RUSSIAN OFFICER DEFECTS TO U.S., REVEALS SPY RING

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP73B00296R000500190028-7
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 11
• Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 18, 2005
• Sequence Number: 28
• Publication Date: October 17, 1967
• Content Type: NSPR

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124 : ( IA-~RDP73B00296R000500190028-7
Russian Officer
Defects to U.S.,
Reveals Spy Ring
Woman Agent
In Germany
Hangs Herself
By Dan Morgan
Washington Post Foreign service
BONN, Oct. 16-A Soviet
lieutenant-colonel has de-
fected to the United States)
after exposing to Western
authorities a Russian
West Gpy
ring operating
many.
In a day of extraordinary
revelations connected with
the cracking of the spy ring,
,he West German government
made these disclosures:
? The Soviet gfficer, Yev
geniY Yevgeniyevich Runge,
an officer in the Russian KGB
,,rr't. service), had been tak
here and
i c
taa
df Mrs
icie o spy ring to the Soviet govern lin ` weasuannou c almost as almost led totl e expu'lsion' of
mentJ an afterthought at the press tie South Korean ambassador,.
Under the indictment being, conference. Martin said he Few Precedents
drawn up by the prosecutor's regretted that the death would However, the case today is
capacitylas sec one of the few involving 0-
evi- office, Martin said, it will be leave Ce In hergaps
alleged that Mrs. Suetterlin, 1ict a German scientist was
Office ersonnel she section- vict activity. At the end of records picked up in Aachen while
Foreign Office secretary since retary of the in the personnel
l to his
to
i
a
sumably had access
1959, had taken documents to anking diplomats and handing over mater
her home at lunch time to be on high -r Soviet "control," but other-
Sovi t data.
photographed for the past five otT day s announcement of al- wise these incidents have
been rare.
years. leged Soviet espionage activi It is also an open secret that
Hey husband. Heinz, a pho. ties was the latest in a series a Russian diplomat presently
was also arrested assigned as minister eounse?
t*braptser, of developments that are fast
as part of the conspiracy. earning West Germany the for to Bonn, Sergei Kudryavt-
According to the chief pros- reputation as the most infest- sev, has long been active in
Political action. As former
e wcutor, as mthe rest of the ring ed country in.Europe. ambassador to Cuba, he super-
at was the made up French of a Embassy, messenger Others Arrested
Leo- Last month the government vised installation of the Soviet
missiles there in 1962.
announced the cracking of five
pold Pieschel, who is suspect-
ed of obtaining a key to the East German spy rings here,
military liaison agents.
embassy's Ching with the arrest of 32 age
offhce and p h o t o g r Suetterlin is himself thought
"secret" and "NATO sec ret" to have crossed over from
documents. East Germany.
Used Soviet Camera The Interior Ministry an-
Ile did this with a special recearently tl at some lbe
~.amera~ built into a cigarette 000orking here.
ease-which, according to the Disclosures earlier this sum-
prosecutor, was a Soviet de- mer that South Korean intel-
vice. Pieschel had only to pass ligence workers had been. in
recorrdd vite over a document to volvd in the disappearnce
the rec it on microfilm. of several South Koreans'.
Also arrested along with the
s and Pieschel was -"
li
n
Suetter
Piesehel's brother-in-law, a41-
?aood aLll so spaau au year-old waiter who, accord-
ffice'
01 aAlsuodsaa aaouz uzu.z~oa ing to the prosecutors
1"11
,M 0th a31Lul pile saaqa01 had bugged hotel conference
I-eIoos Io a2elaoils x`~utA oa rooms in downtown Bonn. He
,a 0je?Aall1e 'food ag13 ao1 sqo is suspected of having recruit-
so spuesnoLll alaaaa p;no1A ed pieschel.
have all elements of
piss ag '('ul~t0 G) slaaeg "We 'ti
'es in
pang ?uas- Sq Llaaads alcuaS full treasonable activi
ul paaueApu SOM S OVOM ?eT evidence before us," Martin
os 1o SS1313 ,Ieuocssalatdgns said.
Mau u aleaJa o3 It?sodoad ails There is no death penalty
w j old aat' t t eason sus-
Ian~ aq `RpF~tr-a#3~ieas~p cklp t1~ Rr73B00296R000500190028-7
Iluloos d;ah 01 'slua?Ia ast. . in prison.
o
`
.
suosaad a0
-jam $u?pn;ati?
~- calms asinbaa SSa:i.`
 u:r,?r. it /InlIfm. it phnrotruphrrand
., .iYtet,1/-\ ll,'l,? r1/ar,,,Yt with 1,1 11rg
th, morn r t limn in It est t:rrnl"IIN
tiu? utanrnI" .leL-tihn, of high.
..tnt,ne ?n n'1 u,,enr ) r,rpens Hit nor.
las ltrronnr of the bows rolrl trnr , s-
t.r:?~?r ??nt., l,ie vvrs rnrnnil,rl /'vial rr?-
I (?rr'?y,nnr/rnt lli,huel
.+r,rrn it, !ulna untl l INI -I.It 1:
_, I, 's t ,.nL ill 17 ushin,!lun.
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~arlin \Iarggraf ssas a ss tilt-,
s.,ul,?r. He ssorkr'd at the be.t rvsiau-
ranlt ill Bunn. and lie ssas ?fern in
demand to terse at Ilse o,Lia, I,:n
tie, and rereliliont sshieh Iw.. her ,?s e-
II 111' eMert:nnmei,t ill Ill.. dild'oluilic
ennl l l I units ,d all/ Valli l td ,?iI N "Ile
is IIle? 1u-rfeet Nailer .. art rnnd,ts. r
said of hire. ?'I I.- .,'e,. 111,1 ll? aryl h,
brat not hill-". ,
11si. i' .111a [r_ a. it tar,u?,I Oul Nu.
In.v?n uuu.__.. and iiit' , N ran.. Iht
d 1. !_ i I Alart.,,ral ,its arrecled Its ll,,.
NN: I.rrrnan Irdrral p.h.e .... I a,.
: ,,.ed "t .In lilt for Ihr vas iet I uinu
41
nri,?t 19,?nt lh?inz .Siitt,rlin
right 1 posed as n photographer
fnnrl of the /(.al life. Spy 1 fartin
ilarpl;raf (Is'lou-) serrr'rl embassy
/,b'it's a.s "the perftrl waiter."
I'h.. ,?e.srrnnu nl rhar_r,?d that '1larg-
,rraf lilt orals .ass turd heard ldenls
ss'llt his assn rs,?s and ears. Irnt That
he al.n had till elretrunir f,ug. at the
diplonu,t, - funetinn. Ili- .ersrd sit im-
ttrrrahls .
I'In? arre.t brake the most ness.-
itl,rtIt% ,?.fnntlage anr's ill seat'..
l firer of her nreu.rd situ'; sere pieked
\1ar?er:d' brother.in-lass. Leo-
n,tld I'ie.eh.l. it janitor at the Frrneh
mtlilars mission ill Hoop: II,'inz Siit-
t,?rlin ssho 1--d as it freelance pho-
t..s?n,nher. and his ssif,? Lt-amore. a
Nrll-ularrd ..rr-etat-s ill the \\ pot
Grrnutn foreign office. ?I'Itrs sst'n? all
arre.l,d is It lull fis,? huar. after
I.I. (iilonel It es erns t m'sgencrs ieh
liunre, a 16,11-ranking operatisI_ in
1114. Sus its int'lii;;enee -steal. defeet-
eil In tht? \\r.sl ss,tit hi.: %I if., and 8-
s ear-oltl tun.
Hank. Itinttr?II ssa. the biggest
ea leh of all. 1':u it jnkehu- sales-
man. Ill had dir.ete.1 an oln'ratiun
N hieh had inlereeptrd nearle esers
rode. ,?s rn piece of rnrre.llodenee
and .sirs sires in the fiunn for-
eign nflier tutu iii Ow Freurh '' ,-
Ibass%. ?10 snore :o- this ..ros.ed into
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u Ind illy I IIlll1l '11mi/I. "liff"I till
ahurr ern. /rer? Irt IlhIol;rlylh ufJiriul
It..ielllneut Irus Io (il/n sure'( /steers
ullir/I his (rife Lr?ulture (ril;ln1. it sure..
till'I in the If esl Gerln4/t forri(1n min-
Is!rv. bro) Lhl It ouu?dllrine /Iuuh born.
till acreilt's assig^11111'llt:
mars'`' the
til`l' 1'1`9 a i'`-
\\ ra Ilr'rlilt. I .". agrnl. rushed Ihr
1{titiie. aLo:t11 a tl:un Irir \Illrrira
and tilt "1111tler.
1 -i11rl\.Pi. ra-ttltl I Lrailli:ui tit
Grrnl:m r\lrartittn. 1{utigr (tall
"tirkrtl lireIIt.- "i sill K(11 'lilt, P) 1.)
and had .heal 12 scar, in \\c'[ Ger-
til:un. I III I"u 11.-1? Itr iiirerletl. Ill
\larggral-I'ir.rhrl ttltrraliun in Illy
Frt;neh illi..ititi anti I[lit l oil IIll, ~IiilI.-r-
al Ihr Iin'rigii ttllirt?. altltart?111Is
hail ntt Lno"Ietl!r itl rash tither. I hr
"interim tilt ttit. the Itltire I0 r11hIahlr
nwrh .11. in tart. Ihit l .r\ I?ral
s.-:u'. a_ti I{un_r "a. nrtlrrrll 1 1 t rtin-
rr11lrit lr till I h : l 1 Itirni l l! 1in? tt miler
and pill lnr u\ -I In mood her rnl-
,ulllu IIIli Iof iIt lu I'rhru:lr~ 111 Iht~
sear I .. I I It I- Ili! t? 11rr ~tiI 1111111 li un~r.
IIr agrrr.I trt rrtolu?1alr. hii 11nl it
Iii' "ifr ant! .1111 hilt' taken to, Ihr
"1111 hint. I hen. in I'rhruart. IIr
tt it, I I : u t . l rrreti lint ti 1'.:t, I (. rr
tint l rl. Ihtll In \In.rtith. "here n "a
''it.-n :I rtlaIntn I11r Iii- arr11nll~h.h
ntil. ntl hill 111 ntirk Ii,lnriii
11e41gli11_ a_rill tinn'h11" ju.l butt
ttili Ilan- 111 trait ftir .11nn?11til? tlr
t?la..ihrtl 1 1 t t ? ti 1 11 r . - - III. I{11?'.11 l 1.
IN ert? 1rn'ke,i inlti .rntlin_' Ihr ehnlr
I'mmi, I?.tt I. ?? \\ , _I R1- ill l lrn
exit 1111111- Ow ,I (it.. firl
uvnnnl the ?nilrrlin.. I'ir.rhrl atilt
the Itrrlrrl Inter,
-11n-talrha_ hrin_. 11111 tine-nll-
Iuan.In I11 _rtIN 1-1111111 - Ilt.. Mlle
It 1111 VI .tit h?rl to ill moll Ihr w11 +et111 1 ?I.
:u'rr.I l i t ' "its i t s i i t rt'l it lial inn rr-
I'a.etl in isrrrltt li'util it hunk put -
IttirletllI INIlltt?11 h\ I ftiri11e1 (.1 \
'.rend n:nneJ .lulm !NniItlt. "mith'.
hnuk.:urtinlnt In the \In.rti" 11.-it.-
IIaIn?r /.IIY?rllrt (,reed,'. tl.-.rrihe. I .~.
inlt?Ili_'r11rr 11ltrrtlitin. 111 India lilt-
ill, the itl.ill.. I lii bus i.-t..aitl hr- dr-
fertt'tl 111 Kn..ia. "I'htiugh a 1nIm
Ilrltartillrnl .luring Ihmt Iilnt. a I .,.
{un r. 111;untItile. "a, lthrletl all
"1111-rulntlnu. rrlnnnal It\ Ow F';[.[
G4.1111.111 \' IM Ow jillil
I'll- I'Ir-rllt?1. hi. jtih "a. Ii, Ithn1i-
Iralrh tltiru11lertl. hr inti11tl in a -al
in Ihr ntihl:us .rrlion Itl Ow I'rrtirh
rnlha..I Findln_ Ihrnl "a. 11o Ilrnh-
Irn1: I". Ilulthralrll lit-, .al.- Les iii
Ill lit I Iitirliii 1ti rtinrrutralr .,It tint
lmwill. "Ith Ihr hhghe.t \ VI (I _t
~ralthrtl thrill "ills a .ultlu-Inalrli
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Hitaw-lappipplevel spying at
lonsentevit wages
The most pathetic nu?uther of the
at Sias 39-,ear-old I.eunore Mitler-
hn. Slu? had a high-securttN job in lhe-
torrigrt o)lire's administrative section,
and she Sias one of Ihree isomer on
lilt. list the Sot lets guise Heinz Miller-
lilt 'sitlt instructions to seduce and
if nectssan --urarr'.. Ileinz fol-
lowt) order- and he and Leonore
gol married in 19(x0. Shortly thereafter
she Sias promoted to a better job.
Mill Siilh it weal it keN to the bass-s
sale. Beginning in 1962. she brought
doc'ume'nts home at htnchtinu? for
tree lutsband to photograph before
=be climbed hack into a 1 olkswager
anel returned to work.
L?nnon?- chose- cetele natue Sias
Iola. seemed nonphtssed after her ar-
re?sI. a-stn alter she learned the real
reason ,iitlerhn had married her. ',he
poked Siilh guards and asked a lot of
+pue-lion., abort prison routine. Bill
ant our relnrire shuttevl up for
i1u? frittered of foreign ofjur? secre-
torr l.rvenare .till tt r?rI i n. u?Jw hangr?rf
hewn'!( n(tr?r horning siitterlin
hold rrurrrir?r( her only to use her.
ii thin a reel slit- tu?d her prism pa
jamas aromrd her neck and Lange i
herself in Iper cell at KIingclpiiI/ pris-
on in (:ologne.
The Siillerlins liseel ill it nteslern
$30-INN) sic-romm home rhtclt Theo
filled rillt antirlue furniture (plus a
framed photograph of Konrad Ade-
nauer). k neighbor recalled that rhea
Heinz was hospitalized reeentlu- L.vo.
nitre confessed that -if moo Iliim: et et-
happened to litinz, I rnuldn'l lee able
to go on living.' The neighbor as.
swrted the, were happily utarrird,
bill added, -hhe dill seem to love biro
more than he loved her- hill that'- al-
ums the Sias rilh men- isn't it?"
1f1rr their :wrest neighbors noticed
the seal of Ihr criminal pollee at Ilse
Siitlerlins' door, hut tlu?s thought it
Sias a joke.
Despite the Silllerlin ln-usperils,
III,- espionage business Sias apparent-
1t not sees luerati.e for !hr \iarg-
grafs and I'ieschels. \1aregraf and his
Sin.- lit ed Siith 91rs. ll arggra f?s
mother and drone an old mar. iii.
I'iesehels paid $220 a month to rent
three dark. dank rooms oil [fit- ground
floor of a I00-tear-old house. Mill
Mrs. I'irsehel cleaned Ihr slain ase
:out souu?litnes neighbors- apartmenls
for revira more- ,. \1 arggr'afs rife, sit
shes?Led ht the neSiS about her hrs-
haud that site was under ileac, seda-
tion for st,eral da,s afterward, Ill-
,enh.d him as it perfeel husband Silut
"did es en thing around the house
himself.-- v% en hanging wallpaper.
N ith an estimated :i,INN) undereos -
er agents at large in V. est German),
the press and public are diflieult to
startle Siith sp% stories. N hen it final-
I, Sias made public. the Bunge ease
ranked as ot.h a slight scandal. Leo-
nore's suicide- hoiever, made head-
line.. A German-American intelli-
gence team is still adding up tilt-
damage ill That a N esl German pros-
eeulor has called "thin roost iuyrnrlant
ease of rspimmge in tile- hislor, of the
federal repuhlie."
It seems unlikeIs that anN urpor-
lant N % I F) stereos are still street.
But t110? most latignant-and polen-
iialI dangernils-fact to euu?rge from
the r hole episode is [flat Irnnore Sii l -
terlin Has ortl% one of three %%omert in
sensitiin plates ishout tilt- Sot lets lot--
lie,ed t ulnrraltle to ideological ron-
version Its romance. 'T'hat ntrarts
There are at leesi Iro others at large.
Klima !'ir?sr?hel- tcho.st- jruritrtr
husimind spied fur Russia. enn,.sasl
a .stir at a 1965 I reneh t-ntlxtss,
rnrption 1w embroiling the pite.S1
of honor-. Konrad ldenauer (hf}).
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CIAs
`Biggest Catch' Tells
Of Espionage in W. Germany
By Dan Morgan
Washington Post Foreign Service
B 0 N N, Nov. 4--Some-
,here in the Washington
rea this weekend Yevgeny
evgenyvich Runge, 39, has
o m e to the end of his
urney.
It was a journey that lift-
[him out of t-hg obseurit~
his Ukrainian homeland,
ok him through four iden-
titles and brought him final-
ly into contact with the
secrets of at least three gov-
ernments.
Since 1949 Runge-alias
Willy Gast, alias Heinz Mor-
mann, alias Major Maximov
-has been a professional
Russian spy, but not of the
ordinary sort.
In the view of Western
intelligence authorities, his
surrender to the American
or former employes of
Bonn's Foreign Ministry.
But in the view of some
intelligence experts Runge's
main value may lie in the
detailed information he is
providing about the little-
known techniques, work and
training of a rare type of
espionage specialist - the
"illegal" agent who melts
into his environment.
Unlike such big catches as
Yuri Loginov in South Afri-
ca, Runge never carried a
diplomatic passport, never
came in contact with; ,.the
Soviet Union's corps of "dip-
lomatic - spies" and never
went near an embassy, as
far as Western investigators
can tell. -
Faded Into Society
For him, diplomatic cover.
Central Intelligence Agency
in West Berlin sometime in
the last 45 days marks the
most important catch- of a
Communist operative since
World War II.
Agents Pinpointed
According to these sources,
the story he is now telling
has revealed details about
the Soviet spy-training cen-
ter in Karlshorst in East
which he used frgm the time
he entered West GerminStf
1955 until 1967, was his abili-
ty to fade grayly into Ger-
man society.
How many more Russian
agents like him are now
operating in West Germany
are unknown, but the num-
ber probably is not very
large.
Becoming accepted into
German life was not partic-
ularly difficult for Runge.
He was born in Novo Soley-
oye, a "Volga German" from
.
9a,part%of the-Ukraixiewhere,
the' German language and
German mannerisms have
persisted for' centuries.. (In
-the Basel-.'of - German dia-
lects in postwar. West Ger-
many, his was noti: -a prob.
lem.)
After the Nisei-like dis-
placement of V91Aaermans
Berlin; has proved conclu-
sively that the Soviet Union
operates its own incredibly
intricate spy network in
West Germany, s e p ?a r a t e
from East Germany's; has
indicated that the Allied
contingency plan for West
Berlin has been handed over
to the Russians, and has pin-
pointed other agents in West
Germany, including present
by Russians during World identity that of Willy Gast
'War -T, Runge wandered in- and a West German passport
to East Germany and be- and documentation were ob-
came an interpreter for the tained with the help of
Russian occupation forces. agents in the West Berlin
The chronology of events
after that has been made police department.
available by Western intel- The KGB supplied him a
ligence "in the public inter- wife, .an East German called
est." Valentina, and in 1955 the
couple entered West Ger-
Recruited by KGB many. In the years that fol-
In 1949, according to his lowed, Runge set himself up
statement to investigators, in business as ?a jukebox and
he was recruited by the pinball-machine salesman,
KGB (I n t e r i o r Minis-try's living and operating mainly
state intelligence apparatus). in the Frankfurt and Co-
'In1952, after "Basic Train- logne areas.
ing" he began- three years - He sold the business at a
of preparations for his West profit before turning him-
German assignment. The self in to American author-
length ha s? ` surprised even ities.
Western: intelligence sources First Contact
with high regard for the Shortly after his arrival
thoroughness of Soviet meth- Runge made his first contact
ods.
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with a man identified by Analysts are not sure why.
Western sources as "Mar- 1 The janitor Piesehel may
?raf." This man contacted ( have been turned over to
its sister, Klara Piesehel, another "illegal" without
and she in turn persuaded Runge's knowledge is (some-
ier husband, Leonard, a jan- thing Pieschel denies) or
tor at the French, embassy the French information may
n Bonn, to work for Runge. have suddenly b e c o m e
In raids following Runge's available from some other
lefection last month, Pie- source. Even the possibility
;Chet was arrested on sus- that the Russians halted the
)icion of stealing a key'i o French Embassy operation
e embassy sae and sea I for fear of endangering
in-9 NATO documents. rapidly improving relations
In 1959, Runge himself with France has not been
was contacted by an East entirely rejected.
German agent named Heinz The importance of the
Suetterlin, who was posing Foreign Office documents
as a photographer. Accord- photographed by the Suet-
ing to intelligence sources, terlins cannot be weighed
Suetterlein had been sent to because the films were
West Germany with the usually mailed off unseen
names of three secretaries in by Runge.
the West German Foreign West German Foreign Of-
Office and orders to marry flee spokesmen have sought
one. He selected ?a brunette to minimize their impor-
named Leonore, who was tance. But it is known that
working at an insignificant "hundreds" of documents
job in Lille, France. were copied, including
One indication of the doc-
ument's value is that on
Dec. 18, 1964, Runge was
presented Medal for Distin-
guished Service No. 089260,
Committee of State Secur-
ity by the USSR. The medal
was bestowed on him by
Vladimir Semichastny, chief
of the KGB.
Runge presumably was
decorated during one of his
several trips to the Soviet
Union, which he took un-
der the name of Soviet
Army Major Maximov. For
his 'trips to East Germany,
he had another passport
bearing the name of Heinz
Mormann.
Was Runge a double
agent, recruited years ago
by the Americans to keep
an eye both on the Russians
and the West Germans?
Western intelligence sources
insist he was not, although
how he was spotted and con
tacted by the Central Intel
fgence Agency (or when
Shortly thereafter she was cables, personnel files _of_-
transfered to the Foreign foreign service offic?ts
Office in Bonn. This con- would be of special interegt-,
vinced investigators that her
career had either been ma-
nipulated or accurately fore-
by agents within the
Foreign Office, These agents,
it is said, have now been
identified and have con-
fessed.
because of leads on homo-
sexuality, drinking prob-
lems and other weaknesses
that would alert Soviet
agents in the field to vul-
nerable "targets."
In Moscow, the agent and
nis family requested a final
.rip to West Berlin to con-
Takes Documents Home
The new Mrs. Suetterlin
was assigned to work in the
office of a foreign service
administrator identified. as
Knut Neisse. In the early
1960s she began taking doc- luctive ring as Runge's is
uments from the office at , unknown, but his r e c a 11
lunchtime to be photo- raises the possibility that he
graphed by her husband at was under suspicion.
home. On Oct. 12, Bonn police ar-
The film was then passed rested Pieschel and the
on to Runge, who mailed it Suetterlins. By that time,
to contacts in Switzerland Runge and his family had
and Austria. The. contacts already been flown to
handed the film over to the America. Then, early on. the
dussian embassies in their morning of Oct. 16, Leonore
?ountries. Suetterlin hanged herself
In late 1960 or early 1961, with her pajamas in the
curious event took place, 'Cologne Women's Reforma-
ccording to statements by
Lunge. He was told to "for-
;et about" the Piesehel
-ing, which he carefully es-
:ablished, and concentrate
?ntirely on the activities of
the Suetterlins.
Jude affairs before a long
assignment in Moscow.
lunge used this opportunity
.o turn himself in.
Why Moscow wanted to
end such an allegedly pro-
tory. Authorities. said she
was distressed to learn that
Suetterlin had been instruct-
ed to marry her.
remains officially unex- I
plained.
What is known, according
to intelligence sources, is
that last spring Runge, his
wife and their eight-year-
old son were ordered back
to the Soviet Union. On the
way through East Berlin,
Runge did a stint as an in-
structor at the Karlshorst
Training School. Neither
the names nor the nationali-
ties of the 30 recruits there
were revealed to Runge, but
he has supplied his ques-
tioners with descriptions of
them.
Approved For Release 2005/08/24: CIA-RDP73B00296R000500190028-7
 y vwuts 0 acv W1
Approved For Release 2005/08/24: CIA-RDP73B00296R000500190028-7
of Soret, pyExploited in U. S.
A West German passport issued Jan. 24, 1967, to Lieut.:Col._Xevgeny V. Runge under the name of Willi Gast
Approved For Release 2005/08/24: CIA-RDP73B00296R000500190028-7
 Intellnce Circ1e Use
Cae4
In Fight Against Soft Line'
By BENJAM
WASHINGTON, Nov. 9-even years, while provlue
the defection of Lieut. Col. infarmatjon. After a the 'in-
(evgeny Y. Runge, a 39-year- formation possible ha" been
j1d Soviet intelligence officer, gleaned, the defector is allowed
is regarded as a windfall by to resettle with a new name
United States intelligence offi- and identity.
vials. But Colonel Runge, almost
from the start, was involved
They are utilizing the case in the incessant global rivalry
to pursue a threefold objec- between the Soviet and United
tive.: to expose what they con- States intelligence services,
openly
v why Colonel
have been sur-
faced so quickly and discussed
so thoroughly if he were in-
deed of that caliber.
PU 1st ad
Colonel Runge is reported to
have told his interrogators that
the "illegal." network is being
expanded especially in areas
with effective counterintelli-
gence services such as the
United States, Japan, the Brit-
ish Commonwealth and West-
ern Europe.
Reasons for Publicity
sider a new emphasis on thels some of it covert, some open In publicizing the Runge
uses of "illegal" agents inI to view. case, intelligence officials here
Fortunately for the C.I.A., disavow any desire of reviving
Soviet espionage, to promote. his defection coincided with a the "cold war" mentality. But
closer cooperation among desire of at least some United they are evidently concerned
Western security services and
to counteract what they con-
Isider the tendency of some
American officials, intent on
"building bridges" to the So-
viet Union, to minimize Soviet
espionage practices.
Colonel Runge, an ethnic
!German from the Ukraine, de-
fected last month. He took
with him his wife, Walentina,
and . their 7-year-old son, An-
drei after having posed 11
as a vending-machine
~4or his espionage activi-I
States intelligence officials to about some State Department
counter the international atten- officials who are so intent on
tion, much of it favorable, sur- steps, to improve relations with
rounding the Soviet Union's the Soviet Union by stressing
United States intelligence men creased trade, space and nu-
a chance to focus public at- clear control accords, and peri-
tention on what they consider odic consultations on such mat-
a growing emphasis on the use ters as the potential threat
of "illegal" Soviet agents from China that they advocate
around the world. minimizing news of such "nega-
'Legal' Agents Balanced tive" factors as espionage and
Although there is no agree- defections.
Against this background,
ment, the C.I.A. and the So- Colonel Runge's successful ca-
viet intelligence apparatus at- reer as an "illegal" in West
tempt to keep the number of Germany is being presented by
their respective "legal" agents the intelli
ence
om
it
g
c
mun
y
-those attached to embassies here as support for assertions
or official missions-in rough that "hundreds" of such agents
These agents are gen-
balance
.
As a result of his defection, G are at work in the United
erally known. An American in- States and in other countries.
five of his subordinates have I telligence officer said recently El
t
i
h
i
emen
s
n t
e
ntelligence
been .,apprehended in West on leaving a private home:
"I can tcommunity have long believed!
Gerri t' Tile ~ ap
on l he a . get in my car and !that some American political supp ied lei to tl} apprehen drive away safely. If anything officials in their desire to
know we'
th
ens ho
o
ll
'
"
build bridges
have underesti-
least do the
same t to
, them."
i~i ~.~t the
."
i
trail But agents who enter a for mated hostile aspects of Soviet!
Pion country illegally and policy, including espionage.
into evenfun v . Part to th
e
d
"" an
are another problem. These western countries have not
in Western Europe regard the agents, who assume fictious sufficiently recognized the
Runge case as unique because, identities and backgrounds, are threat posed by "illegal"
they say, the spy's disclosures what intelligence officials call agents.
have so incriminated his sub "illegals." "Illegals now form the big-
In focusing on the Soviet ger part of Soviet intelligence,"
ordinates that they are talk- " a senior American official re-
ing freely. In other cases it United Union's use States of in o cealft marked. "Few governments re-
was the subordinates who first ficials they do not o alize how extensive and serious
age and defected and then exposed stn- use ase this this insist of type of agent and that, this apparatus has become."
!ior officers such as Col. Ru- unlike the Soviet Union, they" Colonel Runge's own decision
dolf I. Abel, who was arrested have no spies who are traine to defect began to take shape
for years and then reside abroa last July and August when, ac-
in New York in 1957; and under assumed names and rim cording to the account he is
Gordon A. Lansdale, who spied tionalities. What the America reported to have given Ameri-
in Britain, ntelligence apparatus does use can interrogators, he and his
These two maintained a they say, is "indigenous'family returned from West
tight-lipped silence during agents, who are citizens . o Germany to the Soviet Union
another country working fo ror a vacation at an Intel]until they were exchanged imprisonment West- the United States. gence officers' retreat at Gel-
ged d ffor West- Undoubtedly
Colonel Runge' endzhik, Black Sea resort in
,
ern agents held in the Soviet defection has been useful t the Caucasus, and in prepara-
Union. Western intelligence in draw. tion for a new assignment.
Equally significant is the In. ing attention to any expan It was then that he and his
;!mate glimpse that Colonel sion of the Soviet Union's "il? strong-willed wife began debat-
legg- r' network. t nct ing the life they had led for 11
lunge's defection provides into as -- or years in West G.errllan as Mr.
h P. wnrfnra wa.d l,o+:......< aU-
and Mrs. Willi Kurt Gast, "il-
Ilegal" agents In charge of two
espionage rings. Although they
I had been successf of in stealing
I secret Western documents and
had been decorated for their
I work, the Runges began to
S qu stion their future as spies.
s In Moscow they learned that
their next assignment would in-
hovolve learning English, the,
S acquisition of a new legend -
false names and personal back-
grounds - and eventually
separation from their son, who
would have to be left behin&
in a Moscow boarding school.
The Runges have given other
reasons for their defection:'
weariness with their clandes-i
tine life, the ever-present fear!
of detection, irritation with the
bureaucracy of the Soviet in-,
telligence apparatus, and the
softening effect of long life in
the West.
The interrogators believe that)
the thought of leaving their song
w %s the principal reason for
th it defection.
With the decision made,,
Colonel Runge took advantage!
of an opportunity to photo
graph his personnel file to ob-I
tarn proof of his identity toy
ow Western intelligence
agents:.
During his Moscow visit he
was awarded the Victory Medal
of World War II at a cere-
mony in a hideaway house in
Vostaniya Square, near the
United States Embassy. The
award certificate was signed
by Maj. Gen. Vasily V. ?,Moz-
zhechkov, a deputy chief of the
,foreign intelligence directorate
of the State Security Com-
o mittee.
General Mozzhechkov was in
the news last spring when he
traveled on a false diplomatic
passport to the United Nations
and came to Washington dur-
ing the Cherry Blossom Fes-
tival. His identity was exposed
in the American press and he
returned soon thereafter to
,Moscow.
The Runges faced a problem
in fleeing. According to Western
intelligence sources, the Soviet
State Security Committee holds
a family in hostage to help
prevent defections when a
,change in assignments may
I strain the agent's loyalty.
Colonel Runge told his inter-
rog r that he succeeded in
avol n his procedure through
'stablishments. Most A-9ved For Release 2005/08/24: CIA-RDP73B00296R000500190028-7
ire kept hidden by the Centra
ntelligence Agency for months
 Approved For Release 2005/08/24: CIA-RDP73B00296R000500190028-7
the persorl intervention of
Yuri V. An ropov, Chairman of
the Soviet intelligence agency.
Colonel Runge is said to have
told Mr. Andropov that failure of
Mrs. Runge or their son to re-
turn from an ostensibly normal
holiday and business trip might
have puzzled neighbors and lo-
cal shopkeepers in West Ger-
many.
The fact that Colonel Runge
had had many opportunities to
defect during his 11 years in
West Germany, but never did,
school
s
h
t
e
Andropov's decision to Let
Early in 1956 he married Wa-
entire family
returA.to to wind entina Rusch, an East German
al
man
In appearance Colonel Runge "
"Wt "
is a perfect "illegal," able to recruited o the Soviet i
ce service
1
e
blend into any West European
advanced t
g
n
or North American crowd. Hei With intelligence agency,
has no distinguishing marks or )y the r__
s end Mrs. "Gast" settled in
i
h
8
nc
e
l
i
lishm
ean
'~ ?""
'"'
dark brown, somewhat curly r d y c
L_ 4n1 However the money proved in-
ligent brown eyes.
A +n his interroaato borrow. In time Colonel
tors he gave the following ac-
count of his life:
Born in 1928 of Germ
sent to Getl Wy by tit
In 1960 Colonel Runge and
his wife moved to Frankfurt,.
also learned surveillance .where lie opened a tavern an&
countersurveillanW,_ ~ecrel t- where their son was born.
ing, safe "drops" for messages Neighbors -remember him as a
and "brush" contacts. In such solid family man with a sense
contacts material is passed un- of humor who liked to talk
obtrusively between. two agents. science and politics, go dancing
as they brush "against each and lift a glass or two of beer.
ether in a public place. Soon he sold the tavern and
From Moscow Colonel Rungs invested in a slot-machine and
was sent to Leipzig and then to juke-box business.
Halle in East Germany before The neighbor who knew
Moving on to Munich and Frank- Colonel Runge best was Wolf-
'urt in West Germany for ad- gang Hochrieser, 27, a mechan-
vanced training. Unlike most il- lc who met him in 1960.
Hochrieser made the
egal agents he was trained on Mr. the job rather than in special rounds twice weekly with Mr.
"G t ? checking and servicing',
hich was deposited to a bank
entirely on the proceeds
West German business.
War II. Aftee*64- war he be-
came a. Soviet army interpreter
and, in 1949, joined the intel-
ligence service in a similar
capacity.
From 1952 to 1955 he trained
for a career as an ."illegal"
agent. He was assigned the
legend name of Willi Kurt Gast
and, as a "birthplace," the Pom-
eranian village of Duninowo
(the former German Dunnow),
in an area that passed from
Germany to Poland after World
War II. There Soviet intelligence
had found a record of a dead
woman named Martha Gast,
who was to be his late
"mother."
Colonel Runge spent two
weeks in Duninowo in 1954 to
!familiarize himself with the
!house in which he was sup-
i_-Ali raise dl with the school.
Next followed training in Mos-
cow in the use of microdots.
are photographs reduced
These
.
to the size of a period on a
:typewriter that are virtually un-
detectable when concealed in an
!ordinary letter. Colonel Runge
last summer he had to make a
detailed financial account to his
superiors.
Subordinates Identified
signed to "run" Leopold Pie-
French Embassy in Bonn, who
]ments, including codes, before
,his arrest last month. Colonel
{Runge says he forwarded the
1.,,a+ ,-iat in anpnts in Switzer-
Iland+and-Austria for dispatch
Klara, and her brother, Martin
By 1959 his three agents
. _._ valuabl
e
secretary in a key West Ger-
married Leonore Heinz of the
Foreign Ministry, who hanged
as ,
the vending machines. Last'!
summer when the RungeS
parted he took over the
business.
,,L didn't have the slightest!
Idea that Kurt Gast was a spy,"
Mr. Hochrieser said recently
in an interview. "Even after his
defection I still didn't associate
Runge with the Gast I knew.
It was not until I actually saw
my name linked with his in the
newspapers that I finally
realized that Kurt was Runge."
The Runges have now settled
down in a hide-out, protected
by the C.I.A. The little boy,
who finds it still difficult to
realize his name is not Gast,
plays with children of C.I.A.
employes! Day after day
Colonel Runge it interrogated
as he tries to recall names and
incidents that may help West-1
ern intelligence.
Colonel Runge is still talking
and he is expected to talk for
many more months before his
memory runs dry.
Approved For Release 2005/08/24: CIA-RDP73B00296R000500190028-7
 0
operrsl For Release 2005/08/24: CIA-RDP73BOO296ROO0500190028-7
'10 *4 C
COMMUNIST PARTY OF THE
SOVIET UNION -- CENTRAL COMMITTEE
Secretariat: Leonid 1. Brezhnev, General Secretary
ADMINISTRATIVE ORGANS SECTION
STATE SECURITY COMMITTEE (K.G.B.)
Yuri V. Andropov, Chairman
lit Chief Directorate
Foreign Intelligence
Lieut.Gen.Ateksandr M.
Sakharovsky
2nd Chief Directorate
Internal Security
Border troops
Lieut. Gen. Pavel 1.
Zyryanov
Deputy Chiefs,
1st Chief Directorate
Maj. Gen. Yasily V.
Mozzhechkov
Maj. Gen. Mikhail S.
Tsymbal
Maj. Gen. Ivan I.
Agayants
3rd Directorate
Armed Forces
Maj. Gen. 1. A. Fadeikin
8th Directorate
Communications
Maj. Gen. Serafim N. Lyalin
7th Directorate
Surveillance
Maj. Gen, V. 1. Aladin
Administration
and Personnel
Technical a
Research
Geographical arsss "Di infsor nstian" ` " IIle ale"
Anagly Lazfrav
9th Directorate
Kremlin Guards
Maj. Gen. V. Y. Chekalov
7
'(3toodby lbws" .':
lrtfs
~Q ^.4.
Nikof t.B Ko, vrn';!
The New York Time,
Organizational chart of the State Security Committee of the Soviet Union, which employs 600,000 to one million
people. The First Chief Directorate for Foreign Intelligence, left, is comparable to the Central Intelligence Agency.
?Structure of Soviet Intelligence Unit Is Outlined
Special to The New York Times
WASHINGTON, Nov. 9-The
Soviet Union's State Security
Committee, which is the na-
tion's principal intelligence
agency, employs 600,000 to one
million people inside and out-
side the Soviet Union, accord-
ng to Western estimates.
Only one of its divisions,
:he First Chief Directorate for
oreign Intelligence, is com-
parable in function to the Cen-
cral Intelligence Agency. This
division was the one in charge
of Lieut. Col. Yevgeny Y. Runge,
an agent who recently defected
to the United States.
Other functions handled by
the Soviet State Security Com-
mittee have their equivalents
to the United States in the
Federal Bureau of investiga-
tion, the National Security
Agency, the Secret S rice, the
Immigration and Naturaliza-
~ti=;n Service and the Bureau of
Customs.
Thus the Soviet agency is
also concerned with internal
security and subversive activ-
ity. When it finds it necessary,
it observes Soviet citizens and
foreign residents at their places
of work and in their private
activities.
The agency cracks codes and
communications used by other
governments, provides body-
guards for high political figures
and manages technical labora-
tories to devise new equipment
for intelligence and other pur-
poses. The 200,000 border
guards also fall under the con-
trol of the security apparatus.
A Museum in Moscow
The organization has its own
museum in Moscow, displaying
mementoes of past security ex-
ploits. The exhibits include the
iarachute used by the Ameri-
-an U-2 pilot, Francis Gary
lowers, shot down over the
soviet Union in 1960. The mu-
cum is not open to the public.
The agency prints its own
ouse organ, called Chekistsky
hornik. The magazine has a
'lect and limited circulation.
The present name of the
,ate Security Committee,
sown in Russian as K. G. B.
r Komitet Gosudarstvennoi
!zopasnosti, dates from 1954.
is the successor organiza-
)n to the security apparatus
arted by Lenin as the Cheka,
ten reorganized periodically
ader different names, repre-
mted by the initials G.P.U.
.K.V.D., and M.V.D.
Its officers still refer to them-
elves as Chekists, a term both
earful and glamorous in the
,ussian context.
At times in Soviet history the
ecurity police have played a
rowerful role in the nation's
Politics, notably in the era from
1938 to 1953 when Lavrenti P.
3eria headed the apparatus and
served as one of Stalin's closest
associates.
Beria was executed within
months of Stalin's death, and
the post-Stalin leaders have
shown marked concern about
letting the security apparatus
ever play the dominant role in 100,000 agents are believed to
nolicv-making thah0Pl .f?fkqMff*2/0
Western analysts, however,Ihas been the head of the Sec-
consider the security agency at
least as important as the mili-
tary in the factional line-up of
forces in Soviet politics. No
longer an instrument of brute
terror, the agency is still an
awesome and mysterious organ-
ization.
From defectors and other
sources, Western intelligence
organizations have pieced to-
gether the structure of the
Soviet agency and identified
key personnel.
Officially the agency is a
Government organization at
ministry level. Since the Soviet
Government is secondary at
every level to the Communist
party structure, the true chan-
nel of authority is through the
Administrative Organs section
of the party's Central Commit-
tee secretariat, headed by the
general secretary, Leonid I.
Brezhnev.
The present chairman of the
Soviet agency is a close polit-
ical ally of Mr. Brezhnev, Yuri
V. Andropov, a professional
party official. Mr. Andropov
was named to this post last
May in a shake-up that ob-
servers analyzed as a move to
bring the agency more closely
under Mr. Brezhnev's control.
Structure Is Described
Under the chairman are a
series of chief directorates,
each headed by an intelligence
officer with the rank of major
general or lieutenant general.
The First Chief Directorate,
headed by Lieut. Gen. Aleksandr
M. Sakharovsky, employs about
10,000 persons in the collec-
tion and analysis of foreign
intelligence.
The Second Chief Director-
ate is concerned with political
subversive activities, economic
espionage, sabotage and trea-
son, embezzlement and thefts
of government property. Some
of its functions therefore cor-
respond to those of the Federal
Bureau of Investigation, local
police forces and regulatory
agencies such as the Food and
Drug Administration or the
Narcotics Bureau. More than
and Chief Directorate, though
recent reports indicate he may
have been replaced.
The Third Directorate, head-
ed by Maj. Gen. I. A. Fadeikin,
was known during World War
II as Smersh, an acronym for
Russian words meaning "death
to spies." It is charged with
counterintelligence within the
Soviet armed forces. The State
Security Committee is thus the
senior partner, over the armed
forces' own military intelligent
agency, or G.R.U., since the
security agents keep the mili-
tary intelligence itself under sur-
veillance. Counterintelligence in
the United States armed serv-
ices is a responsibility of the
services themselves.
The fourth, fifth and sixth
directorates are not known to
exist now. Formerly they shared
in the internal security respon-
sibilities, dividing up political,
economic and other crimes
that have now been grouped
under the Second directorate.
The Seventh Chief Direct-
orate is the division that car-
ries out actual surveillance, the
shadowing of suspicious per-
sons, the clandestine penetra-
tion of offices and the recruit-
ment of potential agents among
foreigners. This division is
known to employ 3,000 per-
sons in Moscow alone. Guards
at embassies and buildings
where foreigners live in the
Soviet capital report to the
Seventh directorate, headed by
Maj. Gen. V. I. Aladin. Gov-
ernment surveillance is carried
out mainly by the F. B. I.
The Eighth Chief Directorate,
under Maj. Gen. Serafim N.
Lyalin, performs functions sim-
ilar to the. National Security
Agency of the United States,
including code-breaking and
surveillance of communications
of foreign governments acrd
citizens.
The Ninth Chief Directorate
is headed by Maj. Gen. V. Y.
Chekalov and provides personal
security to leading members of
the Soviet Government and
party. The Kremlin guards and
chauffeurs of official cars are
ru n R~'M
unctions are an a in the
United States by the Secret,
Service.
A separate division directs
the border guards, commanded
by Lieut. Gen. Pavel I. Zyrya-
nov. Their closest equivalent
in the United States is the
Naturalization and Immigration
Service, Like the United States
Bureau of Customs, the border
troops also guard against the
importation of subversive litera-
ture.
There is an administrative
and personnel division that
manages the agency's head-
quarters on Moscow's Dzerzhin-
sky Square. The headquarters
includes Lubyanka prison,
where important prisoners are
interrogated.
Fina I , the agency main-
tains. fitcal aharatories and
rese eS =dr
nort scb-; t ., r?=
new E~s 11 i c ,r
surv
anal
The' First directorate t3 or-!
rectly involved with foreign
governments, for this is the
division that dispatches agents
abroad.
Under General Sakharovsky
are three deputy directors,
Maj. Gen. Vasily V. Mozzhech-
kov, who was publicly identi-
fied last April while visiting
the United States under a pseu-
donym; Maj. Gen. Mikhail S.
Tsymbal, who is known to have
made periodic trips outside the
Soviet Union under the name
Rogov, and Maj. Gen. Ivan I.
Agayants, newly promoted to
the post of deputy director.
General Mozzhechkov is be-
lieved to be in charge of per-
sonnel and administration. Gen-
eral Tsymbal was formerly
head of the directorate's de-
partment overseeing "illegals,"
agents who live abroad under
the deep cover with no appar-
ent link to the Soviet Union.
The present head of the "illeg-
als" department is Anatoly I.
Lazarev.
General Agayants was for
many years the head of the
"disinformation" department of
the First directorate, the ap-
paratus charged with dissem-
inating false or misleading in-
formation with an intent to de-
ceive foreign countries. The
department is reports to have
a staff of 40 or 50 writers
and editors in Moscow.
The work of the First direc-
torate . is known to be divided
among 15 departments, includ-
ing "disinformation" and "il-
legals." The others deal with
specific geographic areas.
The 13th department has a
special notoriety, for it en-
gages in the violent aspects of
intelligence such as assassina-
tions, terrorism and kidnap-
pings. Its head has been identi-
fied as a man named Rodin,
who has traveled abroad un-
der the pseudonym Nikolai B.
Korovin.
In Western intelligence par-
lance this activity is called
"executive action." The Soviet
name is more explicit, "mok-
90O" 7 a slang phrase
meaning "bloody business."
 Approved For Release 2005100 8124- : Cl^ RDP73?^05RA00500-1990.2 -7-
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