1 00:00:04,120 --> 00:00:09,679 Speaker 1: Welcome to Spycraft, a podcast that tells gripping life and 2 00:00:09,759 --> 00:00:14,000 death spy stories and the amazing devices and operations that 3 00:00:14,119 --> 00:00:17,679 made them possible. Now let's get started. 4 00:00:25,600 --> 00:00:29,519 Speaker 2: To they're gonna be looking at Double Agent Dmitri Polyakov, 5 00:00:29,800 --> 00:00:34,679 or Agent top Hat. Supposedly he is one of the 6 00:00:34,679 --> 00:00:37,039 greatest spies of the Cold War era, and we're going 7 00:00:37,119 --> 00:00:38,359 to be taking a look at him today. If you 8 00:00:38,359 --> 00:00:40,000 want to support on our podcast, make sure to share 9 00:00:40,000 --> 00:00:43,520 and subscribe. In nineteen eighty four, US spies monitoring the 10 00:00:43,520 --> 00:00:47,560 Soviet press found an alarming piece in a Russian magazine. 11 00:00:47,640 --> 00:00:50,880 It wasn't an expose aic officials in the Soviet Union 12 00:00:50,960 --> 00:00:54,240 or worrying incount about Cold War attitudes. No, it was 13 00:00:54,280 --> 00:00:59,759 a recipe for coot coot, a small waterbird that's common 14 00:00:59,759 --> 00:01:03,920 in the so in Europe. For CIA officials, that meant trouble. 15 00:01:04,239 --> 00:01:07,200 They had long in agreement with Russian double agent they 16 00:01:07,239 --> 00:01:09,480 called top Hat. If you wanted to get in touch 17 00:01:09,480 --> 00:01:13,680 with them, he'd indicate it by publishing the recipe. Was 18 00:01:13,760 --> 00:01:18,000 top Hat actually in danger? As it turns that out 19 00:01:18,439 --> 00:01:22,239 he was Soon after America's most valuable spy, Dmitri Poliakoff, 20 00:01:22,599 --> 00:01:26,920 a Polyakoff Plyakov fell off the map entirely. For nearly 21 00:01:26,959 --> 00:01:31,280 twenty five years, the Soviet military intelligence officer served as 22 00:01:31,319 --> 00:01:34,239 the United states most trusted resource on the Soviet military, 23 00:01:34,560 --> 00:01:39,079 providing reams of intelligence and becoming a legend. Poliakoff's documents 24 00:01:39,079 --> 00:01:41,400 and tips and formed US strategy in China during the 25 00:01:41,400 --> 00:01:43,680 Cold War and even helped the US military determine how 26 00:01:43,680 --> 00:01:47,400 to deal with Soviet era weapons. Whose credit with keeping 27 00:01:47,400 --> 00:01:48,879 the Cold War from boiling over? 28 00:01:50,319 --> 00:01:50,640 Speaker 3: Question? 29 00:01:50,719 --> 00:01:54,840 Speaker 2: Some asked, though, was Polyakoff a double agent or actually 30 00:01:54,879 --> 00:01:57,519 a triple agent, one who kept the US on a 31 00:01:57,719 --> 00:02:02,120 kind of a IV drip with false tips and misinformation? 32 00:02:03,480 --> 00:02:05,760 And what happened to him after his sudden disappearance. 33 00:02:06,680 --> 00:02:07,680 Speaker 3: Let's take a look back. 34 00:02:07,560 --> 00:02:09,360 Speaker 2: At a little bit of history from Poliakoff, and then 35 00:02:09,400 --> 00:02:12,080 we'll find that answer out. Piocoff was born what is 36 00:02:12,120 --> 00:02:13,840 now Ukraine in nineteen twenty one. 37 00:02:14,000 --> 00:02:16,080 Speaker 3: After serving in World War Two, he was recruited by the. 38 00:02:16,000 --> 00:02:20,039 Speaker 2: GRU the USSR's military intelligence agency. He wasn't the type 39 00:02:20,039 --> 00:02:22,400 of man anyone would peg as a spy, so son 40 00:02:22,400 --> 00:02:25,439 of a bookkeeper, he was unassuming father who did corpentry 41 00:02:25,879 --> 00:02:29,159 projects in a spare time. On the surface, he was 42 00:02:29,199 --> 00:02:32,680 a dutiful worker and a reliable gru asset, but as 43 00:02:32,680 --> 00:02:35,000 he rose to the ranks of the agency following protocol, 44 00:02:35,159 --> 00:02:39,639 he began to work to undermine the USSR itself. At 45 00:02:39,639 --> 00:02:43,319 the time, the gru had agents all around the world 46 00:02:44,080 --> 00:02:47,080 and was tasked with learning everything possible about American life. 47 00:02:47,560 --> 00:02:51,319 The US did the same thing with the USSR until 48 00:02:51,319 --> 00:02:54,840 Polyakoff offered himself to the CIA as a double agent. 49 00:02:56,919 --> 00:03:00,560 It was really difficult for the US to get information 50 00:03:00,639 --> 00:03:05,719 about the Soviet intelligence units, so when Polyakoff arrived, it 51 00:03:05,759 --> 00:03:08,919 was well received because they needed somebody on the inside. 52 00:03:09,280 --> 00:03:11,560 At the time, he was stationed at the Soviet Mission 53 00:03:11,599 --> 00:03:14,840 to the United Nations in New York. Though Poliakoff was 54 00:03:14,879 --> 00:03:18,439 fiercely loyal to the USSR, he was increasingly disgusted by 55 00:03:18,439 --> 00:03:20,840 what he saw is the corruption and impending failure of 56 00:03:20,879 --> 00:03:24,680 Soviet leaders, so he decided to offer his services to 57 00:03:24,759 --> 00:03:28,680 the US. One CIA officer who worked with Poliakoff believed 58 00:03:28,680 --> 00:03:31,319 his motivation to help the Americans stem from his service 59 00:03:31,319 --> 00:03:35,479 in World War Two. In Times magazine, Elaine Shannon says 60 00:03:35,479 --> 00:03:37,840 he contrasts to the horror of the carnage the things 61 00:03:37,840 --> 00:03:40,360 he fought for against the duplicity and corruption he saw 62 00:03:40,520 --> 00:03:45,159 developing in Russia. In Moscow, Poliakoff considered himself to be 63 00:03:45,199 --> 00:03:48,759 a Russian patriote. The author Ronald Kessler, who we've interviewed 64 00:03:48,759 --> 00:03:52,080 in other podcasts, The spy lived modestly and refused to 65 00:03:52,120 --> 00:03:54,800 accept large amounts of money for his work. Instead, he 66 00:03:54,840 --> 00:03:57,439 insisted on being paid only three thousand dollars a year, 67 00:03:57,919 --> 00:04:01,680 and the money wasn't delivered in cash. Instead, writes Kessler, 68 00:04:01,719 --> 00:04:04,680 Polyacoff accepted payment in the form of black and digger 69 00:04:04,759 --> 00:04:08,039 power tools, fishing gear, and shotguns. 70 00:04:08,520 --> 00:04:11,240 Speaker 3: It took years for the spy to prove his loyalty. 71 00:04:10,879 --> 00:04:14,240 Speaker 2: To skeptical US intelligence officials, but once he began to 72 00:04:14,240 --> 00:04:18,439 pass on information, mistrust turned to glee. Polyocoff provided a 73 00:04:18,480 --> 00:04:21,439 dizzying amount of material received by agents during fishing trips. 74 00:04:21,920 --> 00:04:24,279 You see, the spy as fishing rod, had a secret 75 00:04:24,360 --> 00:04:28,639 chamber for information, tucked into fake stones and flashed via 76 00:04:28,759 --> 00:04:32,360 radio transmissions. As a spy road pass CIA headquarters on 77 00:04:32,439 --> 00:04:37,120 a US embassy trolley. The information he passed along and proved, 78 00:04:37,120 --> 00:04:39,839 among other things, that relations between the USSR and China 79 00:04:39,879 --> 00:04:44,040 were becoming increasingly tense. Many people don't realize that China 80 00:04:44,079 --> 00:04:48,240 had their own perspective of communism and had their own 81 00:04:48,279 --> 00:04:51,319 plans for kind of like world domination, but especially in 82 00:04:51,360 --> 00:04:54,800 the Asian in the Asia area, they were looking to 83 00:04:54,879 --> 00:04:59,600 dominate the Asian territory over there. They didn't really care 84 00:04:59,639 --> 00:05:02,839 to get everything else. Russia, on the other hand, obviously 85 00:05:02,959 --> 00:05:06,680 right next to China at one part, wanted their help, 86 00:05:06,720 --> 00:05:09,439 but they also did trust them either, and this has 87 00:05:09,480 --> 00:05:12,959 also provided an opportunity for the US to provide a wedge. 88 00:05:13,560 --> 00:05:16,160 The US, in turn exploited those dynamics as it attempted 89 00:05:16,199 --> 00:05:19,000 to resume a relationship with China. They kind of played 90 00:05:19,000 --> 00:05:22,920 both sides. Piokoff also exposed the espionage of Frank Passard, 91 00:05:22,959 --> 00:05:26,279 a British military officer who was caught selling secrets to 92 00:05:26,399 --> 00:05:30,720 the Soviets. Biokoff was not only fearless, he was well 93 00:05:30,759 --> 00:05:33,920 positioned within the Soviet military, where he rose ranks in 94 00:05:33,959 --> 00:05:37,759 the gru year after year. He was absolutely at the top, 95 00:05:37,920 --> 00:05:41,519 says a former CIA officer, Sandy Grimes in a nineteen 96 00:05:41,600 --> 00:05:44,399 ninety eight interview. Because Poliakoff had access to so many 97 00:05:44,519 --> 00:05:47,680 kinds of information within this with the Soviet intelligence machine, 98 00:05:47,800 --> 00:05:54,959 he provided unprecedented information. In the meantime, Poliokoff took advantage 99 00:05:54,959 --> 00:05:56,959 of his role as a top officer in the GRU 100 00:05:57,040 --> 00:05:59,600 From his post in the US, he photographed massive numbers 101 00:05:59,600 --> 00:06:03,199 of doc He obtained information face to face from dangerous informants, 102 00:06:03,519 --> 00:06:06,240 and became a beloved asset to CIA officials, who gave 103 00:06:06,319 --> 00:06:09,240 him the freedom to choose his own tactics and even 104 00:06:09,480 --> 00:06:14,319 his own missions. Eventually, the information he passed along to 105 00:06:14,399 --> 00:06:15,480 the US filled. 106 00:06:15,240 --> 00:06:17,839 Speaker 3: Twenty five deep file drawers. 107 00:06:18,639 --> 00:06:22,199 Speaker 2: As poliakov climbed the ranks of the Musian military, continued 108 00:06:22,240 --> 00:06:26,480 providing invaluable information to US intelligence, But something happened. In 109 00:06:26,560 --> 00:06:28,959 nineteen eighty, the double agent was summoned back to Moscow. 110 00:06:29,720 --> 00:06:35,120 Then he suddenly retired and disappeared entirely. This unsettled members 111 00:06:35,120 --> 00:06:37,279 of the intelligence community, who knew that the Soviets had 112 00:06:37,319 --> 00:06:40,839 begun arresting and killing American agents. Though some insisted that 113 00:06:40,879 --> 00:06:44,439 Poliokoff had simply retired, others worried he had been executed. 114 00:06:45,399 --> 00:06:47,600 But then we fast forward to nineteen ninety. About a 115 00:06:47,600 --> 00:06:50,319 decade later, in a paper called Pravda, which was the 116 00:06:50,360 --> 00:06:54,800 Communist Party's official newspaper, and it proclaimed that Poliokov had 117 00:06:54,800 --> 00:06:58,600 been caught in the act of espionage. Puzzled intelligence experts 118 00:06:58,680 --> 00:07:01,720 argued about the purpose of the article, a rare mission 119 00:07:01,759 --> 00:07:04,079 that some Soviet spies had worked on behalf of the US. 120 00:07:04,879 --> 00:07:07,759 Does he lie in a trader's grave, as Pozdrev suggests, 121 00:07:07,839 --> 00:07:11,920 or is he a secret hero? Well expert Thomas Powers, 122 00:07:11,920 --> 00:07:15,240 an intelligence expert in the early times, Only one thing 123 00:07:15,240 --> 00:07:17,519 about the Polio case is now certain, he says. Whoever 124 00:07:17,519 --> 00:07:21,240 decided to publish the prodest story was certainly willing to remind. 125 00:07:20,959 --> 00:07:22,040 Speaker 3: The world, the core world. 126 00:07:22,399 --> 00:07:24,720 Speaker 2: The Cold War may be ending, but the intelligence war 127 00:07:25,199 --> 00:07:28,160 goes on forever. According to Pravda of the newspaper, the 128 00:07:28,199 --> 00:07:29,839 spy who had meant so much that the US had 129 00:07:29,879 --> 00:07:32,800 been convicted of treason and executed. 130 00:07:32,319 --> 00:07:33,519 Speaker 3: In nineteen eighty eight. 131 00:07:34,560 --> 00:07:37,759 Speaker 2: For years, the US suspected that Aldrich Ames, another American 132 00:07:37,800 --> 00:07:40,079 double agent who was convicted of vestpionage against the US 133 00:07:40,079 --> 00:07:43,040 in nineteen ninety four, had writted out Polakoff, But in 134 00:07:43,079 --> 00:07:45,560 the early two thousands, official discovery that Ames wasn't the 135 00:07:45,560 --> 00:07:48,920 only person who had contributed to the agent's downfall. In 136 00:07:48,920 --> 00:07:51,480 two thousand and one, former FBI agent Robert Hanson was 137 00:07:51,519 --> 00:07:54,319 accused of spying for Moscow, and FBI officials learned he 138 00:07:54,399 --> 00:07:57,959 had betrayed Polyakoff as well. 139 00:07:58,240 --> 00:08:00,800 Speaker 3: Hanson's a mission about Polyacoff's is a double. 140 00:08:00,600 --> 00:08:03,360 Speaker 2: Agent had taken place at least five years before Polyocoff 141 00:08:03,399 --> 00:08:05,639 was charged with espionage, around nineteen eighty three. 142 00:08:05,720 --> 00:08:08,079 Speaker 3: Then, so the question. 143 00:08:08,160 --> 00:08:10,519 Speaker 2: Asked now is was Polyocoff a real ascid or a 144 00:08:10,519 --> 00:08:13,759 triple crossing spy who had sown discordant, dead freshal information. 145 00:08:14,439 --> 00:08:17,600 High ranking intelligence officials maintained that Polocoff. 146 00:08:17,560 --> 00:08:20,120 Speaker 3: Was the real deal. The guy was legit. 147 00:08:21,120 --> 00:08:23,800 Speaker 2: This was a matter of tremendous courage, recalls Grimes, the 148 00:08:23,839 --> 00:08:28,399 CIA officer. Former CIA director Woolsey agreed. What General Bolyakoff 149 00:08:28,439 --> 00:08:30,600 did for the West didn't just help us win the 150 00:08:30,639 --> 00:08:32,399 Cold War, he told the report in two thousand and one, 151 00:08:32,399 --> 00:08:36,759 and he kept the Cold War from getting hot. So 152 00:08:36,879 --> 00:08:40,000 it appears that Polyakoff did die. Now, who sent that 153 00:08:40,080 --> 00:08:46,679 other letter with his information with his code? Well, that's interesting. 154 00:08:49,399 --> 00:08:51,399 Remember I said, there was an alarming piece in a 155 00:08:51,440 --> 00:08:55,080 Russian newspaper that had that recipe for the small water bird, 156 00:08:55,120 --> 00:08:57,879 and that's common in eastern Europe. That was just about 157 00:08:57,879 --> 00:09:01,799 the time they had found out about Polyakoff. Remember Richard Hansen, 158 00:09:01,840 --> 00:09:04,679 it seems like turned him in right around nineteen eighty three, 159 00:09:04,759 --> 00:09:07,399 he said, not sure when Alder James turned him in, 160 00:09:08,360 --> 00:09:10,519 but in nineteen eighty four is when the US spies 161 00:09:10,600 --> 00:09:14,200 monitoring the Soviet press found that alarming piece in the 162 00:09:14,240 --> 00:09:15,159 Russian magazine. 163 00:09:15,960 --> 00:09:16,600 Speaker 3: So it looks like. 164 00:09:16,600 --> 00:09:21,320 Speaker 2: Everything fits the timeline, and unfortunately, Dmitri Polakoff probably met 165 00:09:21,360 --> 00:09:26,360 his demise right around nineteen eighty eight. So again, one 166 00:09:26,360 --> 00:09:29,600 of the Corold War's greatest spies and unlikely and likely 167 00:09:29,639 --> 00:09:32,480 the most damaging mole in the history of Soviet intelligence.