Word: kgb
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...year 1982 was filled with notable events around the globe. It was a year in which death finally pried loose Leonid Brezhnev's frozen grip on the Soviet Union, and Yuri Andropov, the cold-eyed ex-chief of the KGB, took command. It was a year in which Israel's truculent Prime Minister Menachem Begin completely redrew the power map of the Middle East by invading neighboring Lebanon and smashing the Palestinian guerrilla forces there. The military campaign was a success, but all the world looked with dismay at the thunder of Israeli bombs on Beirut's civilians...
...Turkish gunman's attempt to assassinate Pope John Paul II in Rome 19 months ago was masterminded by the Soviet Union, which was angered by the Pontiffs support of Poland's Solidarity Union. The trail, it is rumored, could lead as high as Soviet Leader and former KGB Chief Yuri Andropov. The reactions in West European capitals range from total disbelief to qualified credulity. Says a top British official: "I think the Russians have become too sophisticated to try this sort of thing." A French government expert, however, notes that subversion from the Communist bloc is a "permanent...
...allegations about Bulgarians could be proved, they would point strongly toward Soviet complicity. Not only is Bulgaria the Soviet Union's staunchest ally but, according to most experts, the Bulgarian secret service is run directly by the KGB. The allegations could implicate Andropov, who headed the KGB at the time, as well as former President Leonid Brezhnev. Says Stefan Sverdlev, a former colonel in the Bulgarian secret service who defected to Greece more than three years ago: "I do not doubt for one instant the role of the Bulgarian secret service in this attack. But if they...
...aimed at influencing the sentiments of millions of Catholics." The Soviet news agency TASS rejected "absurd insinuations" linking Moscow to the plot. Even many Western analysts, while convinced that the Soviets often act through Bulgarian proxies, believe the assassination attempt was too sloppy to have been directed by the KGB. Says a West German intelligence official: "I cannot believe that the KGB would do something so slipshod and unprofessional. Why would the KGB be so stupid as to leave Bulgarians who were closely involved in the thing hanging around Rome, waiting to be arrested...
Hambleton continued working for the KGB, occasionally receiving cash payments of up to $5,000. In 1975, he says, he was invited to Moscow, where he had a rare interview with Yuri Andropov, then head of the KGB. Chatting over dinner in fluent English, Andropov pressed Hambleton to enter Canadian politics. "It was a great honor," Hambleton told British authorities. "I got the feeling he wanted me to exert influence on behalf of Russia, rather than spy." In 1979 the Royal Canadian Mounted Police finally raided his house, finding NATO documents and spying paraphernalia, including a high-speed code receiver...