cold war

In "Stalin's Apostles," spies relied on their pedigrees to evade suspicion

3 months ago

The 'Cambridge Five' were a group of upper-class British spies recruited by the Soviets at Cambridge University in the 1930s, who later held high positions and leaked secrets to Moscow.
Their betrayals led to failed missions and deaths, such as the 1951 Ukraine parachute drop of anti-communist Ukrainians, which was compromised by Kim Philby's tip-off.
Antonia Senior's book 'Stalin's Apostles' focuses on the human cost of their actions, stripping away romanticism and highlighting their negative impact on lives and U.S.-British relations.
The spies were shielded by their elite backgrounds and the 'chapocracy' of mid-century Britain, which made it hard for authorities to suspect them despite red flags like alcohol issues and communist ties.
After the ring collapsed, consequences were mild for some; Kim Philby, for example, faced limited evidence and worked as a journalist in Beirut before defecting to the USSR in 1963.