Philby, Kim

Philby, Kim
orig. Harold Adrian Russell

born Jan. 1, 1912, Ambāla, India
died May 11, 1988, Moscow, Russia, U.S.S.R.

British intelligence officer and Soviet spy.

He became a communist at the University of Cambridge in the 1930s, and in 1933 he became a Soviet agent. Recruited into the MI-6 section of British intelligence by Guy Burgess (1940), he became head of counterespionage operations. In 1949 he was sent to Washington, D.C., as top liaison officer between British and U.S. intelligence services. He revealed top-secret information to the Soviets and in 1951 warned Burgess and Donald Maclean (1913–83) that they were under suspicion, enabling them to escape. Philby himself came under suspicion and was dismissed from MI-6 in 1955. He worked as a journalist in Beirut, then in 1963 he fled to the Soviet Union, where he worked for the KGB and rose to the rank of colonel. The most successful Soviet double agent of the Cold War period, he was responsible for the deaths of many Western agents.

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▪ British intelligence officer and Soviet spy
byname of  Harold Adrian Russell Philby  
born Jan. 1, 1912, Ambāla, India
died May 11, 1988, Moscow, Russia, U.S.S.R.

      British intelligence officer until 1951 and the most successful Soviet double agent of the Cold War period.

      While a student at the University of Cambridge, Philby became a Communist and in 1933 a Soviet agent. He worked as a journalist until 1940, when Guy Burgess (Burgess, Guy), a British secret agent who was himself a Soviet double agent, recruited Philby into the MI-6 section of the British intelligence service. By the end of World War II, Philby had become head of counterespionage operations for MI-6, in which post he was responsible for combating Soviet subversion in western Europe. In 1949 he was sent to Washington to serve as chief MI-6 officer there and as the top liaison officer between the British and U.S. intelligence services. While holding this highly sensitive post, he revealed to the U.S.S.R. an Allied plan to send armed anti-Communist bands into Albania in 1950, thereby assuring their defeat; warned two Soviet double agents in the British diplomatic service, Burgess and Donald MacLean (Maclean, Donald), that they were under suspicion (the two men consequently escaped to the Soviet Union in 1951); and transmitted detailed information about MI-6 and the Central Intelligence Agency to the Soviets.

      After Burgess' and MacLean's defection, suspicion fell on Philby, and he was relieved of his intelligence duties in 1951 and dismissed from MI-6 in 1955. Thereafter he worked as a journalist in Beirut until fleeing to the Soviet Union in 1963. There he settled in Moscow and eventually reached the rank of colonel in the KGB, the Soviet intelligence service. Philby published a book, My Silent War (1968), detailing his exploits.

      Philby seems to have been a lifelong and committed Communist whose primary devotion lay toward the Soviet Union rather than his native country. He was apparently responsible for the deaths of many Western agents whose activities he betrayed to the Soviets during the 1940s and early '50s.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Philby, Kim — (1912–1988)    Probably the most famous Cold War spy, Harold Adrian Philby was born in India and given the nickname “Kim” from Kipling’s novel of the Indian boy who spied for the British. Philby was converted to left wing socialism while at… …   Historical dictionary of Russian and Soviet Intelligence

  • Philby, Kim — orig. Harold Adrian Russell (1 ene. 1912, Ambala, India–11 may. 1988, Moscú, Rusia, URSS). Oficial de inteligencia británico y espía soviético. Se hizo comunista en la Universidad de Cambridge en la década de 1930 y en 1933 se convirtió en agente …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Philby — Kim Philby Kim Philby Harold Adrian Russel Philby, plus connu sous le nom de Kim Philby (1er janvier 1912 11 mai 1988), fut un agent double britannique, membre des services secrets britanniques, le MI6, et espion à la s …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Philby — ist ein englischer Familienname. Bedeutende Namensträger sind: St. John Philby (1885 1960), britischer Arabist und Agent, Vater von Kim Philby Kim Philby (1912 1988), britischer sowjetischer Doppelagent, Sohn von St. John Philby Kategorie:… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Kim Philby — [Kim Philby] (1912–88) a British ↑spy who gave British secrets to the Soviet Union. He was a member of a group called the ↑Cambridge spies, and continued as the ‘third man’ after Guy Burgess and Donald …   Useful english dictionary

  • Kim — /kim/, n. a male or female given name. * * * (as used in expressions) Campbell Kim Kim Dae Jung Kim Il sung Kim Jong Il Kim Chong Il Kim Young Sam Philby Kim * * * …   Universalium

  • Kim Philby — Infobox Person name = Kim Philby box width = 250px image size = 200px caption = Old photo from the FBI s records birth name = Harold Adrian Russell Philby birth date = birth date|1912|01|01 birth place = Ambala, Punjab, British India death date …   Wikipedia

  • Kim Philby — Harold Adrian Russell (H.A.R.) o Kim Philby (OBE: 1946 1965), (1 de enero de 1912 – 11 de mayo de 1988) fue un miembro de alto rango de la inteligencia británica, quien no obstante era un marxista convencido que servía como agente del NKVD… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Kim Filby — Briefmarke der UdSSR mit dem Bildnis Philbys Harold Adrian Russell „Kim“ Philby (* 1. Januar 1912 in Ambala/Indien; † 11. Mai 1988 in Moskau) war ein hochrangiger britischer Geheimagent und sowjetischer Spion …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Kim — Joaquim Aubert Puigarnau, más conocido como Kim (Barcelona, 19**), es un autor de historietas español. Estudió Bellas Artes y se interesó primero por la pintura. Publicó sus primeros cómics en la revista musical Vibraciones, bajo la influencia… …   Enciclopedia Universal

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