Tumanov

For twenty years - from 1966 to 1986 - Oleg Tumanov worked in Munich for the American Broadcasting station Radio Liberty, posing as a Russian dissident when actually he was a spy for the KGB. Chosen, recruited, and trained in Moscow, he "defected" from a ship in the Mediterranean, where he was serving as a Soviet marine. Via Libya, Tumanov arrived in Munich, where he advanced to director of the Russian section of Radio Liberty, residing for years at the elegant "Arabella." In 1986 a Russian defector revealed Tumanov's true identity, and Tumanov precipitously fled to East Berlin. Now Oleg Tumanov is breaking his silence. In a story as tension-packed as a James Bond adventure, he reports on his "career" and the dirty business of the Cold War, in which the American radio station Radio Liberty played such a surprising role. In fact-filled prose, he depicts the everyday life of a spy and reveals the way in which important messages were transmitted to Moscow. He also reports on secret meetings in East Berlin and the details of his last-minute escape from the Federal Republic. Tumanov - now a stranger in his own land - also describes the difficulties he has encountered on his return to his homeland and the isolated life he lives in Moscow today. This is a remarkably honest, factual, and exciting account.