The famous scout was born in 1903 in the UK. His parents were Russian revolutionaries who were deported to Europe for their work. At birth, they will call William Fisher (in honor of Shakespeare). The name Rudolph Abel will be assigned to him after his arrest, when he will be a spy in the United States.
Childhood
Father Heinrich Fischer was from a family of Russian Germans living in the Yaroslavl province. He was a convinced Marxist and met Lenin back in the 90s of the XIX century. An activist and propagandist, he was arrested and deported abroad. Mother was a native of Saratov and was also engaged in revolutionary activities. Together with her husband, she distributed the Iskra newspaper to the workers.
Interestingly, Abel’s father constantly changed his names in order to confuse the royal secret police who pursued the revolutionaries. Therefore, the family has preserved the tradition of calling Heinrich in different ways. So, the younger Fisher in letters addressed him as Andrei.
A child from early childhood was distinguished by many talents. He was capable in the natural sciences, he loved to draw and play musical instruments. His artistic talent helped him in the United States when one of his portraits was donated to then President John F. Kennedy.
In childhood, Rudolph Abel was distinguished by the character of a naughty man. With a friend, he stole the boats of English fishermen, even though he did not know how to swim and was terribly afraid of water.
Homecoming
The future Abel Rudolf Ivanovich did not have time to finish his studies in England, because a revolution took place in Russia. The Bolsheviks came to power, and his family, as the oldest members of the organization, returned to Moscow and even lived in the Kremlin. Mother made friends with Lenin's sister Maria. However, life in Russia was almost immediately clouded by tragedy. Once the family went swimming in the river, and the elder brother of the young man, Harry, drowned in it.
In the twenties, Rudolph Abel often changed jobs. At first he was a translator on the Executive Committee of the Communist International. Later he entered one of the recently opened Higher art and technical workshops.
1925 came, and Abel Rudolf Ivanovich ended up in the army. He became a radio operator in a radio telegraph regiment. In the service he became interested in technology, which helped him in his future career. On the same line, he subsequently ended up at the Research Institute of the Air Force. There he was a brilliant radio engineer. Then he married Elena Lebedeva - a musician who played the harp. The couple had a single daughter.
Finally, in 1927, knowledge of foreign languages and family ties led Abel to the OGPU, or rather, to the foreign intelligence department. Here he was able to apply all his talents. At first he was a full-time translator, later again turned out to be a radio operator.
Foreign intelligence work
A capable young man was sent to the UK. He was helped by the fact that he himself was born in this country and lived there part of his childhood. For almost all the 30s, Abel carried out illegal intelligence tasks. In particular, he was a radio operator of European residencies in Norway and the UK.
One of his most delicate errands of that time was the order to persuade the famous physicist Peter Kapitsa to return to his homeland. He lived and taught in Oxford, only on vacation returning to the USSR. However, Stalin personally wanted the scientist to be left in the country in any way, since at that time there was an outflow of qualified personnel.
Therefore, very soon a new friend and guest Rudolf Abel appeared in the scientist's family. The biography of the scout allowed him to easily enter into confidence in Kapitsa, if only because he himself was well versed in physics. In addition, the illegal had an excellent language - he convinced the scientist that the country of the Soviets has all the conditions for living and working.
He assured that Peter Leonidovich could always return to England. However, when he ended up in the USSR, the border was closed for him, and he remained at home.
In the late 30s, mass purges were going on in the NKVD, which Rudolf Abel could not avoid. Photos of that time could catch him in the All-Union Chamber of Commerce, where he got a job after his dismissal. However, he was lucky: he was not shot or even arrested.
In addition, the war began, and the former intelligence officer was returned to duty. Now he trained radio operators who were supposed to go to the rear to the Germans. It was in those years that another scout Rudolf Abel became his friend. William Fisher's nickname is taken from here.
Service in the USA
True, this was not his only fake name. When Abel was sent to the USA after the war, the scout lived with different passports, also called Lithuanian and German artist. His place of residence was New York, where he opened his own photo studio, which played the role of an effective cover. It was from here that he directed the extensive agent network of the USSR in America.
His official nickname was Mark. In the late 1940s, he worked with the famous scouts, the Cohen spouses. Abel’s activities were effective - specific documents and information arrived in the country.
Arrest
However, in 1957, the intelligence officer was surrendered to the CIA. In his entourage wound up a traitor. It was the radio operator Vick, who transmitted information about the agent network to the American authorities.
When the arrest occurred, Fisher introduced himself as Rudolf Abel. It was under this name that he went down in history. Despite the fact that he did not plead guilty, the court sentenced him to 32 years in prison. Abel was in solitary confinement in Atlanta and would have stayed there until the end of his term, if not for the attempts of Soviet intelligence to return his resident.
Exemption
When the American pilot Francis Powers was shot down near Sverdlovsk in 1960, he was also sentenced to 10 years in the Vladimir Central. However, the diplomacy of the two countries agreed to exchange prisoners.
The operation was carried out in Berlin on the Glinik bridge on February 10, 1962. This was the border between the Western and Eastern worlds, where two political systems were in contact. Soon the bridge was called "spyware", since after that there were at least three more cases of the exchange of discovered spies. In addition to Powers, student Frederick Prior returned to the United States, arrested on suspicion of espionage.
Rudolph Abel returned to government service after a little treatment. He began to teach and trained young scouts. In 1968, he became known throughout the country thanks to the detective "Dead Season". The film was based on the facts of his biography, and the scout himself became an adviser to the picture.
William Fisher passed away after fighting lung cancer in 1971. He is buried in the New Don cemetery. The story of his life inspired the writer Vadim Kozhevnikov to create the popular novel “Shield and Sword”, which was later filmed.