World War II ended 80 years ago, but before any peace dividend could be paid or the euphoria fully experienced, the Cold War started. Victory in the total defeat of the Third Reich and the Empire of Japan failed to usher in a new world order for peace, prosperity or universal rights.
To the Russians, the defeat of the Nazis was not an end, but an opportunity to assert itself and insert an ideology that used peace as an opportunity for conquest. This shocked many in the West who believed Stalin was a grandfatherly figure who sacrificed his country and his people to defeat Hitler and secure a new Europe. As the war subsided, Stalin’s ambitions grew, and he used his military might to extend his reach to stealthily “conquer” other countries and increase his sphere of influence.
Celebrations of victory in WWII were short lived in countries across Central and Eastern Europe. Their citizens simply traded the Nazis and the Gestapo for the Soviets and the KGB. For these countries, freedom and liberty were ideas they would not experience for a long time.
There was a subtle sway that masked Stalin’s true intent. He never overtly stated his objectives and extended his reach and exerted his influence in post-war efforts in a manner that camouflaged his power grab. Stalin had no intent of being content with a win and enjoying peace across the globe.
The full extent of Stalin’s aim would become clear when a young cipher clerk at the Soviet embassy in Canada defected with proof positive of Stalin’s ambitions and objectives to secure a new peace at the expense of Russia’s former allies.
The Canadians had been slow to establish diplomatic relations with Russia and finally allowed the Soviets to establish an embassy only in 1942, three years after the war had been raging. Taking advantage of Canada’s goodwill, the Russians turned the embassy into an espionage center and recruited prominent Canadians to spy while simultaneously playing on allied sympathies and mutual interest in defeating the Axis powers.
This spy ring yielded high value intelligence as the Canadians were working closely with the United States and openly shared military and other strategic secrets. The Canadians were also a bit more casual in how they guarded information, and the Russians took full advantage of obtaining information that they could never have received from their Washington embassy.
The level of information was so vast that the Russians did not want their ambassador to know the extent of their developing network of agents and informers. To segregate these activities, they sent a high-ranking military intelligence officer to spearhead the effort, and because of the highly classified nature, the Russians also sent a specialist in codes so that information could be secretly transmitted without anyone knowing its content.
Igor Gouzenko was only 26 when he arrived in Ottawa on this secret mission to handle coded correspondence between his boss and the Moscow intelligence office. His wife and small child joined him, and while he worked long hours, his family enjoyed their time in Canada.
It was not lost on the young Gouzenkos that the abundance in Canada was not remotely available in Moscow. Their apartment was a luxury compared to their Russian housing, and they witnessed firsthand the manifestations of freedom the Canadians enjoyed.
When it appeared he would be recalled to Russia, Gouzenko decided to defect. His vast knowledge of the spy ring and exposure to the contrasts between Ottawa and Moscow meant returning to Russia could be potentially life threatening. Beyond merely defecting, he had to show the extent of Russian perfidy and how Canadians were being exploited and the significant state secrets the Russians now possessed.
When his boss was recalled and it was apparent he would be next, Gouzenko devised a plan to take a trove of secret messages with him. This would provide indisputable proof of Russian illegal activity and would make his defection valuable to the Canadian government…or so he thought.
The Canadians were not initially sure what to do with him. Russia was still an ally, and allowing a defection might cause a significant diplomatic incident. Gouzenko persisted, but after a day, he was desperate and realized the Russians would notice his absence. He hid in an adjacent apartment with his family, and only after Russian thugs came to search for him and ransacked his home did Canadian officials believe him and provide safety to his family.
Upon reviewing his decoded messages, the Canadians were shocked. It began to dawn on them that the fostering of a Russia-Canada friendship was a total fiction, and all their goodwill was used to obtain secret information to use against them. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police used the information to arrest 39 Canadians, almost half of whom were convicted, and these included members of parliament, military officials, and research scientists.
Gouzenko’s information was the first time Americans knew that the Russian had stolen secrets about the development of the atomic bomb. British traitors were arrested, which ultimately revealed the work of American spies like the Rosenbergs, who supplied Russia with the plans and designs for a nuclear weapon.
Until this defection, Russian intentions were unclear, and its aggressive behavior grudgingly tolerated. Once Gouzenko’s information was further investigated and fully vetted, leaders in the West realized that Russia was engaging in belligerent acts specifically targeted to undermine the peace and stability of the post-war world.
The repercussions from Gouzenko’s disclosures marked the beginning of the Cold War and drew a line of demarcation between treating Russia as a friend and recognizing it was an aggressive enemy. The depth of Russian duplicity created a hostile environment that would take years to thaw.
