Russian spy dead; tipped authorities about spy ring
July 9, 2010 - 3:32pm
J.J. Green, wtop.com
WASHINGTON - Sergei Tretyakov, 54, one of the world's most famous spies of all time, is dead, WTOP has learned.
Still shaken and at times emotional, Sergei Tretyakov's widow Helen reluctantly confirmed his death today to prevent Russian Intelligence gloating.
"I'm doing this because I don't want Sergei's former colleagues to have the luxury of flattering themselves that they punished Sergei."
"The autopsy showed nothing suspicious. It was a tragic, sudden death of natural causes," she says.
Helen Tretyakov said, "Sergei was never afraid of being chased or killed or murdered by his former colleagues -they wouldn't dare."
WTOP recently featured Tretyakov, who defected to the U.S. a decade ago, in the series "Escaping from the Iron Curtain."
The Tretyakov's defected to the United States in October of 2000 during his five-year deployment in Russia's New York mission, in charge of Russian spy activities in the U.S. and the United Nations.
The Russian spy saga that's unfolded in recent weeks has fueled speculation that Tretyakov was somehow involved and prompted many to wonder why he had not been heard from.
Ten operatives pleaded guilty in New York to working as foreign agents in the U.S. and were deported to Russia Friday. They were part of a U.S.-Russiaspy swap.
Helen Tretyakov confirmed Sergei warned U.S. officials about Russia's deep cover spies after their defection.
"Because he was aware that the part of the SVR budget for supporting illegals increased dramatically in the 90s", but she emphatically points out, "he didn't know the names of these illegals".
Despite the medical confirmation that no foul play was involved, some intelligence sources question whether his death and the arrest of the 10 spies was more than a coincidence.
In fact, the Associated Press has reported the Obama administration began thinking about a possible spy swap before the arrests and Tretyakov's death.
U.S. intelligence authorities have not responded to inquiries about Tretyakov's life in the U.S. and his death.
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(Copyright 2010 by WTOP. All Rights Reserved.)
