Over decades, the Cold War created an arms race, occupied millions of military personnel and has cost countries around the world untold billions of dollars.
It began in Canada on September 5, 1945.
That evening a cypher clerk at the Russian embassy in Ottawa, checked into the code room and then left with 109 top secret documents detailing the vast extent of Soviet spying activities against Canada and other former Allies.
After living two years in Canada, Igor Gouzenko had become impressed with the freedoms, democracy and standard of living in “the West” and when ordered to return to Moscow, decided not to return to the grim life in the USSR, and instead defect with his pregnant wife and young son.
It was only months after the end of the war and the euphoria of victory over the Nazis was still fresh. Stalin and the Soviets were still seen as staunch allies and no-one wanted to believe Gouzenko’s story.
With the highly dangerous papers in hand, he tried to talk to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, but no-one believed him. He later tried the Ottawa Citizen newspaper where the night editor wasn’t interested and thought he was a nutcase.
The next day he tried to meet Canada’s Justice Minister who refused, fearful of harming relations with the Soviets.
Spotting a Soviet agent near his home, Gouzenko and family hid next door. It was only when Soviet staff broke into Gouzenko’s apartment that officials began to take his story seriously.
Smuggled to the by then decommissioned Camp X near Whitby Ontario for safekeeping, he was eventually given asylum.
Interviewed by a variety of intelligence personnel, his information caused shockwaves in western intelligence circles
Canada’s Prime Minister Mackenzie King however was still concerned about upsetting his Soviet “ally”, and sat on the affair for months.
Eventually the information led to the arrests of dozens of people in Canada, Britain, and the US, and revealed that after years of bitter conflict in WWII, a new kind of war had already begun. The “Cold War”.
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