Research Catalog

Title

The spy who was left behind : Russia, the United States, and the true story of the betrayal and assassination of a CIA agent / Michael Pullara.

Author

Pullara, Michael

Publication

• New York : Scribner, 2018.
• ©2018

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Description

xiii, 336 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations; 24 cm

Summary

• "The shocking true story of international intrigue involving the 1993 murder of CIA officer Freddie Woodruff by KGB agents and the extensive cover-up that followed in Washington and in Moscow. On August 8, 1993, a single bullet to the head killed Freddie Woodruff, the Central Intelligence Agency's station chief in the former Soviet Republic of Georgia. Within hours, police had a suspect--a vodka-soaked village bumpkin named Anzor Sharmaidze. A tidy explanation quickly followed: It was a tragic accident. US diplomats hailed Georgia's swift work, and both countries breathed a sigh of relief. Yet the bullet that killed Woodruff was never found and key witnesses have since retracted their testimony, saying they were beaten and forced to identify Sharmaidze. But if he didn't do it, who did? Those who don't buy the official explanation think the answer lies in the spy games that played out on Russia's frontier following the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union. Woodruff was an early actor in a dangerous drama. American spies were moving into newborn nations previously dominated by Soviet intelligence. Russia's security apparatus, resentful and demoralized, was in turmoil, its nominal loyalty to a pro-Western course set by President Boris Yeltsin, shredded by hardline spooks and generals who viewed the Americans as a menace. At the time when Woodruff was stationed there, Georgia was a den of intrigue. It had a big Russian military base and was awash with former and not-so-former Soviet agents. Shortly before Woodruff was shot, veteran CIA officer Aldrich Ames--who would soon be unmasked as a KGB mole--visited him on agency business. In short order, Woodruff would be dead and Ames, in prison for life. Buckle up, because The Spy Who Was Left Behind reveals the full-throttle, little-known thrilling tale"--
• "On August 8, 1993, a single bullet to the head killed Freddie Woodruff, the Central Intelligence Agency's station chief in the former Soviet Republic of Georgia. Within hours, police had a suspect--a vodka-soaked village bumpkin named Anzor Sharmaidze. A tidy explanation quickly followed: It was a tragic accident. US diplomats hailed Georgia's swift work, and both countries breathed a sigh of relief. Yet the bullet that killed Woodruff was never found and key witnesses have since retracted their testimony, saying they were beaten and forced to identify Sharmaidze. But if he didn't do it, who did? Those who don't buy the official explanation think the answer lies in the spy games that played out on Russia's frontier following the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union. Woodruff was an early actor in a dangerous drama. American spies were moving into newborn nations previously dominated by Soviet intelligence. Russia's security apparatus, resentful and demoralized, was in turmoil, its nominal loyalty to a pro-Western course set by President Boris Yeltsin, shredded by hardline spooks and generals who viewed the Americans as a menace. At the time when Woodruff was stationed there, Georgia was a den of intrigue. It had a big Russian military base and was awash with former and not-so-former Soviet agents. Shortly before Woodruff was shot, veteran CIA officer Aldrich Ames--who would soon be unmasked as a KGB mole--visited him on agency business. In short order, Woodruff would be dead and Ames, in prison for life. Buckle up, because The Spy Who Was Left Behind reveals the full-throttle, little-known thrilling tale"--

Subject

• Woodruff, Freddie R., 1947-1993
• United States. Central Intelligence Agency > Biography
• United States. Central Intelligence Agency
• Murder > Georgia (Republic) > South Ossetia
• Espionage, Russian > Georgia (Republic) > South Ossetia
• TRUE CRIME / Espionage
• HISTORY / Europe / Russia & the Former Soviet Union
• TRUE CRIME / Murder / General
• Espionage, Russian
• Murder
• Georgia (Republic) > South Ossetia

Genre/Form

• Biography.
• Nonfiction.

Note

• Includes index.

Contents

Gunshot on a Lonely Road -- Do they think we're idiots? -- Two Spies, a Hotel Hostess, and a Seemingly Adulterous Housewife -- An Obscure Hint -- Mr. American Lawyer -- Hometown of a Spy -- Birth of a Nation -- The Americans knew everything -- A Visit to the Prosecutor General -- No one interviews Marina Kapanadz -- A Georgian Education -- You need to get that file -- A Letter from the American Ambassador -- Search for the Real Killer -- They Beat Me -- Official Interrogations -- A Reporter's Questions -- Confessions of an Old Soldier.

Call Number

JFE 19-420

ISBN

• 9781501152139
• 1501152130
• 9781501152146
• 1501152149

LCCN

2018043319

OCLC

1055566243

Author

Pullara, Michael, author.

Title

The spy who was left behind : Russia, the United States, and the true story of the betrayal and assassination of a CIA agent / Michael Pullara.

Publisher

New York : Scribner, 2018.

Copyright Date

©2018

Edition

First Scribner hardcover edition.

Type of Content

text

Type of Medium

unmediated

Type of Carrier

volume

Research Call Number

JFE 19-420