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The Billion Dollar Spy: Katie Rietmann (Characters (Adolf Tolkachev (A…

- - - - In chapter two, the Tolkachev operation comes about and becomes a turning point in the Moscow Station, the heart of the Soviet Union. This is when Tolkachev first attempts to contact the CIA. He is very persistent in trying to get in contact with them and since the Headquarters were unwilling to pursue a potential KGB set-up that would result in eviction of CIA officers, this made for a strong argument that Tolkachev was worth the risk. Any information about the Soviet's weapon systems and aircraft was exactly what Tolkachev had to offer. By chapter three, the Moscow Station is frustrated with the fact that they had to maintain CIA leadership which made them want to diminish the value of human spies and didn't want any "flaps" aka letters. However, letters were one of the few ways to esacpe the watching of the surveillance teams. Fulton is being followed by a creepy Russian and does understand his problem.
        
        Hathaway, the chief who succeeded Fulton, gets upset when Turner becomes the head of the CIA and prevents the agency from running agents because he thinks it's morally wrong. Guilsher knows he can work with Tolkachev, but just knows he has to keep stalling and discouraging him from his work with the Svoiet Union and the money he wants from the CIA. Even though what he is telling the CIA is very valuable information, the CIA would rather pay him with something that would be easier for them to give up. I believe the next couple chapters and the remaining of the book reveal more information Tolkachev is able to give to the CIA and makes a negotiation with Guilsher on the amount of money he will be receiving. This book will also end really bad or really good from all the information Tolkachev is exposing about the Soviet Union because once they find out he is telling them about their systems of aircraft and warfare, he will easily get executed.
        
        Guilsher and Tolkachev become better friends in the next couple of chapters that it is even hard for them to part. However, Tolkachev realizes how risky it is to give up this valuable information for he could get caught. Not only does he wants billions of dollars in return for his money, but he wants a suicide pill just in case he gets caught. He also wishes to leave the USSR with his family, which may not be granted depending on what headquarters say. When Tolkachev expresses his fear with hos risky this is, they notice that it truly could be when they receive the weapon system of the Soviet Union's, change their weapons in a way to be similar, then the Soviet Union would notice that change and realize their secrets about their weapons are getting out. Tolkachev had to ask the highest powers multiple times for the suicide pill, but when Guilsher had to keep denying him he started to lose his confidence and spark and didn't make him feel any better when he also didn't receive the amount of money he was hoping for. However, Hathaway as able to establish that the amount of information that Tolkachev has given them so far is worth $2 billion dollars.
        
        David Rolph was a new addition to the CIA and awaiting to take full responsibility for an operation, he felt ready. However, he broke his thumb which set him back a little, but once Victor Sheymov came along he was the main focus. Hathaway put Rolph on Sheymov's case about the information he knew and gave him a Tropel camera that he could take pictures with of the documents and other information from his communications station. At first when they met each other in person, they had a hard time trusting each other and couldn't tell who they were really working for, but by the end when Rolph's plan comes together Sheymov said he knew he was working for the CIA rather than the KGB cause he actually cared about him and what his family was going through. Then Rolph and Gerber were able to meet with Tolkachev and tell him they are willing to give him a suicide pill and Tolkachev requested some items for his family and mentioned he got a car for them to use for future meetings.
        
        Tolkachev finally received his suicide pill that he was in dire need for. He also requested Western rock music for his son which headquarters thought was interesting.They figured he probably deserved it though after all he had taken copies of with the camera. They wanted to make sure Tolkachev didn't do anything to harm his security. Rolph gave Tolkachev that pill that was placed in a pen for surveillance reasons. He then told Tolkachev about the Discus, which was the CIA's agent communications device. It allowed them to pass intelligence to each other without meeting up. Rolph ended up giving two books to Tolkachev and then they parted ways. As Turner was about to switch over his position to William Casey and, he told President Reagan about all the secrets they knew and their mole Tolkachev: the billion dollar spy. Then Rolph met up with Tolkachev to give him the Discus. Gerber and Hathaway argued for months about the Discus. Tolkachev gave over lots of film, he started to trust Rolph.Tolkachev didn't use the Discus at all, but he had 55 rolls of film that showed the Soviet's vaults and air missle codes.
        
        Describes Tolkachev's personal life with his family and his son Adik. Tolkachev was 54 years old by 1981. He described himself as a morning person. His son Adik was married to a woman named Natasha and she had a terrible childhood during Stalin's purges of 1937, which is why Adik was propelled into the world of espionage. Natasha's father was named Ivan Kuzmin who was the chief editor of the newspaper (light industry). He lived in the heart of Moscow. Ivan was arrested for participating in an anti-Soviet terrorist organization. He was released from prison camp in 1947, but didn't return to Moscow right away. He didn't come home until Stalin was dead. By 1981 Tolkachev already delivered hundreds of pages of blueprints and plans of drawings to the CIA. Tolkachev was deeply inspired by the work of Sakharov's and Solzhenitsyn's books which he also told to the CIA in a letter. He figured out how to damage KGB system and that he never considered selling secrets to China. He also had secret documents in his side pocket. His wife wanted him to stop spying and he said he would but didn't.
        
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