Dmitri Polyakov
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Dmitri Polyakov (1926 - March 15, 1988) was an officier in the Soviet army's military intelligence unit, the GRU. Starting in 1961, he began revealing Soviet secrets to the CIA. He was known by code names "Top Hat", "Bourbon", and "Roam."
Born in 1921 in the Ukraine, he served as an artillery officier in the WWII and was decorated for bravery. After the war and his studies, he became a spy with the GRU. His first mission was with the Soviet delegation to the United Nations in New York in the 1950s. On his second assignment there, in 1961, he approached FBI counterintelligence agents to offer his services as an informant.
Some in the CIA feel that Polykov became a mole because he was disgusted with the corruption of the Soviet leadership. [1]. Victor Cherkashin suggested that he was embittered because Soviet leadership denied him permission to take his seriously ill son, the youngest of three, to a hospital in New York where he could get adequate medical attention. This son died as a result of the illness, and soon after, Polykov began his informant activities.[2]
For 25 years he remained a CIA-informant as he rose through the ranks, eventually becoming a general. CIA officers speak in superlatives about the kind of information he provided. Sandy Grimes said of him, "Polyakov was our crown jewel,... the best source at least to my knowledge that American intelligence has ever had and I would submit, although I certainly can't be certain, but the best source that any intelligence service has ever had."[3] James Woolsey said of him, "Polyakov was the jewel in the crown."[4] According to all accounts, he was not interested in money, but was acting purely from principle.
Among the important information Polykov provided:
- Evidence of the growing rift between the Soviet Union and China. This information played a crucial role in President Nixon's decision to open diplomatic relations with China in 1972.
- Technical data on Soviet-made antitank missiles. While the US never fought the Soviet Union directly, knowledge of these weapons proved invaluable when Iraq employed them in the first Gulf War.
In 1980 Polykov retired, and, an avid sportman, wrote articles for a Soviet hunting magazine. Suddenly, in 1986, all evidence of Polykov disappeared. His contacts at the CIA had no information about what might have happened to him. Only later, it became clear that he was betrayed by Aldrich Ames. In all likelihood, he received what the Russians call vyshaya mera, the highest measure of punishment (a practice from Stalin's era) --- he was taken to a room, made to kneel, and shot in the back of the head, in such a way that would make his face entirely unrecognizable. He was buried in a common unmarked grave.
CIA officer Jeanne Vertefeuille said, "He didn’t do this for money. He insisted on staying in place to help us. It was a bad day for us when we lost him." [5]
