Honored journalist of Armenia and holder of a number of state awards Gurgen Khazhakyan is the author of three books about the life and work of the brilliant Soviet illegal intelligence agents Gevork and Gohar Vartanyan. In an interview with Sputnik Armenia, he spoke about interesting cases from the life of the famous couple and why "Amir" tried to avoid communication with Armenians abroad. Interviewed by Lilit Harutyunyan.
— Mr. Khazhakyan, books about the Vartanyans are in demand both in Armenia and among the Armenians of the Diaspora…
— So it is, our compatriots from Russia often contact me ... I note that the books were supplemented and reprinted, because after the death of Gevork Andreevich, many events took place to perpetuate his memory.
The first book was published in 2010 for the 65th anniversary great victory, it is called "Illegal scouts Gevork and Gohar Vartanyan: contact with the legend" (in Russian). Then, in Armenian, a more fundamental work was published "Heroes of illegal spy Gevork and Gohar Vardanyans:" Contact with the legend "continues ...". Already after the death of the scout, in 2014, a bilingual publication "Heroes-scouts Gevorg and Gohar Vartanyans: an immortal legend" was published.
As you can see, in all three books there is the word "legend". This is no coincidence, because the Vartanyans are truly legendary people. Just imagine, 30 years of working as illegal immigrants and never getting caught! To work in many countries of the world, where the CIA, Mossad, and NATO intelligence agencies operate in the most active way. And this despite the fact that they were not personnel Chekists. True, their teacher was the great Ivan Agayants, and the father of Gevork Adreevich taught his son a lot. But still, they are nuggets, born scouts with unique abilities.
G.Khazhakyan's archive
- There is little information about the scouts. How did you find her?
- Sometimes they tell me: "The strongest intelligence agencies in the world did not expose Gevork Vartanyan, but you succeeded." This, of course, is a joke ... There are no big professional secrets in my books. In particular, the most important secret for me is why exactly the non-cadre Chekist received the Hero Soviet Union. Moreover, Gevork Andreevich is the only intelligence officer who received this title during his lifetime, and not posthumously, like the other two - Richard Sorge and Nikolai Kuznetsov, and in peacetime.
The main source of information for me was Gevork Andreevich himself, those few conversations that we had. For obvious reasons, he did not really like journalists, because the profession of an illegal intelligence officer and a journalist are two opposites ... I also used open materials. In addition, I often attended their meetings with Armenian youth. They were very fond of meeting students.
By the way, in this regard, I would like to express my gratitude to the Anania Shirakatsi College for perpetuating the memory of Gevork Andreevich. Director educational institution Ashot Alikhanyan did not miss the opportunity to invite the Vartanyans to the college and they were always received there with special respect. And after Gevork Andreevich died, a scholarship for patriotism named after the great intelligence officer was established there.
- But you still managed to find out some secrets ...
- Yes, Gevork Andreevich once said that once while working in Nth country literally on the street, he is stopped by an official resident of Soviet intelligence and says that he has been "figured out" and is being followed.
“You need to immediately get into the car and go to the embassy, from where you will fly to Moscow,” the resident says. But "Amir" objects that this cannot be and quickly scrolls through all the recent events in his head. He gets into a heated argument with the resident, and it soon turns out that the scout has been confused with another person who looks like him. Be that as it may, the risk was enormous, and in such cases the Center usually decides not to take risks. However, Vartanyan consciously takes risks and decides to stay and continue his work.
There were a couple of cases when the couple almost "failed". One of them occurred, in all likelihood, in Europe, where they were presented as Iranian subjects. Goar Levonovna is sitting in the hairdresser's, and her husband is waiting for her outside. At some point, he approaches the salon and looks at her questioningly, wanting to know how long she still has. Then, quite unexpectedly for herself, she loudly exclaims in Russian: "Zhora, Zhora (that's what his relatives and friends called him), I am now." At the same moment, Gevork Andreevich was blown away by the wind, he simply disappeared. Fortunately, none of the people around knew Russian and did not understand anything, otherwise history could have happened.
G.Khazhakyan's personal archive
Another incident happened to them, as I suspect, in America (although this is not mentioned anywhere). They introduced themselves as businessmen and were invited to a formal reception attended by important government and military officials. There were also representatives of the special services. Goar Levonovna takes a step to enter the hall and immediately “flies out” from there, because she notices a woman there who knew them in another country under other names.
“It would be an absolute failure. Had she recognized us, we would not have gotten out alive,” the scout admitted. Then Gohar Levonovna fakes physical pain, and they quickly leave from there.
By the way, they tried to avoid frequent contacts with Armenians abroad. Gevork Andreevich joked: “The strongest intelligence services of the world did not expose me, but it’s enough to get to know one Armenian, and in ten minutes he will know who you are, where you are from, who your relatives are ... Soon you will be revealed, since the Armenian world information network omnipotent."
- What other curiosities from the life of famous spouses do you know about?
- In the 60s, the Vartanyans worked in India, where the famous Armenian Soviet opera singer Pavel Lisitsian came on tour. Local Armenians arrange a reception for him, where the Vartanyans are also invited. Naturally, no one knows who they really are. The necklace of Gohar Levonovna does not leave Lisitsian indifferent, and he tells one of his close associates in Russian that he would very much like to give his wife just such a necklace. The scout admitted that this was one of the most difficult moments in her life, because she really wanted to remove this necklace and give it to the singer's wife. However, she could not allow anyone to guess about her knowledge of the Russian language.
One more interesting story told me a relative of the spouses. Already in last years life of Gevork Andreevich, he, while in Armenia, went to the "gold market" to fix the broken lock on the jewelry of Gohar Levonovna. When he turned to the master, he, recognizing the scout, began to shout: "Wai, people, this is the hero who was shown on TV. He is a scout." Then the jeweler said that no money was needed and that he would do whatever was needed.
In general, in recent years they have often been recognized, asked to be photographed. The highest praise for me was when once Gevork Andreevich said to me: "We are recognized, among other things, thanks to your books."
G.Khazhakyan's personal archive
— What is your personal impression of the great scout?
- I will answer this question with the words of a person who is very close to the Vartanyan couple. (The fact is that even during the years of illegal work abroad, they always came to Yerevan on vacation). "When Goharik and Zhora came to our house, it was a general holiday. They were surprisingly sweet, charming, affable, well-mannered and friendly, always superbly dressed in European fashion. They brought interesting gifts and various sweets for children. A special light emanated from them, the aura was absolutely unique."
You know, a scout is a profession that requires everything: from physical training to mastering the manners of secular etiquette.
I want to emphasize that Gevork Andreevich was a great patriot of his historical homeland - Armenia. It is difficult to overestimate the role he played in the Karabakh war, in particular, in the development of the military intelligence of Armenia. He established cooperation between the relevant Russian and Armenian structures for the strengthening of our country in every possible way. Our public learned about this from President Serzh Sargsyan's telegram of condolences on the death of the great intelligence officer.
“I wonder how fate brought two people so devoted to their work together…
- As you know, they worked together in Iran from a very young age. Gevork's team included the brother of his future wife. Then the scout also attracted the young Goar, immediately recognizing special abilities in her.
In 1946, their wedding took place in the Armenian church in Tehran for the first time.
They were married three times in their lives (this was required by work). Gevork Andreevich joked that he was married three times and all three - to the same woman.
The film "Tehran-43" in art form tells about the events of the times of the Great Patriotic War- about beautiful love young intelligence officers and the dangers that threatened all the participants negotiating the opening of the Second Front in Europe. However, the film has little in common with the real events that began long before the meeting of the allies. It is in the movies and books that the scout runs with the Browning through the streets. In life, his most reliable weapon is stealth...
Experts say: an illegal intelligence officer is not a profession, but a way of life. Any awkward movement, accidentally dropped word, thoughtless behavior can cause the death of not only the intelligence officer himself, but also the entire intelligence network, many people. Constant tension, expectation of danger, willingness to risk one's life - not everyone is capable of this. Considering special mental properties necessary for such people, the system-vector psychology of Yuri Burlan highlights.
A good intelligence officer can sometimes do more than an army: bypass a whole group of professional radio operators in a radio game or prevent a terrorist act, saving the lives of three heads of state, as happened during the famous meeting of the leaders of the three powers in Iran.
The film "Tehran-43" in an artistic form tells about the events of the Great Patriotic War - about the beautiful love of young intelligence officers and the dangers that threatened all participants negotiating the opening of a Second Front in Europe. However, the film has little in common with the real events that began long before the meeting of the allies. It is in the movies and books that the scout runs with the Browning through the streets. In life, his most reliable weapon is stealth.
"Amir" - Gevork Vartanyan
Gevork Andreevich Vartanyan was born in 1924 in Rostov-on-Don. When the boy was six years old, the family moved to Iran. The head of the family, Andre (Andrey Vasilievich) Vartanyan, according to legend, under the guise of a man offended by the Soviet regime, left the country, bought a small confectionery factory and became a big businessman in Tehran. The factory and commercial success were only a cover for his work for Soviet intelligence.
Sometimes Andre asked his son Gevork to carry out small assignments: to pass, take, carry ... Out of his years developed child I soon realized what these father's requests meant. “You can’t hide your thoughts from a person with an olfactory vector - he can smell them,” explains Yuri Burlan’s system-vector psychology.
All the children of the Vartanyans were brought up with a sense of responsibility for the Soviet people and in great love for the USSR. He took over his father's experience, becoming a recruiting agent, only Gevork. For him, there was no question of choosing a profession. In 1940, when he was sixteen, Gevork met Ivan Ivanovich Agayants. The main residency of Soviet intelligence in the Middle East operated in Tehran, I.I. Agayants led it.
Gevork, who received the pseudonym "Amir", was preparing to carry out his first task. The teenager was instructed to organize a reconnaissance team.
"Light Cavalry"
Gevork-Amir's peers, like himself, were born in the USSR and remained patriots, especially during the Great Patriotic War. It was not difficult to unite them into an anti-fascist group.
At lectures on system-vector psychology, Yuri Burlan talks about the mechanisms of consolidation using the example of a primitive flock. attracts the flock with the strong smell of its pheromones, giving it a sense of security and safety. The leader's olfactory adviser, on the contrary, by the complete absence of smell, causes people to feel a vague threat and the desire to be useful to the pack, fulfilling their specific role on the principle of "from each according to his ability."
The innate olfactory instinct and intuition of a very young Gevork prompted him to make the right decision in choosing the members of the group, who were given tasks that corresponded to their natural properties. Teenagers, "recruited" by Amir, did not doubt the correctness of his actions and completely trusted him. Thanks to the natural "distribution of roles" in the "Light Horse" there were practically no failures.
recruiting agent
The British opened a reconnaissance school in Tehran to prepare agents for being sent to the Soviet Union. Gevork received the task to infiltrate there. The school was hidden under the sign of a repair shop, and the classes were taught by qualified British scouts. The son of the manufacturer did not arouse suspicion and was enrolled as a listener English school, where he studied the unique methods of British residency.
The learned methods of work of one of the best intelligence services in the world helped Gevork Andreevich more than once to evade surveillance and suspicion.
Later he will say: “Any businessman should be involved in politics in order to know in what direction to direct his business. Under this pretext, I was able to obtain the most secret information from reliable sources.
A person with developed properties of the skin-olfactory ligament of vectors is equally successful both in intelligence and in business. Recruitment agent Gevork Vartanyan used both of these directions in his activities as a resident.
Gevork Andreevich and his wife Gohar long years worked in the residency of Soviet intelligence in Iran and only in the 50s returned to the USSR to graduate from the Yerevan Institute foreign languages, come to Moscow, receive a new reconnaissance mission and go on a business trip as illegal immigrants, which lasted almost 30 years. Over the years, they changed countries, cities, houses, professions, religions, and Gohar even had to marry Gevork three times, as circumstances required.
Anita and Henri
The pseudonym "Amir", under which the young intelligence officer Gevork Vartanyan was known in the 40s, remained gathering dust in the archives of Soviet intelligence. Gevork met Gohar in the same Light Cavalry. She turned out to be the sister of one of Amir's "recruited" friends and the only girl in the group.
Gohar illustrates the image of a skin-visual female scout, a day guard of the pack, about which Yuri Burlan talks about in lectures on system-vector psychology.
Skin-visual girls from childhood "their guys" in boyish companies. Not a single game of war and not a single intelligence service in a neighboring yard can do without their "medical care". Growing up, they transfer their childish amusements to real life, becoming sisters of mercy, signalmen or professional intelligence officers, like Gohar Vartanyan.
Skin-visual women do not have a maternal instinct, and the ban on the birth of children, which applies to intelligence officers, is accepted calmly. Gevorg and Gohar Vartanyan have no heirs. Their life together was given over to moving from country to country and the constant risk associated with illegal work. It is not customary to talk about her, because. most of the operations carried out by Anita and Henri, under such names the Vartanyan spouses are known to Soviet intelligence, will never be made public.
Tehran-43
In the late 30s, when Gevork and Gohar were still children living in Tehran, Iran was called the Middle Eastern Switzerland, this country was so calm and attractive for wealthy Europeans. Many of them managed to transfer their capital here, on which they continued to lead their usual way of life.
The Soviet Union had long-standing ties with Iran, dating back to the time of the peace treaty and good neighborly relations. During the war, allied humanitarian aid went through the territory of Iran to the USSR. It was extremely important for the Soviets to strengthen their positions here.
Luxurious cars on the streets of Tehran and expensive restaurants coexisted with impoverished quarters, and the capital itself spoke all European languages. In such a motley crowd, it was easy for anyone to get lost. An invisible intelligence war was going on in the city, and the Soviet special services were working no less seriously. Spies of the Abwehr did not miss the opportunity to be there.
The German colony in Tehran numbered more than 20 thousand people, with a total population of Iran of 750 thousand. Among them were many anti-fascists and those who hoped to sit out the difficult Nazi times away from the war. In Hitler's plans, Iran was assigned a significant role. Iran is a country of oil and strategic ties, a direct route to India stretched from it.
Beginning in 1941, Stalin repeatedly appealed to US President Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Churchill demanding the opening of a Second Front in Europe. The West ignored these demands, taking a wait and see attitude and counting on the defeat of the Red Army, but agreed to help the Soviet Union with the supply of weapons, there was no question of sending their soldiers to Europe.
The failure of Operation Long Jump
In 1943 the situation changed. Behind were the battle for Moscow, Stalingrad and the catastrophic defeat of the Germans on Kursk Bulge. The outcome of the war was actually a foregone conclusion. And already the West asked Stalin for a meeting in order to agree on the opening of the Second Front and the final defeat of Germany.
Now Stalin was the master of the situation and could dictate terms to the allies. Morocco, Cyprus or Alaska, proposed by them as places for negotiations, did not suit him. None of these countries was included in the circle of interests of the Soviet Union, and in Iran the USSR conducted active intelligence. There they appointed a meeting of the leaders of the three powers for November 1943.
The preparations were carried out in complete secrecy, but a leak nevertheless occurred, and another country, Germany, began to prepare for the upcoming meeting. It was important for Hitler to disrupt the negotiations at all costs. Operation Long Jump to eliminate the Big Three was led by Otto Skorzeny.
The attack was scheduled for November 30, 1943, Churchill's birthday, when the Big Three would gather at the British Embassy. Amir's group was instructed to find the landing force thrown out for the operation.
Neither British nor American intelligence was aware of how the tragedy was avoided. They know only one thing - the attempt of the century was prevented by the Soviet residency in Iran.
Experienced German scouts could not help but notice the annoying teenagers riding bicycles through the streets of Tehran. Yet they underestimated these Light Horse cyclists who played a leading role in disrupting Operation Long Jump. In addition to exposing the fascist saboteurs, Amir's group managed to identify more than 400 German residents.
Eternal love, we were faithful to her ...
In 1986, Gohar Levonovna and Gevork Andreevich returned to their homeland, and in 2000 the "secrecy stamp" was removed from the Vartanyans. They were allowed to be "made public". Books and articles have been written about them, films have been made. Anita and Henri, one of the rare happy couples who devoted their lives to illegal work, continued to exist.
They were in no hurry to retire, and for many years they passed on their experience young generation scouts. In 2012, the Hero of the Soviet Union Gevork Andreevich passed away, completing his great era eminent scouts.
Goar Levonovna - veteran of the Service foreign intelligence Russia, which has made a huge contribution to ensuring the national interests and security of the country, has recently turned 90 years old. As befits a realized skin-visual woman, Gohar Vartanyan is elegant, beautiful and active.
The article was written based on the materials of the training " System-Vector Psychology»Family and youth
Born February 17, 1924 in Rostov-on-Don in the family of Andrei Vasilievich (born in 1888) and Maria Savelievna (born in 1900) Vartanyan. Armenian by nationality. Andrey Vartanyan was an Iranian citizen, the director of an oil mill located in the village of Stepnoy.
In 1930, when Gevork Vartanyan was six years old, his family left for Iran. His father was connected with the Soviet foreign intelligence and left the USSR on her instructions. After living for six years in Tabriz, the family moved to Tehran. The positions of Vartanyan the father - a man with connections and a solid position in society, the owner of a confectionery factory, known throughout Iran for its sweets - were a reliable cover for him. Using this cover, Andrei Vasilyevich conducted active intelligence and intelligence work: recruiting, maintaining contact with illegal immigrants. He almost never used the financial resources of the Center, he managed with the money that he earned himself. During the Great Patriotic War, Andrey Vartanyan collected a significant amount of money, which was transferred to the Center for the construction of a tank.
In 1953, Andrei Vartanyan returned from Tehran to Yerevan, having worked in Iran for Soviet intelligence for 23 years. He was a patriot of the USSR and raised his children in the same spirit. It was under the influence of his father that Gevork became a scout. He later recalled:
Service in Iran
Following in the footsteps of his father, Gevorg Vartanyan connected his life with intelligence activities. On February 4, 1940, he established contact with the Tehran station of Soviet intelligence in the person of Ivan Agayants. Subsequently, recalling that meeting, he said:
After meeting with the resident, Gevork Andreevich, who was given the operational pseudonym "Amir", was given the task of creating a group of several reliable guys to help senior colleagues. By that time, a significant part of the population of Iran took a pro-Soviet position. Therefore, Amir quickly completed his first task, gathering a group of like-minded people of about the same age, there were Armenians, Lezgins, Assyrians. All are immigrants from the USSR. Their parents were either expelled from the Soviet Union after 1937, or they themselves were forced to leave. All members of Amir's group were united by love for the Motherland. There were seven like-minded friends who were ready to fight Nazism. The guys did not have any operational training: they learned the methods of conducting surveillance and other professional tricks on the go. The group moved around the city on bicycles, for which Ivan Agayants jokingly called the group "Light Cavalry", and it went down in history under this name. After 2 years, the sister of one of the active members of the Hovhannes residency, Gohar, appeared in the group, who would later become Gevork Vartanyan's life partner.
In 1941, two members of the group of G. A. Vartanyan were identified by the Iranian police, and they had to be urgently transported to the USSR. Since Vartanyan had contact with them, he was detained. Vartanyan pretended to agree to cooperate and drove around the city with the police, showing the places where the two members of his group had been and the people with whom they allegedly communicated. In fact, these were people who interfered with the work of Soviet intelligence. They were arrested and kept in prison for about six months. Gevorg Vartanyan himself spent three months in prison.
In the early 1940s, in Iran, due to the strategic (mainly due to the large oil reserves) and geographical importance of the region, the interests of the leading world powers of that time intersected. By the beginning of the war, there were about 20 thousand German citizens in Iran - military instructors and agents under the guise of merchants, bankers, engineers; Franz Mayer was the head of the German residency in Iran.
Vartanian's group identified about 400 agents among the Iranians working for Germany. After the Soviet-British occupation of Iran in August 1941, they were arrested and mostly recruited to work for the USSR and Great Britain.
In 1942, the British opened an intelligence school in Iran, where they trained agents to be sent to the territory of the USSR. Vartanyan managed to enroll in this school and establish the identity of the students, which helped to detain them after being thrown into the USSR. After the protest Soviet side intelligence school was closed.
Historical meaning The conference is hard to overestimate - it was the first meeting of the "big three", which decided the fate of millions of people, the future of the world. The leadership of the Third Reich also understood this, which instructed the Abwehr to organize an assassination attempt on the leaders of the USSR, the USA and Great Britain in Tehran. The secret operation, codenamed "Long Jump", was developed by the famous Nazi saboteur No. 1, head of the SS secret service in the VI department of the Imperial Security Main Directorate, Obersturmbannführer Otto Skorzeny, who since 1943 was Hitler's special agent at large. Later, in 1966, Otto Skorzeny confirmed that he was instructed to kill Stalin, Churchill, Roosevelt or steal them in Tehran by entering the British Embassy from the direction of the Armenian cemetery.
Information about the impending terrorist attack was reported to Moscow from the Ukrainian forests by scout Nikolai Kuznetsov, and in the spring of 1943 a radiogram came from the center saying that Germany was planning to carry out sabotage in Tehran during a conference with the participation of the leaders of the USSR, the USA and Great Britain, with the aim of sabotage is the physical elimination of conference participants. All members of the group were mobilized to prevent a terrorist act. At the end of the summer of 1943, the Germans dropped a team of six radio operators into the region of Lake Qom near the city of Qom (70 km from Tehran). At that time, the Germans had powerful agents there with good cover. The Germans dressed in local clothes, repainted with henna, someone even portrayed a mullah. The Soviet secret services had no access here. On ten camels, the Germans carried a walkie-talkie, weapons, equipment. After 10 days, they were already near Tehran, where they transferred to a truck and got to the city.
Their secret villa was located on one of the central streets, not far from the embassies of the USSR and Great Britain. From a villa specially prepared for this by local agents, a group of radio operators established radio contact with Berlin in order to prepare a springboard for the landing of saboteurs led by Otto Skorzeny, the “man with a scar”, who at one time rescued Mussolini from captivity, who carried out a number of high-profile operations, such as the assassination in 1934 of Austrian Chancellor Dollfuss and the arrest in 1938 of Austrian President Miklas and Chancellor Schuschnigg, followed by the Wehrmacht's invasion and occupation of Austria. It was Skorzeny that Hitler ordered to destroy the "Big Three". However, the ambitious plans of the Wehrmacht were not destined to come true, Vartanyan's agents, together with the British from MI6, took direction and deciphered all their messages. Shortly after a long search for a radio transmitter, the entire group was captured and forced to work with Berlin "under the hood". At the same time, in order to prevent the landing of the second group, during the interception of which it was impossible to avoid losses on both sides, they were given the opportunity to convey that they had been discovered. Upon learning of the failure, Berlin abandoned its plans.
As a result of the operation, a group of 19-year-old Vartanyan thwarted an assassination attempt on the leaders of the Big Three, which was planned by intelligence Nazi Germany. One of the most secret operations of the Third Reich was thwarted by a group of young men led by a young Soviet intelligence officer. A few days before the start of the conference, German agents were arrested in Tehran. The last to be taken was the resident Franz Mayer, who had gone deep underground: he was found in the Armenian cemetery, where he, having dyed and let go of his beard, worked as a gravedigger. Of the large number of agents found, some were arrested and most were recruited. Some were handed over to the British, others were taken to the Soviet Union.
post-war period
On June 30, 1946, Gevork Andreevich married Goar Levonovna, a girl who was part of the Light Cavalry reconnaissance group (subsequently, in order to obtain new documents, this marriage was registered several times in other countries).
Service in Iran, which lasted from 1940 to 1951, became the most important stage of life for Gevork and his wife. Here they became high-class scouts. From here began their career in foreign intelligence. And this is the only “page” of their undercover activity that can be spoken about openly (that is, declassified).
When the situation in Iran became calmer, the Vartanyans asked the Center to allow them to return to the Soviet Union in order to receive higher education. In 1951, they arrived in the Armenian SSR and entered the Faculty of Foreign Languages of Yerevan University. After graduating from the university in 1955, they received an offer to work further and agreed. This was followed by three decades of illegal intelligence work in the West, the Far and Middle East. All these years, Gevork and Gohar Vartanyan have worked together without a single failure. The Vartanyans declassified dozens of NATO bases in Europe, and Gevork Andreevich ruined the work of the school of English saboteurs, where he infiltrated, striking the leadership of this "educational institution" with his knowledge of eight languages; he was friends with the officers of all the intelligence agencies of the world, remaining for them either an Iranian businessman or a Spanish journalist. During his work abroad, he visited about a hundred countries. The main work was concentrated in several dozen countries, and Gohar and Gevork Vartanyans were passing through the rest.
In 1975 (according to other sources, in 1968), G. A. Vartanyan was awarded the military rank of "colonel".
By the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR (“closed”) dated May 28, 1984, for the results achieved in collecting intelligence data and showing courage and heroism, Colonel Georgy Andreyevich Vartanyan was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal (No. 11511).
In 1986, Gevork returned with his family to his homeland, but, remaining "closed", continued to work, preparing future illegal agents for work abroad. Gevorg Vartanyan said about his work:
He has been retired since 1992.
On December 20, 2000, on the day of the 80th anniversary of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), his name was declassified.
He was buried at the Troekurovsky cemetery in Moscow on January 13, 2012. The funeral was attended by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who laid flowers at the coffin and talked with relatives. There were also leaders of the Foreign Intelligence Service, the Armenian ambassador to Russia, and colleagues.
Gevork Andreevich Vartanyan was the third scout to be awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union after Richard Sorge and Nikolai Kuznetsov (according to other sources, the second after Kuznetsov).
Awards
- The hero of the USSR
- Order of Merit for the Fatherland, 4th class
- The order of Lenin
- Order of the Red Banner
- Order of the Patriotic War II degree
- Order of Honor (Armenia)
- Medal "For the Defense of the Caucasus"
- Medal "For the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945"
- Other medals of the USSR, Russia and the Republic of Armenia
- Honorary Chekist of the USSR
- Honorary State Security Officer
Recently, a significant event took place in our city. A monument to Berest was erected on Selmash. Rostov local historians wrote about the need to establish a worthy monument to this illustrious person, a participant in the assault on the Reichstag and hoisting the Banner of Victory on it on the pages of Vecherniy Rostov. The author of these lines also wrote about this. Therefore, after the monument to Berest was erected, the famous Rostov local historian and veteran of the Great Patriotic War Antranik Gevorkovich Malkhasyan called me and congratulated me on this joyful event. Then he told me: “Georgy, now it is necessary to remember the legendary Soviet intelligence officer Gevork Andreevich Vartanyan. He was from Rostov. This man saved Stalin during the Tehran Conference in 1943. If not for him and his group of scouts, then the whole course of history could have been different. I believe that a worthy monument should be erected to Varatanyan in Rostov.” Vartanyan Gevork Andreevich(1924 - 2012) - an outstanding intelligence officer, Hero of the Soviet Union, Honorary Citizen of Rostov-on-Don. Gevork Andreyevich Vartanyan was born in 1924 in Rostov-on-Don. His father Andrei Vasilievich Vartanyan was an Iranian citizen, director of an oil mill. When Gevork Vartanyan was six years old, his family left for Iran. Gevork Vartanyan's father was associated with Soviet intelligence and left the USSR on her instructions. The Vartanyan family was respected in Iranian society. Gevork Vartanyan's father owned a confectionery factory. Interestingly, Andrey Vartanyan almost never used money from the Center; he spent money on intelligence activities that he earned himself. Andrey Vartanyan was a patriot of his country, he raised his son Gevork in the same spirit. Andrey Vartanyan returned from Tehran to Yerevan in 1953, having worked for Soviet intelligence for 23 years. Gevorg Vartanyan followed in the footsteps of his father. He also became a Soviet spy. Since 1940, Gevork has been working for Soviet intelligence. Its curator was the Soviet intelligence officer Ivan Agayants. Gevork Andreyevich Vartanyan had an operational pseudonym "Amir". Vartanyan gathered around him a group of like-minded people. This was a group of young guys - Armenians, Lezgins, Assyrians. All of them were immigrants from the USSR. Their parents were either expelled from the Soviet Union after 1937, or they themselves left to escape repression. But they were all united by love for their homeland. It was then that Gevorg Vartanyan met his future wife, Gohar. She was the sister of one of his comrades Hovhannes. Vartanyan's group has identified about 400 agents among the Iranians who worked for Germany! In 1942, the British opened their intelligence school in Iran, where they trained agents to be sent to the territory of the Soviet Union. Vartanian was able to identify the agents trained there. This later helped to detain them after being thrown into the USSR. After the protest of the Soviet side, the intelligence school was closed. Vartanyan's group played a huge role during the 1943 Tehran Conference. This was the first meeting of the "big three", at which the fate of millions of people, the future structure of the whole world, were decided. Hitler wanted to destroy the leaders of the USSR, the USA and Great Britain. The famous Nazi saboteur Otto Skorzeny was supposed to carry out this operation. Otto Skorzeny was supposed to either kill Stalin, Roosevelt, Churchill, or steal them in Tehran, entering the British Embassy from the side of the Armenian cemetery. However, Hitler's plans were not destined to come true. Vartanyan's group, together with the British from MI6, took direction finding and deciphered all the messages of the saboteurs. This was a unique case in the history of intelligence. A group of 19-year-old Vartanyan thwarted an assassination attempt on the leaders of the Big Three. In fact, one of the most secret operations of the Third Reich was thwarted by a group of young men led by Gevork Vartanyan. A few days before the start of the conference, German agents were arrested in Tehran. Many people remember the action-packed Soviet-French film Tehran-43. The Soviet intelligence officer was played by a wonderful actor Igor Kostolevsky. But few people know that Vartanyan was the prototype of the main character. In 1946, Gevork Andreevich marries Gohar, a girl who was part of his reconnaissance group. In 1951, the Vartanyans returned to the USSR. In Yerevan, they enter the university and graduate from the Faculty of Foreign Languages. After graduating from Yerevan University, they continue to work in foreign intelligence. Gevorg and Gohar Vartanyan worked together for thirty years. Spouses Vartayan declassified dozens of NATO bases in Europe. Gevork Andreevich was either an Iranian businessman or a Spanish journalist. During their work abroad, the Vartanyans have visited about a hundred countries. Their work is still classified. Gevork Andreevich Vartanyan was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, he was awarded the Order of Lenin, the Gold Star medal, the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, IV degree, and many other orders. In 1986, the Vartanyans returned to their homeland, preparing future illegal agents for work abroad. I was lucky to personally communicate with Gevork Andreyevich Vartanyan. He was a very kind, modest, diversified and erudite man, a true patriot of his country. Vartanyan said that the hardest thing in the profession of a scout is to lose friends forever. After all, when you leave the country in which you worked, the people with whom you became friends remain forever. Gevork Andreevich Vartanyan died on January 10, 2012. He was buried at the Troekurovsky cemetery in Moscow. The funeral was attended by Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, there were also leaders of the Foreign Intelligence Service, the Armenian ambassador to Russia. Gevork Andreyevich Vartanyan is an Honorary Citizen of the city of Rostov-on-Don. In 2012, in Rostov, on the "Prospect of Stars", a nominal "Star" was laid for Gevork Vartanyan. I, like the well-known local historian Antranik Gevorkovich Malkhasyan, believe that a monument to the legendary Soviet intelligence officer Vartanyan should be erected in Rostov. I would like it to be in Nakhichevan. The monument to the scout could be installed in the park to them. Revolution or in the park. Viti Cherevichkin. In any case, the name of Vartanyan should be adequately immortalized in Rostov-on-Don.
Georgy BAGDYKOV.
On the first working day of January broke off life path legendary scout Gevork Andreyevich Vartanyan. An experienced intelligence officer, awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, died in one of the wards of the Botkin hospital in the capital of Russia. The difficult life of Vartanyan began in Rostov-on-Don back in 1924, in mid-February. His father Andrey Vartanyan worked for the intelligence services of the USSR, which ultimately influenced the decision of the young Gevork to become an intelligence officer. The professional activity of this great patriot began in Tehran at the age of 16 without any prior training. Vartanyan comprehended the whole science of intelligence activities on the territory of a foreign state on his own, directly in practice. Leadership skills helped him form his own team of local teenagers. Thanks to his authority, Gevork Andreevich established the strictest discipline and subordination. Working under the secret pseudonym "Amir", Gevork Andreevich did not even imagine that after so many years the secret would be made public and glory would find its hero. During the period of operation, a group of underage patriots exposed more than four hundred foreign saboteurs, spies, as well as political enemies of the USSR. I. Agayants had a huge influence on the character and views of Vartanyan.
In many ways, Vartanyan's success was ensured by his father, who provided excellent cover. Andrei Vasilyevich had Iranian citizenship and occupied an important place in economic circles, as he supplied the tables of the Iranians with traditional sweets. The successful business of the elder Vartanyan made it possible to avert suspicion from his son, as well as to finance all intelligence activities. Money from the Center was attracted in exceptional cases, since the famous confectioner and "capitalist" lived on the principle of "everything for the Fatherland." The entire volume of income went exclusively for the good of the Motherland, and only a small part for the provision of the family.
It was in the very early period of his professional career that the elusive Amir met his future wife. Gohar first saw Vartanyan at the age of 13 and, according to her, immediately felt a disposition towards this smart, serious and reliable person. As a true loving woman and devoted friend, Gohar shared all the burdens of conspiracy with her husband, for which she was awarded the Order of the Red Banner. In her 2009 interview with the correspondent of the Krasnaya Zvezda newspaper, Goar Levonovna admits that despite all the harshness of the life of a secret agent that she led from early youth, she does not regret anything and is happy with her Amir. Her comments about her husband are very respectful and carry a shade of warmth and love. Gohar Vartanyan focuses the journalist's attention on the fact that the marriage was concluded exclusively relative position, and not out of a sense of necessity and duty to the Fatherland. A unique married couple registered their relationship several times in their life. The first marriage of the Vartanyans took place in Tehran before returning to the USSR, then there were registrations in the Soviet registry offices, as well as in foreign states according to the legends. The joint life of the spouses of secret agents has an experience of more than 60 years.
The merits to the Motherland of the Vartanyans will never become public, since most of the tasks they performed are classified as “top secret” and classified as state secret. The most famous professional achievement of Amir was the prevention of a sabotage action of the Nazis to disrupt the Tehran meeting of Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill. The landed group of experienced German agents was discovered and arrested thanks to the prompt and competent actions of the group led by the nineteen-year-old Amir. In her memoirs about the well-known operation, Goar Levonovna says that, despite the availability of information about the arrival of a group of fascist saboteurs in Tehran, it took a very long time to search for them. Only the steadfastness, resourcefulness and perseverance of the members of Vartanyan's team, who explored the streets for 15-16 hours for several days in a row, made it possible to prevent the disruption of the conference and save the lives of the three heads of the great powers. The feat of 1943 was vividly reflected in the feature film "Tehran-43", which was ambiguously assessed by the hero himself. Vartanyan commented with restraint on the picture and noted its low reliability, due to the fact that the life of a scout is far from direct shootings and chases. The heroism of a true patriot lies in the ability to ensure that the enemy is not aware of his presence and intentions, and not in heated battles and victories. According to Gevork Andreevich, the scout ceases to be such from the moment of the first shot, therefore the documentary reliability and historical value of the film is not too great.
Among the declassified operations, Vartanyan's work with the English special school in Iran is also interesting. Despite allied relations, during the war, Great Britain did not stop intelligence activities on the territory of the USSR, for which a secret unit was created to recruit and train young people in Tehran. The institution attracted Armenians, Tajiks, Russians to work in the USSR as secret agents in favor of Great Britain, and led their qualitative vocational training. Vartanyan also acted as a recruit. During the period of work under the pseudonym Amir, the Russian intelligence officer not only received all the information about the graduates, which in itself frustrated the UK's plans to organize a professional intelligence network in the vast Soviet state, but also gained knowledge about the techniques and methods of working undercover. Vartanyan turned out to be a very diligent student, using the English experience of the intelligence services, he was never discovered and declassified, and he successfully completed all the operations entrusted to him by the country's leadership. The information provided by Gevork Andreevich was enough to completely block the work of the English special school in Iran, as a result of which the British finally abandoned their treacherous plans.
It is also known that in early period his professional activity Vartanyan's group blocked the work of fascist spies in Iran and prevented a military coup, which provided the USSR with a significant strategic advantage during the Great Patriotic War. Today, only a few secrets of the secret life of this amazing person are open, but even from the published facts, it becomes clear what kind of personality the country lost on January 10 of this year. The acting president personally expressed his condolences to the widow Vartanyan Russian President D. Medvedev. Gevork Andreevich devoted his whole life to the Motherland, even being in old age, he passed on his experience to the younger generation and collaborated with the foreign intelligence department, and also lectured for students of domestic universities. This worthy man had to endure many difficulties, and he overcame all of them with dignity. The terrible illness that struck Vartanyan did not break his will, and did not cloud his mind. He left this life with dignity, leaving behind a good memory and deserving the gratitude of his contemporaries and descendants.