General Gogol
Encyclopedia
General Anatol Alexis Gogol is a fictional character in the James Bond
films The Spy Who Loved Me
, Moonraker
, For Your Eyes Only
, Octopussy
, A View to a Kill
, and The Living Daylights. In the films, he is the head of the KGB
. In his final appearance in The Living Daylights
, he has transferred from the KGB to the Soviet Foreign Ministry. General Gogol is portrayed by Walter Gotell
; in addition to his appearances as General Gogol, he appeared in From Russia With Love
(1963) as Morzeny.
Despite the popular assumption about the James Bond series' Cold War
focus, Gogol is never depicted as a true villain. At his most hostile, he is a respectful competitor and more often is an ally against the common foes of peace.
His surname is a nod to the realist
Russian novelist Nikolai Gogol
. The literary theme would be reprised with his successor, General Pushkin.
to recover an important roll of microfilm. Later in the film Gogol and Bond's boss, M
, form an alliance, which is the start of the Anglo-Soviet relationship.
Gogol is seen next in Moonraker, talking to a US official about Hugo Drax
's space station
. He warns them that should the U.S. mission to destroy Drax's space station fail, the Soviet Union would step in to take action.
In For Your Eyes Only, Gogol wants to buy an ATAC communicator from Aristotle Kristatos
. When Bond throws it off a cliff (by which time Kristatos has been killed by Milos Columbo), Gogol is dismayed but keeps his guard from shooting Bond. When Bond rationalises that the machine's destruction maintains the policy of détente and relatively peaceful status quo of the nations, Gogol laughs and leaves without saying another word. The assistant of General Gogol, appearing briefly in For Your Eyes Only, is called Rubelvitch, a wordplay on the name Moneypenny.
In Octopussy, when General Orlov
proposes invading the West, Gogol is the loudest voice opposing the reckless plan, asserting both the danger of provoking a nuclear war
and that the USSR wants peace, not war. Gogol's investigations of Orlov's scheme to weaken NATO's defense runs parallel to Bond's, but the fatal shooting (which he witnesses) of the traitor at the hands of East German border guards prevents him from learning the full details of his plot and warning NATO. He does, however, discover Orlov's plot to smuggle priceless Russian jewellery for personal profit. He requested that Bond return the Romanov star stolen by Orlov.
In A View to A Kill, Gogol tries to stop Max Zorin
, an erstwhile KGB
agent, from destroying Silicon Valley
. When Zorin defies the order to stop his plan, Gogol sends KGB agent Pola Ivanova to see what Zorin is up to. When Pola meets Bond, she tries to take the tape from him and give it to Gogol. Gogol is embarrassed that Pola got the wrong tape. At the end of the film Gogol awards Bond (who ultimately prevented the destruction of Silicon Valley) the Order of Lenin
, stating that Bond was the first non-Soviet citizen to receive it.
In The Living Daylights, Gogol is only seen in the end, as a diplomat
in the Foreign Ministry. He attends Kara Milovy
's concert with M, offering Milovy a visa
which would allow her to leave the Eastern bloc
at will as he introduces himself to Kamran Shah as he arrives after the concert, saying admiring words to him. Originally, Gogol was going to be the head of the KGB still and be the person named by Koskov as behind the 'plot' to assassinate spies in the West, but due to Walter Gotell's
age and poor health at the time, no company would insure him on set, so General Pushkin was created to take over this position.
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
films The Spy Who Loved Me
The Spy Who Loved Me (film)
The Spy Who Loved Me is a spy film, the tenth film in the James Bond series, and the third to star Roger Moore as the fictional secret agent James Bond. It was directed by Lewis Gilbert and the screenplay was written by Christopher Wood and Richard Maibaum...
, Moonraker
Moonraker (film)
Moonraker is the eleventh spy film in the James Bond series, and the fourth to star Roger Moore as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The third and final film in the series to be directed by Lewis Gilbert, it co-stars Lois Chiles, Michael Lonsdale, Corinne Clery, and Richard Kiel...
, For Your Eyes Only
For Your Eyes Only (film)
For Your Eyes Only is the twelfth spy film in the James Bond series and the fifth to star Roger Moore as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. It marked the directorial debut of John Glen, who had worked as editor and second unit director in three other Bond films. The screenplay by Richard Maibaum...
, Octopussy
Octopussy
Octopussy is the thirteenth entry in the James Bond series, and the sixth to star Roger Moore as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The film's title is taken from a short story in Ian Fleming's 1966 short story collection Octopussy and The Living Daylights...
, A View to a Kill
A View to a Kill
A View to a Kill is the fourteenth spy film of the James Bond series, and the seventh and last to star Roger Moore as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Although the title is adapted from Ian Fleming's short story "From a View to a Kill", the film is the fourth Bond film after The Spy Who Loved...
, and The Living Daylights. In the films, he is the head of the KGB
KGB
The KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...
. In his final appearance in The Living Daylights
The Living Daylights
The Living Daylights is the fifteenth entry in the James Bond series and the first to star Timothy Dalton as the fictional MI6 agent 007. The film's title is taken from Ian Fleming's short story, "The Living Daylights"...
, he has transferred from the KGB to the Soviet Foreign Ministry. General Gogol is portrayed by Walter Gotell
Walter Gotell
Walter Gotell was a German actor, known for his role as General Gogol, head of the KGB, in the James Bond film series.Gotell was born in Bonn, Germany; his family emigrated to the United Kingdom after the Nazis came to power...
; in addition to his appearances as General Gogol, he appeared in From Russia With Love
From Russia with Love (film)
From Russia with Love is the second in the James Bond spy film series, and the second to star Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Released in 1963, the film was produced by Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman, and directed by Terence Young. It is based on the 1957 novel of the...
(1963) as Morzeny.
Despite the popular assumption about the James Bond series' Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
focus, Gogol is never depicted as a true villain. At his most hostile, he is a respectful competitor and more often is an ally against the common foes of peace.
His surname is a nod to the realist
Realism (arts)
Realism in the visual arts and literature refers to the general attempt to depict subjects "in accordance with secular, empirical rules", as they are considered to exist in third person objective reality, without embellishment or interpretation...
Russian novelist Nikolai Gogol
Nikolai Gogol
Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol was a Ukrainian-born Russian dramatist and novelist.Considered by his contemporaries one of the preeminent figures of the natural school of Russian literary realism, later critics have found in Gogol's work a fundamentally romantic sensibility, with strains of Surrealism...
. The literary theme would be reprised with his successor, General Pushkin.
Overview
He makes his first appearance in The Spy Who Loved Me, where he is seen sending Anya AmasovaAnya Amasova
Major Anya Amasova is a fictional character and the deuteragonist in the James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me, portrayed by Barbara Bach...
to recover an important roll of microfilm. Later in the film Gogol and Bond's boss, M
M (James Bond)
M is a fictional character in Ian Fleming's James Bond series, as well as the films in the Bond franchise. The head of MI6 and Bond's superior, M has been portrayed by three actors in the official Bond film series: Bernard Lee, Robert Brown and since 1995 by Judi Dench. Background =Ian Fleming...
, form an alliance, which is the start of the Anglo-Soviet relationship.
Gogol is seen next in Moonraker, talking to a US official about Hugo Drax
Hugo Drax
Sir Hugo Drax is a fictional character created by author Ian Fleming for the James Bond novel Moonraker. Fleming named him after his friend, Sir Reginald Drax. For the later film and its novelization, Drax was largely transformed by screenwriter Christopher Wood. In the film, Drax is portrayed by...
's space station
Space station
A space station is a spacecraft capable of supporting a crew which is designed to remain in space for an extended period of time, and to which other spacecraft can dock. A space station is distinguished from other spacecraft used for human spaceflight by its lack of major propulsion or landing...
. He warns them that should the U.S. mission to destroy Drax's space station fail, the Soviet Union would step in to take action.
In For Your Eyes Only, Gogol wants to buy an ATAC communicator from Aristotle Kristatos
Aristotle Kristatos
Aristotle "Aris" Kristatos is a fictional character and the main antagonist in the Ian Fleming short story "Risico" found in the anthology For Your Eyes Only and the 1981 James Bond film For Your Eyes Only, in which he was referred to as Aris Kristatos...
. When Bond throws it off a cliff (by which time Kristatos has been killed by Milos Columbo), Gogol is dismayed but keeps his guard from shooting Bond. When Bond rationalises that the machine's destruction maintains the policy of détente and relatively peaceful status quo of the nations, Gogol laughs and leaves without saying another word. The assistant of General Gogol, appearing briefly in For Your Eyes Only, is called Rubelvitch, a wordplay on the name Moneypenny.
In Octopussy, when General Orlov
General Orlov
General Orlov is a fictional character and major antagonist in the James Bond film Octopussy, played by Steven Berkoff. At first the audience is led to believe that Orlov is the main antagonist of the film. However, it is later revealed that his contact Kamal Khan is the real villain...
proposes invading the West, Gogol is the loudest voice opposing the reckless plan, asserting both the danger of provoking a nuclear war
Nuclear warfare
Nuclear warfare, or atomic warfare, is a military conflict or political strategy in which nuclear weaponry is detonated on an opponent. Compared to conventional warfare, nuclear warfare can be vastly more destructive in range and extent of damage...
and that the USSR wants peace, not war. Gogol's investigations of Orlov's scheme to weaken NATO's defense runs parallel to Bond's, but the fatal shooting (which he witnesses) of the traitor at the hands of East German border guards prevents him from learning the full details of his plot and warning NATO. He does, however, discover Orlov's plot to smuggle priceless Russian jewellery for personal profit. He requested that Bond return the Romanov star stolen by Orlov.
In A View to A Kill, Gogol tries to stop Max Zorin
Max Zorin
Max Zorin is a fictional character and the main antagonist in the James Bond film A View to a Kill. He was portrayed by Academy Award winner Christopher Walken...
, an erstwhile KGB
KGB
The KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...
agent, from destroying Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley is a term which refers to the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California in the United States. The region is home to many of the world's largest technology corporations...
. When Zorin defies the order to stop his plan, Gogol sends KGB agent Pola Ivanova to see what Zorin is up to. When Pola meets Bond, she tries to take the tape from him and give it to Gogol. Gogol is embarrassed that Pola got the wrong tape. At the end of the film Gogol awards Bond (who ultimately prevented the destruction of Silicon Valley) the Order of Lenin
Order of Lenin
The Order of Lenin , named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was the highest decoration bestowed by the Soviet Union...
, stating that Bond was the first non-Soviet citizen to receive it.
In The Living Daylights, Gogol is only seen in the end, as a diplomat
Diplomat
A diplomat is a person appointed by a state to conduct diplomacy with another state or international organization. The main functions of diplomats revolve around the representation and protection of the interests and nationals of the sending state, as well as the promotion of information and...
in the Foreign Ministry. He attends Kara Milovy
Kara Milovy
Kara Milovy, played by Maryam d'Abo, is a fictional character in the 1987 James Bond film The Living Daylights.-Film biography:Bond has been informed that General Georgi Koskov is willing to defect from the Russians. As Koskov runs across the road to meet Bond, 007 spots a sniper, whom he...
's concert with M, offering Milovy a visa
Visa (document)
A visa is a document showing that a person is authorized to enter the territory for which it was issued, subject to permission of an immigration official at the time of actual entry. The authorization may be a document, but more commonly it is a stamp endorsed in the applicant's passport...
which would allow her to leave the Eastern bloc
Eastern bloc
The term Eastern Bloc or Communist Bloc refers to the former communist states of Eastern and Central Europe, generally the Soviet Union and the countries of the Warsaw Pact...
at will as he introduces himself to Kamran Shah as he arrives after the concert, saying admiring words to him. Originally, Gogol was going to be the head of the KGB still and be the person named by Koskov as behind the 'plot' to assassinate spies in the West, but due to Walter Gotell's
Walter Gotell
Walter Gotell was a German actor, known for his role as General Gogol, head of the KGB, in the James Bond film series.Gotell was born in Bonn, Germany; his family emigrated to the United Kingdom after the Nazis came to power...
age and poor health at the time, no company would insure him on set, so General Pushkin was created to take over this position.