Guzenko (Gouzenko), Igor Sergeevich (1919-1982)

Code name “Clark.”  A Soviet cipher clerk in Ottawa, Canada who defected in September 1945. Guzenko was born in a village in the Moscow region and studied at Moscow Architectural Institute and at the Military Engineering Academy. After graduating from cipher clerk training school in April 1942, he began work as a cipher clerk at GRU headquarters in Moscow. In August 1943, Guzenko was posted to Ottawa as a cipher clerk in the office of the Soviet military attaché in Canada, who was also a resident of the GRU. On September 5, 1945, Guzenko defected with documentation he had hidden away in preparation for his defection. The evidence he provided revealed Soviet espionage penetration in Canada, with leads to Great Britain and the United States, and led to arrests and espionage prosecutions with 18 convictions in Canada.

Guzenko and his family were given another identity and settled in Canada. For years, however, Guzenko remained in the public eye, appearing in photos and on television with a hood over his head. ¹

To read more about the exploitation of some of Guzenko’s leads in the U.S., watch for alerts on this website.