Birthdate: 1922
Gender: male
Occupations: KGB
Short biography: Yuri Modin (1922- present) was the KGB controller for the "Cambridge Five" from 1944 to 1955, during which period Donald MacLean was said to have passed atomic secrets to the Soviets. In 1951 Modin arranged the defections of Maclean and Guy Burgess. Modin's predecessors in control of the damaging Cambridge spy ring were executed.

Modin said of Kim Philby in 1994 that

"He never revealed his true self. Neither the British, nor the women he lived with, nor ourselves [the KGB] ever managed to pierce the armour of mystery that clad him. His great achievement in espionage was his life's work, and it fully occupied him until the day he died. But in the end I suspect that Philby made a mockery of everyone, particularly ourselves."
Nationality: Russia
Associated Place (for map): Russia

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3 reviews

dvoratreis 468 reviews

My Five Cambridge Friends by Yuri Modin

Not only did he know these men well by working with them, his view is also interesting because he's in the KGB, he's never defected, and he sees it all from a different point of view than a Brit or American writing on the same topic. It's not brilliantly written, but still very interesting.

May 22, 20241 other review

piefuchs 294 reviews

My Five Cambridge Friends: Burgess, Maclean, Philby, Blunt, and Cairncross by Their KGB Controller by Yuri Modin