CHAPTER 1
"There is no evil without good."
A Russian Proverb
November 23, 1963
Sasha first heard the news from Mackye. He had just concludedthe phone conversation with his father he had promised himselfhe would make. General Viktor Katsanov had cut his teeth inthe Soviet Army after Lenin's revolution and worked himself upthrough the ranks to the grade of lieutenant general. He was nowretired and caring for his ailing wife. Sasha had missed being closeto his parents during his extended period in the United States. Heattempted now to be in touch with them as frequently as possible,and especially now he wanted to get his father's thoughts on theassassination of the U.S. president.
Mackye had called him on his secure phone line from herKGB office across the city. "Sasha, have you heard? The Americanpolice arrested a man last night shortly after the assassination ofthe American president. They have accused him of the murder."
"His name is ..." She paused and tried to phoneticallypronounce it ... "Ozz ... ah ... vald ... or something like that."
Sasha's direct phone to the Director rang. "Mackye, no, I havenot heard that news. But thank you for the call, Dear, I must go!It's the general's phone. Later, goodbye."
He grabbed the red hand piece of the ringing telephone. GeneralTushenskiy's executive officer, Major Sitkov, summoned Sasha tothe General's office. He departed immediately. Upon arrival, theaide admitted him in.
"Do'briy d'en! Sasha. Come in, sit down."
"Do'briy d'en! General."
"Sasha, the American police have arrested a man whom theybelieve to be the assassin of their president. His name is Oswald,Lee Harvey Oswald. Undoubtedly, he is an American for which wecan be thankful. We are still collecting information."
Tushenskiy continued while Sasha listened to the sparse detailsof the news he had already heard a few moments before fromMackye. "Sasha, do you recall any talk or discussions by any ofour people operating in the United States with whom you came incontact relative to such deeds as eliminating American leaders?Ever? We have some very zealous people over there, workingfor both the GRU and the KGB ... Any thoughts about thatpossibility?"
Sasha responded immediately, "No, General, but my contactswith our own people were extremely limited and relativelylow-level. There were only two, no, three of our agents that I metwhile I was transitioning through New York after I first arrived inthe U.S. One was Russian and the couple who assisted me, I amsure, were Americans working for us."
Tushenskiy motioned for him to take a chair while hecontinued, "In Cleveland I only met two of our people; thereafter,only one contact agent met me at each location where I wasstationed. The only exception was at the airfield in the state ofGeorgia where I was sent to pilot school. My contact there wasRussian and presumably KGB, as was his wife. In fact, they hada daughter whom I had met here at Khodinka, and she came to theUnited States to attend college. She is back in Moscow now andworks for Intourist at the National Hotel, but I don't know whereher parents are. None of these people ever alluded to anything suchas you have asked."
"Our organizations are spread far and wide," Tushenskiyresponded. "Even in my position, or that of General Kashevarov,we do not know everything about our people. Your own experiencecan attest to that. We place considerable trust in our senior officialsoutside our country to make the proper judgments. Well, since youaccompanied me last evening, I wanted to bring you up to date onthe unraveling situation."
Sasha stood to depart the office and asked, "General, if this isan improper question, please tell me, but are our Spetsnaz agentsoperating within the United States?"
Tushenskiy mused for a moment. "Sasha, every category ofagent of the GRU and the KGB operate all over the world. Yes, wehave a small Spetsnaz detachment operating in the U.S., but theirmission is not one of peacetime assassination. They are attachedto the rezidentura provided by the Soviet Embassy in Washingtonand a few other locations. Their work has to do with intelligencecollection of information vital to our government, and in the eventof a war, to mobilize local support. Of course, should the UnitedStates move to engage the Soviet Union in open warfare, theSpetsnaz is prepared to take out key enemy leaders."
Tushenskiy paused. "Now all of that is highly sensitive, but,nevertheless, it is a part of our contingency planning. I believe thatpresently we have no more than ten Spetsnaz officers and perhaps ahundred men and women under them operating out of our embassythere. As you are aware, our agents bring valuable informationback to us regarding U.S. and Western systems and tactics. Thereare likely several special tactics people among those assignedthere, but you raise a good question. Perhaps I need an accountingof our activities in the U.S. That's a good thought, Sasha. Thankyou!"
The day would once again run long into the night. The general'sphone rang again. It was 9:00 p.m. and Sasha answered. "Dah,General?"
"Colonel, this is Major Sitkov. The general wishes you to cometo his office immediately."
Sasha half-walked and half-ran once again to the buildingwhere the Director General's office was located. It was a crisp andcold evening, and the fresh air felt good on his face. He receivedthese summonses frequently, but he intuitively knew that this onehad to do with the American president's assassination.
When he entered Tushenskiy's outer office, the office staffwas in high gear, answering telephones and looking busy. The aideushered him into Tushenskiy's private office where a half dozenmembers of the GRU senior staff were gathered. Sasha recognizedmost of them. Several turned and looked somewhat surprised at hisbeing there.
Tushenskiy entered his office from a private side door entrance.The concern in his face was obvious. "Sit down, Comrades."
He thumbed through the several papers he had carried in withhim and sat down behind his desk. The others each took a seat inthe various chairs around the spacious office. Sasha, in keepingwith his junior status to the generals in the room, took a chair as farback as he could. He had not been in this arena of so many heaviesin the general's office before.
Tushenskiy finally spoke, "Comrades, we may have a seriousproblem on our hands. The individual who has been arrested andnow accused of killing the American president lived in the SovietUnion from 1959 until just last year—specifically, from October1959 until January 1960—for a brief time right here in Moscow!He was also provided an Intourist guide or attendant, whatever, aRima Shirokova. How many foreigners come into our country andare provided a personal escort? Comrades, this smells!"
The room was quiet except for an occasional stifled gaspor wheeze when one of the officers took a deep breath into hisnicotine-filled lungs. In the typical manner of age-old Russianculture, Sasha could feel paranoia was setting in with those in theroom. He could see the fidgeting of several of the officers as if theywere about to burst out with an unsolicited denial, or confession, ofany knowledge of this individual.
He continued, "I am informed that after the American was inMoscow for a week, he was told by Intourist that his visa was upand that he must leave. There is some mystery following this event.As the story unfolds, he apparently tried to commit suicide bycutting his wrist. The wound was superficial, but nevertheless, hewas admitted to Botkinskaya Hospital for another week, the 21st to 28thof October 1959. During this time, he also renounced his U.S.citizenship to his Intourist attendant and asked that she seek asylumin Russia for him. Following his release from the hospital and aftera further review of this very odd case, he remained in Moscow atthe Metropole Hotel until he was sent to Minsk ... Why Minsk wemust wonder? Why not send him back to the United States? Hisvisa had expired."
He looked around the room observing the impact of hisrevelations. "Do we presume the KGB arranged this? No oneprofesses to know why to Minsk. Perhaps just to get him out ofMoscow temporarily? Why? Who paid for his hotel and livingexpenses while he was here in Moscow? How about his hospitalexpenses? Did this so-called derelict, as our KGB friends arereferring to him, have the means to live in two different Moscowhotels for almost three months? Is anyone curious that our KGBfriends manage the foreign clientele at both the Berlin and theMetropole where he stayed? Who directed him to go to Minsk?Intourist? The KGB? Strange, no one seems to have the answers tothese questions."
Tushenskiy, although angry, appeared to also be having somedelight in teasing his generals, particularly his intelligence chief,with the abundance of information he had collected.
"This mystery man finally departed Moscow for Minsk onJanuary 7, 1960," Tushenskiy continued. "But, Comrades, beforehe left Moscow by train, he was given 5,000 Rubles by Intouristto pay for his Metropole Hotel stay and train fare. While inMinsk, he was apparently very busy; he quickly met and marrieda Byelorussian girl, a Marina Prusakova, joined a hunting cluband bought a shotgun. Now hear this, Comrades. He was aneenastrah'nets!" He repeated, "A foreigner!"
Tushenskiy then raised his voice for the first time. "AnAmerican living in the Soviet Union marries a Soviet citizen ...and just goes out and buys a gun!"
He chuckled as if to find some cynical folly in the absurdityof what he was revealing. His mood stiffened quickly; he lookedsternly around the room at his staff officers and continued. "Thisman was also provided a job as a machinist at the Belarus Radioand Television Factory. Let me quickly state that our friends in theKGB over at Lubiyanka are sweating blood right now over all ofthis, and," he added, "perhaps we should be also. How is it that aforeigner, an American and a former U.S. military man, a Marine,can apparently freely roam around our country for almost threeyears, marry one of our citizens, buy a gun and no one appears tobe the wiser? This is just too bizarre!"
The room remained still. None of those present responded tothe General's remarks. Only occasional heavy breathing and somewheezing could be detected.
Tushenskiy, in a low voice, not overly forceful, homed in onGeneral Gurenko. "Mikhail, were any of your operatives aware ofthis man while he was in this country? Do you have any knowledgeof this treacherous event in the United States? Are your operativesin the U.S. under control?"
Major General Mikhail Gurenko headed the GRU ThirdDepartment, Spetsnaz. Sasha had observed months earlier thatGurenko was a smoothly polished officer, apparently well-educatedand did not reflect the appearance of a member associated with thedreaded reputation of the Spetsnaz.
The special force was the true elite of all the Soviet armedforces and very similar in nature to the Nazi SS during World WarII. Its members were carefully recruited for their intelligence andathletic skills. They numbered in the tens of thousands and weredispatched in small units all over the world. The members weretrained specialists in sabotage, espionage and assassination. Withinthe Soviet Union they were organized into traditional companies,brigades and divisions, but were also selectively placed withinregular airborne, infantry, communications and armored units.
"The Spetsnaz members in these units are sleeping agents."Sasha had been briefed. "They are made to look like any othersoldier by wearing the same uniforms of the unit to which they areassigned. In these special assignments they are ever ready to springinto action when hostilities break out and take the lead over theregular troops," he was told.
He had also learned that in foreign countries, such as theUnited States, they were usually assigned to work out of theSoviet Embassy and made to look the part of a bureaucrat oradministrative staff. When called upon, their mission was to disruptstate governments, take out leaders and cause general chaos withinthe public sector.
General Gurenko had been the head of Spetsnaz for severalyears and held the full confidence of Tushenskiy. He was nota former Spetsnaz member himself. Tushenskiy, as did hispredecessors, held a basic distrust for the career Spetsnaz soldier orofficer.
Gurenko responded, "Tavah'reeshch General, I have nopersonal knowledge of this American or his alleged deeds, but Iassure you that I will promptly conduct an investigation within myunits. Sir, let me assure you that neither I, nor any of my officerswould conduct nor tolerate such an act as this assassination withoutdirect orders. And further, Sir, we would never recruit a foreignerinto our ranks. That is a very dubious KGB tactic which we do notemploy."
Sasha knew better than Gurenko's last statement. He hadbeen accurately told that the Spetsnaz used any and every tactic,including the exploitation of foreigners to carry out their deeds.
Gurenko paused and continued, "Sir, if I might add, I wouldthoroughly question such directions if they were given to me. Thistragic event is not in the best interests of our government or ourfuture goals." Gurenko was also a shrewd apparatchik.
Tushenskiy appeared satisfied with the Spetsnaz chief'sresponse. "Thank you, Comrade Mikhail, and please, I am notsingling you out. Now, let me hear from the others of you. Do anyof you have any knowledge of this man, Oswald, the fact that hespent almost three years in the Soviet Union? A former AmericanMarine! Are we losing our edge?"
Unlike the Soviet Premier the evening before, Tushenskiy didnot shout, pound his desk or berate the officers before him. Hisdemeanor remained calm and pleasant, although seriously focused.
"He would have made a good American general," Sashamused.
Each of the other GRU directorate heads and staff membersresponded, "Nyet, Nyet," to Tushenskiy's questions.
Sasha wondered how they were each pondering thisinternational incident. Are they sincerely remorseful andsympathetic about the death of the American president? Are theyconcerned about the potential impact on the world at large and theSoviet Union in particular? Or, are they, most likely, really worriedabout their own skins right now?
Tushenskiy listened to each of his staff deny any knowledge ofthe assassination or the perpetrator, and continued. "Permit me toenlighten you even more, Comrades, about this mystery man whoapparently roamed around our country for almost three years. Hehad arrived in Helsinki from London on 10 October 1959, likely byboat. We don't know yet how he got to London, perhaps by air orboat. He applied for a Soviet Tourist Visa on 12 October and wasissued the visa on 14 October. The number of the visa was 40339for those of you into details."
"But comrades," he emphasized, "the normal processing timefor foreign visitor visas is one to two weeks. He received it in twodays! I have a question for you, Comrades. Who expedited thisforeigner's visa? And, why?"
Tushenskiy continued, taking delight in the fact that he hadfar more information than his senior staff officers. "The visa thisman received was for a six-day visit. He departed Helsinki forLeningrad by train on 15 October and on to Moscow, arriving onthe morning of the 16th. Our friends at Lubiyanka are still tryingto figure out who besides Intourist was assigned to monitor himduring his stay in Moscow. They do know that he stayed at theHotel Berlin before he apparently cut his wrist to prolong his stay.He was then lodged at the Metropole after he was released fromthe hospital."
He pressed the issues. "The questions are numerous, Comrades.Why did he come to Russia? Who did he contact while in Moscowbesides the Intourist people? Did anyone monitor his activitieswhile he was staying in the Berlin, the Metropole? Why was he socoddled and looked after like a dignitary? Or, was this man underthe control and management of the KGB all the time?"
None of the GRU senior staff officers spoke, quietly shakingtheir heads in response.
Tushenskiy made eye contact with Sasha. "Colonel Katsanov,you have had the opportunity to visit the United States in recentyears. What is your assessment of this tragedy?"
The generals seated around the room, anxious to find adiversion from their own questioning, quickly turned their headstoward Sasha. Few were ever aware of Sasha's long-term escapadein the United States. Those who were briefed on his operation werealso held to absolute secrecy.
Sasha, surprised at being called upon, quickly stood to respond.
Tushenskiy smiled. "Please be seated, Sasha. Give us yourthoughts on what we are discussing here."
"Sir, I am afraid that I can offer little to that which has beendiscussed. I believe that the loss of the American presidentis indeed a tragedy. He was a recognized world leader, and itappeared to me that even after our disagreement over Cuba lastyear he has not held our government in contempt. Relations seemedto be improving. With regard to the accused assassin living in ourcountry for such an extended period and with such apparent freereign, it should concern all of us! If the facts as you have revealedto us are accurate, there is much room for the United States to onceagain look upon us with great suspicion."
A bit nervous at finding himself the center of attention in theroom with so much military seniority, he continued. "Through mystudies and brief experience in the United States, I have learnedthat the Americans are a very benevolent society. They are notprone to over react to crises, but rather evaluate the circumstancesrationally. So, I would not expect their politicians to initially jumpto hostile accusations regarding this man's alleged relationshipwith our country. Sir, that is about all I can add to this very serioussituation."
"Thank you, Sasha. I believe that we can all agree with yourthoughtful comments. Comrades, I apologize for keeping you allso late this evening. I ask that each of you carefully monitor yourown sources of information, and please advise me of anything youbelieve to be important. Dobre'niche."
