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George Blake, a former British intelligence officer who was a double agent for the Soviet Union, passed away in Russia at the age of 98.
Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service, known as “SVR,” announced Blake’s death on Saturday in a statement that did not mention any circumstances of his death. Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his condolences and praised Blake as a “brilliant professional” and a man of “remarkable courage.”
Blake has lived in Russia since his daring escape from a British prison in 1966, and was granted the rank of colonel in the KGB.
Born in the Netherlands, Blake joined British intelligence during World War II. He was sent to Korea when war broke out there in 1950, and was arrested by the Communists in the North. He said he volunteered to work with the Soviet Union after witnessing the relentless US bombing of North Korea.
In a statement issued in 2017 by “SVR”, Blake confirmed that he decided to change his position after seeing civilians killed by “the American military machine”.
As Blake said at the time, “I realized at the time that such conflicts were extremely dangerous to all of humanity, and I made the most important decision of my life: to cooperate with the KGB voluntarily and free of charge to help protect the Peace in the world”.
As a double agent, Blake transmitted some of Britain’s most coveted secrets to the Soviet Union, including a Western plan to tap into Soviet communications from an underground tunnel in East Berlin. It also revealed dozens of British agents in the Soviet bloc countries in Eastern Europe.
A Polish defector revealed that Blake was a spy for Russia in 1961. He was found guilty of spying in Britain and sentenced to 42 years in prison. In October 1966, he boldly escaped with the help of many people he had met while in custody.
Blake spent two months in hiding at his assistant’s house and was then transported across Europe to East Berlin in a wooden box attached to the underside of a car.
In his 2017 statement, Blake noted that Russia had become his “second homeland” and thanked SVR officers for their friendship and understanding. He said Russian intelligence officers have a mission “to save the world in a situation where the danger of nuclear war and the consequent self-destruction of humanity are put back on the agenda by irresponsible politicians.
(Father)
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