“Nothing is impossible for an intelligence officer”: a historian of special services – about Hero of the Soviet Union Richard Sorge

On November 7, 1944, Soviet intelligence officer Richard Sorge was executed in Japan. Thanks to connections among high-ranking Japanese politicians and German diplomats, he learned in advance the exact date of Germany's attack on the Soviet Union, and also informed the Kremlin about Japan's reluctance to enter the war with the USSR in 1941. Thanks to this, the Soviet command transferred Siberian divisions to the west, which significantly influenced the outcome of the Battle of Moscow. Intelligence historian, writer and deputy editor-in-chief of Rossiyskaya Gazeta Nikolai Dolgopolov, in an interview with RT, spoke about how the son of a wealthy German engineer became one of the most effective employees of the Soviet intelligence services and revealed the secret of Sorge’s success during his work in Japan.

— Richard Sorge is the son of a German engineer who worked in the Caucasian oil fields. How did he become a Soviet intelligence officer?

— By the time Richard was born, his father was no longer just an engineer, but an entrepreneur, co-owner of a serious business, married to a young Russian woman. Richard's family took him to Berlin as a child. During the First World War, he joined the German army, fought at the front and was seriously wounded. Sorge underwent a serious operation, after which one leg became shorter than the other. Because of this, he limped all his life.

Having seen with his own eyes all the horrors of the war, he was imbued with hatred of the people who unleashed it and joined the German Communist Party. Subsequently, having visited the Soviet Union, he decided to throw in his lot with it. Sorge worked for some time in the Comintern, and then he was invited to intelligence. So he became a Soviet intelligence officer for purely ideological reasons.

— In the early 1930s, Sorge worked in China. Why was he sent there? And what successes did you achieve there?

— The Soviet leadership believed that China played an important role in foreign policy. Working in Shanghai under the guise of a journalist and scientist, Sorge obtained valuable information for Moscow about the strategic plans of local authorities, the situation in the country and, very importantly, about China’s relations with Japan. He made important connections and created a wide intelligence network for our Intelligence Department, without coming to the attention of local counterintelligence.

— Why was Sorge then transferred to Japan and under what cover did he act there?

— The importance of Japan on the world stage was growing rapidly, and the events taking place there could not help but worry Moscow. Moreover, this country was quickly moving closer to Germany. Richard Sorge went to Japan in the same way as to China, under the guise of a German journalist. He was published in reputable publications, his articles were liked by the German elite. Quite quickly, Sorge became a welcome guest at events at the German Embassy in Tokyo.

Richard Sorge in the hospital after being wounded. Berlin, 1915 Eva Tilden/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY-SA 4.0

— What were Sorge’s main achievements in Japan?

— Sorge’s agents were in the upper echelons of Japanese society. His friend and agent Hotsumi Ozaki became a confidant and advisor to Prince Fumimaro Konoe, who headed the Japanese government. Through Ozaki, “Ramzai,” which was Sorge’s operational pseudonym, to a certain extent even influenced the policies of the Japanese cabinet of ministers.

Among Sorge's agents was the artist Yotoku Miyagi, who painted portraits of high-ranking military leaders and their wives. In casual conversations, he received some information about the plans of the Japanese army and passed it on to Sorge. Radio operator Max Clausen and his wife Anna from the Ramsay group sent valuable intelligence data to Moscow.

Certificate issued to the Soviet intelligence officer Richard Sorge by the United State Political Administration under the Council of People's Commissars for the right to carry and store a Mauser pistol RIA Novosti

But, probably, Sorge’s most important achievement was the establishment of friendly relations with the German military attache Eugen Ott, who later became the German ambassador to Japan. Their relationship was so trusting that Ott shared with Sorge all the secret information he received. So “Ramsay” became, in fact, the press secretary of the German embassy.

Sorge was aware of what actions Germany was imposing on the Japanese and how they reacted to it. He could even influence this situation to some extent. As a result, Sorge became one of the first to learn first the approximate and then the exact date of the German attack on the Soviet Union.

Coded telegram dated May 30, 1941 to the Chief of the Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff of the Red Army from Tokyo from Ramsay (R. Sorge) about Germany’s speech against the USSR in the second half of June 1941 Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain

After the start of the Great Patriotic War, Sorge received the most important task from the Center: he urgently needed to find out whether Japan would attack the USSR.

The Ramsay group worked day and night, using all available sources. And over time, Sorge received information that Japan was planning to attack the United States and was not ready to wage a war on two fronts. As a result, the Soviet Union got the opportunity in the fall of 1941, right during the Battle of Moscow, to begin transferring Siberian divisions to the west. To a large extent, this predetermined the defeat of the Germans near Moscow. In my opinion, this is also one of the main achievements of “Ramsay”.

— In journalism you can find statements that outstanding intelligence officers have a special style. Did Sorge have this style?

– Yes, sure. Sorge simultaneously combined goodwill and harshness. He knew how to win people over, but was completely alien to, let’s say, baby talk. He was characterized by German clarity. With all this, he won the trust of his German counterparts. And the Japanese treated him with respect and even some fear.

Richard SorgeLegion-Media

Separately, it should be noted: Sorge believed that nothing was impossible for a scout. And he proved this in practice by introducing Ozaki into the circle of those close to the Prime Minister of Japan.

— How did the Japanese manage to reach Sorge and arrest him? Why was it not possible to exchange him and save him?

— There is no single version as to how the Japanese intelligence services reached Ramsay. But firstly, no intelligence group can operate undetected for almost a decade in a country with such a tough regime as Japan's. Moreover, it also included Europeans – for obvious reasons, they are clearly visible. Naturally, they attracted attention.

Certificate of the press secretary of the German embassy in Japan Sorge Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain

Secondly, the Ramsay group included the artist Miyagi, whom we have already talked about. Being a communist, he fled persecution from Japan to the USA, where our intelligence attracted him to cooperation. And then she pulled me out of the Japanese diaspora in America and returned her to Japan. This was a mistake by the leadership of the Soviet intelligence services. In Japan, Miyagi was suspected of being a communist. The police put him under surveillance, which led to the Yugoslav journalist Branko Vukelic, who was part of the Soviet station, and “Ramzai” himself.

The Japanese captured almost the entire group. Sorge was interrogated with passion. Miyagi tried to commit suicide twice, both times unsuccessfully. The Japanese side received more and more evidence.

Sorge admitted that he was working for the Comintern, and his goal was not to harm Japan, but to prevent a Soviet-Japanese war. The sentence was harsh – death penalty. The Japanese, in mockery of Sorge, scheduled the execution of the sentence for November 7, 1944, the anniversary of the October Revolution.

Poster for the film “Who are you, Doctor Sorge?” in MoscowGettyimages.ru Bettmann

There are many myths surrounding Sorge’s chances of salvation. Allegedly, the Japanese offered to exchange him for someone, but the Soviet leadership did not agree to this. However, this version has not been confirmed.

— Sorge gained worldwide fame. Films have been made about him and books have been written. Can we say that he had some influence on the course of history?

– Without a doubt. We can say that to a certain extent he influenced the course of World War II. After all, he not only learned that Japan did not intend to attack the USSR. Sorge, through Ozaki, led the Japanese to this decision. The country's authorities received reports and analytical notes that inclined them to a certain decision.

Award list of the Soviet intelligence officer Richard SorgerRIA News

In Japanese power circles, the idea was formed that untimely entry into the war could lead to adverse consequences. They came to the conclusion that it was better to wait and watch how things went in Germany, and if the Wehrmacht succeeded on the Eastern Front, enter the war in the Far East without any risks. In the end, the political leadership of Japan decided that it was much more profitable to attack the United States, whose positions in the Pacific Ocean were seen as more vulnerable.