GEORGE BLAKE: CONSIDERED ONE OF THE WORLD'S FAMOUS DOUBLE AGENT, DIES!

George Blake, the former British intelligence officer, who served as a double agent and went down in history as the most well-known agent of the Cold War era, died. George Blake, who informed the Soviet Union while working for the British secret service, has lived in Moscow for more than 50 years.

Former British intelligence officer George Blake, one of the best-known double agents of the Cold War era, died in Russia. Blake died at the age of 98 and managed to escape from prison in 1966 and go to Russia. With the information which was given by Blake, who worked as a Soviet agent, 40 MI6 agents who were on duty in Eastern Europe were exposed.

Blake was convicted and imprisoned in 1960 and managed to escape six years later. Russia's foreign intelligence service released a statement regarding Blake's death, stating that "he had a sincere love for our country".

Born in 1922 in Rotterdam, Holland under the name George Behar, Blake's father was a Spanish Jew who fought for the British in the First World War and acquired British citizenship. His father, Albert Behar, served in the British Army during the First World War. While Albert received the Meritorious Service Medal, he embellished his war service when recounting it to his wife and children, and also concealed his Jewish background until his death. The Behars lived a comfortable existence in the Netherlands until Albert's death in 1936. The thirteen-year-old Behar was sent to live with a wealthy aunt in Egypt, where he continued his education at the English School in Cairo. He later attended Downing College, Cambridge, to read Russian.

Blake himself joined the resistance in the Netherlands in the Second World War and later fled to Gibraltar. He was offered to become an intelligence agent there because of his past. 42 agents are thought to have died because of Blake. Speaking to the BBC in 1990, George Blake said he estimated more than 500 Western agents to come to light because of his contribution. But he denied the accusation that 42 agents died due to the information he provided. Working on behalf of the Soviet Union as a double agent, Blake's identity was revealed by information provided by a Polish intelligence officer who defected to the West. Blake admitted to the court that he was sharing information on behalf of the Soviet Union.

Celebrating his 98th birthday on November 11, Blake was called 'England's oldest traitor'.



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