The Petrov
In the early 1950's Australia was rocked by the largest spy scandal in its history. In April 1954, a Soviet operative called Vladimir Petrov defected to Australia. His wife Evdokia followed him soon thereafter. It was an instant news sensation worldwide. What made it even more appealing as a news item was the fact that Evdokia Petrov was forcibly removed from the custody of Soviet field agents by Australian security forces, causing an uproar in both Australia and the Soviet Union. The loss of Vladimir and Evdokia Petrov caused serious damaged to the operational ability of the KGB, as both defectors were specialists in encryption/decryption and knew Soviet codes very well. The Petrovs were given false identities and lived out the rest of their lives in Australia.Vladimir Petrov was born in 1907 to a family of peasants living in Siberia. His working life began as a blacksmith's apprentice in 1919. Soon thereafter, he joined the Communist Youth Movement (Komsomol) and finished high school under the system of Soviet indoctrination. In 1930, the young Vladimir Petrov joined the Soviet Navy, but was recalled to Moscow in 1933 and allowed to enlist in the OGPU (later renamed as the KGB) . He began serving in China in 1937, however h
Following the conclusion of the war, Petrov returned to the KGB head quarters, where he spent the next several years until he received a new assignment: he was to be a consul (effectively spy-master) in the Soviet Embassy in Canberra. His assignment was to create a full-scale spy ring in Australia and then to wage an espionage campaign against the country. His wife (Evdokia Petrov), a cipher clerk, came with him to Australia. However, Petrov's mission was a failure. Not enough government contacts could be found to provide him with information. KGB chief Lavernti Beria became increasingly hostile toward Petrov, openly criticising, bullying and lambasting him in every communique. Petrov became embittered against the Soviet regime. However, suddenly, chief Beria was arrested and executed. Petrov too was recalled to Moscow, but he knew what was in store for him if he went. So he did the only thing he thought he could do: he began talking to a known operative of the Australian intelligence agencies. Petrov asked the Australians for political asylum on April 3rd 1954. Unfortunately he hadn't told his wife he was defecting. However, he was brought to a safe house and with him came many Soviet d
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Approximate Word count = 807
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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