Shattered Illusions: KGB Cold War Espionage in Canada

(Hardback)

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Yevgeni Vladimirovich Brik and James Douglas Finley Morrison were central figures in what was considered one of the most important Cold War operations in the West at the time. Their story, which involves espionage, intelligence tradecraft, intelligence service penetrations, double agent scenarios, and betrayal, is a piece of Cold War intelligence history that has never been fully told. Yevgeni Brik was a KGB deep cover illegal who had been dispatched to Canada in 1951. He settled in Verdun, Quebec. He eventually became the KGB Illegal Resident where he had responsibility for running a number of agents, one of whom was working on the CF-105, Avro Arrow. In 1953, he fell in love with a married Canadian woman to whom he revealed his true identity. She persuaded him to turn himself in, which resulted in his becoming a double agent, working for Canada. He was later betrayed by a Royal Canadian Mounted Police Officer, James Morrison, who sought money from the KGB to pay his debts. Brik was consequently lured back to Moscow in 1955, where he was arrested, and interrogated. Convicted of treason, a traitors fate awaited him, predictable, grim and final. Incredibly, he reappeared at a British Embassy as an old man in 1992, seeking Canadas help. He was exfiltrated by a joint Canadian / British intelligence team which was headed by Donald Mahar. He was debriefed by Mahar for several months when they returned to Canada.

Reviews

Don Mahar adheres meticulously to truth. His first non-fiction book,Shattered Illusions, is a story that shocks and dismays in Mahar's 'facts only' recounting of unimaginable hubris, horrific greed, and total lack of humanity. This, coupled with obsessive governmental aversion to scandal, makes for a scathing read. At the very least, you will be alerted to the very real, highly likely and all too commonplace global intrigue machinations swirling about us. -- Barbara George, Deputy Commissioner, Retired, Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP)
Shattered Illusions is an incredible story of Cold War spy operations involving the KGB and Canadian intelligence services. Remarkably, the story is factual! Written like a John LeCarre novel, Don Mahar writes in a fast-paced style, prompting the reader to seek out the details in forthcoming chapters. Crisp insights into the evils of the former Soviet Union and its murderous regimes, coupled with the difficulties in handling foreign agents, astounds the reader, especially when surprising betrayal from inside compromises the entire intelligence operation. This is one fascinating story! -- John W. Whiteside III, (FBI - Ret.) Author, FOOL's MATE - A True Story of Espionage at NSA
An unforgettable, true-life spy saga, narrated by a decorated intelligence veteran personally involved in one of the most dramatic episodes in Canadas Cold-War-era history. Drawing from previously unpublished documents as well as the authors own memories, Donald G. Mahars Shattered Illusions guides the reader through surprising turns and twists in a story of deception and betrayal on the front lines of the secret war with the Soviet Union. -- Joby Warrick, author, Black Flags: The Rise of ISIS; winner of the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction

Author Bio

Donald G. Mahar served 41 years in the RCMP Security Service, Canadian Security Intelligence Service, and Communications Security Establishment, both in Canada and abroad. His career was primarily spent in Counter Intelligence against the Soviet KGB / Russian SVR target. He currently serves as president of the Pillar Society, the retirement / alumni organization for the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and the former RCMP Security Service.