These women have perfectly mastered the art of espionage and obtained secret information for our country.
Beauties with excellent education consciously took risks for the sake of love for the Motherland.
They fascinated and captivated with their minds and created an atmosphere of trust that forced people to reveal their secrets. Who are these female heroes whose names are written in history forever? We are talking about the brightest stars of Russian intelligence and their fate.
Margarita Konenkova
(1895 – 1980)
Margarita Konenkova (née Vorontsova) made espionage history as the mistress of Albert Einstein and an agent who obtained valuable information about the Manhattan Project. Meanwhile, he easily came into contact with world-class scientists, including Robert Oppenheimer, the “father of the atomic bomb,” on whom he tried to impose communist ideals. Margarita herself came from impoverished nobles. His father was a lawyer at Sarapul District Court. She received an excellent education at a women’s gymnasium, and then at law courses in Moscow. But his real talent was his ability to win over influential people.
Sergei Rachmaninov, Fyodor Chaliapin and his son Boris, Alexander Blok could not resist her charm. But she married sculptor Sergei Konenkov, who had an equally extraordinary personality, and fell in love with him after seeing just one photograph.
She had blonde hair and green eyes, but he was especially fascinated by her hands. She became his muse, with whom he made busts and sculptures. It is not known when Margarita started working for intelligence. In 1923 she and her husband moved to the United States. One day, the Princeton administration approached Konenkov to make a bust of Einstein. And so the legendary meeting took place. It was rumored that the creator of the theory of relativity even thought about marrying Margarita, but in 1945 the Konenkov couple was urgently recalled to the USSR. After the death of her husband, Margarita was left completely alone and experienced financial difficulties. Until now, many aspects of his biography have remained secret.
Elizaveta Zarubina
(1900 – 1987)
Elizaveta Zarubina (real name Esther Rosenzweig) is often called the star of Soviet intelligence, and for good reason. Every intelligence service in the world was after him. It was she who revealed the secret of the atomic bomb and prevented Trotsky from making a revolution. When US President Harry Truman shared the news about superweapons at the Big Three meeting, Stalin was not only aware of it, he was already preparing a response to the Americans.
Zarubina showed talent for languages since childhood, and her father only encouraged her passion by providing her with an excellent education. He studied at the Sorbonne and then transferred to the University of Vienna. In addition to Yiddish and Russian, She was fluent in Romanian, German, French, English and Spanish. His skills and lifestyle did not go unnoticed by the intelligence services. In 1928, she received private education in Moscow, where she obtained documents in the name of Elizaveta Yulievna Gorskaya and married intelligence officer Vasily Mikhailovich Zarubin. Together they took on assignments in Vienna, Türkiye, Denmark, Germany, France and the USA. At the same time, the spy received secret information about the military-industrial enterprises of the Third Reich from the chief of counterintelligence Willy Lehmann, who became one of the prototypes of Stirlitz in the spy drama “Seventeen Moments of Spring”. Zarubina became famous for her determination and composure in unusual situations. She managed to expertly manage 22 agencies in different countries.
Anna Kamaeva
(1918 – 1998)
Among illegal intelligence officers, Anna Kamaeva stood out for her ability to obtain the most revealing secrets from the highest echelons of power. She was part of the secret department of the NKVD, which had only girls called swallows. They were personally led by Lavrentiy Beria. The charming blonde easily gained trust thanks to her espionage skills and learned all the weaknesses of the objects being spied on. The girl was smart and knew how to seduce without giving in to emotions. By the way, it was Anna Kamaeva who became the prototype of the radio operator Kat from the movie “Seventeen Moments of Spring”. He gained a lot of valuable knowledge during his business trips to the USA, China, Portugal, Mexico and other Latin American countries. Its activities were especially successful during the Second World War. She was recalled to the USSR due to the serious illness of her husband, Mikhail Filonenko, who was also an intelligence officer. He was transferred to the reserve in 1963 and was given the rank of major.
Nadezhda Plevitskaya
(1884 – 1940)
Nadezhda Plevitskaya (Vinnikova) had the ability to perform any piece, even without knowing the notes. His voice did not leave anyone indifferent. For this he received the nickname Kursk Nightingale. The girl came from a peasant family. After her father’s death, her mother sent her to a nunnery, and from there she fled to Kiev, where she began performing in the choir. There she met her future husband, Edmond Plevitsky, from a short marriage and with whom she still had a beautiful surname. The girl became a real celebrity, performing in the legendary Yar restaurant and the Moscow Conservatory. In 1921, she moved to Europe with her fourth husband, General Skoblin. However, he could not achieve such success among the public there, so he agreed to work for the Soviet intelligence services. Plevitskaya reported on the mood of the emigrants, participated in operations to expose agents and implemented the plans of EMRO (All-Russian Military Union). During one of the missions, her husband died, and Plevitskaya was sentenced by court decision to 20 years of hard labor. She spent her last days there.
Anna Chapman
(1982 –…)
Anna Chapman (née Kushchenko) is perhaps the most famous intelligence officer of modern Russia. Thanks to him, the government received classified information about relations between the United States and Iran, including the development of nuclear weapons, as well as personal information about CIA leaders. He was doing well, but his career was hampered by his colleague Alexander Poteev, who betrayed him and other intelligence agents. After returning to her hometown, she became a TV presenter known throughout the country. Anna Chapman earned honors degrees in Political Science and Pedagogy from ASU before turning to espionage professionally. She later married British man Alex Chapman. This helped him infiltrate the circle of influential businessmen. She headed a real estate search company in Russia and in 2010 moved to the United States, where she continued to develop her business. True, many people still believe that both marriage and work are dreams. She was probably willing to talk about it, but one of the conditions for her return to Russia was secrecy.
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Source: People Talk
Errol Villanueva is an author and lifestyle journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a passion for exploring the latest trends in fashion, food, travel, and wellness, Errol’s articles are a must-read for anyone interested in living a stylish and fulfilling life.
