I am sorry to announce that my good friend, Sergei Tretyakov, the subject of my book, Comrade J: The Untold Secrets of Russia’s Master Spy in America After the End of the Cold War, died unexpectedly on June 13th in his home with his wife, Helen.Sergei was 53.
Helen asked those of us who were his friends to not immediately reveal his death until an autopsy could be performed under the supervision of the FBI. She was concerned that Sergei’s former colleagues in Russia’s SVR, which replaced the KGB as Russia’s foreign intelligence service, might attempt to use his unexpected death for propaganda purposes.
I was told that the autopsy shows no evidence of foul play, according to an FBI official who spoke to me off-the-record. Helen told me that her husband died from massive cardiac arrest. The Associated Press is reporting that a final autospy report will be released in late July. In keeping with Russian Orthodox religious traditions, a private funeral was held on the third day after his death. On the ninth day, more than 200 people attended a private celebration of his life. The guests included close friends, neighbors and persons who had worked with him in the United States.
Sergei was called “the most important spy for the U.S. since the collapse of the Soviet Union” by an FBI official in my book. Unfortunately, because much of what he said is still being used by U. S. counter-intelligence officers, it will be years before the true extent of his contribution can be made public — if ever.
Sergei Olegovich Tretyakov was born Oct. 5, 1956 in Moscow and rose quickly through the ranks to become the second-in-command of the KGB in New York City between 1995 to 2000. As such, he oversaw all Russian spy operations against the US and its allies in New York City and within the United Nations.
When he defected on Oct. 11, 2000, with Helen and their daughter, Ksenia, the U.S. government took the family into hiding and during the next five years, they lived largely “off the grid.” It wasn’t until Comrade J was published and Sergei went on a book tour that his work both as a high-ranking KGB/SVR officer and U.S. operative was made public. It is thought that he spent at least three years working as a U.S. agent while he was still an SVR colonel in New York.
Sergei, Helen and their daughter became U.S. citizens after they defected and although some federal officials feared for their safety, Sergei lived openly under his own name without protection – although when he traveled overseas, he always had an FBI escort. Sergei was convinced that his U.S. citizenship protected him from the SVR, even though he continued to publicly criticize his former colleagues, especially President Vladimir Putin.
The recent arrests of eleven Russian “illegals” on June 28th by the FBI thrust Sergei’s name into the news once again. The fact that he was in charge of all covert operations in New York City when several of the illegals entered the country suggested that he was aware of their operations and quickly led to speculation that he had tipped-off the FBI about the ring.
However, on Thursday, a informed source told me that Sergei was not involved in the case. Sergei told U.S. officials when he was debriefed about Russian “illegal” operations, but he did not know the individuals who later were arrested, my source said.
I became close friends with Sergei and Helen while working on my book about their life and his career. They insisted that I stay with them in their home and during our weeks together, I witnessed first-hand how much he and Helen loved each other, their devotion to their daughter, and love for their new homeland. I also was delighted to discover that Helen was a gourmet cook!
Sergei dispelled many of the Hollywood stereotypes of a Russian agent. He was well-educated, fluent in three languages, quick-witted, personable and able to laugh at his own mistakes when he didn’t understand an American tradition or slang.
He proved to be a tireless worker when I interviewed him. He would speak for ten hours straight, often pacing back-and-forth, in the family room of his house as we discussed his career. He had a fabulous memory that he had sharpened as a KGB/SVR officer and he refused to speculate or exaggerate when he discussed KGB/SVR operations. He knew his enemies in Russia would use the slightest mistake to attack his credibility so he was scrupulous in what he said and the charges that he made.
Having written bestselling books about two American traitors, including John Walker Jr., and his Family of Spies,and Aldrich Ames, the CIA turncoat, I was struck at how different Sergei was from U.S. traitors. Walker and Ames were motivated by greed and money. Sergei did not need money. Upon his return to Russia from New York, he was due to be promoted to the rank of general, which would have guaranteed him a cushy retirement. He had assets in Moscow worth more than two million U.S. dollars – money that was stripped from him after he defected.
It was clear to me early on that he did not swtich sides for financial gain, but rather because he had lost faith in Russian leaders and he wanted a better life for his young daughter. He liked to say that he did not betray his homeland. Rather he and other ordinary citizens in Russia had been betrayed by Presidents Boris Yeltsin and Putin after the Soviet Union collapsed.
Neither Walker or Ames ever wanted to become Russian citizens, but Sergei and his family relished their U.S. citizenship. Sergei often told me that Americans were naive because they took freedoms for granted and did not understand how unique our lives here are compared to life in an oppressive nation, such as Russia whose leaders often silence their critics, especially those in the media, with a bullet.
One reason why I believe Sergei did not know about the 11 Russians who were arrested as illegals is because he did not hold back during our interviews in identifying persons whom he claimed were Russian spies.
Among the individuals identified in my book were a former member of the Canadian Parliament, a top-ranking verification expert at the International Atomic Energy Agency, and a former U.N. official who Sergei helped place in the Oil For Food Program. That UN official diverted a half billion US dollars of UN humanitarian relief to Moscow under both the Yeltsin and Putin administrations and was rewarded by Putin for the thefts. Sergei was disgusted by that thievery and said so.
In our interviews, he talked repeatedly about how Yeltsin had failed the Russian people by becoming a drunken stumble-bum who allowed Oligarchs to engorge themselves by stealing government property. He had similar harsh criticisms for Putin, whom Sergei described as an insignificant KGB officer who later as president surrounded himself with thugs. Their primary goal has been to enrich themselves, he charged.
Sergei asked me to write his story at the suggestion of a director in the British intelligence service. They were having dinner when my name was mentioned because the director had read my book about Aldrich Ames and had admired it. Sergei waived his rights to any advance money from the publisher and received less than $10,000 from the book’s sales even though it was a New York Times bestseller. Money was not his motive in telling his story.
Instead, he hoped to sound a wake-up call about Russia. He was fond of saying that the Cold War never ended. Before the collapse of the Soviet Union, the KGB had a list of three main adversaries: (1.) The United States (2.) NATO and (3.) China. After the KGB was disbanded and the SVR was formed, Sergei said a new edict came down announcing that the SVR had three main targets: (1.) The United States (2.) NATO and (3.) China.
“What changed?” he asked, laughing.
Those of us who were his friends will miss his sense of humor, his knowledge about Russia and KGB/SVR spy-craft, and his almost child-like love for his new country.
I was honored to write his life story and to call him my friend.
I will miss not hearing his voice when I call.
