-
[Defector]: George Balanchine
[Profession/Prominence]: choreographer
[Birthplace]: Russia
[Year]: 1924
[Notes]: Defected during tour of Germany to the Weimar Republic
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Boris Bazhanov
[Profession/Prominence]: Politburo Secretary
[Birthplace]: Russia
[Year]: 1928
[Notes]: Defected to France via Iran and India
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Georges Agabekov
[Profession/Prominence]: OGPU
[Birthplace]: Turkmenistan
[Year]: 1930
[Notes]: Defected in France; led the manhunt for Bazhanov before defecting
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Grigol Robakidze
[Profession/Prominence]: author
[Birthplace]: Georgia
[Year]: 1930
[Notes]: Defected to Germany; primarily known for his exotic prose and anti-Soviet émigré activities
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Tatiana Tchernavin
[Profession/Prominence]: writer
[Birthplace]: Russia
[Year]: 1932
[Notes]: Fled from USSR with her husband Vladimir Tchernavin (physicist, writer) and her son Andrei through Karelia to Finland and then to Great Britain. (She and her son visited her husband in gulag prison, then fled together). She wrote a book about their experience: 'Escape from the Soviets' and her husband: 'I Speak For the Silent Prisoners of the Soviets'
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: George Gamow
[Profession/Prominence]: physicist
[Birthplace]: Ukraine
[Year]: 1933
[Notes]: First tried to kayak across the Black Sea; defected in Brussels, Belgium; later discovered alpha decay via quantum tunneling
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Ignace Reiss
[Profession/Prominence]: NKVD
[Birthplace]: Russia
[Year]: 1937
[Notes]: Former head of Soviet intelligence services; assassinated by NKVD
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Walter Krivitsky
[Profession/Prominence]: NKVD
[Birthplace]: Russia
[Year]: 1937
[Notes]: Defected in Paris, France after assassination of Reiss; apparent 1941 suicide in the U.S. may have been an NKVD assassination
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Alexander Orlov
[Profession/Prominence]: NKVD
[Birthplace]: Belarus
[Year]: 1938
[Notes]: Fled while stationed in Spain to avoid execution in the Great Purge
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Genrikh Lyushkov
[Profession/Prominence]: NKVD
[Birthplace]: Russia
[Year]: 1938
[Notes]: Crossed the border into Manchukuo with secret documents; family arrested and sent to Gulag; several died
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Abdurakhman Avtorkhanov
[Profession/Prominence]: author
[Birthplace]: Russia
[Year]: 1942
[Notes]: Sent to infiltrate anti-Soviet Chechens, he joined them instead
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Nasreddin Murat-Khan
[Profession/Prominence]: architect/engineer
[Birthplace]: Russia
[Year]: 1944
[Notes]: Fled to evade religious persecution. Defected in Berlin, Germany; then to Pakistan in 1950 where he was given refuge and citizenship. In honour of his new home, Pakistan; he designed and constructed the Minar-e-Pakistan in Lahore, Punjab which stands as a national symbol of the country to this day. He also constructed the Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore and Nishtar Medical University in Multan.
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Victor Kravchenko
[Profession/Prominence]: engineer
[Birthplace]: Ukraine
[Year]: 1944
[Notes]: Soviet engineer, witnessed horrors of Holodomor; defected when serving in the Soviet Purchasing Agency in Washington DC in the United States
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: G. M. Dimitrov
[Profession/Prominence]: politician
[Birthplace]: Bulgaria
[Year]: 1945
[Notes]: Saved from execution by U.S. ambassador; later founded anti-Communist organizations
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Fedir Bohatyrchuk
[Profession/Prominence]: chess, medical doctor
[Birthplace]: USSR
[Year]: 1945
[Notes]: Former Soviet chess champion eventually immigrated to Canada, where he became a professor of medicine, and resumed his competitive chess
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Géza Füster
[Profession/Prominence]: chess
[Birthplace]: Hungary
[Year]: 1945
[Notes]: Defected through East Berlin with friend Pal Benko who was caught and jailed three years
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Igor Gouzenko
[Profession/Prominence]: GRU
[Birthplace]: Russia
[Year]: 1945
[Notes]: Defected in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; helped uncover Communist spy rings
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Konstantin Volkov
[Profession/Prominence]: NKVD
[Birthplace]: Russia
[Year]: 1945
[Notes]: Deputy head of the NKVD in Istanbul, Turkey; contacted the British Istanbul consulate about defection, was arrested by the Soviets and disappeared forever (possibly executed)
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Valeri Tihonovitch Minakov
[Profession/Prominence]:
[Birthplace]: Russia
[Year]: 1945
[Notes]: Escaped from Siberia across the Bering Sea in a small boat, with his 6 year old son Oleg. He was assisted by Eskimos of Savoonga and Gambell on St. Lawrence Island. Shortly afterward 14 Siberians arrived for "a visit" and questioned inhabitants whether they had seen a "white Russian."
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Anatoli Granovsky
[Profession/Prominence]: MGB
[Birthplace]: Russia
[Year]: 1946
[Notes]: Defected in Stockholm, Sweden and wrote an autobiography
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Jan Čep
[Profession/Prominence]: writer
[Birthplace]: Czechoslovakia
[Year]: 1948
[Notes]: Defected to France; Poet friend who stayed behind jailed for 13 years for "anti-socialist thinking"
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Nesti Josifi Kopali
[Profession/Prominence]: chief of Albanian security service Sigurimi in Rome
[Birthplace]: Albania
[Year]: 1949
[Notes]: Offered himself to the U.S. Embassy in Rome in late 1949, but was rejected, so he turned to Italian Intelligence. After a couple of months of interrogation, he was turned over to the CIA, which flew him to Washington DC for debriefing. Kopali had, among his other anti-western assignments in 1946-47, tried and failed to set up a liaison with the editor of an ethnic newspaper in Boston. In 1950, Kopali provided some valuable information about Albanian security and military matters, but not enough for the U.S. government to offer him political asylum and resettlement in the United States. He was ultimately flown back to Germany.
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Alena Vrzáňová
[Profession/Prominence]: figure skater
[Birthplace]: Czechoslovakia
[Year]: 1950
[Notes]: Defected during 1950 World Championships in London, UK
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Czesław Miłosz
[Profession/Prominence]: author
[Birthplace]: Poland
[Year]: 1951
[Notes]: Defected to France after serving as a Polish diplomat and later settled in the United States
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Istvan Rabovsky
[Profession/Prominence]: ballet
[Birthplace]: Hungary
[Year]: 1953
[Notes]: Escaped with wife Nora Kovach to West Berlin on an East Berlin tour
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Franciszek Jarecki
[Profession/Prominence]: pilot
[Birthplace]: Poland
[Year]: 1953
[Notes]: Flew MiG-15 from Słupsk, Poland to Rønne Airport on Danish island of Bornholm
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Józef Światło
[Profession/Prominence]: UB
[Birthplace]: Poland
[Year]: 1953
[Notes]: Defected on a mission in East Berlin; He revealed it in broadcasts on Radio Free Europe internal struggle in the Polish United Workers' Party (PZPR) and the true face of the Security Office (UB). The result of his escape was the liquidation of the Ministry of Security (MBP).
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Nikolai Khokhlov
[Profession/Prominence]: KGB
[Birthplace]: Russia
[Year]: 1953
[Notes]: Refused to assassinate George Okolovich; defected in West Germany and KGB attempted to assassinate him in 1957
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Nora Kovach
[Profession/Prominence]: ballet
[Birthplace]: Hungary
[Year]: 1953
[Notes]: Escaped with husband Istvan Rabovsky to West Berlin on an East Berlin tour
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Andrzej Panufnik
[Profession/Prominence]: composer
[Birthplace]: Poland
[Year]: 1954
[Notes]: Slipped Polish secret police in night time taxi chase in Zürich, Switzerland, defected to UK while in London
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Peter Deriabin
[Profession/Prominence]: KGB agent
[Birthplace]: Russia
[Year]: 1954
[Notes]: KGB Major and personnel officer who contacted U.S. intelligence in Vienna and was exfiltrated through the "Mozart Express" military train; worked with CIA for years afterwards
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Vladimir Petrov
[Profession/Prominence]: diplomat
[Birthplace]: Russia
[Year]: 1954
[Notes]: Defected on a mission in Australia. Started the Petrov Affair
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Evdokia Petrova
[Profession/Prominence]: KGB
[Birthplace]: Russia
[Year]: 1954
[Notes]: Undercover KGB agent who was the wife of Vladimir Petrov; defected in Australia during the Petrov Affair
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Bela Berger
[Profession/Prominence]: chess
[Birthplace]: Hungary
[Year]: 1956
[Notes]: Defected during Hungarian Revolution of 1956 to Australia
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Ferenc Puskás
[Profession/Prominence]: football
[Birthplace]: Hungary
[Year]: 1956
[Notes]: Defected during the 1956–57 European Cup in Madrid, Spain
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Imre Lakatos
[Profession/Prominence]: philosopher of science
[Birthplace]: Hungary
[Year]: 1956
[Notes]: Fled to Vienna, Austria, and later to Britain after the Hungarian Revolution of 1956
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Jenő Kalmár
[Profession/Prominence]: football
[Birthplace]: Hungary
[Year]: 1956
[Notes]: Defected during the 1956–57 European Cup in Madrid, Spain, and then to Switzerland
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: József Mindszenty
[Profession/Prominence]: Cardinal
[Birthplace]: Hungary
[Year]: 1956
[Notes]: Fled to U.S. Embassy in Budapest during the Hungarian Revolution of 1956; later moved to Austria
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Sándor Kocsis
[Profession/Prominence]: football
[Birthplace]: Hungary
[Year]: 1956
[Notes]: Defected during the 1956–57 European Cup in Madrid, Spain, and then to Switzerland
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Zoltán Czibor
[Profession/Prominence]: football
[Birthplace]: Hungary
[Year]: 1956
[Notes]: Fled to Spain during Hungarian Revolution of 1956
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Ágnes Keleti
[Profession/Prominence]: artistic gymnast
[Birthplace]: Hungary
[Year]: 1956
[Notes]: Defected in Melbourne, Australia, during 1956 Summer Olympics
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Christo Javacheff
[Profession/Prominence]: environmentalist artist
[Birthplace]: Bulgaria
[Year]: 1957
[Notes]: Escaped from Czechoslovakia to Austria
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Reino Häyhänen
[Profession/Prominence]: KGB
[Birthplace]: Russia
[Year]: 1957
[Notes]: Defected in Paris after spending several years spying undercover in the west
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Nicholas Shadrin
[Profession/Prominence]: naval officer
[Birthplace]: Russia
[Year]: 1959
[Notes]: Defected in Sweden; later allegedly killed by the KGB
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Alexander Petrovich
[Profession/Prominence]: photographer
[Birthplace]: Russia
[Year]: 1960
[Notes]: Defected through Iran and India; settled in Tampa, Florida
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Anatoliy Golitsyn
[Profession/Prominence]: KGB
[Birthplace]: Ukraine
[Year]: 1961
[Notes]: Defected to the United States via Helsinki, Finland, and Haparanda, Sweden, with his wife and daughter when he was stationed in Helsinki; made sensational claims after his defection.
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Bohdan Stashynsky
[Profession/Prominence]: KGB
[Birthplace]: Ukraine
[Year]: 1961
[Notes]: Defected in West Berlin; assassin of Lev Rebet and Stepan Bandera before defection
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Conrad Schumann
[Profession/Prominence]: Border Guard
[Birthplace]: East Germany
[Year]: 1961
[Notes]: Photographed jumping the Berlin Wall during construction
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Ernst Degner
[Profession/Prominence]: Motorcycle racer
[Birthplace]: East Germany
[Year]: 1961
[Notes]: Defected after the Berlin Wall was erected once he knew that his wife and two children had already escaped from East to West Germany in the trunk of a car. Degner defected (with knowledge of the loop scavenging technique developed for MZ) by driving his car from the Swedish GP to Denmark and West Germany.
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Jonas Pleškys
[Profession/Prominence]: submarine tender captain
[Birthplace]: Lithuania
[Year]: 1961
[Notes]: Sailed vessel to Sweden; sentenced to death; CIA hid him from USSR.
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Michael Goleniewski
[Profession/Prominence]: SB MSW
[Birthplace]: Poland
[Year]: 1961
[Notes]: Defected in West Germany; sentenced to death after defection; then worked for the CIA. Before he fled he spied for the CIA under the cover name Sniper, but the CIA did not know his identity until his escape.
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Rudolf Nureyev
[Profession/Prominence]: ballet
[Birthplace]: Russia
[Year]: 1961
[Notes]: Defected on tour in Paris
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Valentin Poénaru
[Profession/Prominence]: mathematician
[Birthplace]: Romania
[Year]: 1961
[Notes]: Defected at conference in Stockholm, Sweden; known for low-dimensional topology
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Petr Beckmann
[Profession/Prominence]: physicist
[Birthplace]: Czechoslovakia
[Year]: 1963
[Notes]: Defected as visiting professor to University of Colorado in the United States; became a proponent of libertarianism and nuclear energy
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Yuri Krotkov
[Profession/Prominence]: KGB
[Birthplace]: Georgia
[Year]: 1963
[Notes]: Defected while an undercover agent in London, UK; later became a novelist
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Gabor Balla
[Profession/Prominence]: marksman
[Birthplace]: Hungary
[Year]: 1964
[Notes]: Defected in Tokyo, Japan, during the 1964 Summer Olympics
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: András Törő
[Profession/Prominence]: flatwater canoe
[Birthplace]: Hungary
[Year]: 1964
[Notes]: Defected in Tokyo, Japan, during the 1964 Summer Olympics
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Paul Barbă Neagră
[Profession/Prominence]: film director
[Birthplace]: Romania
[Year]: 1964
[Notes]: Defected in Tours, France
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Yuri Nosenko
[Profession/Prominence]: KGB
[Birthplace]: Ukraine
[Year]: 1964
[Notes]: Defected in Washington, D.C., United States; for years, the CIA thought he might be a double agent
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Michael Polywka
[Profession/Prominence]: football
[Birthplace]: East Germany
[Year]: 1966
[Notes]: Fled after a match in Sweden; traveled to West Germany
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Ivan Diviš
[Profession/Prominence]: poet
[Birthplace]: Czechoslovakia
[Year]: 1967
[Notes]: Fled after Prague Spring to West Germany and worked for Radio Free Europe
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Svetlana Alliluyeva
[Profession/Prominence]: Joseph Stalin's daughter
[Birthplace]: Russia
[Year]: 1967
[Notes]: Defected to the United States via New Delhi, India; denounced the former regime of her late father Joseph Stalin, but softened her criticism of him in the 1980s
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Anatoly Kuznetsov
[Profession/Prominence]: author
[Birthplace]: Ukraine
[Year]: 1968
[Notes]: Defected after the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia while doing research in London to the United Kingdom
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Jan Šejna
[Profession/Prominence]: General
[Birthplace]: Czechoslovakia
[Year]: 1968
[Notes]: Fled after Prague Spring to the United States.
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Miloš Forman
[Profession/Prominence]: film director and actor
[Birthplace]: Czechoslovakia
[Year]: 1968
[Notes]: Defected to USA when the USSR and its Warsaw Pact allies invaded the country to end the Prague Spring; known for One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Vladimir Oravsky
[Profession/Prominence]: writer
[Birthplace]: Czechoslovakia
[Year]: 1968
[Notes]: Fled after Prague Spring to Sweden
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Cornel Chiriac
[Profession/Prominence]: journalist
[Birthplace]: Romania
[Year]: 1969
[Notes]: Defected to Austria with fake invitation
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Georgi Markov
[Profession/Prominence]: playwright
[Birthplace]: Bulgaria
[Year]: 1969
[Notes]: Fled to Italy after ban on plays; assassinated in London in 1978
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Jerzy Lewi
[Profession/Prominence]: chess
[Birthplace]: Poland
[Year]: 1969
[Notes]: Defected during tournament in Athens, Greece; traveled to Sweden
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Ladislav Bittman
[Profession/Prominence]: Czech state security, disinformation
[Birthplace]: Czechoslovakia
[Year]: 1969
[Notes]: Became a professor at Boston University, lecturing on disinformation and propaganda.
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Josef Frolík
[Profession/Prominence]: Czech state security
[Birthplace]: Czechoslovakia
[Year]: 1969
[Notes]: Defected from Bulgaria to Turkey on a boat, moved by the CIA to the United States
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Simonas "Simas" Kudirka
[Profession/Prominence]: Soviet seaman
[Birthplace]: Lithuania
[Year]: 1970
[Notes]: Leaped from a Soviet ship to a United States Coast Guard ship
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Natalia Makarova
[Profession/Prominence]: ballet
[Birthplace]: Russia
[Year]: 1970
[Notes]: Defected on ballet tour in London, UK; later won a Tony Award
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Yuri Bezmenov
[Profession/Prominence]: KGB propaganda agent
[Birthplace]: Russia
[Year]: 1970
[Notes]: Left India, his KGB station, disguised as a hippie, went to Greece, was debriefed in the United States, but refused to stay in the US because of KGB infiltration of the CIA, and was granted asylum in Canada
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Oleg Lyalin
[Profession/Prominence]: KGB
[Birthplace]: Russia
[Year]: 1971
[Notes]: Defected in London, UK, after being arrested in London; exposed dozens of KGB agents in London
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Ioan P. Culianu
[Profession/Prominence]: philosopher
[Birthplace]: Romania
[Year]: 1972
[Notes]: Defected during lectures in Italy; suspected that Securitate later assassinated him
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Alexander Elder
[Profession/Prominence]: author
[Birthplace]: Russia
[Year]: 1974
[Notes]: Jumped from a Soviet ship off the Ivory Coast on which he was working as a doctor; later traveled to the United States
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Mikhail Baryshnikov
[Profession/Prominence]: ballet
[Birthplace]: Latvia
[Year]: 1974
[Notes]: Defected during tour in Toronto, Ontario, Canada
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Paul Nevai
[Profession/Prominence]: Mathematician
[Birthplace]: Hungary
[Year]: 1974
[Notes]: Defected in Paris; immigrated to the USA in 1976
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Stanislav Kurilov
[Profession/Prominence]: Oceanographer
[Birthplace]: USSR
[Year]: 1974
[Notes]: While on a "cruise to nowhere" in the open ocean, jumped into the sea and swam to the Philippine coast, many kilometers away
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Václav Nedomanský
[Profession/Prominence]: hockey
[Birthplace]: Czechoslovakia
[Year]: 1974
[Notes]: Defected during a vacation in Switzerland
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Martina Navratilova
[Profession/Prominence]: tennis
[Birthplace]: Czechoslovakia
[Year]: 1975
[Notes]: Defected at the 1975 US Open in the United States
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Jürgen Pahl
[Profession/Prominence]: football
[Birthplace]: East Germany
[Year]: 1976
[Notes]: Fled with Norbert Nachtweih in an under-21 match in Turkey; traveled to West Germany
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Norbert Nachtweih
[Profession/Prominence]: football
[Birthplace]: East Germany
[Year]: 1976
[Notes]: Fled with Jürgen Pahl in an under-21 match in Turkey; traveled to West Germany
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Viktor Belenko
[Profession/Prominence]: pilot
[Birthplace]: Russia
[Year]: 1976
[Notes]: Flew a MiG-25 from Chuguyevka, Primorsky Krai, to Hakodate, Hokkaido, Japan
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Viktor Korchnoi
[Profession/Prominence]: chess
[Birthplace]: Russia
[Year]: 1976
[Notes]: First Soviet Grandmaster to defect; defected following a tournament in Amsterdam, Netherlands
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Youri Egorov
[Profession/Prominence]: pianist
[Birthplace]: Russia
[Year]: 1976
[Notes]: Fled during a tour in Rome, Italy
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Vladimir Rezun (Viktor Suvorov)
[Profession/Prominence]: GRU / author
[Birthplace]: Russia
[Year]: 1978
[Notes]: GRU military intelligence, defecting to Britain while working under UN cover in Switzerland
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Arkady Shevchenko
[Profession/Prominence]: UN Undersecretary General
[Birthplace]: Ukraine
[Year]: 1978
[Notes]: Spied for the U.S. for three years before defection. His wife in Moscow died two months after his defection, purportedly of suicide.
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Kirill Kondrashin
[Profession/Prominence]: conductor
[Birthplace]: Russia
[Year]: 1978
[Notes]: Defected in December 1978 while touring in the Netherlands and sought political asylum there.
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Ion Mihai Pacepa
[Profession/Prominence]: Securitate
[Birthplace]: Romania
[Year]: 1978
[Notes]: Two-star Romanian Securitate general and personal advisor to Nicolae Ceauşescu; defected in the American Embassy in Bonn, West Germany. He was sentenced to death twice in absentia with a $2 million bounty. Carlos the Jackal was sent to assassinate him.
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Matei Pavel Haiducu
[Profession/Prominence]: Securitate
[Birthplace]: Romania
[Year]: 1978
[Notes]: Defected to France in 1981 on an industrial espionage mission. He was sentenced to death in absentia.
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Alexander Godunov
[Profession/Prominence]: ballet
[Birthplace]: Russia
[Year]: 1979
[Notes]: Defected on ballet tour in New York City in JFK International Airport in Queens; later became an actor, including playing one of the terrorists in Die Hard
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Werner Stiller
[Profession/Prominence]: Stasi
[Birthplace]: East Germany
[Year]: 1979
[Notes]: Defected to West Germany after stealing state secrets
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Jörg Berger
[Profession/Prominence]: football
[Birthplace]: East Germany
[Year]: 1979
[Notes]: Used a match in Yugoslavia to flee to West Germany
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Leonid Kozlov
[Profession/Prominence]: ballet
[Birthplace]: Russia
[Year]: 1979
[Notes]: Defected with wife Valentina Kozlov during their company's tour in Los Angeles, United States
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Valentina Kozlova
[Profession/Prominence]: ballet
[Birthplace]: Russia
[Year]: 1979
[Notes]: Defected with husband Leonid Kozlov during their company's tour in Los Angeles, United States
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Lev Alburt
[Profession/Prominence]: chess
[Birthplace]: Russia
[Year]: 1979
[Notes]: Soviet chess grandmaster; defected to the USA, where he won the U.S. Chess Championship three times
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Ludmila Belousova
[Profession/Prominence]: figure skater
[Birthplace]: Russia
[Year]: 1979
[Notes]: Defected in Switzerland
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Lutz Eigendorf
[Profession/Prominence]: football
[Birthplace]: East Germany
[Year]: 1979
[Notes]: Fled during a match in West Germany; assassinated by Stasi in 1983 in an incident designed to look like a traffic accident
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Oleg Protopopov
[Profession/Prominence]: figure skater
[Birthplace]: Russia
[Year]: 1979
[Notes]: Defected with Ludmila Belousova on tour in Switzerland
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Stanislav Levchenko
[Profession/Prominence]: KGB
[Birthplace]: Russia
[Year]: 1979
[Notes]: Defected during a mission in Tokyo, Japan; detailed KGB's Japanese spy network
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Vladas Česiūnas
[Profession/Prominence]: sprint canoe
[Birthplace]: Lithuania
[Year]: 1979
[Notes]: Defected in World Championships in the Frankfurt Airport in West Germany; recaptured by the KGB
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Anton Šťastný
[Profession/Prominence]: hockey
[Birthplace]: Czechoslovakia
[Year]: 1980
[Notes]: Defected with brother Peter during European Cup tournament in Innsbruck, Austria
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Igor Vasilyevich Ivanov
[Profession/Prominence]: chess
[Birthplace]: Russia
[Year]: 1980
[Notes]: Ran from KGB agents when his plane made an emergency stop in Gander, Canada
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Peter Šťastný
[Profession/Prominence]: hockey
[Birthplace]: Czechoslovakia
[Year]: 1980
[Notes]: Defected with his wife and brother Anton during European Cup tournament in Innsbruck, Austria
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Sulamith Messerer
[Profession/Prominence]: ballet
[Birthplace]: Russia
[Year]: 1980
[Notes]: Sister's husband purged; defected to Britain at 72 to coach ballet
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Walter Polovchak
[Profession/Prominence]: underage defector
[Birthplace]: Ukraine
[Year]: 1980
[Notes]: Fled from his parents when they were about to return to then-Soviet-republic. Granted political asylum as a naturalized U.S. citizen upon turning 18 on October 3, 1985. Was subject of lengthy political cause célèbre during those five years.
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Maxim Shostakovich
[Profession/Prominence]: conductor
[Birthplace]: Russia
[Year]: 1981
[Notes]: Defected on tour in West Germany with his son
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Romuald Spasowski
[Profession/Prominence]: ambassador
[Birthplace]: Poland
[Year]: 1981
[Notes]: Defected when martial law was declared in 1981.
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Ryszard Kukliński
[Profession/Prominence]: Polish colonel
[Birthplace]: Poland
[Year]: 1981
[Notes]: Spied for USA for 10 years after 1970 massacre of Polish workers. Defected to United States. Sentenced to death in absentia. Later died of a stroke. Sentence was annulled in 1998 by the Polish Supreme Court.
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Vladimir Tismăneanu
[Profession/Prominence]: political scientist
[Birthplace]: Romania
[Year]: 1981
[Notes]: Defected in Spain on a permitted trip with his mother to visit site of father's battles
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Clifford Kettemborough
[Profession/Prominence]: mathematician and computer scientist
[Birthplace]: Romania
[Year]: 1982
[Notes]: Defected to Turkey and then Austria via Bulgaria before immmigrating to the United States in June 1983
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Vladimir Kuzichkin
[Profession/Prominence]: KGB
[Birthplace]: Russia
[Year]: 1982
[Notes]: Defected to a British intelligence Tehran station and then to the United Kingdom
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Gega Kobakhidze
[Profession/Prominence]: actor
[Birthplace]: Georgia
[Year]: 1983
[Notes]: Hijacked Aeroflot Flight 6833; tried to defect to Turkey and was caught
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Falko Götz
[Profession/Prominence]: football
[Birthplace]: East Germany
[Year]: 1983
[Notes]: Fled before a match in Yugoslavia; traveled to West Germany
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Vakhtang Jordania
[Profession/Prominence]: conductor
[Birthplace]: Georgia
[Year]: 1983
[Notes]: Defected in a tour with Victoria Mullova via Kuusamo, Finland, and Haparanda, Sweden, to the United States
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Viktoria Mullova
[Profession/Prominence]: violinist
[Birthplace]: Russia
[Year]: 1983
[Notes]: Defected in a tour with Vakhtang Jordania via Kuusamo, Finland, and Haparanda, Sweden, to the United States
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Oleg Bitov
[Profession/Prominence]: editor
[Birthplace]: Russia
[Year]: 1983
[Notes]: Foreign editor of Literaturnaya Gazeta; defected in Venice, Italy, to Great Britain
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Dariusz Janczewski
[Profession/Prominence]: Track and Field
[Birthplace]: Poland
[Year]: 1984
[Notes]: Left a hotel room in the middle of the night while in Turin, Italy, at an international track meet; spent several months in a refugee camp in Italy before relocating to the United States
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Valdo Randpere
[Profession/Prominence]: Deputy minister of Justice
[Birthplace]: Estonia
[Year]: 1984
[Notes]: Defected via Kotka, Finland to Sweden. Fled a Soviet crackdown on Estonian nationalism.
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Ivo Zdarsky
[Profession/Prominence]: Aviation engineering student
[Birthplace]: Czechoslovakia
[Year]: 1984
[Notes]: Defected from Czechoslovakia after he created a homemade aircraft, then flew to Vienna International Airport. Ivo then settled in the United States and founded the corporation Ivoprop.
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Ladislav Pataki
[Profession/Prominence]: sports scientist
[Birthplace]: Czechoslovakia
[Year]: 1985
[Notes]: Defected to US via Rome, Italy; "the highest-ranking Soviet-bloc sports scientist ever to defect to the West"
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Milan Švec
[Profession/Prominence]: Czechoslovak Embassy, Washington DC
[Birthplace]: Czechoslovakia
[Year]: 1985
[Notes]: Defected in Washington DC, where he was Minister-Counselor; later became a commentator on East-West relations
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Oleg Gordievsky
[Profession/Prominence]: KGB
[Birthplace]: Russia
[Year]: 1985
[Notes]: Defected to UK via Finland; became MI6 double agent after the Soviet 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia; sentenced to death in absentia
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Vitaly Yurchenko
[Profession/Prominence]: KGB
[Birthplace]: Russia
[Year]: 1985
[Notes]: Defected in Rome, Italy; exposed two KGB/CIA double agents, Ronald Pelton and Edward Lee Howard; ended up back in the KGB
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Mircea Florian
[Profession/Prominence]: musician
[Birthplace]: Romania
[Year]: 1986
[Notes]: Defected in the United States on permitted visit for a performance
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Frank Lippmann
[Profession/Prominence]: football
[Birthplace]: East Germany
[Year]: 1986
[Notes]: Fled after a match against FC Bayer 05 Uerdingen in the Quarter finals of the 1985–86 European Cup Winners' Cup.
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Naim Süleymanoğlu
[Profession/Prominence]: weightlifter
[Birthplace]: Bulgaria
[Year]: 1986
[Notes]: Defected during World Cup final in Melbourne, Australia; traveled to Turkey
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Vyacheslav Polozov
[Profession/Prominence]: opera
[Birthplace]: Ukraine
[Year]: 1986
[Notes]: Defected during the Madama Butterfly singing competition in Tokyo, Japan
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Mihai Smighelschi
[Profession/Prominence]: Air Force cadet
[Birthplace]: Romania
[Year]: 1987
[Notes]: Flew his Aero L-39ZA Albatross jet trainer aircraft from Buzau, Romania to near Kirklareli, Turkey, where he landed on a dirt road
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Tamás Buday
[Profession/Prominence]: sprint canoe
[Birthplace]: Hungary
[Year]: 1987
[Notes]: Defected to Canada
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Mihai Suba
[Profession/Prominence]: chess
[Birthplace]: Romania
[Year]: 1988
[Notes]: Defected to UK during the 1988 Lloyds Bank chess tournament in London
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Miodrag Belodedici
[Profession/Prominence]: football
[Birthplace]: Romania
[Year]: 1988
[Notes]: Defected to Belgrade, Yugoslavia
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Aleksandr Zuyev
[Profession/Prominence]: pilot
[Birthplace]: Russia
[Year]: 1989
[Notes]: Flew Mikoyan MiG-29 to Trabzon, Turkey
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Alexander Mogilny
[Profession/Prominence]: hockey
[Birthplace]: Russia
[Year]: 1989
[Notes]: Defected after World Championships in Sweden
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Kalinikos Kreanga
[Profession/Prominence]: table tennis
[Birthplace]: Romania
[Year]: 1989
[Notes]: Defected in Luxembourg during youth table tennis championship
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Mihai Apostol
[Profession/Prominence]: sprint canoe
[Birthplace]: Romania
[Year]: 1989
[Notes]: -
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Nadia Comăneci
[Profession/Prominence]: gymnast
[Birthplace]: Romania
[Year]: 1989
[Notes]: Defected weeks before the Romanian Revolution to Austria
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Cristian Raducanu
[Profession/Prominence]: rugby union player
[Birthplace]: Romania
[Year]: 1989
[Notes]: -
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Petr Nedvěd
[Profession/Prominence]: hockey
[Birthplace]: Czechoslovakia
[Year]: 1989
[Notes]: Defected during a midget hockey tournament in Calgary, Alberta, Canada
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Vladimir Pasechnik
[Profession/Prominence]: bioweapons engineer
[Birthplace]: Russia
[Year]: 1989
[Notes]: Defected in Paris, France, to warn the West about the Soviet biological weapons program
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Zuo Xiukai
[Profession/Prominence]: military officer
[Birthplace]: China
[Year]: 1989
[Notes]: Defected to South Korea from his post at the Joint Security Area
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Gorsha Sur
[Profession/Prominence]: ice dancing
[Birthplace]: Russia
[Year]: 1990
[Notes]: Defected to the United States while on tour with a Soviet troupe
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Sergei Fedorov
[Profession/Prominence]: hockey
[Birthplace]: Russia
[Year]: 1990
[Notes]: Defected in Seattle, United States, during Goodwill Games
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Vitali Vitaliev
[Profession/Prominence]: author
[Birthplace]: Ukraine
[Year]: 1990
[Notes]: Became a regular on BBC TV in the United Kingdom
(List of defections) -
[Defector]: Kanatjan Alibekov
[Profession/Prominence]: bioweapons chief
[Birthplace]: Kazakhstan
[Year]: 1992
[Notes]: Former director of Biopreparat; defected to United States
(Defections after 1991) -
[Defector]: Stanislav Lunev
[Profession/Prominence]: GRU
[Birthplace]: Russia
[Year]: 1992
[Notes]: Defected to the United States; revealed KGB weapons caches in the west
(Defections after 1991) -
[Defector]: Vasili Mitrokhin
[Profession/Prominence]: KGB
[Birthplace]: Russia
[Year]: 1992
[Notes]: Defected in Riga, Latvia, to British Embassy; Archivist who was shocked by records of Soviet political repression
(Defections after 1991) -
[Defector]: Sergei Tretyakov
[Profession/Prominence]: SVR; Foreign Intelligence Service (Russia)
[Birthplace]: Russia
[Year]: 2000
[Notes]: Defected in New York City to CIA.; Deputy Resident Station Chief in New York City; Revealed many political and intelligence secrets from the Russian Federation; sudden death in Sarasota County, Florida, on June 13, 2010; his death has been associated with allegations of foul play
(Defections after 1991)
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