recruited by the KGB and dispatched to London under the cover of a
Canadian businessperson, Gordon Lonsdale. In London, Molody ran
several sources, including English agents within the Admiralty. In
1961, as a result of the defection of a Polish intelligence officer to the
West, Molody was arrested. He spent three years in a British prison
before being exchanged for a British agent in Soviet captivity. See
also GOLENIEWSKI, MICHAEL; PORTLAND SPY CASE.MOLOTOV, VYACHESLAV MIKHAILOVICH (1890–1986). No
one save Vladimir Leninand Joseph Stalincast a longer shadow
across the first fours decades of Soviet history than V. M. Molotov.
Born Skryabin, Molotov joined the Bolshevik Partyin 1905 and
took the pseudonym “Molotov,” literally “hammer.” He became a
member of the Communist PartyCentral Committee in 1921 and
supported Stalin in his struggle for power. As a reward, he was made
a member of the ruling Politburo in 1926. While Lenin was dismis-
sive of his talents, referring to him as the best file clerk in Moscow,
Stalin was a friend and patron, and the two vacationed together sev-
eral times in the 1930s. Molotov became premier in 1930 and was
one of Stalin’s chief lieutenants during the purges, cosigning hun-
dreds of “death lists” containing the names of tens of thousands of
people sentenced to be shot. These lists bear not only his name but
also curses directed at the condemned. A grim Russian joke was that
the initials V.M. stood not for Vyacheslav Molotov but rather for
Vyshaya mera(Supreme Measure), or execution.
In 1939 Stalin appointed Molotov commissar of foreign affairs and
made him the coauthor of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact. Molotov
was very realistic about German–Soviet relations, believing that the
alliance could not last. He had the courage of his convictions and ar-
gued with Adolf Hitler during a state visit in 1940 about the future di-
vision of central Europe between Germany and the Soviet Union. It
was Molotov whom Stalin selected to announce to the Soviet people
the beginning of war with Germany. The statement ended: “Our
Cause is just. The enemy will be defeated. Victory will be ours.”
During World War II, Molotov served as foreign minister as well
as a member of the GKO (State Defense Committee). He was
Stalin’s principal negotiator with the United States and Great Britain.
Molotov was a consumer of intelligence, and he placed intolerableMOLOTOV, VYACHESLAV MIKHAILOVICH (1890–1986)• 16506-313 G-P.qxd 7/27/06 7:56 AM Page 165