TOP RUSSIAN SPY SLATED TO GO HOME

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00552R000707340003-9
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 23, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 9, 2011
• Sequence Number: 3
• Publication Date: January 2, 1982
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/12/09: CIA-RDP90-00552R000707340003-9
ARTICLE APPEARED THE WASHINGTON POST
ON PAGE A-j 2 January 1982
Little Kuo wnWashington VIP
T.9p Rus04.an Spy Slated to.
By Bob Woodward
WWM'e;wnPO" settwnae.
One of the least known- of Wash-
irgton's important people is expect-
ed to leave this month after a six-
year assignment here. Few have ever
heard his name:. He works: exdusive--
ly behind the scenes, and' there
probably no one; in this country
whose innermost secretss 'the U.S.-
government would more like.to have.
He is Dmitri L: Yakushkin;: ac-'
cording to the- diplomatic registry
one of 10 counselors it, the Soviet
Embassy. Fluent in English, charm-':
ing, well-educated and- cultured,:
Yakushkin is head of U.S. operations
for the KGB, the Soviet intelligence'-
service. With the rank of major general
and the title of KGB. resident- in
Washington, Yakushkin, 58, is- the
most powerful KGB officer outside.
the Soviet Union, according to au-
thoritative U.S. intelligence sources.
Yakushkin'a expected return to
the Soviet has some U.S.-intelligence
officials watching expectantly for his
replacement and what? in the arcane
world of intelligence tea-leaf reading,
that choice may foretell about. the
direction and nature-,of Soviet iat&
y.ligence operations. The FBI, charged
with. counterintelligence operations
and accordingly: the nation's chief
spy-watching agency,' is: convinced
that the Soviets have stepped t up.
their intelligence efforts here recent;
ly. Last month Attorney General.
William -French- Smith said::Lin-: a
speech. that the Soviets have r dra
matically" increased their spy work'
"About one, third of the Soviet
bloc personnel in-tbe United States.
assigned to embassies,. consulates,
and the UN: or. Other international
orgamzatwnS are believed tube-K-
time late , officers," Smith
said. 3
_ It is this ;Jup of spies, estimated
Jiy one. U.S. jofficial at about 500, !
.that:Yakuabkin heads. His replace-
ment-will: bey carefully selected, ac-
cording'to U.S. officials, and the suc-
cessor's=personality and style of op-
erationa;will provide a good clue to
,the futurei, of Soviet-bloc. activity
here.;.
Yakushkin, . KGB resident here
since late -March, 1975, does not fit
the stereotype of an ill-mannered
ideologue with an electric shock ma-
chine an poorly fitting suits.- ;
A. m hd erate of refined tempera -
meat, hey reportedly has voiced con-
cerns ab t- human rights issues and
the need. for arms control. His inter-
ests area road. With a degree in eco-
nomic science, -he is said to keep up
,with literature and other cultural
;` developments.
r Ya4shkm was" scheduled to ? re-
turn the Soviet Union and retire-
ment n uch earlier last year. But he
,.has been. held over here, according to
offcials,; .for two- reasons: his expe
rience) provided continuity as the
admiriistration, and he is dose to
Soviet Ambassador Anatoliy F. Do- .
Y has- emerged over' the
last. - several -years as an. extremely
important and influential. adviser to
for a1KG3- chief in Washington..
,Yakus1ikin's.wife, Irina, is a trans-
latd, but is also a member of the.
KGB, as is the chauffeur who drives.
Yakuslildn= around Washington, ac=
cording -to'. American sources.-The
' Yakushkins previously lived at the
!Irene apartments in Chevy Chase,
, and recently moved to the new So-
` viet housing complex at.2601Tun=
law Rd. NW. :. .
` Yakushkin has a son,' Dmitif.D.'
Yakushkin, 24, who is a correspon-
dent for`. the Soviet'- -newspaper
Pravda. in. Moscow.-Lest. August the
son visited.; the United- States,: but
Yakushwas in. Moscow, accord
inn to A~{i!!I1~ ; n b _,S:I:'f.
The 'father and son did not see
each other, the officials said, because
the son is for all practical purposes a
hostage, kept'at home to prevent the
fatl;er. from defecting or doing any-
': thing else that the Soviet authorities
might - disapprove. Father and son
are not allowed outside the.Soviet
Union at the same time..
As the resident here, Yakushkin
probably knows more about Soviet
intelligence . operations-including
any sensitive- penetrations of U.S.
government departments' or agen-
cies-than any other person in the
KGB. Since?he served previously for
six years' as head of the KGB at the
United Nations in- New York' City,
his 12 years of U.S. intelligence op-
erations give him- unique knowledge
and perspectives
A workaholic, Yakushldn-report
edly arrives at the Soviet Embassy
about 8 or 9 a.m., and often stays to
8 or .9 p.m. or later. On occasion he
spends a weekend-with: his wife' at
the. Soviet recreational retreat in
His direct contacts with others irr?
Washington are-held to as absolute
minimum. The Czech ambassador,
Dr. Jaromir' Joharies,- is reportedly
Yakushkin'a best friend outside the,
embassy network. - ,
Yakushkin's ? fait 'assignment` to
the-United- States was a-brief` stay
with the - Soviet delegation 'to the
- United Nations in,late 1962. In July;
1963,. he, was assigned to the-U.N.-
.delegation as head. of the KGB op-
erations. He served there until May,
_1969, when he-reportedly was put in
charge of the Moscow branch. of the
KGB that deals with .intelligence op-
erations in Britain.-
There' were some indications that
Yakushkin was willing to be inter-
viewed by a reporter last month, but
`through- a Soviet Embassy spokes-
man he- eventually - declined. - The
spokesman said neither the embassy
`nor -Yakuabkir; would have any com-
ment an his work here for the Soviet
government f 1 ` _t" ;..
STAT
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/12/09: CIA-RDP90-00552R000707340003-9