Stalin's Romeo Spy: The Remarkable Rise and Fall of the KGB's Most Daring Operative [Hardcover]

A few years ago I took a tour of the Lubyanka in Moscow. The former KGB officer showing us around took some time to describe a spy who knew over a dozen languages, received a medical and law degree, and married an Italian countess. I was quite impressed but didn't have a chance to remember his name or any other information about him. Granted, espionage has been described in a multitude of publications, but there are always those characters who seem above the norm and somehow removed from the reality we are familiar with. Keeping this in mind, I was very much surprised and excited to see a book come out on this very same man I remembered hearing about years ago. Immediately, I must admit the book was not what I expected. I hoped to read about a professionally trained spy who served his country and went above and beyond what was asked of him. Instead, I was confronted by a man who due to a combination of factors was recruited for various assignments, through recently set up Soviet "Trade Missions", throughout Europe and with little to depend on aside from fellow amateur spies, money supplied by his handler(s), and his own wits and talents. Additionally, that former KGB officer's description, I was surprised to learn, was far from the whole truth (he did have the languages, but the degrees and Italian countess were not exactly accurate). Having recently read through a history of GRU (Soviet Military Intelligence), the amateurish nature of Bystrolyotov's recruitment made perfect sense. The truth is the majority of those who spied for the newly created Soviet Union were idealists who found some success in recruiting others to their cause, but all too often made mistakes along the way.

Seeing how much Bystrolyotov was able to accomplish, however, makes one question the stereotypes we have for spies. Regularly changing personalities, identities - a Hungarian Count, a Norwegian fisherman, an American gangster spying for the Japanese - and languages, made for a heavy burden; more so, added to this are the various assets Bystrolyotov was forced to entice through sexual relationships or broken promises. But while he accrued both successes and failures, the end result was disgust with the profession, himself for the lives he ruined, and an eventual arrest and sentence to the GULAG. Just before Bystrolyotov's arrest the author discusses some of the other agents who were also arrested, imprisoned, executed, or committed suicide. While not the main theme of the story, I think the reader would have benefited if the author pointed toward some of the reasons why these spies were being targeted. After Bystrolyotov's arrest, what he goes through during his interrogations and forced labor in the Far East should be familiar to anyone who has read on the topic; calling it a harsh existence fails to even begin to describe this man's fate.

While there are many strengths to this book, there are also weaknesses. Although Bystrolyotov's missions are reconstructions from available evidence (they encompass the majority of Europe, the United States, and Africa), there are still many questions that the author cannot answer for various reasons (missing files, etc.). Further, the author delves into psychological analysis on a regular basis. This, combined Bystrolyotov's own self-reflections, at times makes for awkward reading. We cannot be sure if the author's diagnoses is accurate or if what Bystrolyotov wrote about himself is a true depiction. The author relies on two versions of Bystrolyotov's memoirs, one created to pass Soviet censors, and the other a supposedly more revealing account. This is supplemented by various secondary and primary sources (including archival). Even so, there are episodes, details, names, etc., missing. The author needs to be commended for his efforts to bring this character, personality, and story to life, but at times I would argue that the psychoanalysis took away from the narrative rather than added to it.

If you are looking for a standard, run of the mill spy story, this book is not for you. Author Emil Draitser has written, in depth, about a real flesh and blood man who used all his many talents to spy for his homeland, the USSR. Dimitri Bystrolyotov was a dashingly handsome man who spoke many languages, was a doctor, a lawyer, an artist and an incredibly successful womanizer. He employed all his skills to spy for his beloved country. His loyalty to the USSR, for which he took great risks, and his belief in its political system were betrayed. On his return to Moscow, he was accused of betraying his country and was arrested by Stalin's regime, tortured and sentenced to years of hard labor in the Gulag. The latter part of the book follows his painful degradation in detail. It is a painful read. Today's Russia has attempted to "rehabilitate" spies like Bystolyotov and glamorize their stories. Draitser's book reveals the truth. It is a remarkable historical document.

In skillfully portraying the life of Dmitri Bystrolyotov, Emil Draister does a superb job of weaving a tenacious web of intrigue, anecdotes, historical facts, man's humanity and inhumanity to man, and human frailties in his beautifully written book Stalin's Romeo Spy. The details are thoroughly researched and narration is richly textured. Draister does an outstanding job of bringing a shadowy, chameleon-like Russian character out into the light of the modern day as a very human, often misunderstood and terribly wronged individual who is tossed around like driftwood in the tumultuous ocean of history. In tracing the origins of his protagonist Draister succeeds in bringing alive life during the turbulent decades of early twentieth century Russia. Draister's style is intimate, sensitive and sympathetic. Stalin's Romeo Spy is a masterfully written book with many dimensions. It is highly readable, and difficult to put down once you start reading it. Draister has an incredible eye for details. This book would make every library richer by its addition.