network, transmitting radiograms to the center from other residents. On instructions that came from Stalin himself, he managed to persuade the famous physicist Pyotr Kapitsa, who at that time taught at Oxford, to return to the USSR from England. There is also some information that at that time Fischer was in China several times, where he met and became friends with his colleague from the foreign department of the OGPU Rudolf Abel, under whose name he went down in history. After Alexander Orlov, the curator of residents in Western Europe, fled to the United States in early 1938, taking with him the cash desk of the NKVD, William Fisher was recalled to the USSR because he was in danger of being exposed. After working for a short time in the foreign intelligence apparatus in Moscow, on December 31, 1938, he was dismissed from the bodies without explanation and retired. After his dismissal, Fisher got a job first at the All-Union Chamber of Commerce, and six months later at an aircraft manufacturing plant, while constantly writing reports to the Central Committee with a request to reinstate him in intelligence.

When World War II began, William Fisher was remembered as a highly qualified specialist, and in September 1941 he was appointed head of the communications department in the central intelligence apparatus on Lubyanka. There is evidence that he was engaged in providing for the parade on November 7, 1941 on Red Square in Moscow. Until the end of the war, Fischer was engaged in the technical training of radio operators of sabotage groups that were sent to the German rear, including the countries occupied by Hitler. He taught radio at the Kuibyshev intelligence school, participated in radio games with German radio operators, including "Monastyr" and "Berezino". In the last of them, Fischer was able to fool such a German master of sabotage as Otto Skorzeny, who sent his best people to help the non-existent German underground on the territory of the USSR, where the Soviet special services were already waiting for them. Until the end of the war, the Germans did not know that they were deftly led by the nose. For his activities during the Patriotic War, he was awarded the Orders of Lenin and the Order of the Patriotic War, I degree.

Activities of Rudolf Abel in the USA

In the post-war years, when a "cold" confrontation with Western countries began, it was decided to use Fisher's many-sided talent to obtain information on the American atomic project. In 1948, under the official pseudonym "Mark", he was sent to illegal work in the United States, having an American passport in the name of the Lithuanian Andrew Kayotis. Already in America, he changed the legend and began to impersonate the German artist Emil Robert Goldfuss. He lived in New York, where he managed the Soviet intelligence network in the United States, having a photo studio in Brooklyn to cover. His subordinates acted independently of the Soviet residency with legal cover - diplomats, consular officers. Fisher had a separate radio communication system for communication with Moscow. As liaison agents, he had the later famous married couple Maurice and Leontine Coen. He managed to create a Soviet spy network not only in the United States, but also in Latin America - Mexico, Brazil, Argentina. In 1949, for obtaining important data regarding the American atomic experiment "Manhattan", William Fisher was awarded the Order of the Red Banner. He obtained information about the creation in the United States of the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Security Council, with a detailed list of tasks assigned to them.

In 1955, Fischer returned to the Soviet Union for several months when his close friend Rudolf Abel died. His intelligence career ended on June 25, 1957, when he was arrested by FBI agents at New York's Latham Hotel. Fischer was handed over by his partner, radio operator Reino Heihanen under the pseudonym "Vic". Since he was recalled to the USSR, where he could fall under repression, Reynaud decided not to return and told all he knew about the Soviet intelligence network to the American intelligence services. Only Fischer's pseudonym was known to Reynaud, so Fischer posed as his late friend Rudolf Abel during his arrest. By this, he insured himself that the Americans would not conduct a radio game on his behalf and made it clear to Moscow that he was not a traitor. In October 1957, in a New York federal court, an open trial began against Fisher-Abel, in which he was accused of espionage, his name became known not only in the United States, but throughout the world. He categorically refused to plead guilty to all charges, refused to testify in court and rejected all proposals of the American side for cooperation. In November 1957, Fisher was sentenced to 32 years in prison, serving his sentence in solitary confinement in Atlanta. From March 1958, he was allowed to correspond with his family, who remained in the Soviet Union.

On May 1, 1960, an American U-2 reconnaissance aircraft was shot down over Sverdlovsk. Pilot Francis Harry Powers, who piloted it, was taken prisoner. Protracted Soviet-American negotiations began on an exchange of spies. On February 10, 1962, an exchange procedure took place on the Glienicke Bridge between East and West Berlin. Since the Americans were well aware of the level of agent Fisher, in addition to Harry Powers, the Soviet side also had to transfer Frederick Pryer and Marvin Makinen, students convicted in the USSR for espionage. After his return, Fischer continued to work in the central intelligence apparatus. He acted as a consultant in the creation of the Soviet film about intelligence officers "Dead Season", where the facts of his own biography were filmed. Died November 15, 1971. In 2015, a memorial plaque was installed on the house where he lived during the war in Samara. In the same year, the film "Bridge of Spies" directed by Steven Spielberg was released in Hollywood, telling the story of William Fisher's life from the moment of arrest to the exchange.

Rudolf Ivanovich Abel(real name William Genrikhovich Fisher; July 11, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK - November 15, Moscow, USSR) - Soviet illegal intelligence officer, colonel. From 1948 he worked in the USA, in 1957 he was arrested as a result of betrayal. On February 10, 1962, he was exchanged for the pilot of an American reconnaissance aircraft, F. G. Powers, who was shot down over the USSR, and an American student, Frederick Pryor. (Frederick Pryor) on the "spy bridge" (Glienicki bridgeconnecting Berlin and Potsdam).

Biography

In 1920, the Fisher family returned to Russia and took Soviet citizenship without renouncing English, and together with the families of other prominent revolutionaries at one time lived on the territory of the Kremlin. Abel, upon arrival in the USSR, first worked as a translator in the Executive Committee of the Communist International (Comintern). Then he entered VKHUTEMAS.

In 1924 he entered the Institute of Oriental Studies, where, according to archival materials, he takes up the study of India, but a year later he was drafted into the army in the 1st Radiotelegraph Regiment of the Moscow Military District, where he received the specialty of a radio operator. He served together with E. T. Krenkel and the future artist Mikhail Tsarev. Having a natural inclination for technology, he became a very good radio operator, whose superiority was recognized by everyone.

After demobilization, he worked at the Research Institute of the Air Force of the Red Army as a radio engineer. He entered the foreign department of the OGPU on May 2, 1927. He was recommended to work in the Cheka by his wife's older sister, who worked there as a translator Serafima Lebedeva. In the central intelligence apparatus, he worked first as an interpreter (in the English direction), then as a radio operator.

On April 7, 1927, he marries a graduate of the Moscow Conservatory, harpist Elena Lebedeva. She was appreciated by the teacher - the famous harpist Vera Dulova. Subsequently, Elena became a professional musician. In 1929 their daughter was born.

In the very beginning of the 1930s, he applied to the British Embassy with permission to return to the West, which was received. Having received a passport, he left for Western Europe. He worked in the field of radio engineering, was engaged in commercial activities. He worked in the line of illegal intelligence in two European countries, simultaneously acting as a radio operator of residencies in several European countries, Norway, Denmark, and Scandinavian countries. During the second business trip, in the UK, he worked with members of the Cambridge Five. In the same place, he had to carry out an assignment to persuade the physicist Kapitsa to return to the USSR, which he succeeded. Was recalled from England due to Alexander Orlov's betrayal.

On December 31, 1938, he was dismissed from the NKVD (due to Beria's distrust of personnel working with "enemies of the people") with the rank of lieutenant of the State Security Service (captain) and worked for some time at the All-Union Chamber of Commerce, and then at an aircraft factory. Repeatedly applied with reports about his reinstatement in intelligence. He turned to his father's friend, the then secretary of the Central Committee of the party Andreev.

Since 1941, again in the NKVD, in a unit organizing a partisan war in the rear of the Germans. W. Fischer trained radio operators for partisan detachments and reconnaissance groups sent to the countries occupied by Germany. During this period, he met and worked with Rudolf Abel, whose name and biography he later used.

In November 1948, it was decided to send him to illegal work in the United States to obtain information from sources working at nuclear facilities. He moved under the name of the artist Emil Robert Goldfuss to the United States, where he led the Soviet intelligence network, and owned a photo studio in Brooklyn for cover. Spouses Coen were singled out as liaison agents for "Mark" (V. Fisher's pseudonym).

By the end of May 1949, Mark had resolved all organizational issues and was actively involved in the work. She was so successful that already in August 1949 he was awarded the Order of the Red Banner for specific results.

In 1955 he returned to Moscow for several months of summer and autumn.

Failure

To unload "Mark" from current affairs, in 1952, a radio operator of illegal intelligence Heyhanen (fin. Reino Häyhänen, pseudonym "Vic") was sent to help him. "Vik" turned out to be morally and psychologically unstable, and four years later it was decided to return to Moscow. However, "Vic" went on a betrayal, informed the American authorities about his work in illegal intelligence and gave out "Mark".

In 1957, "Mark" was arrested at the Latham Hotel in New York City by FBI agents. In those days, the leadership of the USSR stated that it was not engaged in espionage. In order to let Moscow know about his arrest and that he was not a traitor, William Fischer, during his arrest, named himself after his late friend Rudolf Abel. During the investigation, he categorically denied belonging to the intelligence service, refused to testify at the trial and rejected attempts by US intelligence officials to persuade him to betray.

He was sentenced to 32 years in prison (1957). After the announcement of the verdict, "Mark" was first held in solitary confinement at a New York remand prison, and then was transferred to a federal penitentiary in Atlanta. In conclusion, he was engaged in solving mathematical problems, art theory, and painting. He painted oil paintings.

Liberation