The Spy and the Traitor: The Greatest Espionage Story of the Cold War

The book’s third section shifts the setting to Moscow, jumping right into the action by stating that Gordievsky “checked the locks again, praying he might be mistaken” (223). This picks up where the Introduction leaves off: Gordievsky returned to his apartment from the airport to find all three locks on his door secured. Because he only ever locked two, he knew immediately that the KGB had entered, meaning that he was under suspicion. The rest of the chapter details what happened over the next few weeks when the KGB accused him of spying.

A neighbor who was a locksmith let Gordievsky in, and he surreptitiously looked for signs that the KGB had been there. From that moment on, he knew that everything he said and did was being heard and watched. Thinking through his situation, he figured that if the KGB had indisputable evidence of his spying, he never would have made it out of the airport. Although the agency could be brutal, it functioned by strict protocols and rules. A suspected spy had to be put through a trial with evidence. Additionally, Gordievsky’s rank of colonel afforded him some level of protection.