List of Soviet and Eastern Bloc defectors

Updated: 11/6/2025, 1:42:07 AM Wikipedia source

Soon after the formation of the Soviet Union, emigration restrictions were put in place to keep citizens from leaving the various republics of the USSR, though some defections still occurred. During and after World War II, similar restrictions were put in place in non-Soviet countries of the Eastern Bloc, which consisted of the communist states of Central and Eastern Europe (except for non-aligned Yugoslavia). Until 1952, however, the Inner German border between East and West Germany could be easily crossed in most places. Accordingly, before 1961, most of that east–west flow took place between East and West Germany, with over 3.5 million East Germans emigrating to West Germany before 1961. On August 13, 1961, a barbed-wire barrier, which would become the Berlin Wall separating East and West Berlin, was erected by East Germany. Although international movement was, for the most part, strictly controlled, there was a steady loss through escapees who were able to use ingenious methods to evade frontier security. Numerous notable Eastern Bloc citizens defected to non-Eastern Bloc countries. The following list of Eastern Bloc defectors contains notable defectors from East Germany, the Soviet Union, Poland, Bulgaria, Romania, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and Albania before those countries' conversions from communist states in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

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Defections violating emigration restrictions of the Eastern Bloc countries · List of defections

George Balanchine

Defector

George Balanchine

Profession/Prominence

Choreographer

Birthplace

Russia

Year

1924

Notes

Defected during a tour of Germany to the Weimar Republic

Boris Bazhanov

Defector

Boris Bazhanov

Profession/Prominence

Politburo secretary

Birthplace

Ukraine, Russian Empire

Year

1928

Notes

Defected to France via Iran and India

Georges Agabekov

Defector

Georges Agabekov

Profession/Prominence

OGPU

Birthplace

Turkmenistan

Year

1930

Notes

Defected in France; led the manhunt for Boris Bazhanov before defecting

Grigol Robakidze

Defector

Grigol Robakidze

Profession/Prominence

Author

Birthplace

Georgia

Year

1930

Notes

Defected to Germany; primarily known for his exotic prose and anti-Soviet émigré activities

Tatiana Tchernavin

Defector

Tatiana Tchernavin

Profession/Prominence

Writer

Birthplace

Russia

Year

1932

Notes

Fled from the USSR with her husband Vladimir V. Tchernavin and her son Andrei through Karelia to Finland and then to the United Kingdom. She and her son visited her husband in a gulag prison, before fleeing together. She wrote a book about their experience: Escape from the Soviets and her husband wrote another: I Speak For the Silent Prisoners of the Soviets.

George Gamow

Defector

George Gamow

Profession/Prominence

Physicist

Birthplace

Ukraine

Year

1933

Notes

First tried to kayak across the Black Sea; defected in Brussels, Belgium; later discovered alpha decay via quantum tunneling

Ignace Reiss

Defector

Ignace Reiss

Profession/Prominence

NKVD

Birthplace

Austria-Hungary

Year

1937

Notes

Former spy of Soviet intelligence services; assassinated by the NKVD

Walter Krivitsky

Defector

Walter Krivitsky

Profession/Prominence

NKVD

Birthplace

Austria-Hungary

Year

1937

Notes

Defected in Paris after the assassination of Reiss; apparent suicide in the United States in 1941 may have been an NKVD assassination

Alexander Orlov

Defector

Alexander Orlov

Profession/Prominence

NKVD

Birthplace

Belarus

Year

1938

Notes

Fled while stationed in Spain to avoid execution in the Great Purge

Genrikh Lyushkov

Defector

Genrikh Lyushkov

Profession/Prominence

NKVD

Birthplace

Ukraine, Russian Empire

Year

1938

Notes

Crossed the border into Manchukuo with secret documents; family arrested and sent to the gulag, where several died

Aron Sheinman

Defector

Aron Sheinman

Profession/Prominence

Director of the London department of Intourist

Birthplace

Poland, Russian Empire

Year

1939

Notes

Was recalled from London, refused to return to the USSR

Abdurakhman Avtorkhanov

Defector

Abdurakhman Avtorkhanov

Profession/Prominence

Author

Birthplace

Russia

Year

1942

Notes

Sent to infiltrate anti-Soviet Chechens; he joined them instead

Nasreddin Murat-Khan

Defector

Nasreddin Murat-Khan

Profession/Prominence

Architect/engineer

Birthplace

Russia

Year

1944

Notes

Fled to evade religious persecution. Defected in Berlin, Germany; then to Pakistan in 1950 where he was given refuge and citizenship. In honour of his new home, Pakistan; he designed and constructed the Minar-e-Pakistan in Lahore, which stands as a national symbol of the country to this day. He also constructed the Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore and Nishtar Medical University in Multan.

Victor Kravchenko

Defector

Victor Kravchenko

Profession/Prominence

Engineer

Birthplace

Ukraine

Year

1944

Notes

Soviet engineer who witnessed the horrors of the Holodomor; defected while serving in the Soviet Purchasing Agency in Washington, D.C., in the U.S.

G. M. Dimitrov

Defector

G. M. Dimitrov

Profession/Prominence

Politician

Birthplace

Bulgaria

Year

1945

Notes

Saved from execution by the U.S. ambassador; later founded anti-communist organisations

Fedir Bohatyrchuk

Defector

Fedir Bohatyrchuk

Profession/Prominence

Chess player, medical doctor

Birthplace

USSR

Year

1945

Notes

Former Soviet chess champion who eventually immigrated to Canada, where he became a professor of medicine and resumed his competitive chess

Géza Füster

Defector

Géza Füster

Profession/Prominence

Chess player

Birthplace

Hungary

Year

1945

Notes

Defected through East Berlin with friend Pal Benko who was caught and jailed for three years

Igor Gouzenko

Defector

Igor Gouzenko

Profession/Prominence

GRU

Birthplace

Russia

Year

1945

Notes

Defected in Ottawa, Canada; helped uncover communist spy rings

Konstantin Volkov

Defector

Konstantin Volkov

Profession/Prominence

NKVD

Birthplace

Russia

Year

1945

Notes

Deputy head of the NKVD in Istanbul, Turkey; contacted the British consulate about defection, was arrested by the Soviets, and disappeared forever (possibly executed)

Valeri Tihonovitch Minakov

Defector

Valeri Tihonovitch Minakov

Birthplace

Russia

Year

1945

Notes

Escaped from Siberia across the Bering Sea in a small boat with his 6-year-old son Oleg. He was assisted by Yupik of Savoonga and Gambell on St. Lawrence Island. Shortly afterward, 14 Siberians arrived for "a visit" and questioned inhabitants whether they had seen a "white Russian".

Anatoli Granovsky

Defector

Anatoli Granovsky

Profession/Prominence

MGB agent

Birthplace

Ukraine, Russian Empire

Year

1946

Notes

Defected in Stockholm, Sweden and later wrote an autobiography

Grigori Tokaty

Defector

Grigori Tokaty

Profession/Prominence

Scientist and politician

Birthplace

Ossetia

Year

1947

Notes

Secretly worked with an underground opposition group in the USSR. Afraid that his ties to the underground would be discovered, he defected to the British Sector of Occupied Berlin, and arrived in the UK in 1947. He later worked in the Information Research Department, helping disseminate anti-communist propaganda.

Jan Čep

Defector

Jan Čep

Profession/Prominence

Writer

Birthplace

Czechoslovakia

Year

1948

Notes

Defected to France; poet friend who stayed behind was jailed for 13 years for "anti-socialist thinking"

Nesti Josifi Kopali

Defector

Nesti Josifi Kopali

Profession/Prominence

Chief of the Sigurimi Albanian security service in Rome

Birthplace

Albania

Year

1949

Notes

Offered himself to the U.S. Embassy in Rome in late 1949, but was rejected, so he turned to Italian intelligence. After a couple of months of interrogation, he was turned over to the CIA, which flew him to Washington, D.C., for debriefing. Kopali had, among his other anti-western assignments in 1946–47, tried and failed to set up a liaison with the editor of an ethnic newspaper in Boston. In 1950, Kopali provided some valuable information about Albanian security and military matters, but not enough for the U.S. government to offer him political asylum and resettlement in the U.S. He was ultimately flown back to Germany.

Alena Vrzáňová

Defector

Alena Vrzáňová

Profession/Prominence

Figure skater

Birthplace

Czechoslovakia

Year

1950

Notes

Defected during the 1950 World Championships in London

Josef Buršík

Defector

Josef Buršík

Profession/Prominence

Tank commander

Birthplace

Czechoslovakia

Year

1950

Notes

Escaped from prison to West Germany and later the UK. After the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968, Buršík returned his Hero of the Soviet Union medal to the Soviet embassy in London.

Czesław Miłosz

Defector

Czesław Miłosz

Profession/Prominence

Author

Birthplace

Poland

Year

1951

Notes

Defected to France after serving as a Polish diplomat and later settled in the U.S.

Istvan Rabovsky

Defector

Istvan Rabovsky

Profession/Prominence

Dancer

Birthplace

Hungary

Year

1953

Notes

Escaped with wife Nora Kovach to West Berlin on an East Berlin tour

Franciszek Jarecki

Defector

Franciszek Jarecki

Profession/Prominence

Pilot

Birthplace

Poland

Year

1953

Notes

Flew a MiG-15 from Słupsk, Poland to Rønne Airport on the Danish island of Bornholm

Józef Światło

Defector

Józef Światło

Profession/Prominence

UB, lieutenant colonel

Birthplace

Poland

Year

1953

Notes

Defected on a mission in East Berlin; he went on to reveal in Radio Free Europe broadcasts the internal struggle in the Polish United Workers' Party (PZPR) and the true face of the Security Office (UB). One result of his escape was the liquidation of the Ministry of Security (MBP).

Nikolai Khokhlov

Defector

Nikolai Khokhlov

Profession/Prominence

KGB

Birthplace

Russia

Year

1953

Notes

Refused to assassinate George Okolovich; defected in West Germany and survived a KGB assassination attempt in 1957

Nora Kovach

Defector

Nora Kovach

Profession/Prominence

Dancer

Birthplace

Hungary

Year

1953

Notes

Escaped with husband Istvan Rabovsky to West Berlin on an East Berlin tour

Andrzej Panufnik

Defector

Andrzej Panufnik

Profession/Prominence

Composer

Birthplace

Poland

Year

1954

Notes

Escaped Polish secret police in a nighttime taxi chase in Zurich, Switzerland, then defected to the UK while in London

Peter Deriabin

Defector

Peter Deriabin

Profession/Prominence

KGB major

Birthplace

Russia

Year

1954

Notes

KGB major and personnel officer who contacted U.S. intelligence in Vienna and was exfiltrated through the "Mozart Express" military train; worked with the CIA for years afterwards

Vladimir Petrov

Defector

Vladimir Petrov

Profession/Prominence

Diplomat

Birthplace

Russia

Year

1954

Notes

Husband of undercover KGB agent Evdokia Petrova; defected on a mission in Australia which sparked the Petrov Affair

Evdokia Petrova

Defector

Evdokia Petrova

Profession/Prominence

KGB agent

Birthplace

Russia

Year

1954

Notes

Undercover KGB agent who was the wife of Vladimir Petrov; defected in Australia during the Petrov Affair

Béla Berger

Defector

Béla Berger

Profession/Prominence

Chess player

Birthplace

Hungary

Year

1956

Notes

Defected during the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 to Australia

Ferenc Puskás

Defector

Ferenc Puskás

Profession/Prominence

Football player

Birthplace

Hungary

Year

1956

Notes

Defected during the 1956–57 European Cup in Madrid, Spain

Imre Lakatos

Defector

Imre Lakatos

Profession/Prominence

Philosopher of science

Birthplace

Hungary

Year

1956

Notes

Fled to Vienna, Austria, and later to the UK after the Hungarian Revolution of 1956

Jenő Kalmár

Defector

Jenő Kalmár

Profession/Prominence

Football player

Birthplace

Hungary

Year

1956

Notes

Defected during the 1956–57 European Cup in Madrid, Spain, then went to Switzerland

József Mindszenty

Defector

József Mindszenty

Profession/Prominence

Cardinal

Birthplace

Hungary

Year

1956

Notes

Fled to the U.S. Embassy in Budapest during the Hungarian Revolution of 1956; later moved to Austria

Sándor Kocsis

Defector

Sándor Kocsis

Profession/Prominence

Football player

Birthplace

Hungary

Year

1956

Notes

Defected during the 1956–57 European Cup in Madrid, Spain, then went to Switzerland

Zoltán Czibor

Defector

Zoltán Czibor

Profession/Prominence

Football player

Birthplace

Hungary

Year

1956

Notes

Fled to Spain during the Hungarian Revolution of 1956

Ágnes Keleti

Defector

Ágnes Keleti

Profession/Prominence

Artistic gymnast

Birthplace

Hungary

Year

1956

Notes

Defected in Melbourne, Australia, during the 1956 Summer Olympics

Christo Javacheff

Defector

Christo Javacheff

Profession/Prominence

Environmental artist

Birthplace

Bulgaria

Year

1957

Notes

Escaped from Czechoslovakia to Austria

Reino Häyhänen

Defector

Reino Häyhänen

Profession/Prominence

KGB agent

Birthplace

Russia

Year

1957

Notes

Defected in Paris after spending several years spying undercover in the west

Pal Benko

Defector

Pal Benko

Profession/Prominence

Chess player

Birthplace

Hungary

Year

1957

Notes

Defected in Reykjavik following the World Student Team Championship

Nicholas Shadrin

Defector

Nicholas Shadrin

Profession/Prominence

Naval officer

Birthplace

Russia

Year

1959

Notes

Defected in Sweden; later allegedly killed by the KGB

Alexander Petrovich

Defector

Alexander Petrovich

Profession/Prominence

Photographer

Birthplace

Russia

Year

1960

Notes

Defected through Iran and India; settled in the U.S. in Tampa, Florida

Ernst Degner

Defector

Ernst Degner

Profession/Prominence

Motorcycle racer

Birthplace

East Germany

Year

1961

Notes

Defected once he knew that his wife and two children had already escaped to West Germany in a car trunk. Degner, who was familiar with MZ Motorcycles' loop scavenging technique secrets, drove his car from the Swedish Grand Prix to Denmark, then on to West Germany.

Michael Goleniewski

Defector

Michael Goleniewski

Profession/Prominence

SB MSW

Birthplace

Poland

Year

1961

Notes

Defected in West Germany; sentenced to death after defection; subsequently worked for the CIA. Before he defected, he had spied for the CIA under the cover name Sniper, but the CIA did not know his identity until his escape.

Anatoliy Golitsyn

Defector

Anatoliy Golitsyn

Profession/Prominence

KGB agent

Birthplace

Ukraine

Year

1961

Notes

Defected to the U.S. from Helsinki, Finland via Sweden and West Germany with his wife and daughter when he was stationed in Helsinki; made sensational claims after his defection

Rudolf Nureyev

Defector

Rudolf Nureyev

Profession/Prominence

Ballet dancer

Birthplace

Russia

Year

1961

Notes

Defected while on tour in Paris

Jonas Pleškys

Defector

Jonas Pleškys

Profession/Prominence

Submarine tender captain

Birthplace

Lithuania

Year

1961

Notes

Sailed vessel to Sweden; sentenced to death and hidden by the CIA from the USSR

Valentin Poénaru

Defector

Valentin Poénaru

Profession/Prominence

Mathematician

Birthplace

Romania

Year

1961

Notes

Defected at a conference in Stockholm, Sweden; known for low-dimensional topology

Emil Poklitar

Defector

Emil Poklitar

Profession/Prominence

Football player

Birthplace

East Germany

Year

1961

Notes

Football player of SC Dynamo Berlin. Defected together with teammate Rolf Starost after a friendly match against Boldklubben af 1893 in Copenhagen, Denmark

Rolf Starost

Defector

Rolf Starost

Profession/Prominence

Football player

Birthplace

East Germany

Year

1961

Notes

Football player of SC Dynamo Berlin. Defected together with Emil Poklitar after a friendly match against Boldklubben af 1893 in Copenhagen, Denmark

Konrad Schumann

Defector

Konrad Schumann

Profession/Prominence

Border guard

Birthplace

East Germany

Year

1961

Notes

Photographed jumping the Berlin Wall during construction

Bohdan Stashynsky

Defector

Bohdan Stashynsky

Profession/Prominence

KGB agent

Birthplace

Ukraine

Year

1961

Notes

Defected in West Berlin; assassinated Lev Rebet and Stepan Bandera before his defection

Petr Beckmann

Defector

Petr Beckmann

Profession/Prominence

Physicist

Birthplace

Czechoslovakia

Year

1963

Notes

Defected as a visiting professor to the University of Colorado in the U.S.; became a proponent of libertarianism and nuclear energy

Yuri Krotkov

Defector

Yuri Krotkov

Profession/Prominence

KGB agent

Birthplace

Georgia

Year

1963

Notes

Defected while an undercover agent in London; later became a novelist

Gabor Balla

Defector

Gabor Balla

Profession/Prominence

Marksman

Birthplace

Hungary

Year

1964

Notes

Defected in Tokyo, Japan during the 1964 Summer Olympics

András Törő

Defector

András Törő

Profession/Prominence

Flatwater canoe athlete

Birthplace

Hungary

Year

1964

Notes

Defected in Tokyo, Japan during the 1964 Summer Olympics

Paul Barbă Neagră

Defector

Paul Barbă Neagră

Profession/Prominence

Film director

Birthplace

Romania

Year

1964

Notes

Defected in Tours, France

Yuri Nosenko

Defector

Yuri Nosenko

Profession/Prominence

KGB agent

Birthplace

Ukraine

Year

1964

Notes

Defected in Washington, D.C., United States; for years, the CIA believed that he might be a double agent

Michael Polywka

Defector

Michael Polywka

Profession/Prominence

Football player

Birthplace

East Germany

Year

1966

Notes

Fled after a match in Sweden; traveled to West Germany

Ivan Diviš

Defector

Ivan Diviš

Profession/Prominence

Poet

Birthplace

Czechoslovakia

Year

1967

Notes

Fled after the Prague Spring to West Germany and worked for Radio Free Europe

Svetlana Alliluyeva

Defector

Svetlana Alliluyeva

Profession/Prominence

Joseph Stalin's daughter

Birthplace

Russia

Year

1967

Notes

Defected to the U.S. via New Delhi, India; denounced the former regime of her late father Joseph Stalin, but softened her criticism of him in the 1980s

Anatoly Kuznetsov

Defector

Anatoly Kuznetsov

Profession/Prominence

Author

Birthplace

Ukraine

Year

1968

Notes

Defected after the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia while doing research in London to the UK

Jan Šejna

Defector

Jan Šejna

Profession/Prominence

General

Birthplace

Czechoslovakia

Year

1968

Notes

Fled after the Prague Spring to the U.S.

Miloš Forman

Defector

Miloš Forman

Profession/Prominence

Film director and actor

Birthplace

Czechoslovakia

Year

1968

Notes

Defected to the U.S. when the USSR and its Warsaw Pact allies invaded the country to end the Prague Spring; known for directing One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and Amadeus

Vladimir Oravsky

Defector

Vladimir Oravsky

Profession/Prominence

Writer

Birthplace

Czechoslovakia

Year

1968

Notes

Fled after the Prague Spring to Sweden

Cornel Chiriac

Defector

Cornel Chiriac

Profession/Prominence

Journalist

Birthplace

Romania

Year

1969

Notes

Defected to Austria using a fake invitation

Georgi Markov

Defector

Georgi Markov

Profession/Prominence

Playwright

Birthplace

Bulgaria

Year

1969

Notes

Fled to Italy after a ban on plays; assassinated in London in 1978

Jerzy Lewi

Defector

Jerzy Lewi

Profession/Prominence

Chess player

Birthplace

Poland

Year

1969

Notes

Defected during a tournament in Athens, Greece; traveled to Sweden

Ladislav Bittman

Defector

Ladislav Bittman

Profession/Prominence

Czechoslovak state security, disinformation

Birthplace

Czechoslovakia

Year

1969

Notes

Became a professor at Boston University, lecturing on disinformation and propaganda

Josef Frolík

Defector

Josef Frolík

Profession/Prominence

Czechoslovak state security

Birthplace

Czechoslovakia

Year

1969

Notes

Defected from Bulgaria to Turkey on a boat, moved by the CIA to the U.S.

Simonas Kudirka

Defector

Simonas Kudirka

Profession/Prominence

Seaman

Birthplace

Lithuania

Year

1970

Notes

Leaped from a Soviet ship to a U.S. Coast Guard ship

Natalia Makarova

Defector

Natalia Makarova

Profession/Prominence

Ballet dancer

Birthplace

Russia

Year

1970

Notes

Defected while on a ballet tour in London; later won a Tony Award

Yuri Bezmenov

Defector

Yuri Bezmenov

Profession/Prominence

KGB propaganda agent

Birthplace

Russia

Year

1970

Notes

Left his KGB station in India disguised as a hippie, traveled to Greece, was debriefed in the U.S., but refused to stay in the country because of KGB infiltration of the CIA; later granted asylum in Canada

Oleg Lyalin

Defector

Oleg Lyalin

Profession/Prominence

KGB agent

Birthplace

Russia

Year

1971

Notes

Defected in London after being arrested there; exposed dozens of KGB agents in the city

Vasek Matousek

Defector

Vasek Matousek

Profession/Prominence

Figure skater

Birthplace

Czechoslovakia

Year

1972

Ioan P. Culianu

Defector

Ioan P. Culianu

Profession/Prominence

Philosopher

Birthplace

Romania

Year

1972

Notes

Defected during lectures in Italy. He was murdered on the campus of University of Chicago in 1991, and speculation arose that it was at the hands of former Securitate personnel.

Alexander Elder

Defector

Alexander Elder

Profession/Prominence

Author

Birthplace

Russia

Year

1974

Notes

Jumped from a Soviet ship, on which he was working as a doctor, while it was off the Ivory Coast; later traveled to the U.S.

Mikhail Baryshnikov

Defector

Mikhail Baryshnikov

Profession/Prominence

Ballet dancer

Birthplace

Latvia

Year

1974

Notes

Defected during a tour in Toronto, Canada

Paul Nevai

Defector

Paul Nevai

Profession/Prominence

Mathematician

Birthplace

Hungary

Year

1974

Notes

Defected in Paris; emigrated to the U.S. in 1976

Stanislav Kurilov

Defector

Stanislav Kurilov

Profession/Prominence

Oceanographer

Birthplace

USSR

Year

1974

Notes

While on a "cruise to nowhere" in the open ocean, jumped into the sea and swam to the Philippine coast, many kilometres away

Václav Nedomanský

Defector

Václav Nedomanský

Profession/Prominence

Hockey player

Birthplace

Czechoslovakia

Year

1974

Notes

Defected during a vacation in Switzerland

Martina Navratilova

Defector

Martina Navratilova

Profession/Prominence

Tennis player

Birthplace

Czechoslovakia

Year

1975

Notes

Defected at the 1975 US Open in the U.S.

Leslie Mándoki

Defector

Leslie Mándoki

Profession/Prominence

Musician

Birthplace

Hungary

Year

1975

Notes

Fled into Yugoslavia and then into Austria via railway tunnel

Gábor Csupó

Defector

Gábor Csupó

Profession/Prominence

Animator

Birthplace

Hungary

Year

1975

Notes

Fled into Yugoslavia and then into Austria via railway tunnel

Jürgen Pahl

Defector

Jürgen Pahl

Profession/Prominence

Football player

Birthplace

East Germany

Year

1976

Notes

Fled with Norbert Nachtweih after an under-21 match in Turkey; traveled to West Germany

Norbert Nachtweih

Defector

Norbert Nachtweih

Profession/Prominence

Football player

Birthplace

East Germany

Year

1976

Notes

Fled with Jürgen Pahl after an under-21 match in Turkey; traveled to West Germany

Viktor Belenko

Defector

Viktor Belenko

Profession/Prominence

Fighter pilot

Birthplace

Russia

Year

1976

Notes

Flew a MiG-25 from Chuguyevka, Russia to Hakodate, Japan

Viktor Korchnoi

Defector

Viktor Korchnoi

Profession/Prominence

Chess player

Birthplace

Russia

Year

1976

Notes

First Soviet Grandmaster to defect; fled following a tournament in Amsterdam, Netherlands

Youri Egorov

Defector

Youri Egorov

Profession/Prominence

Pianist

Birthplace

Russia

Year

1976

Notes

Fled during a tour in Rome, Italy

Vladimir Rezun (Viktor Suvorov)

Defector

Vladimir Rezun (Viktor Suvorov)

Profession/Prominence

GRU

Birthplace

Russia

Year

1978

Notes

GRU military intelligence officer who defected to the UK while working under UN cover in Switzerland

Arkady Shevchenko

Defector

Arkady Shevchenko

Profession/Prominence

UN Undersecretary General

Birthplace

Ukraine

Year

1978

Notes

Spied for the U.S. for three years before defection. His wife in Moscow died two months after his defection, purportedly of suicide.

Kirill Kondrashin

Defector

Kirill Kondrashin

Profession/Prominence

Conductor

Birthplace

Russia

Year

1978

Notes

Defected in December 1978 while touring in the Netherlands and sought political asylum there

Ion Mihai Pacepa

Defector

Ion Mihai Pacepa

Profession/Prominence

Securitate agent

Birthplace

Romania

Year

1978

Notes

Two-star Romanian Securitate general and personal advisor to Nicolae Ceauşescu; defected in U.S. Embassy in Bonn, West Germany; sentenced to death twice in absentia with a $2 million bounty. Carlos the Jackal was sent to assassinate him.

Matei Pavel Haiducu

Defector

Matei Pavel Haiducu

Profession/Prominence

Securitate agent

Birthplace

Romania

Year

1978

Notes

Defected to France in 1981 while on an industrial espionage mission; sentenced to death in absentia

Imants Lešinskis

Defector

Imants Lešinskis

Profession/Prominence

KGB agent

Birthplace

Latvia

Year

1978

Notes

Defected to the U.S. while working at the UN

Alexander Godunov

Defector

Alexander Godunov

Profession/Prominence

Ballet dancer

Birthplace

Russia

Year

1979

Notes

Defected while on a ballet tour in New York City at JFK International Airport in Queens; later became an actor, playing among other roles as a terrorist in Die Hard

Werner Stiller

Defector

Werner Stiller

Profession/Prominence

Stasi agent

Birthplace

East Germany

Year

1979

Notes

Defected to West Germany after stealing state secrets

Jörg Berger

Defector

Jörg Berger

Profession/Prominence

Football coach

Birthplace

East Germany

Year

1979

Notes

Used a match with the East German youth national football team in Yugoslavia to flee to West Germany

Leonid Kozlov

Defector

Leonid Kozlov

Profession/Prominence

Ballet dancer

Birthplace

Russia

Year

1979

Notes

Defected with wife Valentina Kozlova during their company's tour in Los Angeles, California

Valentina Kozlova

Defector

Valentina Kozlova

Profession/Prominence

Ballet dancer

Birthplace

Russia

Year

1979

Notes

Defected with husband Leonid Kozlov during their company's tour in Los Angeles, California

Lev Alburt

Defector

Lev Alburt

Profession/Prominence

Chess player

Birthplace

Russia

Year

1979

Notes

Soviet chess grandmaster; defected to the U.S. where he won the US Chess Championship three times

Ludmila Belousova

Defector

Ludmila Belousova

Profession/Prominence

Figure skater

Birthplace

Russia

Year

1979

Notes

Defected while in Switzerland

Lutz Eigendorf

Defector

Lutz Eigendorf

Profession/Prominence

Football player

Birthplace

East Germany

Year

1979

Notes

Football player of BFC Dynamo. Fled during a match in West Germany; died in a car accident in 1983, allegedly assassinated by the Stasi

Oleg Protopopov

Defector

Oleg Protopopov

Profession/Prominence

Figure skater

Birthplace

Russia

Year

1979

Notes

Defected with Ludmila Belousova while on tour in Switzerland

Stanislav Levchenko

Defector

Stanislav Levchenko

Profession/Prominence

KGB agent

Birthplace

Russia

Year

1979

Notes

Defected during a mission in Tokyo, Japan; detailed the KGB's Japanese spy network

Vladas Česiūnas

Defector

Vladas Česiūnas

Profession/Prominence

Sprint canoe athlete

Birthplace

Lithuania

Year

1979

Notes

Defected during the world championships at Frankfurt Airport in West Germany; recaptured by the KGB

Anton Šťastný

Defector

Anton Šťastný

Profession/Prominence

Hockey player

Birthplace

Czechoslovakia

Year

1980

Notes

Defected with brother Peter during the European Cup tournament in Innsbruck, Austria

Igor Vasilyevich Ivanov

Defector

Igor Vasilyevich Ivanov

Profession/Prominence

Chess player

Birthplace

Russia

Year

1980

Notes

Ran from KGB agents when his plane made an emergency stop in Gander, Canada

Peter Šťastný

Defector

Peter Šťastný

Profession/Prominence

Hockey player

Birthplace

Czechoslovakia

Year

1980

Notes

Defected with his wife and brother Anton during the European Cup tournament in Innsbruck, Austria

Sulamith Messerer

Defector

Sulamith Messerer

Profession/Prominence

Ballet dancer

Birthplace

Russia

Year

1980

Notes

Sister's husband purged; defected to the UK at the age of 72 to coach ballet

Walter Polovchak

Defector

Walter Polovchak

Profession/Prominence

Underage defector

Birthplace

Ukraine

Year

1980

Notes

Fled from his parents when they were about to return to the Ukrainian SSR. Granted political asylum as a naturalised U.S. citizen upon turning 18 on October 3, 1985. Had been the subject of a lengthy political cause célèbre during the preceding five years

Maxim Shostakovich

Defector

Maxim Shostakovich

Profession/Prominence

Conductor

Birthplace

Russia

Year

1981

Notes

Defected while on tour in West Germany with his son

Romuald Spasowski

Defector

Romuald Spasowski

Profession/Prominence

Ambassador

Birthplace

Poland

Year

1981

Notes

Defected when martial law was declared in Poland in 1981

Zdzisław Rurarz

Defector

Zdzisław Rurarz

Profession/Prominence

Ambassador

Birthplace

Poland

Year

1981

Notes

Defected to the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo with Spasowski following the Polish United Workers' Party's declaration of martial law

Ryszard Kukliński

Defector

Ryszard Kukliński

Profession/Prominence

Colonel

Birthplace

Poland

Year

1981

Notes

Spied for the U.S. for 10 years after the 1970 massacre of Polish workers. Later defected to the U.S. and was sentenced to death in absentia. Died of a stroke; sentence annulled in 1998 by the Polish Supreme Court

Vladimir Tismăneanu

Defector

Vladimir Tismăneanu

Profession/Prominence

Political scientist

Birthplace

Romania

Year

1981

Notes

Defected in Spain while on an authorised trip with his mother to visit the site of his father's battles

Miroslav Fryčer

Defector

Miroslav Fryčer

Profession/Prominence

Hockey player

Birthplace

Czechoslovakia

Year

1981

Notes

Defected to Canada while at a tournament with the Czechoslovakia men's national ice hockey team in Bern, Switzerland

Clifford Kettemborough

Defector

Clifford Kettemborough

Profession/Prominence

Mathematician, computer scientist

Birthplace

Romania

Year

1982

Notes

Defected to Turkey, then Austria, via Bulgaria before emigrating to the U.S. in June 1983

Vladimir Kuzichkin

Defector

Vladimir Kuzichkin

Profession/Prominence

KGB agent

Birthplace

Russia

Year

1982

Notes

Defected to a British intelligence station in Tehran and then to the UK

Gega Kobakhidze

Defector

Gega Kobakhidze

Profession/Prominence

Actor

Birthplace

Georgia

Year

1983

Notes

Hijacked Aeroflot Flight 6833; tried to defect to Turkey and was arrested

Falko Götz

Defector

Falko Götz

Profession/Prominence

Football player

Birthplace

East Germany

Year

1983

Notes

Football player of BFC Dynamo. Fled before a match in Yugoslavia together with teammate Dirk Schlegel; traveled to West Germany

Dirk Schlegel

Defector

Dirk Schlegel

Profession/Prominence

Football player

Birthplace

East Germany

Year

1983

Notes

Football player of BFC Dynamo. Fled before a match in Yugoslavia together with Falko Götz; traveled to West Germany

Vakhtang Jordania

Defector

Vakhtang Jordania

Profession/Prominence

Conductor

Birthplace

Georgia

Year

1983

Notes

Defected while on tour with Viktoria Mullova via Kuusamo, Finland and Haparanda, Sweden, to the U.S.

Viktoria Mullova

Defector

Viktoria Mullova

Profession/Prominence

Violinist

Birthplace

Russia

Year

1983

Notes

Defected in a tour with Vakhtang Jordania via Kuusamo, Finland, and Haparanda, Sweden, to the U.S.

Oleg Bitov

Defector

Oleg Bitov

Profession/Prominence

Editor

Birthplace

Russia

Year

1983

Notes

Foreign editor of Literaturnaya Gazeta; defected in Venice, Italy, to the UK

Dariusz Janczewski

Defector

Dariusz Janczewski

Profession/Prominence

Track and field athlete

Birthplace

Poland

Year

1984

Notes

Left a hotel room in the middle of the night while in Turin, Italy, at an international track meet; spent several months in a refugee camp in Italy before relocating to the U.S.

Vasily Matuzok

Defector

Vasily Matuzok

Profession/Prominence

Diplomatic translator

Birthplace

Russia

Year

1984

Notes

Translator at the Soviet embassy in Pyongyang, North Korea. Defected during a guided tour of the Korean Joint Security Area by running across the demarcation line to South Korea

Valdo Randpere

Defector

Valdo Randpere

Profession/Prominence

Deputy Minister of Justice

Birthplace

Estonia

Year

1984

Notes

Defected via Kotka, Finland to Sweden; fled during a Soviet crackdown on Estonian nationalism

Ivo Zdarsky

Defector

Ivo Zdarsky

Profession/Prominence

Aviation engineering student

Birthplace

Czechoslovakia

Year

1984

Notes

Defected from Czechoslovakia after he created a homemade aircraft, which he flew to Vienna International Airport; subsequently settled in the U.S. and founded the Ivoprop corporation

Ladislav Pataki

Defector

Ladislav Pataki

Profession/Prominence

Sports scientist

Birthplace

Czechoslovakia

Year

1985

Notes

Defected to the U.S. via Rome, Italy; known as "the highest-ranking Soviet-bloc sports scientist ever to defect to the West"

Milan Švec

Defector

Milan Švec

Profession/Prominence

Embassy employee

Birthplace

Czechoslovakia

Year

1985

Notes

Defected in Washington, D.C., where he was Minister-Counselor at the Czechoslovak embassy; later became a commentator on east–west relations

Oleg Gordievsky

Defector

Oleg Gordievsky

Profession/Prominence

KGB agent

Birthplace

Russia

Year

1985

Notes

Defected to the UK via Finland; became an MI6 double agent after the 1968 Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia and was sentenced to death in absentia

Vitaly Yurchenko

Defector

Vitaly Yurchenko

Profession/Prominence

KGB agent

Birthplace

Russia

Year

1985

Notes

Defected in Rome, Italy and exposed two KGB/CIA double agents, Ronald Pelton and Edward Lee Howard; later ended up back in the KGB

Mircea Florian

Defector

Mircea Florian

Profession/Prominence

Musician

Birthplace

Romania

Year

1986

Notes

Defected in the U.S. while on an authorised visit for a performance

Frank Lippmann

Defector

Frank Lippmann

Profession/Prominence

Football player

Birthplace

East Germany

Year

1986

Notes

Football player of SG Dynamo Dresden; fled after a match against FC Bayer 05 Uerdingen in the quarter finals of the 1985–86 European Cup Winners' Cup

Naim Süleymanoğlu

Defector

Naim Süleymanoğlu

Profession/Prominence

Weightlifter

Birthplace

Bulgaria

Year

1986

Notes

Defected during the World Cup final in Melbourne, Australia; traveled to Turkey

Vyacheslav Polozov

Defector

Vyacheslav Polozov

Profession/Prominence

Opera singer

Birthplace

USSR

Year

1986

Notes

Defected during a Madama Butterfly singing competition in Tokyo, Japan

Mihai Smighelschi

Defector

Mihai Smighelschi

Profession/Prominence

Air force cadet

Birthplace

Romania

Year

1987

Notes

Flew his Aero L-39ZA Albatros jet trainer aircraft from Buzău, Romania to near Kırklareli, Turkey, where he landed on a dirt road

Tamás Buday

Defector

Tamás Buday

Profession/Prominence

Sprint canoe athlete

Birthplace

Hungary

Year

1987

Notes

Defected to Canada

Jürgen Sparwasser

Defector

Jürgen Sparwasser

Profession/Prominence

Football player

Birthplace

East Germany

Year

1988

Notes

Defected to West Germany while taking part in a veterans' tournament in Saarbrücken

Mihai Șubă

Defector

Mihai Șubă

Profession/Prominence

Chess player

Birthplace

Romania

Year

1988

Notes

Defected to the UK during the 1988 Lloyds Bank chess tournament in London

Miodrag Belodedici

Defector

Miodrag Belodedici

Profession/Prominence

Football player

Birthplace

Romania

Year

1988

Notes

Defected to Belgrade, Yugoslavia

Luboš Kubík

Defector

Luboš Kubík

Profession/Prominence

Football player

Birthplace

Czechoslovakia

Year

1988

Notes

Defected from a Czechoslovakia national football team training camp in West Germany to Belgium alongside Ivo Knoflíček; eventually settled in Italy after signing for Fiorentina

Ivo Knoflíček

Defector

Ivo Knoflíček

Profession/Prominence

Football player

Birthplace

Czechoslovakia

Year

1988

Notes

Defected from a Czechoslovakia national football team training camp in West Germany to Belgium alongside Luboš Kubík; eventually settled in West Germany after signing for St. Pauli

Aleksandr Zuyev

Defector

Aleksandr Zuyev

Profession/Prominence

Pilot

Birthplace

Russia

Year

1989

Notes

Flew an Mikoyan MiG-29 to Trabzon, Turkey

Alexander Mogilny

Defector

Alexander Mogilny

Profession/Prominence

Hockey player

Birthplace

Russia

Year

1989

Notes

Defected after the World Championships in Sweden

Kalinikos Kreanga

Defector

Kalinikos Kreanga

Profession/Prominence

Table tennis player

Birthplace

Romania

Year

1989

Notes

Defected in Luxembourg during a youth table tennis championship

Mihai Apostol

Defector

Mihai Apostol

Profession/Prominence

Sprint canoe athlete

Birthplace

Romania

Year

1989

Notes

Nadia Comăneci

Defector

Nadia Comăneci

Profession/Prominence

Gymnast

Birthplace

Romania

Year

1989

Notes

Defected weeks before the Romanian revolution to Austria

Cristian Raducanu

Defector

Cristian Raducanu

Profession/Prominence

Rugby player

Birthplace

Romania

Year

1989

Notes

Petr Nedvěd

Defector

Petr Nedvěd

Profession/Prominence

Hockey player

Birthplace

Czechoslovakia

Year

1989

Notes

Defected during a midget hockey tournament in Calgary, Canada

Vladimir Pasechnik

Defector

Vladimir Pasechnik

Profession/Prominence

Bioweapons engineer

Birthplace

Russia

Year

1989

Notes

Defected in Paris, France, to warn the West about the Soviet biological weapons program

Zuo Xiukai

Defector

Zuo Xiukai

Profession/Prominence

Military officer

Birthplace

China

Year

1989

Notes

Defected to South Korea from his post at the Joint Security Area

Richard Kruspe

Defector

Richard Kruspe

Profession/Prominence

Musician

Birthplace

East Germany

Year

1989

Notes

Defected to West Germany after political imprisonment

Marco Köller

Defector

Marco Köller

Profession/Prominence

Football player

Birthplace

East Germany

Year

1989

Notes

Football player of BFC Dynamo; left for West Germany only a short time before the fall of the Berlin Wall

Gorsha Sur

Defector

Gorsha Sur

Profession/Prominence

Ice dancer

Birthplace

Russia

Year

1990

Notes

Defected to the U.S. while on tour with a Soviet troupe

Sergei Fedorov

Defector

Sergei Fedorov

Profession/Prominence

Hockey player

Birthplace

Russia

Year

1990

Notes

Defected in Seattle, Washington during the Goodwill Games

Vitali Vitaliev

Defector

Vitali Vitaliev

Profession/Prominence

Author

Birthplace

Ukraine

Year

1990

Notes

Became a regular on BBC television in the UK

Defector	Profession/Prominence	Birthplace	Year	Notes
George Balanchine	Choreographer	Russia	1924	Defected during a tour of Germany to the Weimar Republic
Boris Bazhanov	Politburo secretary	Ukraine, Russian Empire	1928	Defected to France via Iran and India
Georges Agabekov	OGPU	Turkmenistan	1930	Defected in France; led the manhunt for Boris Bazhanov before defecting
Grigol Robakidze	Author	Georgia	1930	Defected to Germany; primarily known for his exotic prose and anti-Soviet émigré activities
Tatiana Tchernavin	Writer	Russia	1932	Fled from the USSR with her husband Vladimir V. Tchernavin and her son Andrei through Karelia to Finland and then to the United Kingdom. She and her son visited her husband in a gulag prison, before fleeing together. She wrote a book about their experience: Escape from the Soviets and her husband wrote another: I Speak For the Silent Prisoners of the Soviets.
George Gamow	Physicist	Ukraine	1933	First tried to kayak across the Black Sea; defected in Brussels, Belgium; later discovered alpha decay via quantum tunneling
Ignace Reiss	NKVD	Austria-Hungary	1937	Former spy of Soviet intelligence services; assassinated by the NKVD
Walter Krivitsky	NKVD	Austria-Hungary	1937	Defected in Paris after the assassination of Reiss; apparent suicide in the United States in 1941 may have been an NKVD assassination
Alexander Orlov	NKVD	Belarus	1938	Fled while stationed in Spain to avoid execution in the Great Purge
Genrikh Lyushkov	NKVD	Ukraine, Russian Empire	1938	Crossed the border into Manchukuo with secret documents; family arrested and sent to the gulag, where several died
Aron Sheinman	Director of the London department of Intourist	Poland, Russian Empire	1939	Was recalled from London, refused to return to the USSR
Abdurakhman Avtorkhanov	Author	Russia	1942	Sent to infiltrate anti-Soviet Chechens; he joined them instead
Nasreddin Murat-Khan	Architect/engineer	Russia	1944	Fled to evade religious persecution. Defected in Berlin, Germany; then to Pakistan in 1950 where he was given refuge and citizenship. In honour of his new home, Pakistan; he designed and constructed the Minar-e-Pakistan in Lahore, which stands as a national symbol of the country to this day. He also constructed the Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore and Nishtar Medical University in Multan.
Victor Kravchenko	Engineer	Ukraine	1944	Soviet engineer who witnessed the horrors of the Holodomor; defected while serving in the Soviet Purchasing Agency in Washington, D.C., in the U.S.
G. M. Dimitrov	Politician	Bulgaria	1945	Saved from execution by the U.S. ambassador; later founded anti-communist organisations
Fedir Bohatyrchuk	Chess player, medical doctor	USSR	1945	Former Soviet chess champion who eventually immigrated to Canada, where he became a professor of medicine and resumed his competitive chess
Géza Füster	Chess player	Hungary	1945	Defected through East Berlin with friend Pal Benko who was caught and jailed for three years
Igor Gouzenko	GRU	Russia	1945	Defected in Ottawa, Canada; helped uncover communist spy rings
Konstantin Volkov	NKVD	Russia	1945	Deputy head of the NKVD in Istanbul, Turkey; contacted the British consulate about defection, was arrested by the Soviets, and disappeared forever (possibly executed)
Valeri Tihonovitch Minakov		Russia	1945	Escaped from Siberia across the Bering Sea in a small boat with his 6-year-old son Oleg. He was assisted by Yupik of Savoonga and Gambell on St. Lawrence Island. Shortly afterward, 14 Siberians arrived for "a visit" and questioned inhabitants whether they had seen a "white Russian".
Anatoli Granovsky	MGB agent	Ukraine, Russian Empire	1946	Defected in Stockholm, Sweden and later wrote an autobiography
Grigori Tokaty	Scientist and politician	Ossetia	1947	Secretly worked with an underground opposition group in the USSR. Afraid that his ties to the underground would be discovered, he defected to the British Sector of Occupied Berlin, and arrived in the UK in 1947. He later worked in the Information Research Department, helping disseminate anti-communist propaganda.
Jan Čep	Writer	Czechoslovakia	1948	Defected to France; poet friend who stayed behind was jailed for 13 years for "anti-socialist thinking"
Nesti Josifi Kopali	Chief of the Sigurimi Albanian security service in Rome	Albania	1949	Offered himself to the U.S. Embassy in Rome in late 1949, but was rejected, so he turned to Italian intelligence. After a couple of months of interrogation, he was turned over to the CIA, which flew him to Washington, D.C., for debriefing. Kopali had, among his other anti-western assignments in 1946–47, tried and failed to set up a liaison with the editor of an ethnic newspaper in Boston. In 1950, Kopali provided some valuable information about Albanian security and military matters, but not enough for the U.S. government to offer him political asylum and resettlement in the U.S. He was ultimately flown back to Germany.
Alena Vrzáňová	Figure skater	Czechoslovakia	1950	Defected during the 1950 World Championships in London
Josef Buršík	Tank commander	Czechoslovakia	1950	Escaped from prison to West Germany and later the UK. After the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968, Buršík returned his Hero of the Soviet Union medal to the Soviet embassy in London.
Czesław Miłosz	Author	Poland	1951	Defected to France after serving as a Polish diplomat and later settled in the U.S.
Istvan Rabovsky	Dancer	Hungary	1953	Escaped with wife Nora Kovach to West Berlin on an East Berlin tour
Franciszek Jarecki	Pilot	Poland	1953	Flew a MiG-15 from Słupsk, Poland to Rønne Airport on the Danish island of Bornholm
Józef Światło	UB, lieutenant colonel	Poland	1953	Defected on a mission in East Berlin; he went on to reveal in Radio Free Europe broadcasts the internal struggle in the Polish United Workers' Party (PZPR) and the true face of the Security Office (UB). One result of his escape was the liquidation of the Ministry of Security (MBP).
Nikolai Khokhlov	KGB	Russia	1953	Refused to assassinate George Okolovich; defected in West Germany and survived a KGB assassination attempt in 1957
Nora Kovach	Dancer	Hungary	1953	Escaped with husband Istvan Rabovsky to West Berlin on an East Berlin tour
Andrzej Panufnik	Composer	Poland	1954	Escaped Polish secret police in a nighttime taxi chase in Zurich, Switzerland, then defected to the UK while in London
Peter Deriabin	KGB major	Russia	1954	KGB major and personnel officer who contacted U.S. intelligence in Vienna and was exfiltrated through the "Mozart Express" military train; worked with the CIA for years afterwards
Vladimir Petrov	Diplomat	Russia	1954	Husband of undercover KGB agent Evdokia Petrova; defected on a mission in Australia which sparked the Petrov Affair
Evdokia Petrova	KGB agent	Russia	1954	Undercover KGB agent who was the wife of Vladimir Petrov; defected in Australia during the Petrov Affair
Béla Berger	Chess player	Hungary	1956	Defected during the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 to Australia
Ferenc Puskás	Football player	Hungary	1956	Defected during the 1956–57 European Cup in Madrid, Spain
Imre Lakatos	Philosopher of science	Hungary	1956	Fled to Vienna, Austria, and later to the UK after the Hungarian Revolution of 1956
Jenő Kalmár	Football player	Hungary	1956	Defected during the 1956–57 European Cup in Madrid, Spain, then went to Switzerland
József Mindszenty	Cardinal	Hungary	1956	Fled to the U.S. Embassy in Budapest during the Hungarian Revolution of 1956; later moved to Austria
Sándor Kocsis	Football player	Hungary	1956	Defected during the 1956–57 European Cup in Madrid, Spain, then went to Switzerland
Zoltán Czibor	Football player	Hungary	1956	Fled to Spain during the Hungarian Revolution of 1956
Ágnes Keleti	Artistic gymnast	Hungary	1956	Defected in Melbourne, Australia, during the 1956 Summer Olympics
Christo Javacheff	Environmental artist	Bulgaria	1957	Escaped from Czechoslovakia to Austria
Reino Häyhänen	KGB agent	Russia	1957	Defected in Paris after spending several years spying undercover in the west
Pal Benko	Chess player	Hungary	1957	Defected in Reykjavik following the World Student Team Championship
Nicholas Shadrin	Naval officer	Russia	1959	Defected in Sweden; later allegedly killed by the KGB
Alexander Petrovich	Photographer	Russia	1960	Defected through Iran and India; settled in the U.S. in Tampa, Florida

References

Dowty 1989, p. 69
Dowty 1989, p. 114
Eastern bloc, The American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2005.
Hirsch, Donald, Joseph F. Kett, James S. Trefil, The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 200
Dowty 1989, p. 121
Mynz 1995, p. 2.2.1
Senate Chancellery, Governing Mayor of Berlin, The construction of the Berlin Wall Archived 2014-04-02 at the Wayback Ma
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Pearson 1998, p. 75
Turnock 1997, p. 19
Krasnov 1985, p. 2
ALASKA magazine June 1971, and July 1972, articles by Frank J. Daugherty
The Independent
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/professor-grigori-tokaty-37520.html
G.S. Trice, Specialist/4, Dossier Number H8047134, U.S. Army Investigative Records Repository, 7 March 1974: contains su
TEAM SUZUKI by Ray Battersby (2008) Parker House Publishing ISBN 0-9796891-5-5
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"Sovietologist Leopold Labedz, who met her in 1968, first noticed it in 1981: "She was getting soft on papochka." Once s
https://web.archive.org/web/20090227220442/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,959280-6,00.html
Natalia Makarova Dances Again With the Kirov. The New York Times, August 8, 1988
https://www.nytimes.com/1988/08/08/arts/natalia-makarova-dances-again-with-the-kirov.html
"The day I met a very famous German who nobody's heard of… Until now"
https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/london-life/the-day-i-met-a-very-famous-and-accomplished-german-who-nobody-s-ever-heard-of-until-now-a3451856.html
"The day I met a very famous German who nobody's heard of… Until now"
https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/london-life/the-day-i-met-a-very-famous-and-accomplished-german-who-nobody-s-ever-heard-of-until-now-a3451856.html
Raymond Keene. Viktor Korchnoi: Fearless Competitor of World chess. chessville.com
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Turmoil on the Tarmac. Time magazine, September 3, 1979
https://web.archive.org/web/20090529151652/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,948586-1,00.html
KGB Kidnapping. Time magazine, October 22, 1979
https://web.archive.org/web/20091026235412/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,947515,00.html
Russians Call Defection Of Shostakovich 'Personal'. The New York Times, April 28, 1981
https://www.nytimes.com/1981/04/28/arts/russians-call-defection-of-shostakovich-personal.html
oac.cdlib.org
https://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/c8hh6n7m/
Toronto Sun
https://torontosun.com/sports/hockey/nhl/toronto-maple-leafs/two-transplants-and-the-wild-hockey-life-of-miroslav-frycer
Dirk Schlegel and Falko Götz: The East Berlin footballers who fled from the Stasi, BBC Sport, 5 November 2019
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/50289343
The New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/1983/10/26/world/a-soviet-defector-is-granted-permission-to-stay-in-britain.html
"Evadare din comunism cu avionul de vânătoare"
http://adevarul.ro/news/eveniment/evadare-comunism-avionul-vanatoare-1_50ad7dc37c42d5a6639627eb/index.html
The New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/1989/07/30/world/chinese-army-major-defects-to-south-korea-with-his-wife.html?src=pm
66 Jahre BFC Dynamo – Auswärts mit 'nem Bus