Pavel Sudoplatov
Soviet spy
Died when: 89 years 81 days (1070 months)Star Sign: Cancer
Pavel Anatolyevich Sudoplatov (Russian: Пáвел Aнатóльевич Cудоплáтов;
Ukrainian: Павло Анатолійович Судоплатов, romanized: Pavlo Anatoliiovych Sudoplatov;
July 7, 1907 – September 24, 1996) was a member of the intelligence services of the Soviet Union; over a career spanning 34 years, he would ultimately attain the rank of lieutenant general in the Soviet Armed Forces.
Sudoplatov was involved in several major Soviet intelligence operations, including the assassination of Leon Trotsky in 1940, as well as Operation Scherhorn, a Soviet deception operation conducted during World War II.
He also stated that he was in charge of the Soviet espionage program which obtained information about the atomic bomb from the Manhattan Project.
His autobiography, Special Tasks, published in 1994, made him well known outside the USSR, and provided a detailed account of Soviet intelligence and Soviet internal politics during his years at the top.
However, some of the claims Sudoplatov made have been challenged by historians.
