Oleg Penkovsky

        Oleg Penkovsky’s intelligence on missiles was the most important information that he brought to the table. Penkovsky was a specialist on Soviet rocket forces in his position in the GRU, which was the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Russian Armed Forces General Staff. The Soviet Union’s leader, Nikita Khrushchev, made claims that his military had missile technology so advanced that it was possible for them to “hit a fly in space,” when according to Penkovsky and his reports, “They couldn’t hit a bull in the backside with a balalaika.” The main missile threat that the Soviet Union had against the United States was the SS4 rocket, a medium-range nuclear missile. Khrushchev has decided to place an arsenal of these missiles in Cuba, a country that is only 90 miles away from the United States, a distance well within the limits of the SS4 missile. Early reports from Cuba stated that the missile construction sites were only for air defense missile silos, but reports from Penkovsky quickly disproved this notion and the conclusion was made that the construction sites were for offensive nuclear missiles. With this information, the United States and England were able to quickly perform the steps needed to prevent the world from having its first nuclear war.

        This was not the only information that Oleg Penkovsky provided regarding the SS4 missiles located in Cuba. He also relayed information about the time needed to construct the missile and the amount of time until the missile could be deployed. This not only gave the American intelligence officers valuable information about the missiles in Cuba, but also how much time they had to create a plan to get the missiles removed from the nearby country.  With this information in hand, President Kennedy was able to challenge the Soviets successfully because they were in no shape for war with the United States.

Evaluation of Sources

        My first primary source is a book entitled Spies: The Secret Agents Who Changed the Course of History. It was written by a man named Ernest Volkman. Its purpose seems to be to inform readers about espionage and the real practices behind it and also to deconstruct the view that Hollywood tends to create towards spying and secret agents.

This source is valuable in one way because of its author, Ernest Volkman. Mr. Volkman was previously an award-winning national correspondent for Newsday who specialized in the secretive world of espionage. He has done extensive work and research in this area of study, including hundreds of articles and several books before this one. This is one reason why this source is highly valuable. The book has also been reviewed by such people as the President of the National Intelligence Study Center and received high marks. This can be seen as a value in the fact that it would not have gotten many of these excellent reviews if the information had been falsified. Another value of the book in reference to my topic is that there is a full chapter that deals solely with Oleg Penkovsky and his work for the United States and Great Britain during the Cold War. This detailed analysis of Penkovsky’s work adds a greater understanding of the figure being studies, which adds great value to the work.

This source does not come without its limitations as well. The material in this book can be classified as highly questionable because of the very nature of the topic being written about, espionage. Espionage is supposed to be kept secret, so the information given may not certainly be correct, which is a limitation. Another limitation arises in the fact that the author does not give very much information out about himself. After extensive research, little information was found about Ernest Volkman’s prior jobs or articles, giving his work a touch of questionability.

A second source used in this investigation was MI6: Inside the Covert World of Her Majesty’s Secret Intelligence Service. This book was written by Stephen Dorril. Mr. Dorril is a professor of Music, Humanities, and Media at the University of Huddersfield in England. Its purpose appears to be to inform readers of the history and innermost workings of MI6, the intelligence agency of Great Britain.

This source comes with many values. It was written by a distinguished professor at a well-known college in England. Professors do not usually publish information that can easily be proven false or fallible, so the information presented in this book can most likely be taken for truth. Dorril has also been writing books about espionage since 1986, which gives him a lot of experience in this area. It is also valuable in the view that the information given is presented in a very detailed manner, delving into many of the inner workings of MI6. Dorril includes information and quotes from actual leaders in the British intelligence agency. Interviews between Dorril and these leaders have been included in the book, making most of the information valuable from a primary source. This resource also comes with its limitations as well. The information presented on Penkovsky can sometimes seem vague and is mixed in with information about other spies and moles in the Cold War. No specific section is dedicated solely on the actions of Penkovsky, indicating that in-depth research on the Soviet mole was not completed and only a base layer of information was gathered.  This book may also be an attempt to gain fame and reputation in the area of espionage among his peers, which could possibly make some of the information false. Also, because Mr. Dorril is English, he might have a slight bias for what he is research about, spinning the operations and leaders of MI6 in a more positive light than really necessary.

Analysis

        Penkovsky’s reports and intelligence gathering came at a crucial time period for the United States. President Kennedy was feeling pressure after Khrushchev’s confident boast about the Soviet Union’s arsenal of nuclear missiles, and especially their allocation of supply of missiles to Cuba. The photographs taken by the United States government of the buildings being constructed to house the nuclear weapons set many in America over the edge, making President Kennedy extremely wary of what the Soviet Union might do with them.

        Oleg Penkovsky’s contact with the America tourists in Moscow started the chain reaction that would ultimately cause the Soviet Union to back down from transporting its SS4 missiles to Cuba. More specifically, Penkovsky’s report on the time necessary for construction and deployment of the SS4 was one of the most crucial pieces of intelligence that MI6 or the CIA could hope for. By knowing the amount of time needed for an offensive, the United States government knew how much time they had to plan and launch a counter offensive or negotiations for the disarmament of Cuba.

        The plan that was constructed actually involved being highly aggressive against the Soviet Union. The United States threatening of the Soviet Union was backed up by Penkovsky’s evidence that the technology acquired by Khrushchev and the Soviet Union was nothing like what they had alleged. This ultimately led to the Soviet Union’s downfall in Cuba and eventually their downfall as a country.

Conclusion

        After an analysis of the sources and evidence presented, Oleg Penkovsky had a very vital role in the conclusion of the Cuban missile crisis. Until Penkovsky’s conviction and execution, he contributed several important pieces of information to intelligence agencies in the West, especially the United States. His method of gathering intelligence was sufficient enough to relay several thousand important pieces of intelligence to these agencies, including the plans and information regarding the SS4 missiles that were being transported to Cuba by the Soviet Union. Without the information acquired by Penkovsky, the United States would not have been able to make a credible threat against the Soviet Union. This threat, unchecked, might have led to the world’s first nuclear war.