Evening star., 1954-08-08
Red Defections-
Rostovorov and Other 'Deserters' Show Soviet
Has Troubles Too, But Loss Is Not Gripping
By MichoeI B. Govrisheff

In the twilight zone Of espionage,
where some Of the fiercest battles Of
the cold war are daily being waged,
both East and West have suffered
substantial setbacks In the recent
past. The headline maker Of the
moment Is DR.. Otto Johns sudden
disappearance into the Soviet orbit
on the 20th of July.
Many of the major secrets Of al
lied intelligence operations in Gem
trail and Eastern Europe undoubtedly
went with him and others who de-
fected last week.
In wake Of this coup the Soviets
have cleared their propaganda decks
to make as much hay in the war Of
words as possible. DR.. Johns disap-
pearance, whether voluntary or not,
is certainly to be regarded as o fat
prize for the Kremlin. Nevertheless,
it is doubtful whether this victory
will erase the costly and embarrass-
ing defections experienced by the
Soviets during this year alone.
The Soviet Porods
Their woes began In January
when young Yuri Rastovorov, the
second secretary Of the unofflcial
Soviet mission in Japan. came over
to our side with q basket full OF Sc
crets on Russian undercover opera
tions In Japan and the Far East.
Then in February, on the other side
Of tho world in Germany. Nikolai
Yevgenievich Khokhlov, O 32-year-
old secret police captain sent into
Western Germany to slay an emigre
anti-C Communist Russian, rebelled
against his masters and sought
asylum in the west. In April. came
news from Australia that the Soviet
Embassy's third secretary there,
Vladimir M. Petroy, had requested
asylum. Petrov, an official with long
experience in the foreign department
Of the MVD. was in charge Of Soviet
espionage in Australia.
It cannot be officially confirmed,
but there are suspicious that sew
eral other secret police officials have
detected to the West following the
purge and execution of ex-police
boss Lavrenti Pavlovich Beria and
his close friends. It has been as
serted that since Stalin's death last
year, in Soviet Georgia alone, more
than 5000 Communist Party mem
bers have been expelled. Georgia is
the birthplace of both Stain and
Beria.
Soon after Beria's execution two
Of Malenkov's wheelhorses, 1t. Gen.
Leonid !. Brezhnev, deputy chief of
the political administration of the
armed forces. and Panteleymon K.
Ponomarenko, an expert on partisan
warfare, were sent to Central Asia
to conduct a purge in that region.
There can be no doubt that the
shadow Of Beria, who was Stalin'S
chief of espionage and police for Is
years and nigh in secret police and
Communist Party circles for more
than IS years, will cause anguish
to many of the Kremlin's secret
agents and diplomats for some time
to come.
Old Story
DefectlonS and eScapeeS have
plagued the Soviet government from
the very beginning. Back in the late
'20s, when Beria was the chief
of the secret police for the Cauca-
suS region. he was put in charge
of task force to repatriate forcibly
an agent who had lied to Iran. He
abandoned the search when Stain
personally intervened. In the early
'30s another secret police opera
tive who knew every secret of So
Wet espionage activity in the Middle
East detected from the Soviets to
become an important consultant for
several European governments.
In the sos defections came
thick and fast. One of the best
known was Gen. Walter Krivitsky,