Victor Ivanovich Cherkashin (russian: Ви́ктор Ива́нович Черка́шин) (born 22 February 1932) is a former Soviet foreign counter-intelligence officer of the PGU KGB SSSR. He was the case officer for both

Aldrich Ames Aldrich Hazen "Rick" Ames (; born May 26, 1941) is a former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officer turned KGB double agent, who was convicted of espionage in 1994. He is serving a life sentence, without the possibility of parole, in the Federa ...

, a CIA counter-intelligence officer, and

Robert Hanssen Robert Philip Hanssen (born April 18, 1944) is an American former Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) double agent who spied for Soviet and Russian intelligence services against the United States from 1979 to 2001. His espionage was described ...

, an FBI agent.

Career

Cherkashin joined the KGB in 1952 and retired in 1991. He was the case officer for both Aldrich Ames, a

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...

counter-intelligence officer, and Robert Hanssen, an

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...

agent, when they spied for the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

. Cherkashin served for many years in the KGB's First Chief Directorate, the department dedicated to foreign counter-intelligence. His career included tours in

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, Australia,

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

and

Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...

. Cherkashin was awarded the Order of Lenin in August 1986 for recruiting Aldrich Ames. In 2004 he presented the book ''Spy Handler'' at the Spy Museum in

Personal life

Cherkashin was the son of a

NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (russian: Наро́дный комиссариа́т вну́тренних дел, Naródnyy komissariát vnútrennikh del, ), abbreviated NKVD ( ), was the interior ministry of the Soviet Union. ...

officer. He received a diploma of a

railway engineer Railway engineering is a multi-faceted engineering discipline dealing with the design, construction and operation of all types of rail transport systems. It encompasses a wide range of engineering disciplines, including civil engineering, compu ...

from the Moscow State Institute of Railway Engineering. Victor Cherkashin and Gregory Feifer, (2004), Spy Handler: Memoir of a KGB Officer - The True Story of the Man Who Recruited Robert Hanssen and Aldrich Ames. Cherkashin married KGB cipher clerk Elena, with whom he has two children; Alyosha and Alyona. After his retirement from the KGB he established his own private security company in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

, where he now lives with Elena. Victor and his wife Elena made an appearance on '' Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations'' on the Travel channel. He discussed a little about life as a spy and handler but also showed him helping Anthony pick wild

mushroom A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground, on soil, or on its food source. ''Toadstool'' generally denotes one poisonous to humans. The standard for the name "mushroom" is ...

s and then having his wife cook them and share stories while snacking. The show took place at his

dacha A dacha ( rus, дача, p=ˈdatɕə, a=ru-dacha.ogg) is a seasonal or year-round second home, often located in the exurbs of post-Soviet countries, including Russia. A cottage (, ') or shack serving as a family's main or only home, or an outbu ...

, country house in a community with other retired KGB officers.

References

Bibliography

* Cherkashin, Victor. (2004). ''Spy Handler: Memoir of a KGB Officer. The True Story of The Man Who Recruited Robert Hanssen & Aldrich Ames'' Basic. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Cherkashin, Victor 1932 births Living people People from Prokhorovsky District Soviet colonels KGB officers Recipients of the Order of Lenin