sign in sign up
<<
Home , Alan Nunn May, Cambridge Five, Donald Maclean (spy), Fred Rose (politician), Gouzenko Affair, Sam Carr

Page 1 of 3

Researched and Written by: Capt (N) (Ret’d) . Braham Edited by: Julia Beingessner approximately 8:00 pm, Gouzenko, Introduction: Igor armed with 109 highly sensitive Sergeyevich documents, left the Soviet Embassy Gouzenko (January for the last time. He initially went to 13, 1919 – June 28, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, 1982) was a cipher but the RCMP officers on duty refused clerk for the Soviet to believe his story. He then went to Embassy to the Journal newspaper, but in Ottawa. He the paper's night editor was not defected on interested, and suggested he go to the September 5, 1945, with 109 Department of Justice – however, documents on Soviet nobody was on duty there when he activities in the West. This forced arrived. Prime Minister Mackenzie King to call a Terrified that the Soviets had Royal Commission to investigate discovered his duplicity, he went back espionage in Canada. to his apartment and hid his family in Gouzenko exposed Joseph Stalin's a neighbour’s apartment across the efforts to steal nuclear secrets, and hall for the night. Gouzenko watched the technique of planting sleeper through the neighbour’s keyhole as a agents. The "" is often group of Soviet agents broke into his credited as a triggering event of the apartment. They began searching . through his belongings, and only left when confronted by Ottawa police. Background: Gouzenko was born to a Ukrainian family on January 26, 1919, in the village of Rogachevo, not far from Moscow. At the start of World War II, he joined the military, where he trained as a cipher clerk. In 1943, he was stationed in Ottawa, where for two years he enciphered outgoing messages and deciphered incoming messages for the GRU (Soviet Military Gouzenko’s 511 Somerset St. Apt. in Intelligence). His position gave him 2007 knowledge of Soviet espionage activities in the West. The next day Gouzenko was able to find contacts in the RCMP who were : In 1945, hearing that he willing to examine the evidence he and his family were to be sent home had removed from the Soviet to the he decided to embassy. Gouzenko was transported defect. On September 5, 1945 at by the RCMP to the secret "",

Fact Sheet #56 Published by: The Friends of the Canadian War Museum

IGOR GOUZENKO

Page 2 of 3 located in present-day Oshawa. Camp investigations in Britain and North X had been used during World War II America. His testimony is believed to as a training station for Allied have been vital in the successful undercover personnel. While there, prosecution of , the Gouzenko was interviewed by German communist physicist who investigators from Britain's MI5, and emigrated to Britain and who later from the US Federal Bureau of stole atomic secrets for the Soviets. Investigation. It is also likely that his information helped in the investigation of Julius

It has been alleged that, Prime and Ethel Rosenberg in the U.S. Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King Gouzenko’s information likely also initially wanted nothing to do with assisted with the investigation which him. Even with Gouzenko in hiding eventually led to the discovery of vital and under RCMP protection, King Soviet spies such as , reportedly pushed for a diplomatic , , Anthony solution to avoid upsetting the Soviet Blunt, and (the so- Union, still a wartime ally and called ), as well as ostensible friend. .

Ramifications: The evidence Later Life: Gouzenko and his family provided by Gouzenko led to the were given another identity by the arrest of 39 suspects in Canada and Canadian government out of fear of 18 were eventually convicted of a Soviet reprisals. Gouzenko lived the variety of offences. Among those rest of his life under the assumed convicted were , the only name of George Brown. Little is known Communist Member of Parliament in about his life afterwards, but it is the Canadian House of Commons; understood that he and his wife , the Communist Party's settled down to a middle class national organizer; and scientist existence under their assumed name Raymond Boyer. in the Toronto suburb of Clarkson. They raised eight children together. A Royal Commission of Inquiry to He was, however, involved in a investigate espionage, headed by defamation case against Maclean's for Justice and Justice a libelous article written about him. Roy Kellock, was conducted into the The case was eventually heard by the Gouzenko Affair and his evidence of a . Soviet spy ring in Canada. It alerted other countries around the world, Gouzenko wrote two books, This Was particularly the and the My Choice, a non-fiction account of his , that Soviet agents defection, and the novel The Fall of a had almost certainly infiltrated their Titan, which won a Governor General's nations as well. Award in 1954. Gouzenko also appeared routinely on television to Gouzenko’s information assisted greatly with ongoing espionage

Fact Sheet #56 Published by: The Friends of the Canadian War Museum

IGOR GOUZENKO

Page 3 of 3 promote his books, always with a hood over his head.

Gouzenko died of a heart attack in 1982 in Mississauga. His Captain (N) (Ret’d) M. Braham, CD grave was not initially marked. Svetlana died in September 2001 and was buried next to him. It was only in 2002 that the family put up a headstone.

In June 2003, the city of Ottawa, and in April 2004, the federal government, put up memorial plaques in Dundonald Park commemorating the Soviet defector. It was from this park that Mike Braham is a graduate of RCMP agents monitored Gouzenko's the Royal Military College apartment across the street the night (1965) and a former naval men from the Soviet embassy came officer and senior official with looking for him. DND. He has an abiding interest in military history. References: in1. milhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wi ki/Igor_Gouzenko

2. http://www.campxhistoric alsociety.ca/gouzenko.htm

3. http://home.ca.inter.net/ ~hagelin/gouzenko.html

4. http://www.coldwar.org/ar ticles/40s/IgorGouzenko.a sp

5. http://www.thecanadianen cyclopedia.com/index.cfm ?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1A RTA0003346

Fact Sheet #56 Published by: The Friends of the Canadian War Museum