The Gouzenko Affair

For Canadians, the Cold War started with one man: Igor Gouzenko. Born in Rogachev, Russia in 1919, he studied at the Moscow Engineering Academy and the Moscow Architectural Institute before enlisting in the Soviet military (the Red army) at the beginning of Russia's involvement in World War II. He caught the eye of the NKVD (Soviet secret police agency) and trained as a cipher clerk for the GRU (Soviet military intelligence), serving as an intelligence officer on the front lines during WWII battles against the German army in 1941. Gouzenko was an intelligent man and with his skills, he was sent to Ottawa to work as a cipher clerk in the Soviet Embassy. His job, however, was merely a guise. Igor Gouzenko was part of a spy ring sent to Canada to gain access to high levels of intelligence, such as the Canadian Department of Defence. (Spy Museum, pars. 1-2; Quinlan 147) In the 1940's, Canada was a relatively easy target for Russian espionage. Canada's defence system was still growing–the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) had only around 2,200 men (Macleod, pars. 17-18). In addition, the Soviet Union was seen as a powerful ally; the nation that defeated Hitler in WWII was placed above suspicion (Knight 17-18). But Soviet spy activities in Canada had begun around 1942, and even before that, Canada was used as a stepping stone for spies to infiltrate the United States (Knight 16). In September 1944, Gouzenko was informed that he was being recalled to Moscow. Soviet officials came to suspect him of treason after inspecting GRU operations in Canada. They had a right to be suspicious, because Gouzenko had been collecting valuable information about Soviet spy rings and was secretly planning for defection. Upon hearing that he would have to go back to Russia, Gouzenko realized that he would need to act quickly. The reasons for Gouzenko's notorious defection were published in his autobiography, This Was My Choice, in 1948. He realized how oppressive the Soviet Union