Shvets Yury, former Soviet intelligence officer: biography

Intelligence was the elite of the Soviet secret services. Military intelligence officers were called "fighters of the invisible front", they were trusted by the country's leadership. But foreign intelligence has generated a concept such as treason. Defectors always created a lot of problems, because they revealed to the enemy all their activities, methods and strategies. This led to the need to do anew very hard work. The defectors did not stop even the fact that people involved in such actions would necessarily be extradited and could no longer go unnoticed.

Previously, such information was not disclosed, but with the beginning of perestroika and freedom of speech, a lot of secret facts were made public. The article will tell you about who Yuri Shvets (KGB) is, the biography of the former secret agent will be considered in this material.

What led to the emergence of defectors?

What preceded the emergence of defectors in the circles of the elite unit? At the same time, when Shvets Yuri left the country, some other former Soviet scouts followed suit. Of course, the specific reasons for this were different for everyone, but there was a general solution in the decision of the former scouts.

Many leaders of the special services wrote about the mood that prevailed at that time. This is both LV Shebarshin and NS Leonov. At the same time, it included not only higher ranks, but also ordinary employees. Most of the employees were frightened of the futility of further work. Neither the increase, nor about a decent pension, it was not. Some began to engage in commercial activities. But only a few of them were in the trade of the Motherland.

How did Yury Shvets become a scout?

Shvets Yuri is a native of Ukraine. The Scout was born in the fifty-second year of the last century.

After graduating from high school, Shvets became a student of the Russian University of Peoples' Friendship. The study was given to him quite easily, since he was an exemplary and assiduous. I was noted in the study of foreign languages. Yuri knew the English language perfectly, which was a compulsory subject. He also speaks Spanish and French well.

Before the end of the university, he and two other fellow students were interviewed by the State Security Committee. They were selected among a dozen invited students.

Shvets got a job in the First Main Directorate of the KGB of the USSR and entered the Red Banner Academy of Foreign Intelligence. His classmate was Russian President Vladimir Putin.

How did the scout's career begin?

Shvets Yuri was quite an ordinary worker of the special services. At first it was determined by the First Main Directorate in the Center of the First Department. This department was engaged in the North American direction.

Soon, Yuri Shvets (KGB) was sent on a business trip to the United States capital. In Washington, he worked under the guise of another person - a correspondent for the Central State Information Agency.

The Soviet agent surprised everyone by being able to recruit John Helmer. He was a very tasty morsel for the Soviet services, since he was previously a member of the administration of President Carter. After numerous checks, the American received the call sign Socrates.

Why there was a precipitous drop?

The special services of the world are not particularly trusted. And in this situation, the commanders of Soviet intelligence considered a rather reckless connection between Shvets and American Helmer. According to the Center, the case was not clean. Indirectly also influenced by the bad habit of the agent, namely, addiction to alcohol. In this regard, the captain in 1987 was returned to his homeland.

Shvets Yuri, a scout who worked abroad, was demoted. Instead of the prestigious First Department, he received a post in the Intelligence Department on the territory of the Soviet Union. Despite this humiliation, the KGB man was not greatly outraged. He still conscientiously fulfilled his duties. For his work, Shvets was even awarded a new military rank. However, he ceased to see himself in this sphere, and, in the absence of further prospects, decided to leave.

But on the dismissal of the radical actions of Shvets did not end. In the ninety-first year he left the Komsomol party. However, the former intelligence agent was not interested in other special services of the world. He began to write a book about his former work.

The Foreign Intelligence Service very quickly learned about this. The agent was gently asked to curtail this creative activity. He was personally hinted at by his former chief, Colonel Bychkov. Yuri was warned about the possible consequences of divulging state secrets. He was forbidden to engage in any publishing activities. He did not have to keep in touch with domestic or foreign printing houses without the knowledge of the Service. But, despite this, the former scout tried to cooperate with Soviet publishers, however, everywhere he was denied publication. Yuri realized that he could realize his idea only abroad. For exile, the former scout chose the United States, because there, in his opinion, would be able to release his book.

How did the former scout go to America?

Shvets Yuri only in the ninety-third year began to draw up documents for traveling abroad. The State Migration Service, of course, requested additional information about such a specific person. The intelligence had to decide whether to let his former employee leave the state. However, the Office categorically objected to the issuance of a foreign passport to Shvets. But since the visa was commercialized, he took advantage of this opportunity and emigrated to the United States. To do this, he first had to go to the Baltic States.

External intelligence provided Shvets with a companion and friend for that difficult period. He became the former agent of the First Main Directorate of the KGB, Valentin Aksilenko. Their career was very similar, since both once worked in America.

How did the work on the book begin?

Thanks to the acquaintance of the collaborator of Shvets with the American Brenda Lipson, friends were awarded a meeting with the literary agent John Brockman. Their acquaintance occurred in February ninety-third year. However Brockman, as a high-profile specialist, did not appreciate the creativity of the former scouts. The first manuscript was called "I always acted in my own way." The agent said that from a professional point of view, the book of such content can not be of an artistic nature. His suggestion was to rewrite the manuscript into a more dry documentary version. Aksilenko and Shvets began to settle in Virginia, and with renewed vigor they began to work on the book.

The whole work was remade. Even the name changed Shvets. "Washington residency: my life is a KGB spy in America" - it was with the work under this name that the Simon and Schuster publishing house, located in New York, was introduced in April of 1999.

How was the book perceived in society?

Naturally, such creativity aroused the interest of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. American agents carefully studied the contents of the manuscript. But their decision was quite unexpected - they sent Shvets and Aksilenko an alert that they would soon be deported from the United States.

The book attracted much attention from the media. The headlines were full of names. In the articles often flashed information that the authors of the "Washington residency" were recruited by the CIA, which almost dictated to them the whole text. There was even a statement that the authors helped to expose Kagebeshnik O. Ames.

The Russian press hurried to condemn Yuri Shvets. But the former scout in reply sent a letter to the notorious newspaper Moskovskie Novosti. His daring trick in the form of such treatment caused a lot of angry responses. And the whole point is that he expressed all that he thought about the Office, in which he worked on the acting Foreign Intelligence Service.

What happened after publishing the manuscript?

Despite the public's expectation of a sensation, nothing like this happened. The book did not disclose any military secrets. There was nothing scandalous or unusual on the pages, although some points are of interest.

Despite the desire of Yuri Shvets, his work was not published in Russia. At home, the former scout is considered a traitor, and no one wants to contact with such a scout.

What is the former scout doing today?

At the moment, the plans of the former KGB officer for a future future include the development of their own business outside the United States. Shvets sees a perspective for advancing his cause in post-socialist countries, Latin America, Asia or Africa.

The former agent is currently working as a financial analyst. He is the head of the company for data collection and commercial risk assessment.