A Warning on the Subway
In 1988, Jack Barsky stood on a New York subway platform when someone whispered, “You must come home or else you are dead.” It was a message from the KGB. For ten years, Barsky had lived as a Soviet spy in the United States under a false identity. Now, Moscow wanted him back. But he had no intention of leaving.
A Life Built on Lies
Born as Albrecht Dittrich in East Germany in 1949, Barsky had been recruited by the KGB in the 1970s. In 1979, he arrived in the U.S. under a stolen identity, working at MetLife Insurance while gathering intelligence. His tasks included recruiting spies and transferring computer programs to the Soviets. He even married an undocumented immigrant who unknowingly benefited from his fake American citizenship.
Fooling the KGB
When the KGB demanded his return, Barsky ignored their warnings. He had a daughter in the U.S. and refused to leave. To stop the KGB from coming after him or his German family, he sent them a bold lie—he claimed he had AIDS and needed to stay for treatment. The KGB believed him and informed his wife in Germany that he had died.
An American Spy, an American Citizen
For years, Barsky lived quietly until the FBI tracked him down in the 1990s. After extensive surveillance, they confronted him. He cooperated, provided intelligence, and eventually became a U.S. citizen. Though once a deep-cover Soviet agent, Barsky never returned to Russia—he remained the American he once pretended to be.
In 1988, Jack Barsky stood on a New York subway platform when someone whispered, “You must come home or else you are dead.” For ten years, he had lived as a Soviet spy in the U.S. under a stolen identity. Now, the KGB wanted him back. But Barsky had built a new life—and had no… pic.twitter.com/aPxh7O63qW
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