What do you think?
Rate this book
The Illegal: The Hunt for a Russian Spy in Post-War London
Gordon Lonsdale arrived in London in 1955. A successful Canadian businessman and lover of the high life, he charmed everyone he met in his adopted country. But Gordon Lonsdale was an elaborate lie. In reality he was Konon Molody, a celebrated Russian spy working for the KGB.
Lonsdale was an illegal, an elite brand of undercover agent whose identity was carefully designed to help him avoid detection. Moving with ease through the British establishment, he ran a network of agents, some providing sensitive military secrets. Lonsdale was running a slick operation, but living a double life would exact a considerable toll…
When a source tipped off the CIA, Lonsdale’s activities came under the close scrutiny of MI5—and for Charles Elwell, the hunt for the illegal became a personal mission. But how would he go about tracking down a man whose whole life was built on evading capture?
74 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 27, 2018
400 people are currently reading
403 people want to read
About the author
Gordon Corera
17 books159 followersGordon Corera is a British journalist. He is the Security Correspondent for the BBC.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
April 22, 2023
Short, sharp and most interesting.
The game of spying in action. How a spy ring operated and how MI 5 uncovered it.
Well written, I’d say. No padding, which is for the better and becoming a rarity nowadays.
Most enjoyable. If you’re interested in the ‘spy game’ in London this is a a valuable read.
The game of spying in action. How a spy ring operated and how MI 5 uncovered it.
Well written, I’d say. No padding, which is for the better and becoming a rarity nowadays.
Most enjoyable. If you’re interested in the ‘spy game’ in London this is a a valuable read.
July 19, 2023
Another treat.
The real life ways and methods of the chaps defending our realm.
No Hollywood antics, but still gripping stuff.
The real life ways and methods of the chaps defending our realm.
No Hollywood antics, but still gripping stuff.
December 11, 2025
A fascinating account of how a Russian spy (one of a number) infiltrated British society in an awfully cunning and clever manner.
What's more fascinating is how the British went about exposing him.
What's more fascinating is how the British went about exposing him.
June 7, 2025
Real world espionage and thrilling to read.
May 17, 2019
A pretty good, if short, history about a Russian spy who posed as Canadian. It is interesting.
October 4, 2025
This is an enjoyable read. How the security service go about a small part of their business. It didn't, just, push me to the edge of my seat, but it was close. It is remarkable how some things come to fruition because of the necessary people, on the outside of 'the know', happen to be the right sort.
As I'm sure is true for a good amount of what they do: fly by the seat of their pants, live off a hope and prayer and cuff it when they have to.
As I'm sure is true for a good amount of what they do: fly by the seat of their pants, live off a hope and prayer and cuff it when they have to.
June 2, 2025
Very good. Most informative.
July 9, 2025
Gobsmacked by it. What is your next door neighbour up to? Or more precisely, the seemingly friendly and normal family over the road?
Knock-Knock.
Who's there?
Excuse me, Sir, Madam, can we set up a close observation post in your front bedroom?
Yes, of course. Why?
It's the Russian spies opposite.
Yikes.
Knock-Knock.
Who's there?
Excuse me, Sir, Madam, can we set up a close observation post in your front bedroom?
Yes, of course. Why?
It's the Russian spies opposite.
Yikes.
June 30, 2021
Gordon Corera offers a concise account of how Russian spies were embedded in the West after WW2. In particular he vives a detailed and well-researched account the career of Konon Molody, born in Moscow in 1922. As the Canadian Gordon Lonsdale, he worked very effectively as an illegal – a spy posing as a resident -- in the US and the UK. He did a considerable amount of damage to both countries but more so to the latter.
Molody/Lonsdale was hunted down by MI5 and captured along with some of his most important agents in London. However, he, as well as most of his agents were swapped, after a few years in prison, for British and/or American spies imprisoned in Russia.
My interest in Corera’s book was two-fold. I worked in Eastern and Central Europe for both long and short periods of time between 1967 and and 1974 and encountered my share of shady characters. I also followed the arrest of Gordon Lonsdale in 1961 along with the other members of the “Portland Spy Ring” as well as the subsequent events that led to their being swapped.
Corera’s tells the story well and uses documentary evidence to support all that he recounts. This is a fine short book for anybody with an interest in how the Soviets infiltrated the west during the Cold War.
April 24, 2018
In some respects this book is like a long article, but its length doesn't detract from the fascinating story it tells. Gordon Lonsdale was not who he seemed to be, after all the real Lonsdale had died years before this one came along as a Soviet agent who managed to successfully take over his identity. I assume that is would be more difficult to do this today with more sophisticated passport controls, but I wonder. Clearly the British Admiralty security was very slack at the time and hopefully has improved, but I am sure the Russians are still working hard to get their hands on whatever secrets are still going. A gripping tale of espionage.
April 2, 2019
Found this book on Kindle, and I really enjoyed it, I feel like it would make a good movie.
November 23, 2023
Really. This is the real world of spying. Really.
It really does give a real view of life on the front line of MI5.
It really is worth reading.
It really does give a real view of life on the front line of MI5.
It really is worth reading.
December 3, 2020
If one has seen The Americans, beginning to read this reminds one inevitably of it all, not due to events but the sheer theme, within a page or two.
It takes slightly longer for it to dawn that this might just be a true story.
............
"It was gloomy on the first Wednesday in October as Lonsdale sat in a stuffy room and watched his classmates file in for the start of their Chinese course. The choice of course was not an accident. The class was not comprised of the normal twenty-year-old students. Most were nearly a decade older. About half were foreign or had a business background. Lonsdale was in that category. But the other half wore the uniform of pinstripe suits and bowler hats that marked them out as part of the British establishment – civil servants. And among them, Lonsdale knew, were some spies. This was where they were sent to learn the language ready for a foreign posting.
"Studying Chinese was easy for Lonsdale. That was because he already spoke the language (he had even helped write a textbook in Moscow). The hardest part was hiding that fact. But it gave him plenty of time to work out who was who on his course. In a break between lectures, he found himself next to a tall, relaxed man wearing a tweed jacket and light-grey trousers. He was another Canadian – Tom Pope from Ottawa. As often happens, the foreigners and Brits kept themselves separate. But slowly the ice broke. Tom Pope, it turned out, threw a mean, martini-fuelled party and all the students came along with friends and other hangers-on to his place in Bayswater. Lonsdale was always at the centre of things – a good storyteller who would wave his hands as he talked. He knew all about theatre and culture but could also drop in the odd reference to having been a lumberjack in Canada. He was an avid amateur photographer and brought along his camera with a flash and took some snaps at one party and asked others to do the same. He promised he would send them round. At one party, another student, an American slightly worse for wear, turned to Lonsdale. ‘Hey, Gordon, I want to share with you a discovery,’ he said furtively. ‘Except for you and me, they are all spies here.’"
"Most spies work under diplomatic cover in a foreign country – posing as something like a second secretary for trade. Everyone knows this happens and so embassies are closely watched. MI5 in Britain for instance carefully assessed each Soviet diplomat posted to London to try and work out if they were an undercover intelligence officer and their movements were restricted and monitored. If such a spy is caught in the act, they have diplomatic immunity and can be declared persona non grata and expelled. There is no risk of prison. Other spies work under non-official cover. Lots of countries do this – a spy posing as a businessman to meet an agent for instance. This makes it harder to find them but also means they have no protection if captured. An American businessman meeting a Russian diplomat in Moscow might still arouse suspicion and investigation though. So Russia takes this a step further. A true Russian illegal is not just living under cover of a different occupation but takes on an entirely different nationality. The Russian will not – to all appearances – be Russian but instead German or Canadian. This makes them immeasurably harder to find.
"Moscow specialised in this approach because in the first few decades after the 1917 revolution many countries did not have formal diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union so there was no option of diplomatic cover. Other types of cover – such as business – were also problematic. In addition, there was a pool of ideologically motivated men and women of other countries who were willing to spy for the Soviet Union and who could either use their nationality or adopt a new one to aid the worldwide spread of communism. Some of the greatest illegals operated in Europe in the thirties, including those responsible for recruiting and running Kim Philby and the Cambridge Spies. Their successes created a powerful mythology within Soviet intelligence about this breed apart (also creating a related fear in the eyes of their adversaries). In the mid-1950s the decision was taken to build new illegal networks in Britain and America.
"Recruiting and training illegals takes an enormous investment. But patience has always been a characteristic of Russian espionage. An illegal will not just travel in and out of a country for a short period. They live and immerse themselves in their new identity and nationality for years. This takes their ability to move and work clandestinely to a whole other level. But it also takes a remarkable degree of skill to sustain one’s cover without mistake over such a long period. Men and women capable of such work are few and far between and require huge investment. ... "
............
"Gordon Lonsdale told everyone he had been born on 27 August 1924 in Ontario. His father was Jack Lonsdale, who walked out on his mother a year after he was born. That was all a lie. The real story was far more extraordinary. Gordon Lonsdale was Konon Molody, born in Moscow.iv His grandfather was from Ukraine but travelled to the far east of Russia to try and make his fortune in the fur trade. His grandmother was from the Lamut tribe in Kamchatka, which is where Molody inherited his slightly Asiatic features. In his false legend he ascribed this to a Native American grandmother – everything, he knew, had to have an explanation. Molody’s father was a prominent scientific writer in Moscow; his mother was a doctor. His sister was born in 1917 and Konon arrived on 17 January 1922. When Konon’s father died suddenly of a brain haemorrhage in October 1929, the family was plunged into poverty.
"In 1931 one of his mother’s sisters came to visit. She had left Russia for faraway California. She was shocked by the destitute situation her sister and the children had found themselves in. They were half starving, Konon desperate for every scrap of food. The aunt suggested she could take the children with her to America for a better life. Konon’s sister refused. But nine-year-old Konon may have been persuaded by the promise of a bicycle. Getting him out required an exit permit. Strings had to be pulled. Konon’s mother knew the wife of the novelist Maxim Gorky, who in turn knew the head of the secret police. This may have been the moment young Konon was first noticed. Next stop was Estonia, where another aunt lived. A false birth certificate provided by a priest allowed him to pose as an illegitimate child and procure an American visa."
Here is the surprising part. He worked hard at school and joined Berkeley, but when his mother wrote to ask him to make a choice, chose to return home and joined army, disntiguishing himself in war in Byelorussia.
"After the war, he entered the Institute of Foreign Trade to study law and Chinese. But a friend recalled that soon after graduating in June 1951, Molody simply vanished."
Wouldn't thst be a common enough occurrence, for those distinguished in that institute? And did Russians talk about colleagues? Without fear of vanishing themselves as a consequence?
"There are scant details of either Molody’s or any other illegal’s training by the KGB. As well as the spycraft, there was the need to live your cover. Being an illegal requires not just knowing a language like a native but how it is used, the idioms, the nuances, the jokes, the cultural references to films or sports. ‘It is also necessary over time to learn to think in a foreign language,’ Lonsdale later said, and even when surprised to make sure you swear in it. You had to retain control in all situations, never giving in to impulsive actions or words which might give you away. The consequences of every action needed to be thought through, but you also had to do this so quickly that it looked effortless. As any child knows, one lie can quickly lead to another to cover it up, but these could all too easily get you into trouble if they did not conform to the story you had adopted. It was not like the way other spies learnt their cover identity by heart – where they had been born and where they went to school – so they could respond if asked. If you were an illegal you had to inhabit that other identity, not just dredge it up when confronted. An illegal does not adopt his cover. He becomes it. But somehow he must do it without losing sight of his true self."
............
"In November 1954 Molody took a boat from Seattle to Vancouver. His accent meant he could not pass as English in London so he would become Canadian. The grey weather and rain of Vancouver, he would later say, was good preparation for London. Again, he walked the streets – not to shake surveillance but to soak up life and the geography of the city. He entered Canada using the identity of a ‘live double’ – a living Canadian communist who had handed over his passport. But in Canada he needed to find a stronger cover. That meant assuming the name of a ‘dead double’. This would be Gordon Lonsdale – a child born in Canada in 1924 but who had emigrated to the Soviet Union with his Finnish mother and died there in 1943. Molody first got hold of an identity card and then, in Toronto, the real prize – a Canadian passport."
"In London, Lonsdale worked his way into interesting circles – civil servants and spies on his course but also American military personnel stationed in Britain. While studying, Lonsdale began to think about what cover he could use next. He knew from his time in America that jukeboxes were a huge part of the culture but they had not yet crossed the Atlantic. So, in October 1956 he bought two machines from the Automatic Vending Company which he sited in cafes. Soon he joined the company as a director and manager of the company. He moved into supplying other vending machines, especially for bubblegum. In February 1960 he became director of another company which made a prize-winning security lock. All of this helped justify his travel around the country and his frequent trips to Europe. He seemed to relish life as a Western businessman."
............
Harry Houghton was a low level British posted in Poland at the British embassy who sold secrets to Polish for money. He was sent back to Britain without his treachery being discovered, which made him more valuable to KGB and he sold more valuable secrets, dealing with submarines and more. After his wife left him and he was transferred, he recruited Bunty, a woman who had access to valuable documents. Handlers from embassy might be followed by MI5, so Harry and Bunty were handed over to Lonsdale.
In June 1960 they handed over documents on underwater detection devices, including sonar, related to Dreadnought.
CIA got anonymous letters written in German, from someone not known and codenamed SNIPER, telling about Poland getting information about two spies in Britain, one in British intelligence and other in navy; they were codenamed LAMBADA1 and 2.
............
MI5 got after Houghton almost immediately, but something embarrassing emerged. Mrs Houghton had told various authorities about his selling secrets to communists, but they had, all but her welfare officer, taken this as jealous ranting of a wife in process of a divorce. Even MI5 had labeled her allegations spiteful, because they never investigated.
They saw Houghton and his girlfriend meeting the handler, Lonsdale, whom they followed. He behaved like a spy, but was only a businessman, which didn't make sense. MI5 trailed him to Midlands Bank where he left something before flying to U.S., and a quiet word to the bank authority had MI5 get their hands on his spy equipment, cameras and films and one time code pads. They were able to copy everything.
He'd in reality flown to meet his wife in East Europe, maintaining his real life and identity as a loving husband and father; in London he played a playhouses with a lot of glamour women, none constant, none close. On his return MI5 followed him to a house belonging to the Peter and Helen Kroger couple, who said they were Canadian but held New Zealand passports. They were illegals supporting Gordon Lonsdale in his work. MI5 codenamed them KILLJOYS. They were in reality Morris Cohen, born of Russian parents in N.Y., and his wife Lona born of Polish parents, and he'd been noticed by Soviet intelligence when he fought in Spanish civil war. Lona had played a key role in their career, obtaining documents about atomic bomb from an agent by going to New Mexico with excuse of a treatment for tuberculosis. They had flown to Moscow after Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were arrested.
The Kroger couple had a bungalow close to RAF Northholt and hid a powerful radio transmitter that could contact Moscow directly. MI5 used a neighbour's house for surveillance, and a neighbouring apartment in London for electronic and radio surveillance.
They wanted to wait to catch other agents run by Lonsdale, but Houghton was doing damage. CIA came to say SNIPER was defecting next day. Then Soviets would know that whatever he knew was blown, so Lonsdale might vanish. The three were arrested as they walked together after she'd handed over a basket. It carried admiralty files. Kroger were arrested next, and the two houses - Kroger bungalow and Lonsdale apartment - yielded much including the high power radio transmitter.
They had a hard time establishing Lonsdale false identity, which happened with help of Canadians who knew about the real Gordon Lonsdale and knew the boy had died. Of the five, Lonsdale received the longest sentence, in the trial which was embarrassing for British authorities, especially the admiralty. But they knew Lonsdale was running other agents, and maintaining silence, having been sacrificed to protect others, possibly a mole inside MI5.
Elwell, who'd been in Colditz Castle as a prisoner during WWII, tried to get him to make a deal, but to no avail. Elwell lacked the power to offer the deal Lonsdale might take; money he said he'd make easily by selling rights to his story, and he was loyal to his country. U.S. had swapped his old handler Abel in 1962 for Gary Powers, so Lonsdale knew KGB would take care of him too. In April 1964 he was exchanged for Greville Wynne who was a businessman and had been used as a go-between for Oleg Penkowsky.
Back in Russia, he didn't fit in, they couldn't trust he hadn't turned, and he died suddenly of heart attack at forty-eight, after heavy drinking sometimes as recalled by his son.
Russia still had, in eighties, a hundred illegals out and another hundred in training as estimated by West. In 2010 four couples were arrested by FBI in U.S., all Russian illegals.
Merged review:
If one has seen The Americans, beginning to read this reminds one inevitably of it all, not due to events but the sheer theme, within a page or two.
It takes slightly longer for it to dawn that this might just be a true story.
............
"It was gloomy on the first Wednesday in October as Lonsdale sat in a stuffy room and watched his classmates file in for the start of their Chinese course. The choice of course was not an accident. The class was not comprised of the normal twenty-year-old students. Most were nearly a decade older. About half were foreign or had a business background. Lonsdale was in that category. But the other half wore the uniform of pinstripe suits and bowler hats that marked them out as part of the British establishment – civil servants. And among them, Lonsdale knew, were some spies. This was where they were sent to learn the language ready for a foreign posting.
"Studying Chinese was easy for Lonsdale. That was because he already spoke the language (he had even helped write a textbook in Moscow). The hardest part was hiding that fact. But it gave him plenty of time to work out who was who on his course. In a break between lectures, he found himself next to a tall, relaxed man wearing a tweed jacket and light-grey trousers. He was another Canadian – Tom Pope from Ottawa. As often happens, the foreigners and Brits kept themselves separate. But slowly the ice broke. Tom Pope, it turned out, threw a mean, martini-fuelled party and all the students came along with friends and other hangers-on to his place in Bayswater. Lonsdale was always at the centre of things – a good storyteller who would wave his hands as he talked. He knew all about theatre and culture but could also drop in the odd reference to having been a lumberjack in Canada. He was an avid amateur photographer and brought along his camera with a flash and took some snaps at one party and asked others to do the same. He promised he would send them round. At one party, another student, an American slightly worse for wear, turned to Lonsdale. ‘Hey, Gordon, I want to share with you a discovery,’ he said furtively. ‘Except for you and me, they are all spies here.’"
"Most spies work under diplomatic cover in a foreign country – posing as something like a second secretary for trade. Everyone knows this happens and so embassies are closely watched. MI5 in Britain for instance carefully assessed each Soviet diplomat posted to London to try and work out if they were an undercover intelligence officer and their movements were restricted and monitored. If such a spy is caught in the act, they have diplomatic immunity and can be declared persona non grata and expelled. There is no risk of prison. Other spies work under non-official cover. Lots of countries do this – a spy posing as a businessman to meet an agent for instance. This makes it harder to find them but also means they have no protection if captured. An American businessman meeting a Russian diplomat in Moscow might still arouse suspicion and investigation though. So Russia takes this a step further. A true Russian illegal is not just living under cover of a different occupation but takes on an entirely different nationality. The Russian will not – to all appearances – be Russian but instead German or Canadian. This makes them immeasurably harder to find.
"Moscow specialised in this approach because in the first few decades after the 1917 revolution many countries did not have formal diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union so there was no option of diplomatic cover. Other types of cover – such as business – were also problematic. In addition, there was a pool of ideologically motivated men and women of other countries who were willing to spy for the Soviet Union and who could either use their nationality or adopt a new one to aid the worldwide spread of communism. Some of the greatest illegals operated in Europe in the thirties, including those responsible for recruiting and running Kim Philby and the Cambridge Spies. Their successes created a powerful mythology within Soviet intelligence about this breed apart (also creating a related fear in the eyes of their adversaries). In the mid-1950s the decision was taken to build new illegal networks in Britain and America.
"Recruiting and training illegals takes an enormous investment. But patience has always been a characteristic of Russian espionage. An illegal will not just travel in and out of a country for a short period. They live and immerse themselves in their new identity and nationality for years. This takes their ability to move and work clandestinely to a whole other level. But it also takes a remarkable degree of skill to sustain one’s cover without mistake over such a long period. Men and women capable of such work are few and far between and require huge investment. ... "
............
"Gordon Lonsdale told everyone he had been born on 27 August 1924 in Ontario. His father was Jack Lonsdale, who walked out on his mother a year after he was born. That was all a lie. The real story was far more extraordinary. Gordon Lonsdale was Konon Molody, born in Moscow.iv His grandfather
It takes slightly longer for it to dawn that this might just be a true story.
............
"It was gloomy on the first Wednesday in October as Lonsdale sat in a stuffy room and watched his classmates file in for the start of their Chinese course. The choice of course was not an accident. The class was not comprised of the normal twenty-year-old students. Most were nearly a decade older. About half were foreign or had a business background. Lonsdale was in that category. But the other half wore the uniform of pinstripe suits and bowler hats that marked them out as part of the British establishment – civil servants. And among them, Lonsdale knew, were some spies. This was where they were sent to learn the language ready for a foreign posting.
"Studying Chinese was easy for Lonsdale. That was because he already spoke the language (he had even helped write a textbook in Moscow). The hardest part was hiding that fact. But it gave him plenty of time to work out who was who on his course. In a break between lectures, he found himself next to a tall, relaxed man wearing a tweed jacket and light-grey trousers. He was another Canadian – Tom Pope from Ottawa. As often happens, the foreigners and Brits kept themselves separate. But slowly the ice broke. Tom Pope, it turned out, threw a mean, martini-fuelled party and all the students came along with friends and other hangers-on to his place in Bayswater. Lonsdale was always at the centre of things – a good storyteller who would wave his hands as he talked. He knew all about theatre and culture but could also drop in the odd reference to having been a lumberjack in Canada. He was an avid amateur photographer and brought along his camera with a flash and took some snaps at one party and asked others to do the same. He promised he would send them round. At one party, another student, an American slightly worse for wear, turned to Lonsdale. ‘Hey, Gordon, I want to share with you a discovery,’ he said furtively. ‘Except for you and me, they are all spies here.’"
"Most spies work under diplomatic cover in a foreign country – posing as something like a second secretary for trade. Everyone knows this happens and so embassies are closely watched. MI5 in Britain for instance carefully assessed each Soviet diplomat posted to London to try and work out if they were an undercover intelligence officer and their movements were restricted and monitored. If such a spy is caught in the act, they have diplomatic immunity and can be declared persona non grata and expelled. There is no risk of prison. Other spies work under non-official cover. Lots of countries do this – a spy posing as a businessman to meet an agent for instance. This makes it harder to find them but also means they have no protection if captured. An American businessman meeting a Russian diplomat in Moscow might still arouse suspicion and investigation though. So Russia takes this a step further. A true Russian illegal is not just living under cover of a different occupation but takes on an entirely different nationality. The Russian will not – to all appearances – be Russian but instead German or Canadian. This makes them immeasurably harder to find.
"Moscow specialised in this approach because in the first few decades after the 1917 revolution many countries did not have formal diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union so there was no option of diplomatic cover. Other types of cover – such as business – were also problematic. In addition, there was a pool of ideologically motivated men and women of other countries who were willing to spy for the Soviet Union and who could either use their nationality or adopt a new one to aid the worldwide spread of communism. Some of the greatest illegals operated in Europe in the thirties, including those responsible for recruiting and running Kim Philby and the Cambridge Spies. Their successes created a powerful mythology within Soviet intelligence about this breed apart (also creating a related fear in the eyes of their adversaries). In the mid-1950s the decision was taken to build new illegal networks in Britain and America.
"Recruiting and training illegals takes an enormous investment. But patience has always been a characteristic of Russian espionage. An illegal will not just travel in and out of a country for a short period. They live and immerse themselves in their new identity and nationality for years. This takes their ability to move and work clandestinely to a whole other level. But it also takes a remarkable degree of skill to sustain one’s cover without mistake over such a long period. Men and women capable of such work are few and far between and require huge investment. ... "
............
"Gordon Lonsdale told everyone he had been born on 27 August 1924 in Ontario. His father was Jack Lonsdale, who walked out on his mother a year after he was born. That was all a lie. The real story was far more extraordinary. Gordon Lonsdale was Konon Molody, born in Moscow.iv His grandfather was from Ukraine but travelled to the far east of Russia to try and make his fortune in the fur trade. His grandmother was from the Lamut tribe in Kamchatka, which is where Molody inherited his slightly Asiatic features. In his false legend he ascribed this to a Native American grandmother – everything, he knew, had to have an explanation. Molody’s father was a prominent scientific writer in Moscow; his mother was a doctor. His sister was born in 1917 and Konon arrived on 17 January 1922. When Konon’s father died suddenly of a brain haemorrhage in October 1929, the family was plunged into poverty.
"In 1931 one of his mother’s sisters came to visit. She had left Russia for faraway California. She was shocked by the destitute situation her sister and the children had found themselves in. They were half starving, Konon desperate for every scrap of food. The aunt suggested she could take the children with her to America for a better life. Konon’s sister refused. But nine-year-old Konon may have been persuaded by the promise of a bicycle. Getting him out required an exit permit. Strings had to be pulled. Konon’s mother knew the wife of the novelist Maxim Gorky, who in turn knew the head of the secret police. This may have been the moment young Konon was first noticed. Next stop was Estonia, where another aunt lived. A false birth certificate provided by a priest allowed him to pose as an illegitimate child and procure an American visa."
Here is the surprising part. He worked hard at school and joined Berkeley, but when his mother wrote to ask him to make a choice, chose to return home and joined army, disntiguishing himself in war in Byelorussia.
"After the war, he entered the Institute of Foreign Trade to study law and Chinese. But a friend recalled that soon after graduating in June 1951, Molody simply vanished."
Wouldn't thst be a common enough occurrence, for those distinguished in that institute? And did Russians talk about colleagues? Without fear of vanishing themselves as a consequence?
"There are scant details of either Molody’s or any other illegal’s training by the KGB. As well as the spycraft, there was the need to live your cover. Being an illegal requires not just knowing a language like a native but how it is used, the idioms, the nuances, the jokes, the cultural references to films or sports. ‘It is also necessary over time to learn to think in a foreign language,’ Lonsdale later said, and even when surprised to make sure you swear in it. You had to retain control in all situations, never giving in to impulsive actions or words which might give you away. The consequences of every action needed to be thought through, but you also had to do this so quickly that it looked effortless. As any child knows, one lie can quickly lead to another to cover it up, but these could all too easily get you into trouble if they did not conform to the story you had adopted. It was not like the way other spies learnt their cover identity by heart – where they had been born and where they went to school – so they could respond if asked. If you were an illegal you had to inhabit that other identity, not just dredge it up when confronted. An illegal does not adopt his cover. He becomes it. But somehow he must do it without losing sight of his true self."
............
"In November 1954 Molody took a boat from Seattle to Vancouver. His accent meant he could not pass as English in London so he would become Canadian. The grey weather and rain of Vancouver, he would later say, was good preparation for London. Again, he walked the streets – not to shake surveillance but to soak up life and the geography of the city. He entered Canada using the identity of a ‘live double’ – a living Canadian communist who had handed over his passport. But in Canada he needed to find a stronger cover. That meant assuming the name of a ‘dead double’. This would be Gordon Lonsdale – a child born in Canada in 1924 but who had emigrated to the Soviet Union with his Finnish mother and died there in 1943. Molody first got hold of an identity card and then, in Toronto, the real prize – a Canadian passport."
"In London, Lonsdale worked his way into interesting circles – civil servants and spies on his course but also American military personnel stationed in Britain. While studying, Lonsdale began to think about what cover he could use next. He knew from his time in America that jukeboxes were a huge part of the culture but they had not yet crossed the Atlantic. So, in October 1956 he bought two machines from the Automatic Vending Company which he sited in cafes. Soon he joined the company as a director and manager of the company. He moved into supplying other vending machines, especially for bubblegum. In February 1960 he became director of another company which made a prize-winning security lock. All of this helped justify his travel around the country and his frequent trips to Europe. He seemed to relish life as a Western businessman."
............
Harry Houghton was a low level British posted in Poland at the British embassy who sold secrets to Polish for money. He was sent back to Britain without his treachery being discovered, which made him more valuable to KGB and he sold more valuable secrets, dealing with submarines and more. After his wife left him and he was transferred, he recruited Bunty, a woman who had access to valuable documents. Handlers from embassy might be followed by MI5, so Harry and Bunty were handed over to Lonsdale.
In June 1960 they handed over documents on underwater detection devices, including sonar, related to Dreadnought.
CIA got anonymous letters written in German, from someone not known and codenamed SNIPER, telling about Poland getting information about two spies in Britain, one in British intelligence and other in navy; they were codenamed LAMBADA1 and 2.
............
MI5 got after Houghton almost immediately, but something embarrassing emerged. Mrs Houghton had told various authorities about his selling secrets to communists, but they had, all but her welfare officer, taken this as jealous ranting of a wife in process of a divorce. Even MI5 had labeled her allegations spiteful, because they never investigated.
They saw Houghton and his girlfriend meeting the handler, Lonsdale, whom they followed. He behaved like a spy, but was only a businessman, which didn't make sense. MI5 trailed him to Midlands Bank where he left something before flying to U.S., and a quiet word to the bank authority had MI5 get their hands on his spy equipment, cameras and films and one time code pads. They were able to copy everything.
He'd in reality flown to meet his wife in East Europe, maintaining his real life and identity as a loving husband and father; in London he played a playhouses with a lot of glamour women, none constant, none close. On his return MI5 followed him to a house belonging to the Peter and Helen Kroger couple, who said they were Canadian but held New Zealand passports. They were illegals supporting Gordon Lonsdale in his work. MI5 codenamed them KILLJOYS. They were in reality Morris Cohen, born of Russian parents in N.Y., and his wife Lona born of Polish parents, and he'd been noticed by Soviet intelligence when he fought in Spanish civil war. Lona had played a key role in their career, obtaining documents about atomic bomb from an agent by going to New Mexico with excuse of a treatment for tuberculosis. They had flown to Moscow after Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were arrested.
The Kroger couple had a bungalow close to RAF Northholt and hid a powerful radio transmitter that could contact Moscow directly. MI5 used a neighbour's house for surveillance, and a neighbouring apartment in London for electronic and radio surveillance.
They wanted to wait to catch other agents run by Lonsdale, but Houghton was doing damage. CIA came to say SNIPER was defecting next day. Then Soviets would know that whatever he knew was blown, so Lonsdale might vanish. The three were arrested as they walked together after she'd handed over a basket. It carried admiralty files. Kroger were arrested next, and the two houses - Kroger bungalow and Lonsdale apartment - yielded much including the high power radio transmitter.
They had a hard time establishing Lonsdale false identity, which happened with help of Canadians who knew about the real Gordon Lonsdale and knew the boy had died. Of the five, Lonsdale received the longest sentence, in the trial which was embarrassing for British authorities, especially the admiralty. But they knew Lonsdale was running other agents, and maintaining silence, having been sacrificed to protect others, possibly a mole inside MI5.
Elwell, who'd been in Colditz Castle as a prisoner during WWII, tried to get him to make a deal, but to no avail. Elwell lacked the power to offer the deal Lonsdale might take; money he said he'd make easily by selling rights to his story, and he was loyal to his country. U.S. had swapped his old handler Abel in 1962 for Gary Powers, so Lonsdale knew KGB would take care of him too. In April 1964 he was exchanged for Greville Wynne who was a businessman and had been used as a go-between for Oleg Penkowsky.
Back in Russia, he didn't fit in, they couldn't trust he hadn't turned, and he died suddenly of heart attack at forty-eight, after heavy drinking sometimes as recalled by his son.
Russia still had, in eighties, a hundred illegals out and another hundred in training as estimated by West. In 2010 four couples were arrested by FBI in U.S., all Russian illegals.
Merged review:
If one has seen The Americans, beginning to read this reminds one inevitably of it all, not due to events but the sheer theme, within a page or two.
It takes slightly longer for it to dawn that this might just be a true story.
............
"It was gloomy on the first Wednesday in October as Lonsdale sat in a stuffy room and watched his classmates file in for the start of their Chinese course. The choice of course was not an accident. The class was not comprised of the normal twenty-year-old students. Most were nearly a decade older. About half were foreign or had a business background. Lonsdale was in that category. But the other half wore the uniform of pinstripe suits and bowler hats that marked them out as part of the British establishment – civil servants. And among them, Lonsdale knew, were some spies. This was where they were sent to learn the language ready for a foreign posting.
"Studying Chinese was easy for Lonsdale. That was because he already spoke the language (he had even helped write a textbook in Moscow). The hardest part was hiding that fact. But it gave him plenty of time to work out who was who on his course. In a break between lectures, he found himself next to a tall, relaxed man wearing a tweed jacket and light-grey trousers. He was another Canadian – Tom Pope from Ottawa. As often happens, the foreigners and Brits kept themselves separate. But slowly the ice broke. Tom Pope, it turned out, threw a mean, martini-fuelled party and all the students came along with friends and other hangers-on to his place in Bayswater. Lonsdale was always at the centre of things – a good storyteller who would wave his hands as he talked. He knew all about theatre and culture but could also drop in the odd reference to having been a lumberjack in Canada. He was an avid amateur photographer and brought along his camera with a flash and took some snaps at one party and asked others to do the same. He promised he would send them round. At one party, another student, an American slightly worse for wear, turned to Lonsdale. ‘Hey, Gordon, I want to share with you a discovery,’ he said furtively. ‘Except for you and me, they are all spies here.’"
"Most spies work under diplomatic cover in a foreign country – posing as something like a second secretary for trade. Everyone knows this happens and so embassies are closely watched. MI5 in Britain for instance carefully assessed each Soviet diplomat posted to London to try and work out if they were an undercover intelligence officer and their movements were restricted and monitored. If such a spy is caught in the act, they have diplomatic immunity and can be declared persona non grata and expelled. There is no risk of prison. Other spies work under non-official cover. Lots of countries do this – a spy posing as a businessman to meet an agent for instance. This makes it harder to find them but also means they have no protection if captured. An American businessman meeting a Russian diplomat in Moscow might still arouse suspicion and investigation though. So Russia takes this a step further. A true Russian illegal is not just living under cover of a different occupation but takes on an entirely different nationality. The Russian will not – to all appearances – be Russian but instead German or Canadian. This makes them immeasurably harder to find.
"Moscow specialised in this approach because in the first few decades after the 1917 revolution many countries did not have formal diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union so there was no option of diplomatic cover. Other types of cover – such as business – were also problematic. In addition, there was a pool of ideologically motivated men and women of other countries who were willing to spy for the Soviet Union and who could either use their nationality or adopt a new one to aid the worldwide spread of communism. Some of the greatest illegals operated in Europe in the thirties, including those responsible for recruiting and running Kim Philby and the Cambridge Spies. Their successes created a powerful mythology within Soviet intelligence about this breed apart (also creating a related fear in the eyes of their adversaries). In the mid-1950s the decision was taken to build new illegal networks in Britain and America.
"Recruiting and training illegals takes an enormous investment. But patience has always been a characteristic of Russian espionage. An illegal will not just travel in and out of a country for a short period. They live and immerse themselves in their new identity and nationality for years. This takes their ability to move and work clandestinely to a whole other level. But it also takes a remarkable degree of skill to sustain one’s cover without mistake over such a long period. Men and women capable of such work are few and far between and require huge investment. ... "
............
"Gordon Lonsdale told everyone he had been born on 27 August 1924 in Ontario. His father was Jack Lonsdale, who walked out on his mother a year after he was born. That was all a lie. The real story was far more extraordinary. Gordon Lonsdale was Konon Molody, born in Moscow.iv His grandfather
March 25, 2021
Russian Espionage in 1950's UK Remembered
A great introduction to the multilevel espionage efforts of the Russians and the former Soviet Union.
This recasting of how a planted Soviet spy, Gordon Longsdale, was captured by MI5 investigator Charles Elwell at the height of the Cold War is an effective summary of true espionage events documented from other larger works.
Well written with sources noted, this account includes information about how Russian, Konon Molody, assumed the identity of Gordon Longsdale and created one of the more successful spy organizations inside the UK. Additional validity to the story comes from decades of other post-capture accounts, including one autobiography by Konon Molody and another book by Molody's son.
The intricate web and clandestine processes of Russian spycraft are revealed in how local contacts are recruited and developed to gather sensitive information from top secret sources. Details about how many of these traitor are often disgruntled or disaffected citizens, looking for easy cash.
Author, Gordon Corera's focused research capsulizes the most important elements from available sources, whike also reconciling some differeing inconsistencies, and creating a readable and believable account.
A well-written narrative for those willing to step away from fictional spy stories to discover the unglamorous life of both professional spys and their less-than-professional netork of part-time sources and couriers. A great introduction to the author's longer works.
A great introduction to the multilevel espionage efforts of the Russians and the former Soviet Union.
This recasting of how a planted Soviet spy, Gordon Longsdale, was captured by MI5 investigator Charles Elwell at the height of the Cold War is an effective summary of true espionage events documented from other larger works.
Well written with sources noted, this account includes information about how Russian, Konon Molody, assumed the identity of Gordon Longsdale and created one of the more successful spy organizations inside the UK. Additional validity to the story comes from decades of other post-capture accounts, including one autobiography by Konon Molody and another book by Molody's son.
The intricate web and clandestine processes of Russian spycraft are revealed in how local contacts are recruited and developed to gather sensitive information from top secret sources. Details about how many of these traitor are often disgruntled or disaffected citizens, looking for easy cash.
Author, Gordon Corera's focused research capsulizes the most important elements from available sources, whike also reconciling some differeing inconsistencies, and creating a readable and believable account.
A well-written narrative for those willing to step away from fictional spy stories to discover the unglamorous life of both professional spys and their less-than-professional netork of part-time sources and couriers. A great introduction to the author's longer works.
May 27, 2019
Gordon Lonsdale arrived in London in 1955. A successful Canadian businessman and lover of the high life, he charmed everyone he met in his adopted country. But Gordon Lonsdale was an elaborate lie. In reality he was Konon Molody, a celebrated Russian spy working for the KGB.
Lonsdale was an illegal, an elite brand of undercover agent whose identity was carefully designed to help him avoid detection. Moving with ease through the British establishment, he ran a network of agents, some providing sensitive military secrets. Lonsdale was running a slick operation, but living a double life would exact a considerable toll…
When a source tipped off the CIA, Lonsdale’s activities came under the close scrutiny of MI5—and for Charles Elwell, the hunt for the illegal became a personal mission. But how would he go about tracking down a man whose whole life was built on evading capture?
This is a sort, historical book about tracking a spy in Britain after WW II. It was interesting, but not gripping.
Lonsdale was an illegal, an elite brand of undercover agent whose identity was carefully designed to help him avoid detection. Moving with ease through the British establishment, he ran a network of agents, some providing sensitive military secrets. Lonsdale was running a slick operation, but living a double life would exact a considerable toll…
When a source tipped off the CIA, Lonsdale’s activities came under the close scrutiny of MI5—and for Charles Elwell, the hunt for the illegal became a personal mission. But how would he go about tracking down a man whose whole life was built on evading capture?
This is a sort, historical book about tracking a spy in Britain after WW II. It was interesting, but not gripping.
October 22, 2021
Spying for Russia and trying to not get caught while living a double life, is what this book is about. I found myself not liking the subject of the book and was relieved when his cover was blown. All this happened during the cold war. This book looks at the motive for spies and how they try to balance their dual identities but I found myself wanting the book to end as i was just not sympathetic to all the bad behaviors they pull off just to make money. And like most other spies who get caught, this guy went to prison and once out, couldn't adjust.
December 29, 2021
Are our secrets secret?
As revealing of faults in a system of espionage as it is of faults in the security system designed to prevent it.
As one who was contemporary to the action described, but so peripheral as to be ignorant, at the time, of the personalities involved, it is satisfying now to have the picture painted in such an engaging and human way. It begs the question, ‘who are your neighbours?’
As revealing of faults in a system of espionage as it is of faults in the security system designed to prevent it.
As one who was contemporary to the action described, but so peripheral as to be ignorant, at the time, of the personalities involved, it is satisfying now to have the picture painted in such an engaging and human way. It begs the question, ‘who are your neighbours?’
February 2, 2019
Entertaining, concise spy tale
Enjoyable little book that outlines how British naval secrets were obtained by the KGB and the “characters” involved. The demands placed on these individuals is detailed and reveals just what it takes to live a life of espionage. Great for a read on a long train journey
Enjoyable little book that outlines how British naval secrets were obtained by the KGB and the “characters” involved. The demands placed on these individuals is detailed and reveals just what it takes to live a life of espionage. Great for a read on a long train journey
January 3, 2019
Very quick read
Read it in about a week-much shorter than I expected the book to be, and therefore s bit of a disappointment. Nothing was covered in depth, very much a brief overview of what happened.
Read it in about a week-much shorter than I expected the book to be, and therefore s bit of a disappointment. Nothing was covered in depth, very much a brief overview of what happened.
July 7, 2020
Relatively short summary of the life of the Russian spy known as Gordon Londsdale, who ran illegal Russian agents first in the US, and then in the UK in the late 50s. Drawn primarily from secondary sources.
Does a good job of what his work was, and how his ring was unraveled. Not in-depth
Does a good job of what his work was, and how his ring was unraveled. Not in-depth
August 16, 2020
Interesting read
Interesting biography on a Russian gent living as someone else in the United Kingdom. A real page turner that has left me wanting to know more about Mr Molody. Спасибо!
Interesting biography on a Russian gent living as someone else in the United Kingdom. A real page turner that has left me wanting to know more about Mr Molody. Спасибо!
June 23, 2021
Good solid story of a real person. Thought it was fiction initially but happy to know he was real. It helped to parlay that knowledge to Ben MacIntire’s The Spy and The Traitor. Quick and satisfying read.
September 2, 2021
The Illegal looks at the practice of embedding spies in countries during the Cold War through the case of Canadian businessman Gordon Lonsdale – actually a Russian called Konan Molody – who arrived in London in the mid-1950s. If you’ve read any John Le Carré or watched any spy films, this will be of interest to you. It looks at how he was chosen, how his cover was established, what he got up to and how he was caught. It’s under 100 pages, but it’s packed with information and will probably leave you wanting to watch Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy again.
September 25, 2022
This is a very short story about the career of Gordon Longsdale, the charismatic socialite who also happened to be a Soviet spy, aka an illegal.
Corera present an excellent historical account in a clear and concise story.
A great little aide story in the great spy history of the Cold War.
Corera present an excellent historical account in a clear and concise story.
A great little aide story in the great spy history of the Cold War.
October 16, 2023
Quite Interesting and eye opening
Was written so well. The narrative flows well from first person accounts, different letters and the likes, and official documents. Highly recommend.
Was written so well. The narrative flows well from first person accounts, different letters and the likes, and official documents. Highly recommend.
May 19, 2018
Though a more detailed version may be more satisfying, this short peek into 20th-century spycraft is interesting, if perhaps flatly told.
July 19, 2018
Very interesting. Utilitarian writing. Concise.
November 1, 2018
Excellent True Spy Story
A fascinating tale of a famous Russian spy will make it nye impossible to set the book down. My hope is that future readers enjoy it as much as I did.
A fascinating tale of a famous Russian spy will make it nye impossible to set the book down. My hope is that future readers enjoy it as much as I did.
November 13, 2018
Quick read
It is a lean writing, relying on facts rather than a colorful re-imagining. I enjoyed it, even though at times it is dry.
It is a lean writing, relying on facts rather than a colorful re-imagining. I enjoyed it, even though at times it is dry.
February 7, 2019
More like an article
It's more like a large magazine article rather then a book. The book is not too deep on the subject.
It's more like a large magazine article rather then a book. The book is not too deep on the subject.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews