George Trofimoff award received Order of the Red Banner
No, not in the beginning. I said I needed money. And I told him my wife bought some furniture and I can't pay for it, I don't know how to get the money. And he says, 'I tell you what, I'll loan it to you.' So he gave me, I think, 5,000 marks and then, it wasn't enough, because I needed more, and about three or four weeks later I said to him, 'You gotta help me one more time, and I'll give it back to you when I have a chance.' And that was the end of it. Then he talked to me a couple times. Always like this. Then he says, 'Well, you know, I'll tell you what. You don't owe me any money. And if you need some more, I can give you some more. Don't worry about it. You're going to have to have a few things, this and that.' And this is how it started.
In 1999, Trofimoff boasted that he routinely smuggled every classified document he could obtain home to be photographed with a special camera and tripod. The film was passed on to KGB agents during meetings in Austria. According to former KGB General Oleg Kalugin, however, Trofimoff, who was given the codename "Markiz," always received his money from Iriney. Trofimoff traveled frequently to Austria to meet Iriney and other KGB operatives, according to the indictment.Trofimoff further explained that Iriney paid him a standard amount of 7,000 Deutschmarks per week. The payments were always made in used bills and when Trofimoff needed more money toward a down payment on his house, Iriney "went to his contact in Moscow," and returned with 90,000 DM. This sum was then worth 40,000 American dollars.In 2001, Kalugin testified under oath to having invited Iriney to visit his dacha in 1978. According to Kalugin "He did good work, particularly in recruiting Markiz. I wanted to thank him for what he had done."In 1999, Trofimoff further explained that Iriney ordered him to cease his espionage work for the KGB in 1987. According to Trofimoff "he told me to destroy the camera, so I smashed it with a hammer and I threw it in the garbage, far away."The German BKA, the FBI, and U.S. federal prosecutors allege that Trofimoff was paid $250,000 over the course of his espionage career. According to Kalugin, Trofimoff was also awarded the Order of the Red Banner, which he describes as the USSR's "highest military award for meritorious and dangerous service." Kalugin further states "After all, he deserved the award for the work he did for us."
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