TRIAL OF GERALD BROOKS IN MOSCOW

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP75-00149R000100510046-8
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: December 15, 2016
• Document Release Date: November 17, 2003
• Sequence Number: 46
• Publication Date: July 22, 1965
• Content Type: PREL

Approved For Release - -
EMBASSY 07 Tt U13I0 OF SOVIET MIMICS
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TRIAL OF C;7': ALD BZ00II IN 110SCO: r c4
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On Jul .,22 the trial of Gerald Brooko , a 2?--year old,
British citizen, started in Moscow. He is charged under ar-
ticle ?0 of the RSPSR Criminal Code with conducting anti-.
Soviet subversive activities. Officials of the State Secu-
rity Committee with the assistance of :Soviet citizens in
Good time out short Brookets subversive activities who fully
pleaded Guilty to the charges preferred against him. Brooke
realised his fault and has regretted that he got in touch
with scum who had. drawn him into a conflict with Soviet law.
He still does not understand how he could have fallen so low.
Meetin ZJith Geor ;i
In December 1963 Gerald Brooke visited the Collets
Russian book shop to look through new books which had been
received from Russia. Being a teacher of Russian language
and literature in Holborn College, he regularly, at least
twice a month., visited the Russian book shop.
Gerald became interested in the Russian language while'
at school. On finishing school in 1956, he enrolled at the
Slavonic Studies Faculty of London University. `,:hile pre-,
paring to become a teacher of Russian language and litera-
ture Brooke visited the Soviet Union at the beginning of
1959 as a member of a group of 19, in accordance with the
i
programme of cultural exchanges and took a post-graduate
course in the Philological Faculty of libscow.State Univer'
city. Another British citizen , Martin Dewherst studied
with him-in the University. It should be noted that
Dewherst was on two occasions expelled from. the Soviet
Union for subversive anti-Soviet activities. It caimot be
laid that they were friends. However, as they had arrived in
one group and studied at one faculty, they often visited
each other,
On returning from Russia in 1960, Gerald Brooke descri-
bed with admiration to his friends the year he had spent in
Moscow. He hardly met Dewherst in Britain, worked hard, and
in 1963 became a member of the Great Britain-USSR Society.
Brooke unexpectedly met Dewherst in.the shop. The latter
told him that he had also come for books. They spoke'of fa-
mily matters and their work.. Unexpectedly Dewherst invited
Brooke to become acquainted with his friend, "an interest-
ing Russian who knows contemporary Soviet literature.'.' Brooke
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agrccel and they wont to the British L:iuseum.
Apparently this meeting had been prepared in advance.
No sooner had they approached.the museum than a 35-year
old stout man cause up to them. He greated Dewherst and the
latter introduced him to Brooke. He was called Geor.ai. it
was time for lunch and Georgi proposed that.they go to a res-
.,;aurant.
Ac u.aintan ceshi
There were many people in the large room of the Yvan--
hoe restaurant. They took a table near ' the entrance, order-
ed lunch, and while smoking, started to talk about litera-:
tore. To be more exact Georgi and Dewherst did the talking.
Brooke listened with interest to.the talk. Dewherst'in every
way criticised the Soviet system, recalled his life in Moscow
and his post-graduate studies in the University, while Georgi
agreed with him, now and than adding some details.
At times they asked what Brooke thought about one or
other thing as a specialist of Russian literature. Georgi
asked Brooke about his life showed interest in his parents,
his wife and especially his studies in Moscow. He asked
whether Brooke had made many friends while in Russia: Did he
correspond with them? Had Brooke any intention of revisiting
Russia? Georgi spoke very little about himself. When parting,
they. agreed to have lunch. together within a fortnight, meet--
ing at the British Museum.
Their next lunch was in Schmidts restaurant. They came
when most of the visitors had already finished their lunch.
Dewherst and Georgi looked through the room and proposed that
they take a far-of table near which there were no customers
After ordering lunch, they again started to talk about
Sovietl terature. Then Georgi brought up the subject of reli-
gion. One. could feel that he did this specially for Brooke.
He was indignant over churches allegedly being closed in Rus--
sia,'that among the graduates, of theological colleges there
were as though many Communists-spies that religious people
were unable to observe church feastse He fell silent unexpec,
tedly, just in the same way as he had started on this topic.
There was no trace of his indignation.
He sat calory and unruf-
fled, concentrating all his attention on his beefsteak.
When coffee .with cream and pastries, Gerald Brooke's fa->
vourite delicacy, were served, Georgi gave him a thin magazine
in the Russian language. He said that the organisation to
which he belongs publishes this magazine and that in the past
it had been sent to the Soviet Union; using air baloons. Now,
however, they use the mails for this purpose. Brooke listened
to him with interest, although many things were unclear to him.
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"That is the name of your organisation?" he asked
Georgi. Georgi looked at Dewherst and. did not reply.
"Let's have it this way, Gerald," he said, "let's meet
within a fortnight . at my friend's flat and then I will reply
to all your questions.
NTS Or Intelligence Service
They met at.the beginning of last, March about seven
or eight in the evening at'the Earl's Court underground sta-
tion. Looking uneasily from side;. to; side, Georgi offered
Brooke immediately,,, -o to 'UaX` Nikolsky's flat (23 Nevern.
Sq. London S.C1.5). Georgi opened the door with his key. No-
body was at home. They.were alone in the flat and Georgi
.immediately got down, to business, He said that he belonged
to the i'?TS (Narodno--Trudovoi Soyuz--People's Labour Union)
the members of which were mainly persons of Russian origin.
Vile listening to the story about the NTS Brooke noticed
Georgi's small furtive eyes. He received the impression that
Georgi was repeating a lesson by rote.
"No, the NTS is as yet not a rich or large organization,"
Georgi said? 'However, we have ties and the necessary
people will give us necessary supiort." If Brooke had ponde-
red over the words of his recent acquaintance. he would have
understood what this renegade, this "specialist on Russianliterature" was hinting at. The intelligence organs of cer-
tain militarist states resort in their subversive activities
to the assistance of such people. Living in poverty and in dirt:
such people of -Russian extraction have no scruples in under-?
taking any "work. ".aware of. the fact that their country would
never forgive them, they are prepared to spread any' concoction,
to promise the inevitable fall of Soviet power for a shilling,
just as Judas sold Christ for 30 pieces of silver. At first
Georgi only asked Brooke to mail some letters when he would
be in Moscow. Later, when Brooke agreed to do this Georgi
asked him to bring back from Moscow envelopes with stamps, sevepa,
Soviet-made ' articles to be used in f
t
u
ure as caches for trans-
porting NTS literature to the USSR. Finally this ended with
Brooke agreeing to turn over an album and a dressing-case to
citizen iionstantinov and to meet "artist" Titov and turn over
NTS materials' as well as to get information of a political
and socio-4political nature.
Today, recalling some of the.details,Gerald Brooke
realises why Georgi, this "active freedom-fighter" met with
him secretly'
did not give him his telephone number, asked
that he should call him by another name among his friends,
whom he presented as like-minded members of his organization'
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Citi.zeYL Konst,_A inov "Artist' Titoy and
11r. Bishop
cliches for putting out leaflets of, a subversive nature and
eras to turn over the dressing-case ::.and the album with anti-
Soviet materials to citizen IConstantinov? GeorGi asked Brooke.
to remember Konstantinov's address, several times showed him
on a map of Moscow how to find the flat without, asking any
passerby. The main thing he asked was to turn these.articles
over to IConstantinov personally, and to no one else.
Gerald Brooke was detained in Moscow at Konstantinov' s
flat. at the time when he turned over to the latter the dress-
ing-case and album which he had brought. from Britain. Soviet
security officers were interested in the.contents of the al-
bum and dressing-case and found in them carefully hidden
instructions on how to receive and decipher coded radio broad-
casts and a code table; means for cryptography; instructions
for drawing up anti-Soviet documents; a set of rubber type and
their appearance these pyjamas had served Georgi for many a
year. However the main assignment Brooke received from Georgi
U hen examining how the NTS outfitted Brooke, the impres-
sion is that this organization consisted. of two persons-
Georgi and his wife. They bought a sports-shirt for Brooke. in
which Georgics wife sewed several special pockets for car-
rying letters. Brooke was also given pyjamas. Judging from
other materials designated for anti-Soviet activities.
Gerald Brooke failed to meet 'artist'' Titov. He was not
informed of the fact that Titov is a mental case and spends
much time in mental hospitals.
Another person should.be mentioned in this case. His
name became known after Gerald Brooke's arrest. Anthony Bishop
of the British Bmbass-~r staff in case of failure or if Brooke
discovered that he was being followed was to receive from the
latter the album and its contents, which were designated for
Konstantinov, and ship them to Britain in the diplomatic pouch.
Bishop had already received from Dewherst NTS materials and
had sent them to Britain through the diplomatic pouch.
The participation of British diplomat Bishop in this dirty
business can be explained by the fact that the British authori-
ties, despite good diplomatic relations between Great. Britain,
and the USSR, allow in their country the existence of an orga-
nization which calls itself the NTS and conducts activities
hostile towards the Soviet Union, encourage these activities
and allow British citizens to be used for subversive work
against the USSR.
There is no doubt whatsoever that Gerald Brooke will be
tried for his subversive anti--Soviet activities in strict
accordance with the'laws of the Soviet Union and will get his
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A. Sergeev - NOVOSTY PRESS AGENCY (APN)