Yuri Bezmenov | |
|---|---|
| Юрий Безменов | |
 Bezmenov,c. 1986 | |
| Born | Yuri Alexandrovich Bezmenov December 11, 1939 |
| Died | January 5, 1993[1] (aged 53) |
| Other names | Tomas Schuman |
| Citizenship | Soviet, Canadian |
| Education | |
| Occupations | KGB agent (alleged) and APN journalist, later Soviet defector and anti-communist author |
| Years active | 1963–1986 |
| Employers |
|
| Known for | Accusations of Soviet infiltration of, andactive measures (subversion) against USA |
| Notable work | Various lecture tapes andLove Letter to America[2] |
| Movement | Anti-communism |
| Spouse | 2 |
| Children | 3 |
Yuri Alexandrovich Bezmenov (Russian:Ю́рий Алекса́ндрович Безме́нов; December 11, 1939 – January 5, 1993; alias:Tomas David Schuman[1]) was a Soviet journalist forNovosti Press Agency (APN). In 1970, as a member of the Soviet mission inNew Delhi, India, Bezmenov defected to the West and was re-settled in Canada pursuant to an arrangement between US and Canadian security agencies.[3]
Bezmenov is best remembered for hisanti-Marxist,anti-Soviet lectures and books published in the 1980s.
Bezmenov was born in 1939 inMytishchi, nearMoscow, to Russian parents. Bezmenov stated that his father was a high ranking Soviet Army officer, later put in charge of inspecting Soviet troops in foreign countries, such as theMongolian People's Republic andCuba.[4] Bezmenov's father died in the 1970s. When Bezmenov was seventeen, he entered theInstitute of Oriental Languages. In addition to languages, he studied history, literature, and music, and became an expert on Indian culture. During his second year, Bezmenov sought to look like a person from India; his teachers encouraged this because graduates of the school were employed abroad as diplomats, journalists or spies.[4]
Bezmenov later alleged that he was required as a Soviet student to takecompulsory military training in which he was taught how to play "strategic war games" using the maps of foreign countries, as well as how tointerrogateprisoners of war.[4]
After graduating in 1963, Bezmenov spent two years in India working as a translator andpublic relations officer with the Soviet economic aid groupSoviet Refineries Constructions,[clarification needed] which builtrefinery complexes.[citation needed]
In 1965, Bezmenov was recalled to Moscow and began to work forNovosti Press Agency as an apprentice. Bezmenov later alleged that about three quarters of Novosti's staff were actually KGB officers, with the remainder being co-opted or KGBfreelance writers and informers like himself.[5] Bezmenov also stated that he edited and plantedpropaganda materials in foreign media, and delegations of Novosti's guests from foreign countries on tours of the Soviet Union or to international conferences held in the Soviet Union.[4]
Bezmenov later alleged that after several months he was forced to act as an informer[4] while maintaining his position as a Novosti journalist, and used his journalistic duties to help gather information and to spread disinformation to foreign countries for the purposes of Soviet propaganda and subversion.[4]
Bezmenov was once again assigned to India in 1969, this time as a Soviet press-officer.[citation needed] He continued Novosti's propaganda efforts inNew Delhi, working in the Soviet embassy.
During that period, Bezmenov became dissatisfied with the Soviet system. He then began careful planning to defect to the West.[2][6][7]
According to a statement provided to theDelhi Police by the Soviet embassy, on February 8, 1970, Bezmenov was set to see a screening of the American filmThe Incident with two of his colleagues. However, it was reported by them at the time that he had not bought his ticket, and he told them he would join them in a moment and try to purchase one from ascalper outside the theater.[8] Bezmenov did not return to the theater.[9] Instead, Bezmenov put onhippie clothes, complete with a beard and wig, before joining a tour group. By these means, he escaped toAthens,Greece. His defection was reported in the United States, with Soviet sources stating he was "not important" and did "clerical work".[10] After contacting the American embassy and undergoing extensive interviews with United States intelligence, theCentral Intelligence Agency (CIA) was able to help Bezmenov seek asylum in Canada, granted by the administration ofPierre Trudeau.[4][11] The CIA and theRoyal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) assigned him a new name and identity for reasons of safety.[3][7] In order tosave face with the embarrassment of defection of a Soviet agent, the Delhi residency officially reported he had been abducted, and his son, his closest surviving relative, was given financial compensation.[12]
After studyingpolitical science at theUniversity of Toronto for two years, and working on anOntario farm for three years, in 1973, Bezmenov was hired by theCanadian Broadcasting Corporation inMontreal, broadcasting to the Soviet Union as part of the CBC's International Service.[7] This is when he met his second wife, Tess. In 1976, Bezmenov left the CBC. He later alleged that he was fired at Trudeau’s request after the Soviet ambassador to Canada phoned Trudeau to complain about Bezmenov’s Russian-language broadcasts.[3] After the CBC, he beganfree-lance journalism. He became a consultant forAlmanac Panorama of theWorld Information Network.[6] Again, Bezmenov alleged that the KGB and theSoviet ambassador to Canada persuaded Trudeau to have him removed from that position.[4]
As I mentioned before, exposure to true information does not matter anymore. A person who is demoralized is unable to assess true information. The facts tell him nothing, even if I shower him with information, with authentic proof, with documents and pictures ... he will refuse to believe it ... That's the tragedy of the situation of demoralization.
He moved toLos Angeles in the 1980s.[7] In 1983, at a lecture in Los Angeles, Bezmenov expressed the opinion that he "wouldn't be surprised" if the Soviet Union had shot downKorean Air Lines Flight 007 in order to killLarry McDonald, an anti-communistDemocratic member of theUnited States House of Representatives.
In 1984, he gave an interview toG. Edward Griffin in which he stated that the KGB wanted the political system of the United States to gradually be subverted and alluded to methods that they were supposedly using.[4]
The main emphasis of the KGB is not in the area of intelligence at all. Only about 15% of time, money, and manpower is spent onespionage and such. The other 85% is a slow process which we call eitherideological subversion oractive measures ... orpsychological warfare.[4][13]
Under the cover name assigned to him by the Canadian RCMP, Tomas D. Schuman, Bezmenov authored the bookLove Letter to America.[2] The author's biography of the book states that Bezmenov lived a life similar toWinston Smith, fromGeorge Orwell'sNineteen Eighty-Four. Other books by Bezmenov are:No Novosti Is Good News,[5]World Thought Police,[6]Black Is Beautiful, Communism Is Not.[14]
In 1984, theWashington Post reported Bezmenov publicly denounced admission of a Soviet cruise ship toLos Angeles during the1984 Summer Olympics, stating that they were placed there under the guise of entertainment, but maintained electronic surveillance equipment aboard to monitor radio and telephone communications.[11] In another interview, Bezmenov said the KGB would carry espionage during the Games and work "against possible athletic defections."[15]
In 1989, he and his second wife divorced. That same year he moved toWindsor, Ontario, while she stayed in Montreal. Two years later, he began teachinginternational relations at theUniversity of Windsor. In late December 1992, Bezmenov visited Tess and their children inMontreal forChristmas. Two weeks later, Bezmenov's death was reported on January 6, 1993. According to theWindsor Star, he died of a "massiveheart attack following a life-long fight withalcoholism", on Tuesday, January 5, 1993.[7]
Since his death, Bezmenov's "Soviet subversion model"[a] has been studied and interpreted by faculty and staff at theJoint Special Operations University (JSOU) in the US to analyze historical events, including the decade-long Russian campaign that preceded the 2008Russo-Georgian War.[16] His work has also been cited by senior director ofUPenn'sPenn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement, and former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense,Michael R. Carpenter.[17][18] His lectures have also been used byYale senior lecturerAsha Rangappa, to illustrate the concept of active measures in the Soviet Union's disinformation campaigns in the United States.[19]
On August 19, 2020, Bezmenov's 1984 interview discussing active measures with conspiracy theoristG. Edward Griffin was used in the teaser for the video gameCall of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, in addition to its use in the main introduction on August 26. This in part has contributed to a renewed interest in both Bezmenov's work and lectures.[20][21][22][23]
Bezmenov's audiences have included Americanfar-right andanti-communist movements, to whom he often gave speeches and lectures on their platforms.[24] One of such is his interview with conspiracy theoristG. Edward Griffin. Bezmenov himself was involved with the anti-communist and far-rightUnification Church and theJohn Birch Society.[3]
When questioned about his association with the John Birch Society and the doubts raised about his allegiance, he responded "I'm not a member. I don't agree with everything they say",[25] and stated that he resorted to right-wing platforms as a result of mainstream media outlets refusing to provide him with a platform, such asThe New York Times.[25][2]
Clips from his interviews and lectures have been used to promote conspiracy theories aboutCOVID-19 andvaccination mandates[3] and alleged Communist infiltration of Western academia, public / private sectors and governments.[23]
Most other cases of alleged CIA special actions against KGB officers were in reality cases of actual or attempted defection...Such was the case, for example, in the disappearance of Bezmenov. Anxious to save face, the Delhi residency had reported that he had been abducted, and his son (the closest surviving relative) was given financial compensation
When the 2008 conflict and its preceding events are analyzed through the lens of Bezmenov's Soviet subversion model and organized by the elements of national power, it becomes apparent that the conflict itself was simply the culmination point of a protracted PW [psychological warfare] campaign against Western expansion ... The demoralization phase of Bezmenov's model extends back to 1992, when war broke out in Georgia during the aftermath of Soviet collapse.
