Directorate S - The Soviet 'Illegals' Program

            

By Daniel Webb

Imagine being a Soviet diplomat working at the embassy in the United States during the Cold War.  You find yourself taking a walk through a cemetery late at night.  You come across the grave of a boy who died as a child, maybe 5 years old.  The boy would now be in his 20s.  You quickly jot down the information and forward it to your KGB contact at Directorate S.  A new spy, who happens to be the exact same age as the boy who died as a child, will soon be arriving in America and assuming his identity.

Royalty Free photo credit: Pexel.com

“It's no secret that the Russians have long tried to plant "sleeper agents" in the US - men and women indistinguishable from normal Americans, who live - on the surface - completely normal lives” says Brian Wheeler of the BBC news.  The Soviets used the "illegals" program, run by Directorate S of the KGB, to recruit, train, and deploy these undercover agents to the U.S. as well as a few of its allies.  Directorate S is the branch of the KBG that is garners intelligence, studies, and then disseminates said intelligence to the Russian government.  More specifically, Directorate S specializes in illegally obtained intelligence.  The KGB placed a greater emphasis on illegal intelligence, believing that it was more valuable and yielded greater returns than legal intelligence.  This was due to the ability of illegal agents being able to penetrate a wider range of targets.  Furthermore, Russian nationals in the U.S. were watched very closely and excluded from any job that could potentially have compromised national security.  These factors, coupled with the widespread anti-Soviet climate in the U.S. after World War 2 made obtaining intelligence through known Soviet persons nearly impossible.  This gave rise to the aforementioned illegals program.

The illegals program was a name given to a network of Soviet sleeper agents working under non-official cover by the FBI.  These spies relocated to the United States, assumed American identities, and lived their lives under cover.  The Soviets wanted these spies to live quiet ordinary lives, remain anonymous, and to develop low-level contacts on the edge of power.  Acting like James Bond was highly discouraged.  Before relocating to the U.S., these illegals would spend years learning every detail about the country and more specifically the area they'd be relocating to, down to the local sports teams and restaurants.  They also learned English and how to speak in American accents.  Once arriving in America, they took on mundane ordinary jobs and lived seemingly quiet typical American lives.  All the while, they gathered intelligence through contacts they befriended, sometimes spying on the U.S. from within for decades.