How many real scouts do we meet in our lives? Their work is invisible, not advertised, and often even relatives do not know what they are doing. Fortunately, there are people who write books about their profession. One of them is the Russian writer Mikhail Lyubimov.
His life can be called an adventure novel, and he ironically calls himself "an anecdote of intelligence." He became a writer, candidate of historical sciences, lived a long life, but still treats everything lightly and with humor.
Biography
Mikhail Petrovich Lyubimov was born in 1934 in Dnepropetrovsk. His parents were not ordinary people: his father worked in the OGPU and was a member of the SMERSH (death to spies) group, and his mother was a professor's daughter.
The writer's childhood fell on the time of the war. She and her mother wandered around Ukraine, then moved to Tashkent. We drove across the country in smoky cars, fearing to lose each other. From Tashkent they returned to Moscow, then went with his father on his business trips.
Mikhail graduated from school in Kuibyshev (now it is Samara), and went to Moscow, to MGIMO to get higher education. A talented student earned himself a high prestige already during his studies, and after university he was sent to Helsinki, to the USSR embassy. Lyubimov's career began in 1958 as secretary of the consul, and a year later his fate changed dramatically: he was transferred to intelligence at the First Main Directorate of the KGB of the USSR.
Intelligence service
Soon Mikhail and his wife Ekaterina Vishnevskaya were sent to London for intelligence work. Of course, no one will tell you all the subtleties and methods of intelligence work, but they say about Lyubimov that he was very good at portraying a person sympathetic to the West. She and Catherine often went to various receptions, visited London salons, and it seemed to everyone that they really liked this life. At all these meetings, Lyubimov struck up relationships with the people he needed, through whom he then received information.
He was an unusually charming scout, whose face never left a smile, that's why in London he was called that - "smiling Mike". At the same time, the intelligence officer obtained important information for his country and was beyond suspicion for a long time. They say that for all his external softness, he was one of the most purposeful scouts.
In 1965, Lyubimov was exposed and expelled from England, declared "persona non grata."
However, such valuable specialists do not stay idle for a long time - soon he was appointed first secretary to the Danish embassy, and then adviser.
In 1980, Lyubimov ends his career as an intelligence officer, and he is appointed head of the KGB department.
Literature
After retirement, Mikhail Petrovich declares himself as a writer, journalist and screenwriter. Several performances were staged based on his plays, as a journalist, he collaborated with the magazines Ogonyok, Detective and Politics, and Top Secret.
Having trained on "small genres", Lyubimov switched to prose. In 1990, his first book, The Life and Adventures of Alex Wilkie, was published, which immediately made him famous. He dedicated this novel to his third wife Tatyana, who inspired, helped and in every possible way contributed to the book's appearance.
The fact is that Mikhail began to write poetry and stories from childhood. He sent his creations to various publications, including Pionerskaya Pravda, but nothing was published. And when he worked in intelligence, there was no time for literature.
Later, having become a free man, Lyubimov gladly gave himself up to his hobby and began to write book after book.
He writes in the style of "a parody of spy novels", and once seriously disturbed the State Duma deputies with his article "Operation Calvary". In it, he described the scheme of development of our society after perestroika. The alleged goal of this period is to lead the country to wild capitalism, to show people how bad it is, and then return to socialism again. Some deputies took this description at face value and turned to the special services to bring the author down.
In 1995, a memoir-novel "Notes of an Unlucky Resident" was published. As it is written in the introduction to the book, this is a look at the life of a scout "from the height of a low-flying plane." Or a description of the life of the author himself from birth and the period of service in intelligence. The language of the novel is cheerful, ironic and rather simple. At first, it somehow does not fit in with such a serious topic as the work of an intelligence officer, but as you read, you get involved, and the novel is read with great interest.
Another interesting novel by Lyubimov is called "Shot", it was released in 2012. The novel is also autobiographical, but the topic is somewhat different: here the author spoke about contact with a "double spy" - a man who worked for British intelligence, but was listed in the Soviet. This person was Lyubimov's deputy, so the book is written on factual material.
Among the major works can also be noted the novel "The Decameron of Spies" (1998) and the book "Walking with the Cheshire Cat". Lyubimov also has a collection of short stories and stories, articles.
Personal life
Lyubimov's first wife was from a kind of people completely different from himself - she was a hereditary noblewoman. The young actress Ekaterina Vishnevskaya conquered the romantic Misha, although he did not even hope for her attention. She was beautiful, witty, freedom-loving and intelligent - a real aristocrat.
However, in 1960 she married Mikhail Petrovich, and in 1961 they were already in London on intelligence matters.
In 1962, a son, Alexander, was born in the Lyubimov family, now he works on television. The journalist and TV presenter gave his father four grandchildren.
Now Mikhail Petrovich is married to a third marriage, his wife's name is Tatyana Sergeevna. The Lyubimov family lives in Moscow.
