72 days until Victory

Richard Sorge's name has been heard by many. Working in Japan under the cover of a journalist, he knew that the slightest mistake could cost him his freedom or even his life. During the Second World War in the hands of Sorge was information that played an important role in the fate of the Soviet Union. The scout informed the Center of Germany's plans to start a war against the USSR in the second half of June 1941. He also conveyed crucial information that Japan did not plan to attack the USSR in 1941, which allowed the Soviet command to move troops from the Far East to the west and thereby ease German pressure on the front. His reports on the war preparations of Japan and Germany were invaluable information to the Soviet leadership. Sorge was admired not only by friends, but also by enemies. Even the prosecutor who sent him to his death said, “I have never met anyone so great in my entire life.” From the outside, Richard Sorge always seemed relaxed in communication and talkative guy, a lover of women, a frequenter of parties. He appeared everywhere on his motorcycle (and it was on him that he masterfully detached himself from surveillance). But on October 18, 1941, Sorge and other agents of his group were arrested by Japanese counterintelligence. No one knows exactly how it happened: many documents were lost. Even in prison, Sorge tried to convince the Japanese that Hitler’s Germany was leading their country to ruin. Before his execution, he thanked the prison staff for their good treatment and said his last words in Japanese: Red Army! Comintern! The Soviet Communist Party! When the scout was removed from the gallows, his heart continued to beat for another eight minutes. Sorge was buried in a common grave. But his common-law wife, Hanako Ishii, miraculously managed to secure the body. She kept the urn with its ashes at home until November 1950, and then buried separately. We have at our disposal a unique interview taken by Soviet journalists from Richard Sorge’s “Japanese” wife, Hanako Ishii. Heavy fighting continues in the vicinity of Koenigsberg. Southwest of the city, Soviet troops, overcoming the stubborn resistance of the Germans, occupied several settlements, including the junction of the Ernstfeld highways. In the Breslau area, fighting continued to destroy the encircled enemy group, during which our troops occupied 15 quarters. On other parts of the front – battles of local importance and the search for intelligence. << Back to the calendar

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