Victor Cherkashin
Encyclopedia
Victor Ivanovich Cherkashin , born in 1932 in the village of Krasnoe in the Kursk region
was a counter-intelligence
officer of the KGB
. He joined the KGB in 1952 and retired in 1991. He was the case officer for both Aldrich Ames
, a CIA counter-intelligence officer, and Robert Hanssen
, an FBI agent, when they spied for the Soviet Union
. Cherkashin served for many years in the KGB's First Chief Directorate, the department dedicated to foreign counter-intelligence. His career included tours in Lebanon, India, Australia, West Germany and Washington, DC.
Cherkashin married KGB cipher clerk Elena, with whom he has two children; Alyosha and Alyona. After his retirement from the KGB he established his own private security company in Moscow, where he now lives with Elena.
Victor and his wife Elena made an appearance on the show "No Reservations" with Anthony Bourdain on the Travel channel. He discusses a little about life as a spy and handler but also shows him helping Anthony pick wild mushrooms and then having his wife cook them and share stories while snacking. The show took place at his dacha
, country house in a community with other retired KGB.
Kursk Oblast
Kursk Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . Its administrative center is the city of Kursk.-Geography:The oblast occupies the southern slopes of the middle-Russian plateau, and its average elevation is from 177 to 225 meters . The surface is hilly, and intersected by ravines...
was a counter-intelligence
Counter-intelligence
Counterintelligence or counter-intelligence refers to efforts made by intelligence organizations to prevent hostile or enemy intelligence organizations from successfully gathering and collecting intelligence against them. National intelligence programs, and, by extension, the overall defenses of...
officer 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...
. He joined the KGB in 1952 and retired in 1991. He was the case officer for both Aldrich Ames
Aldrich Ames
Aldrich Hazen Ames is a former Central Intelligence Agency counter-intelligence officer and analyst, who, in 1994, was convicted of spying for the Soviet Union and Russia...
, a CIA counter-intelligence officer, and Robert Hanssen
Robert Hanssen
Robert Philip Hanssen is a former American FBI agent who spied for Soviet and Russian intelligence services against the United States for 22 years from 1979 to 2001...
, an FBI agent, when they spied for the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. Cherkashin served for many years in the KGB's First Chief Directorate, the department dedicated to foreign counter-intelligence. His career included tours in Lebanon, India, Australia, West Germany and Washington, DC.
Cherkashin married KGB cipher clerk Elena, with whom he has two children; Alyosha and Alyona. After his retirement from the KGB he established his own private security company in Moscow, where he now lives with Elena.
Victor and his wife Elena made an appearance on the show "No Reservations" with Anthony Bourdain on the Travel channel. He discusses a little about life as a spy and handler but also shows him helping Anthony pick wild mushrooms and then having his wife cook them and share stories while snacking. The show took place at his dacha
Dacha
Dacha is a Russian word for seasonal or year-round second homes often located in the exurbs of Soviet and post-Soviet cities. Cottages or shacks serving as family's main or only home are not considered dachas, although many purpose-built dachas are recently being converted for year-round residence...
, country house in a community with other retired KGB.