Comrade J: The Untold Secrets of Russia's Master Spy in America After the End of the Cold W ar

by Pete Earley

Overview

When the Cold War ended, the spying that marked the era did not. An incredible true story from the Pulitzer Prize-nominated New York Times bestselling author of Crazy.

Between 1995 and 2000, "Comrade J" was the go-to man for SVR (the successor to the KGB) intelligence in New York City, overseeing all covert operations against the U.S. and its allies in the United Nations. He personally handled every intelligence officer in New York. He knew the names of foreign diplomats spying for Russia. He was the man who kept the secrets.

But there was one more secret he was keeping. For three years, "Comrade J" was working for U.S. intelligence, stealing secrets from the Russian Mission he was supposed to be serving. Since he defected, his role as a spy for the U.S. was kept under wraps-until now. This is the gripping, untold story of Sergei Tretyakov, more commonly known as "Comrade J."

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780425225622
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	01/06/2009
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	368
Sales rank:	263,638
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.00(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Pete Earley, a former reporter for The Washington Post, is the author of seven works of nonfiction, including the bestsellers The Hot House and Family of Spies, and the multi-award-winning Circumstantial Evidence. According to the Washingtonian magazine, he is one of ten journalist/authors in America "who have the power to introduce new ideas and give them currency." Earley is also the author of two novels.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"Prichard's voice provides the ideal narration.... [It] never tires and never changes. Both his oldest and newest fans will enjoy this dark journey into Soviet espionage." —-AudioFile

Editorial Reviews

"Delivers the spy-versus-spy frisson that espionage readers expect."
-Booklist

"Splendid...a five-cloak read."
-Washington Times

"A fascinating account of Tretyakov's activities."
-Library Journal

From the Publisher

The real value of Sergei Tretyakov's saga lies less in his scattershot claims and innuendoes than in his sharp eye and gossipy insider's view of the KGB/SVR's training, methods, foibles and tricks.
—The Washington Post

David Wise

Former journalist and bestselling author Earley (Family of Spies) tells the story of Russian spymaster and defector Sergei Tretyakov-code-named Comrade J-in an exposé with few surprises. A career intelligence officer, Tretyakov was Russia's deputy resident in New York City from 1995 to 2000, responsible for all covert operations there. But as the political and economic situation in Russia deteriorated under presidents Boris Yeltsin and Vladimir Putin, Tretyakov began to consider defecting. Disgusted by the spy agency's shoddy standards and the "corrupt political system" in Moscow and seeking "a better future" for his teenage daughter Ksenia, Tretyakov became a double agent for the FBI before finally defecting in 2000. He claims that he is now breaking his silence because he hopes to warn America that Russia is not a friend and "is trying to destroy the U.S. even today." Among his more controversial assertions, in 126 hours of interviews with the author, is that former deputy secretary of state Strobe Talbott was considered a "Special Unofficial Contact" by Russian intelligence-a claim that Talbott adamantly denies. While many of Tretyakov's claims are impossible to verify, Earley mounts a spirited defense of his veracity in this workmanlike account. (Jan.)

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Publishers Weekly

Spies exist because governments exist and governments have secrets. We may naively believe that the ending of the Cold War meant that the United States and Russia no longer spied on each other. Earley's new book on the remarkable career of top Soviet spy, Sergie Tretyakov, should dispel any thoughts that the "new" Russia under Yeltsin and now Putin is really any different from the one that existed under Stalin, Khrushchev, or their successors. Earley (Confessions of a Spy: The Real Story of Aldrich Ames), a former journalist who has written both fiction and nonfiction about the post-Cold War world, was contacted by the FBI and CIA to meet Tretyakov in 2001, soon after he had defected to the United States. This is Tretyakov's story as told to Earley, who admits that he has very little evidence to corroborate Tretyakov's tale. News accounts and interviews (off the record, of course) do seem to offer supporting evidence that much of Tretyakov's story is true. This is a fascinating account of Tretyakov's activities first as a Soviet spy in New York in the 1980s and early 1990s and then as a double agent providing extensive information to the CIA and the FBI during the Clinton presidency. Earley has solid credentials as a former Washington Postwriter, which lends credence to this amazing story. For larger collections.
—Ed Goedeken

Library Journal

More outrageous espionage scandal, but this time the CIA and FBI look good. From 1995 to 2000, Sergei Tretyakov ran Russia's day-to-day intelligence operations in New York and personally directed every covert operation launched in the city against the United States. At the end of 2000 he defected, then later sat down with investigative journalist and novelist Earley (The Apocalypse Stone, 2006, etc.) to tell this story. Recruited in the 1980s, Tretyakov reveals intriguing behind-the-scenes mechanics of KGB politics, personalities and nuts-and-bolts operation techniques. The foreign-intelligence section did not persecute dissidents inside the USSR, so readers will identify with Tretyakov as he works hard, rises through the ranks and is rewarded with plum assignments in Canada and the United States. Most engrossing are the details of intelligence gathering which he describes, even naming names. Spies were essential, but so were "informational contacts," academics and bureaucrats who enjoyed chatting and could be manipulated to reveal more than they should. More disturbing is the fact that America's increasing unpopularity persuaded many foreign officials who don't consider themselves traitors to pass on damaging secrets simply because they disliked the United States. Earley presents a vivid picture of the shambles that followed the USSR's 1991 collapse. Tretyakov portrays the leaders as wildly corrupt kleptocrats who were looting the nation to enrich their cronies. An elite force, the intelligence service escaped the general impoverishment but suffered a massive exodus of talent anxious to share the booty. Disgusted at his government and the increasing venality of superiors, Tretyakov beganconsidering his options, but readers will learn few details of his defection, which he was forbidden to discuss. Earley reminds us that Tretyakov is no objective observer-he leans over backward to say nasty things about Russia while flattering America and himself. Keeping this in mind, readers will encounter plenty of juicy details about Russian intelligence, which still considers America the enemy. Agent: John Silbersack/Trident Media Group

Kirkus Reviews