Kim Philby

Harold Adrian Russell "Kim" Philby also H. A. R. Philby (January 1, 1912 – May 11, 1988) was a high ranking member of British intelligence who led a lifelong career as a spy for the Soviet Union.

Moscow

Philby later surfaced in Moscow, and was given a make-work sinecure within the KGB which he held until shortly before his death. Aside from a role as a propagandist for the KGB he was given no significant responsibilities and his alchoholism became progressively deeper. He had married the estranged wife of fellow defector Donald Maclean shortly after his arrival in Moscow but upon her return to the West he married a Russian woman 20 years his junior, with whom he lived until his death in 1988 at age 76. Only after his death did he receive the praise and appreciation which had escaped him in life, being awarded a hero's funeral and numerous posthumous medals by a belatedly grateful USSR.

Related Topics:
Moscow - KGB

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Philby was a close friend of the novelist Graham Greene, who reportedly left MI6 rather than become involved in exposing Philby. It has been suggested that Greene never really left the intelligence service, but continued to run Philby as a British triple agent in the KGB. However, the hypothesis that Philby was working in the interests of Britain all along is considered extremely improbable, if not fantastic, given that (a) Philby had for a time singlehandedly nullified Western intelligence efforts against the Soviet Union; (b) his exposure had seriously damaged the relationship between the American CIA and Britain's MI5; and (c), what is now known about Philby's life in Moscow.

Related Topics:
Graham Greene - CIA - MI5

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