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{{short description|Soviet intelligence officer (1903–1971)}}
{{Use American English|date=July 2012}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2020}}
{{good article}}
{{distinguish|Rudolph E. Abel}}
{{Infobox spy
|name              =Rudolf Abel
|nickname          =
|image             =The Soviet Union 1990 CPA 6265 stamp (Soviet Intelligence Agents. Rudolf Abel).jpg
|caption           =Abel on a 1990 USSR commemorative stamp
|alt               =A reproduction of a stamp showing a drawing of a balding elderly man wearing glasses
|allegiance        ={{flag|Soviet Union|23px}}
|service           =
|serviceyears      =
|rank              =[[Colonel]]
|operation         =[[World War II]]<br />(1944–1945)<br />[[Soviet Union|Soviet]] [[Cold War]] spy<br />(1948–1957)
|awards            =[[Order of the Red Banner]]
|codename1         =Andrew Yurgesovich Kayotis
|codename2         =Emil Robert Goldfus
|codename3         =Mark Collins<ref name="FBI">"[https://www.fbi.gov/history/famous-cases/hollow-nickel-rudolph-abel/ FBI: Rudolph Ivanovich Abel (Hollow Nickel Case)]". Federal Bureau of Investigation. Retrieved: January 4, 2012.</ref>
|codename4         =MARK<ref name="Arthey, 2004, p. xvi">Arthey (2004), p. xvi.</ref>
|codename5         =ALEC<ref name="Arthey, 2004, p. xvi" />
<!--|codename6         =ARACH<ref name="Arthey, 2004, p. xvi"/>
|codename7         =Martin Collins
|codename8         =Robert Callan
|codename9         =Frank<ref name="Whittell, 2010, p. xi">Whittell (2010), p. xi.</ref>
 |codename10        =Milton<ref name="Whittell, 2010, p. xi" />
|codename11        =Rudolf Ivanovich Abel --> <!-- only 5 codenames are allowed by the current infobox -->
|other             =
|birth_name        =William August Fisher
|birth_date        ={{Birth date|1903|07|11|df=y}}
|birth_place       =[[Benwell]], [[Northumberland]], England
|death_date        ={{Death date and age|1971|11|15|1903|07|11|df=y}}
|death_place       =[[Moscow]], [[Russian SFSR]], {{nowrap|[[Soviet Union]]}}
|buried            =[[Donskoye Cemetery]]
|nationality       =British<br />Soviet
|spouse            ={{marriage|Elena Stepanovna Lebedeva|1927}}<ref name="Arthey, 2004, p. 77">Arthey (2004), p. 77.</ref>
|children          =1
|occupation        =
|alma_mater        =
|signature         =
}}
'''William August Fisher''' (11 July 1903 – 15 November 1971), better known by the alias '''Rudolf Ivanovich Abel''' ({{langx|ru|Рудольф Иванович Абель}}), was a [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] intelligence officer. He adopted his alias to alert his Soviet [[KGB]] handlers when he was arrested in the USA on charges of espionage by the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] in 1957.

Fisher was born and grew up in [[Newcastle upon Tyne]] in the [[Northern England|North East of England]] in the [[United Kingdom]] to Russian [[émigré]] parents. He moved to Russia in the 1920s, and served in the Soviet military before undertaking foreign service as a radio operator in Soviet intelligence in the late 1920s and early 1930s. He later served in an instructional role before taking part in intelligence operations against the Germans during World War II. After the war, he began working for the KGB, which sent him to the United States where he worked as part of a spy ring based in [[New York City]].

In 1957, Fisher was convicted in [[Federal judiciary of the United States|US federal court]] on three counts of [[Criminal conspiracy|conspiracy]] as a Soviet spy for his involvement in what became known as the [[Hollow Nickel Case]] and sentenced to 30 years' imprisonment at [[United States Penitentiary, Atlanta|Atlanta Federal Penitentiary]] in [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]].<ref name="Whittell, 2010, p. 109">Whittell (2010), p. 109.</ref> He served just over four years of his sentence before he was exchanged for captured American [[Lockheed U-2|U-2]] pilot [[Francis Gary Powers]] and Yale University doctoral student [[Frederic Pryor]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Glenn |first=Alan |date=21 January 2016 |title=The spy who never was|url=https://michigantoday.umich.edu/2016/01/21/the-spy-who-never-was/ |work=Michigan Today |location= |access-date=24 December 2024}}</ref> Back in the Soviet Union, he lectured on his experiences. He died in 1971 at the age of 68. His real identity and country of birth were only revealed after his death.

== Early life ==
Fisher was born William August Fisher<ref name="Arthey, 2004, p. 73">Arthey (2004), p. 73.</ref> on 11 July 1903, in the [[Benwell]] area of [[Newcastle upon Tyne]],<ref name="Whittell, 2010, p. 9">Whittell (2010), p. 9.</ref> the second son of Heinrich and Lyubov Fisher.<ref name="Arthey, 2004, p. 11">Arthey (2004), p. 11.</ref> Revolutionary activists of the [[Tsarist autocracy|Tsarist]] era, his father was of [[Germans|German]] origins and his mother was of [[Russians|Russian]] descent.<ref name="Arthey, 2004, p. 10">Arthey (2004), p. 10.</ref><ref name="Whittell, 2010, p. 9" /> Fisher's father taught and agitated with [[Vladimir Lenin]] at [[Saint Petersburg State Institute of Technology|Saint Petersburg Technological Institute]].<ref name="Whittell, 2010, p. 9" />

In 1896, he was arrested for sedition and sentenced to three years internal exile.<ref name="Arthey, 2004, p. 8">Arthey (2004), p. 8.</ref> As Heinrich Fisher had served a sentence for offenses against the [[Russian Empire|Russian Imperial Crown]], he was forced to flee to the United Kingdom in 1901,<ref name="Andrew, 1999, p. 146">Andrew (1999), p. 146.</ref> the alternative being deportation to Germany or imprisonment in Russia for avoidance of military service.<ref name="Arthey, 2004, p. 11" /> While living in the United Kingdom, Fisher's father, a keen [[Bolshevik]], took part in gunrunning, shipping arms from northeast England to Russia's [[Baltic Sea|Baltic]] [[Baltic governorates|coast]].<ref name="Whittell, 2010, p. 9" />

Fisher and his brother, Henry,<ref name="Whittell, 2010, p. 10">Whittell (2010), p. 10.</ref> won scholarships to [[Whitley Bay High School]] and [[Monkseaton High School]].<ref name="Arthey, 2004, p. 49">Arthey (2004), p. 49.</ref> Though Fisher was not as hard-working as Henry, he showed aptitude for science, mathematics, languages, art and music, inherited in part from his father's abilities. Encouraging their son's love of music, Fisher's parents gave him piano lessons; he also learned to play the guitar.<ref name="Arthey, 2004, p. 50">Arthey (2004), p. 50.</ref> It was during this period that Fisher developed an interest in amateur radio, constructing rudimentary spark transmitters and receivers.<ref name="Arthey, 2004, pp. 75–76">Arthey (2004), pp. 75–76.</ref>

Fisher became an apprentice [[Drafter|draughtsman]] at [[Swan Hunter]], [[Wallsend]], and attended evening classes at [[Northumbria University|Rutherford College]] before being accepted into [[University of London|London University]] in 1920.<ref name="Damaskin, 2001, p. 137">Damaskin (2001), p. 137.</ref><ref name="Arthey, 2004, p. 62">Arthey (2004), p. 62.</ref> Though Fisher qualified for university, the costs prohibited him from attending.<ref name="Arthey, 2004, p. 62" /> In 1921, following the [[Russian Revolution]], the Fisher family left Newcastle upon Tyne to return to [[Moscow]].<ref name="Arthey, 2004, p. 63">Arthey (2004), p. 63.</ref>

== Early career ==
Fluent in [[English language|English]], [[Russian language|Russian]], [[German language|German]], [[Polish language|Polish]] and [[Yiddish]],<ref name="Hearn, 2006, p. 10">Hearn (2006), p. 10.</ref> Fisher worked for the [[Communist International|Comintern]] as a translator following his family's return to the Soviet Union.<ref name="Arthey, 2004, p. 73" /> Trained as a radio operator, he served in a [[Red Army]] radio battalion in 1925 and 1926.<ref name="Arthey, 2004, p. 76">Arthey (2004), p. 76.</ref> He then worked briefly in the radio research institute before being recruited by the [[OGPU]], a predecessor of the KGB, in May 1927.<ref name="Arthey, 2004, p. 81">Arthey (2004), p. 81.</ref> That year he married Elena Lebedeva, a harp student at [[Moscow Conservatory]].<ref name="Whittell, 2010, p. 10" /> They had one child together, a daughter named Evelyn who was born on 8 October 1929.<ref name="Arthey, 2004, p. 84">Arthey (2004), p. 84.</ref> During his interview with the OGPU, it was determined he should adopt a Russian-sounding name and William August Fisher became Vilyam Genrikhovich Fisher.<ref name="Arthey, 2004, p. 73" /> Following his recruitment, he worked for the OGPU as a radio operator in Norway, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and France. He returned to the Soviet Union in 1936, as head of a school that trained radio operators destined for duty in [[Resident spy|illegal residences]].<ref name="Andrew, 1999, pp. 146-147">Andrew (1999), pp. 146–147.</ref> One of the students was the Canadian-born Russian spy [[Kitty Harris]], who was later more widely known as "The Spy with Seventeen Names".<ref name="Damaskin, 2001, p. 140">Damaskin (2001), p. 140.</ref>

Despite his foreign birth and the accusation that his brother-in-law was a [[Trotskyism|Trotskyist]], Fisher narrowly escaped the [[Great Purge]].<ref name="Andrew, 1999, p. 146" /> However, in 1938 he was dismissed from the [[NKVD]], the moniker the OGPU had adopted in 1934. During [[World War II]], he again trained radio operators for [[Red Orchestra (espionage)|clandestine work behind German lines]].<ref name="Andrew, 1999, p. 146" /> Having been adopted as a protégé by [[Pavel Sudoplatov]], he took part in [[Operation Scherhorn]] ({{lang|ru|Операция Березино|italic=no}}, {{lang|ru-Latn|Operatsiya Berezino|italic=yes}}) in August 1944. Sudoplatov later described this operation as "the most successful radio deception game of the war".<ref name="Sudoplatov/Schecter 1994–1995, p. 168">Sudoplatov/Schecter (1994–1995), p. 168.</ref> Fisher's role in this operation was rewarded with what his superiors regarded as one of the most prestigious postings in Soviet foreign intelligence, the United States.<ref name="Whittell, 2010, p. 13">Whittell (2010), p. 13.</ref>

== KGB service ==
After rejoining the KGB in 1946, Fisher was trained as a spy for entry into the United States. In October 1948, using a Soviet passport, he travelled from [[Moscow Leningradsky railway station|Leningradsky Station]] to [[Warsaw]]. In Warsaw, he discarded his Soviet passport and using a U.S. passport traveled from [[Czechoslovakia]] and [[Switzerland]] to [[Paris]].<ref name="Arthey, 2004, p. 163">Arthey (2004), p. 163.</ref> His new passport bore the name Andrew Kayotis, the first of Fisher's false identities. The real Andrew Kayotis was [[Lithuania]]n born and had become an American citizen after migrating to the United States.<ref name="Andrew, 1999, p. 147">Andrew (1999), p. 147.</ref> Kayotis had applied for and received a visa to visit the Soviet Union. However, the Soviets retained his passport, which Fisher eventually used. Kayotis had been in poor health and died while visiting relatives in [[Vilnius|Vilnius, Lithuania]].<ref name="Andrew, 1999, p. 147" /> Fisher, as Kayotis, then travelled aboard the {{RMS|Scythia}} from [[Le Havre]], France, to North America, disembarking at [[Quebec City|Quebec]]. Still using Kayotis' passport, he went to [[Montreal]] and crossed into the United States on 17 November.<ref name="Andrew, 1999, p. 147" />

On 26 November, Fisher met with Soviet "illegal" [[Iosif Grigulevich]] (codenamed "MAKS" or "ARTUR").<ref name="Andrew, 1999, p. 147" /> Grigulevich gave Fisher a genuine birth certificate, a forged draft card and a forged tax certificate, all under the name of Emil Robert Goldfus, along with $1,000. After handing back Kayotis's passport and documents, Fisher assumed the name Goldfus. His codename was "MARK".<ref name="Andrew, 1999, p. 147" /> The real Goldfus had died at only 14 months, having been born on August 2, 1902, in New York. Goldfus's birth certificate was obtained by the NKVD at the end of the [[Spanish Civil War]], when the Centre would collect identity documents from International Brigades members for use in espionage operations.<ref name="Andrew, 1999, p. 147" />

In July 1949, Fisher met with a "legal" KGB resident from the Soviet consulate general, who provided him with money. Shortly afterwards Fisher was ordered to reactivate the "Volunteer" network to smuggle atomic secrets to Russia.<ref name="Whittell, 2010, p. 17">Whittell (2010), p. 17.</ref> Members of the network had stopped cooperating after postwar security was tightened at [[Los Alamos National Laboratory|Los Alamos]]. [[Lona Cohen]] (codenamed "LESLE") and her husband [[Morris Cohen (spy)|Morris Cohen]] (codenamed "LUIS" and "VOLUNTEER") had run the Volunteer network and were seasoned couriers. [[Theodore Hall|Theodore "Ted" Hall]] (codenamed "MLAD"), a physicist, was the most important agent in the network in 1945, passing atomic secrets from Los Alamos.<ref name="Andrew, 1999, p. 147" /><ref name="Whittell, 2010, p. 18">Whittell (2010), p. 18.</ref> The Volunteer network grew to include "Aden" and "Serb", nuclear physicists contacted by Hall, and "Silver".<ref name="Andrew, 1999, pp. 147-148">Andrew (1999), pp. 147–148.</ref> Fisher spent most of his first year organizing his network. While it is not known for certain where Fisher went or what he did, it is believed he travelled to [[Santa Fe, New Mexico|Santa Fe]], [[New Mexico]], the collection point for stolen diagrams from the [[Manhattan Project]]. Kitty Harris, a former pupil of Fisher's, had spent a year in Santa Fe during the war, where she passed secrets from physicists to couriers.<ref name="Whittell, 2010, p. 16">Whittell (2010), p. 16.</ref> During this period, Fisher received the [[Order of the Red Banner]], an important Soviet [[military decoration|decoration]] normally reserved for military personnel.<ref name="Whittell, 2010, p. 18" />

In 1950, Fisher's illegal residency was endangered by the arrest of [[Julius and Ethel Rosenberg]], for whom Lona Cohen had been a courier. The Cohens were quickly spirited to [[Mexico]] before moving on to Moscow. They were to resurface in the United Kingdom using the identities of Peter and Helen Kroger.<ref name="Andrew, 1999, p. 148">Andrew (1699), p. 148.</ref> Fisher was relieved when the Rosenbergs did not disclose any information about him to the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] (FBI), but the arrests heralded a bleak outlook for his new spy network. However, on 21 October 1952, as instructed by Moscow, [[Reino Häyhänen]] left a thumbtack on a signpost in New York's [[Central Park]].<ref name="Whittell, 2010, p. 19">Whittell (2010), p. 19.</ref><ref name="Arthey, 2004, p. 187">Arthey (2004), p. 187.</ref><ref name="Bernikow, 1970, p. 52">Bernikow (1970), p. 52.</ref> The thumbtack signaled to Fisher that Häyhänen, his new assistant, had arrived. Codenamed "VIK", Häyhänen arrived in New York on the [[RMS Queen Mary|RMS ''Queen Mary'']], under the alias Eugene Nikolai Maki.<ref name="Whittell, 2010, pp. 20–21">Whittell (2010), pp. 20–21.</ref> The real Maki had been born in the United States to a Finnish-American father and a New York mother in 1919. In 1927, the family migrated to [[Estonia]]. In 1948, the KGB had called Häyhänen to Moscow where they issued him a new assignment. In 1949, Häyhänen freely obtained Maki's birth certificate. He had then spent three years in Finland taking over Maki's identity.<ref name="Andrew, 1999, p. 171">Andrew (1999), p. 171.</ref>

After arriving in New York, Häyhänen spent the next two years establishing his identity.<ref name="FBI"/> During that time he received money from his superiors left in [[dead drop|dead-letter boxes]] in [[the Bronx]] and [[Manhattan]]. It is known he occasionally drew attention to himself by indulging in heavy drinking sessions and heated arguments with his Finnish wife Hannah.<ref name="Andrew, 1999, p. 171" /> 

For six months Häyhänen checked the thumbtack and no one had made contact. He also checked a dead-drop location he had memorized. There he found a hollowed-out nickel. But before he opened the nickel to examine its contents,  Häyhänen lost it, either by buying a newspaper with it or using it to pay for a subway ride. For the next seven months the hollow nickel circulated through the [[New York City]] economy, unopened. The trail of the hollow nickel ended when a thirteen-year-old newsboy was collecting for his weekly deliveries. The newsboy noticed that the nickel made an unusual sound - when he dropped it on the floor, it broke in half, revealing a [[microphotograph]] containing a series of numbers. The newsboy eventually turned the nickel over to a New York City police detective, who in turn forwarded it to the FBI. From 1953 to 1957, every effort was made to decipher the microphotograph, but the FBI was unable to solve the mystery, which came to be known as the [[Hollow Nickel Case]].<ref name="FBI"/><ref name="Andrew, 1999, p. 171" /><ref name="Whittell, 2010, pp. 21–22">Whittell (2010), pp. 21–22.</ref>

Late in 1953, Fisher moved to [[Brooklyn]] and rented a room in a boarding house on Hicks Street. He also rented a fifth-floor studio at the Ovington Studios Building on Fulton Street. Since he was posing as an artist and photographer, nobody questioned his irregular working hours and frequent disappearances.<ref name="FBI"/><ref name="Bernikow, 1970, p. 21">Bernikow (1970), p. 21.</ref><ref name="Hearn, 2006, p. 13">Hearn (2006), p. 13.</ref> Over time his artistic technique improved and he became a competent painter, though he disliked abstract painting, preferring more conventional styles. He mingled with New York artists, who were surprised by his admiration for the Russian painter [[Isaak Levitan]], although Fisher was careful not to discuss Stalinist "[[socialist realism]]".<ref name="Andrew, 1999, p. 147"/> The only visitors to Fisher's studio were artist friends with whom he felt safe from suspicion. In particular, he became a friend of [[Burton Silverman]].<ref name="NYT">"[https://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/26/nyregion/thecity/26spy.html?_r=0 New York Times: The Spy of Cadman Plaza]". New York Times. Retrieved: February 2, 2013.</ref> Fisher sometimes related made-up stories of previous lives, as a [[Boston]] accountant and a [[lumberjack]] in the [[Pacific Northwest]].<ref name="Whittell, 2010, p. 25">Whittell (2010), p. 25.</ref>

In 1954, Häyhänen began working as Fisher's assistant. He was to deliver a report from a Soviet agent at the [[United Nations]] secretariat, to a dead-letter box for collection. However the report never arrived.<ref name="Andrew, 1999, p. 171" /> Fisher was disturbed by Häyhänen's lack of work ethics and his obsession with alcohol. In the spring of 1955, Fisher and Häyhänen visited [[Bear Mountain State Park|Bear Mountain Park]], and buried $5,000 ({{Inflation|US|5000|1955|fmt=eq}}), destined for the wife of the Soviet spy [[Morton Sobell]], who in 1951 was sentenced to thirty years in jail.<ref name="Andrew, 1999, p. 171" />

In 1955, Fisher, exhausted by the constant pressure, returned to Moscow for six months of rest and recuperation, leaving Häyhänen in charge. While in Moscow, Fisher informed his superiors of his dissatisfaction with Häyhänen. Upon his return to New York in 1956, he found that his carefully constructed network had been left to disintegrate in his absence.<ref name="Hearn, 2006, p. 15">Hearn (2006), p. 15.</ref> Fisher checked his drop points only to find messages several months old, while Häyhänen's radio transmissions had routinely been sent from the same location using incorrect [[Radio frequency|radio frequencies]]. The money Häyhänen received from the KGB to support the network was instead spent on alcohol and prostitutes.<ref name="Hearn, 2006, p. 15" />

By early 1957, Fisher had lost patience with Häyhänen and demanded that Moscow recall his deputy.<ref name="Hearn, 2006, p. 15" /> In January 1957, Häyhänen received a message from Moscow promoting him to [[Lieutenant colonel|Lieutenant Colonel]] and granting him leave in the Soviet Union.<ref name="Arthey, 2004, p. 201">Arthey (2004), p. 201.</ref> Upon hearing he was due to return to Moscow, Häyhänen was fearful that he would be severely disciplined or even executed. Häyhänen fabricated stories to justify his delay, claiming to Fisher that the FBI had taken him off the RMS ''Queen Mary''.<ref name="Andrew, 1999, p. 172">Andrew (1999), p. 172.</ref> Fisher, unsuspecting, advised Häyhänen to leave the U.S. immediately to avoid FBI surveillance and handed him $200 for travel expenses. Prior to his departure, Häyhänen returned to Bear Mountain Park and retrieved the buried $5,000 for his own use.<ref name="Hearn, 2006, p. 15" /><ref name="Andrew, 1999, p. 172"/> Häyhänen arrived in Paris on [[International Workers' Day|May Day]], having sailed from the U.S. aboard ''[[SS Europa (1928)|La Liberté]]''. Making contact with the KGB residency he received another $200 for his journey to Moscow. Four days later, instead of continuing his journey to the Soviet Union he entered the American embassy in Paris, announcing that he was a KGB officer and asking for asylum.<ref name="Andrew, 1999, p. 172" />

When Häyhänen announced himself at the embassy on 4 May, he appeared drunk. The [[Central Intelligence Agency]] (CIA) officials at the Paris embassy did not find Häyhänen's story credible. They were not convinced he might actually be a Russian spy until he produced a hollow Finnish 5-mark coin. Upon opening the coin a square of [[Microform|microfilm]] was revealed.<ref name="Whittell, 2010, p. 80">Whittell (2010), p. 80.</ref> On 11 May, the CIA returned him to the United States and handed him over to the FBI. As a member of a Soviet spy ring operating on American soil, Häyhänen came under the FBI's jurisdiction and they began verifying his story.<ref name="Whittell, 2010, p. 80" />

Upon his arrival in the United States, Häyhänen was interrogated by the FBI and proved very cooperative. He admitted his first Soviet contact in New York had been "MIKHAIL" and upon being shown a series of photographs of Soviet officials identified "MIKHAIL" as Mikhail Svirin. Svirin, however, had returned to Moscow two years previously. The FBI then turned its attention to Svirin's replacement. Häyhänen was able only to provide Fisher's codename, "MARK", and a description. He was, however, able to tell the FBI about Fisher's studio and its location.<ref name="Whittell, 2010, p. 81">Whittell (2010), p. 81.</ref> Häyhänen was also able to solve the mystery of the "hollow nickel," which the FBI had been unable to decipher for four years.<ref name="FBI"/>

The KGB did not discover Häyhänen's defection until August, although it is more than likely they notified Fisher earlier when Häyhänen failed to arrive in Moscow. As a precaution, Fisher was ordered to leave the United States.<ref name="Andrew, 1999, p. 172" /> Escape was complicated because, if "MARK" had been compromised by Häyhänen, Fisher's other identities could have been compromised as well. Fisher could not leave the country as Martin Collins, Emil Goldfus, or even the long-forgotten Andrew Kayotis. The KGB Center, with the help of KGB's Ottawa resident, set about procuring two new passports for Fisher in the names of Robert Callan and Vasili Dzogol, but this process would take time.<ref name="Whittell, 2010, p. 88">Whittell (2010), p. 88.</ref> The [[Communist Party of Canada|Canadian Communist Party]] succeeded in obtaining a new passport for Fisher in the name of Robert Callan. Fisher, however, was arrested before he could adopt his new identity and leave the United States.<ref name="Andrew, 1999, p. 280">Andrew (1999), p. 280.</ref>

== Capture ==
[[File:Rudolf Abel FBI mugshot.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Rudolf Ivanovich Abel FBI [[Mug shot|mugshot]] in 1957|alt=A composite photo showing the front and left sides of a man's face. The man is wearing a dark jacket with a loose tie]]

In April 1957, Fisher told his artist friends he was going south on a seven-week holiday. Less than three weeks later, acting on Häyhänen's information, surveillance was established near Fisher's photo studio. On 28 May 1957, in a small park opposite Fulton Street, FBI agents spotted a man acting nervously. From time to time the man got up, walked around, and eventually left. FBI agents were convinced he fit the description of "MARK". The surveillance continued on "MARK" and, on the night of 13 June, a light was seen to go on in Fisher's studio at 10:00 pm.<ref name="FBI"/><ref name="Whittell, 2010, p. 89">Whittell (2010), p. 89.</ref>

On 15 June 1957, Häyhänen was shown a photograph of Fisher taken by the FBI with a hidden camera. Häyhänen confirmed that it was "MARK" in the photograph.<ref name="FBI"/> Once the FBI had a positive identification, they stepped up surveillance, following Fisher from his studio to the Hotel Latham. Fisher was aware of the "tail" but, as he had no passport to leave the country, he devised a plan to be used upon his capture. Fisher decided that he would not turn traitor as Häyhänen had done because he still trusted the KGB and he knew that if he cooperated with the FBI, he would not see his wife and daughter again.<ref name="Whittell, 2010, p. 94">Whittell (2010), p. 94.</ref>

At 7:00 am on 21 June 1957, Fisher answered a knock on the door to his room, Room 839.<ref name="Whittell, 2010, p. 92">Whittell (2010), p. 92.</ref> Upon opening the door, he was confronted by FBI agents who addressed him as "colonel" and stated that they had "information concerning [his] involvement in espionage." Fisher knew that the FBI's use of his rank could have only come from Häyhänen. Fisher said nothing to the FBI and, after spending twenty-three minutes staring at Fisher, the FBI agents called in the waiting [[Immigration and Naturalization Service]] officers who arrested Fisher and detained him under section 242 of the [[Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952|Immigration and Nationality Act]].<ref name="Whittell, 2010, p. 94" />

Fisher was then flown to the Federal Alien Detention Facility in [[McAllen]], [[Texas]], and held there for six weeks.<ref name="Whittell, 2010, p. 95">Whittell (2010), p. 95.</ref> During this period Fisher stated that his "real" name was Rudolf Ivanovich Abel and that he was a Soviet citizen, although he refused to discuss his intelligence activities. The name "Rudolf Ivanovich Abel" was that of a deceased friend and a KGB colonel; Fisher knew as soon as The Centre saw the name Abel on the front pages of American newspapers they would realize he had been captured.<ref name="Andrew, 1999, p. 172" />

During Fisher's detention, the FBI had been searching his hotel room and photo studio, where they discovered espionage equipment including [[shortwave radio]]s, cipher pads, cameras and film for producing [[microdot]]s, a hollow shaving brush, and numerous "trick" containers including hollowed-out bolts.<ref name="FBI"/> In Fisher's New York hotel room the FBI found $4,000,<ref name="West, 1990, p. 91">West (1990), p. 91.</ref><ref name="Bernikow, 1970, p. 111">Bernikow (1970), p. 111.</ref> a hollow ebony block containing a 250-page Russian codebook, a hollow pencil containing [[Encryption|encrypted]] messages on microfilm and a key to a safe-deposit box containing another $15,000 in cash.<ref name="Whittell, 2010, p. 96">Whittell (2010), p. 96.</ref><ref name="Arthey, 2004, p. 205">Arthey (2004). p. 205.</ref> Also discovered were photographs of the Cohens and recognition phrases to establish contact between agents who had never met before.<ref name="Romerstein, 2001, pp. 209–210">Romerstein (2001), pp. 209–210.</ref>

As Fisher was no longer considered an alleged illegal alien, but rather an alleged spy, he was flown from Texas to New York on 7 August 1957, to answer the indictment. Fisher was subsequently indicted to stand trial as a Soviet spy.<ref name="Whittell, 2010, p. 97">Whittell (2010), p. 97.</ref> The Brooklyn Bar Association approached several prominent trial lawyers with political ambitions, all of whom declined the case. They then contacted [[James B. Donovan]]. Because he had served as a wartime counsel in the [[Office of Strategic Services]] (OSS) and had years of courtroom experience, the Bar Association believed Donovan was uniquely qualified to act as Fisher's defense lawyer. At Donovan's initial meeting with Fisher, the latter accepted Donovan as his defense counsel.<ref name="Donovan, 1964, pp. 22–26">Donovan (1964), pp. 22–26.</ref> Donovan subsequently brought in attorney [[Thomas M. Debevoise]] to assist him;<ref>{{cite news |date=February 9, 1995 |title=Thomas Debevoise, Prosecutor, 65, Dies |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/02/09/obituaries/thomas-debevoise-prosecutor-65-dies.html |newspaper=New York Times |location=New York, NY}}</ref> Fisher was tried in Federal Court at New York City during October 1957, on three counts:<ref name="Whittell, 2010, p. 97" />

* Conspiracy to transmit defense information to the Soviet Union – 30 years imprisonment;<ref name="FBI"/>
* Conspiracy to obtain defense information – 10 years imprisonment;<ref name="FBI"/> and
* Conspiracy to act in the United States as an agent of a foreign government without notification to the Secretary of State – 5 years imprisonment.<ref name="FBI"/>

Häyhänen, Fisher's former assistant, testified against him at the trial.<ref name="FBI"/> The prosecution failed to find any other alleged members of Fisher's spy network, if there were any.<ref name="Whittell, 2010, p. 107">Whittell (2010), p. 107.</ref> The jury retired for three and a half hours and returned on the afternoon of October 25, 1957, finding Fisher guilty on all three counts.<ref name="FBI"/><ref name="Whittell, 2010, p. 109" /> On 15 November 1957, Judge [[Mortimer W. Byers]] imposed on Fisher a total sentence of thirty years and fines of $3,000.<ref name="Bigger, 2006, p. 85">Bigger (2006), p. 85.</ref> In ''[[Abel v. United States]]'', the United States Supreme Court upheld his conviction by a vote of 5–4.

Fisher, or "Rudolf Ivanovich Abel", was to serve his sentence (as prisoner 80016–A)<ref name="Bernikow, 1970, p. 253">Bernikow (1970), p. 253.</ref> at [[Atlanta Federal Penitentiary]], Georgia. He occupied himself with painting, learning [[Screen printing|silk-screening]], playing chess, and writing [[logarithmic table]]s for the sheer enjoyment of it. He became friends with two other convicted Soviet spies. One of these was [[Morton Sobell]], whose wife had failed to receive the $5,000 embezzled by Häyhänen.<ref name="Whittell, 2010, p. 109" /> The other prisoner was Kurt Ponger, an Austrian who had been sentenced for conspiracy to commit espionage.<ref name="Bernikow, 1970, p. 255">Bernikow (1970), p. 255.</ref>

== Release and later life ==
[[File:RIAN archive 3001 Vladimir Semichastny with intelligence officers.jpg|thumb|[[Vladimir Semichastny]], chairman of the KGB, talking to Soviet intelligence officers Rudolf Abel (second from left) and [[Konon Molody]] (second from right) in September 1964 |alt=Four men sit facing each other around a table. Three of the men wear civilian suits, while one wears a military uniform]]

Fisher served just over four years of his sentence. On 10 February 1962, he was exchanged for the shot-down American U-2 pilot [[Francis Gary Powers]]. The exchange took place on the [[Glienicke Bridge]] that linked [[West Berlin]] with [[Potsdam]], which became famous during the Cold War as the "[[Glienicke_Bridge#Bridge_of_Spies|Bridge of Spies]]".<ref name="Andrew, 1999, p. 174">Andrew (1999), p. 174.</ref> At precisely the same time, at [[Checkpoint Charlie]], [[Frederic Pryor]] was released by the [[Stasi|East German Stasi]] into the waiting arms of his father.<ref name="Whittell, 2010, p. 251">Whittell (2010), p. 251.</ref> A few days later Fisher, reunited with his wife Elena and daughter Evelyn, flew home.<ref name="Whittell, 2010, p. 258">Whittell (2010), p. 258.</ref>

For the sake of its own reputation it suited the KGB to reveal "Abel's" nine years of being an undetected agent in the United States as a triumph by a dedicated NKVD member. The idea that the name of the master spy was Rudolf Abel replaced the reality of Fisher. During his eight years as an illegal resident, Fisher was one of the most successful KGB agents in the United States. Even though he appears not to have recruited a single agent, he identified potential spies and managed and expanded the existing network so well that CIA director [[Allen Dulles]] said that he wished that he had even ''one'' agent as good as Abel operating within the [[Soviet Union|USSR]].<ref>{{cite magazine | url=https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,841510,00.html | title=Russia: Advice to Young Spies | magazine=Time | date=29 November 1968 }}</ref>

After his return to Moscow, Fisher was employed by the Illegals Directorate of the KGB's [[First Chief Directorate]], giving speeches and lecturing school children on intelligence work, but became increasingly disillusioned.<ref name="Whittell, 2010, p. 258" /><ref name="Andrew, 1999, p. 175">Andrew (1999), p. 175.</ref> He made a notable appearance in the foreword to the Soviet spy film ''[[Dead Season]]'' and also worked as a consultant on the film.<ref>[http://www.agentura.ru/english/press/propaganda/ Propaganda, KGB style] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110811151824/http://www.agentura.ru/english/press/propaganda/ |date=August 11, 2011 }} Agentura.ru. The Secret Services Watchdog. Retrieved: May 13, 2014.</ref>

A heavy smoker, Fisher died of lung cancer on 15 November 1971. His ashes were interred at the [[Donskoye Cemetery]] under his real name, next to Konon Molody who had died the previous year. A few Western correspondents were invited there to view for themselves the true identity of the spy who never "broke".<ref name="Whittell, 2010, p. 259">Whittell (2010), p. 259.</ref>

== Legacy ==
* His fate inspired [[Vadim Kozhevnikov]] to write the adventure novel ''Shield and Sword''. Although the name of the main character is Alexander Belov and is associated with Abel's name, the plot of the book is significantly different from the real fate of William August Fisher.<ref>According to the lieutenant general of the Foreign Intelligence V. G. Pavlov: “The very first chapter of the novel, called “The Shield and the Sword”, aroused categorical objections from me and R. I. Abel. The Soviet intelligence officer Alexander Belov appeared before readers as some sort of James Bond modification, with adventurous antics and immoral acts. [...] R. I. Abel resolutely expressed his firm reluctance to associate his name with such a hero "(V. G. Pavlov, Operation Snow, Moscow: ''Geya''. 1996. p. 188).</ref>
* For the first time Abel showed himself to the general public in 1968, when he addressed his compatriots with an introductory speech to the film ''[[Dead Season]]'' (as an official consultant to the picture).{{cn|date=October 2025}}
* In 2008, Yuri Linkevich shot the documentary "Unknown Abel".{{cn|date=October 2025}}
* In 2009, the [[Channel One Russia]] created an artistic two-part biographical film ''The US Government against Rudolf Abel'' (starring [[Yury Belyayev]]).{{cn|date=October 2025}}
* In [[Steven Spielberg]]'s 2015 film ''[[Bridge of Spies (film)|Bridge of Spies]]'', Fisher/Abel is portrayed by [[Mark Rylance]]. For his performance, Rylance won the [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor]] and the [[BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role]].<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/oscars/12177289/oscars-mark-rylance-supporting-actor.html| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160229175735/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/oscars/12177289/oscars-mark-rylance-supporting-actor.html| url-status = dead| archive-date = February 29, 2016| title = Mark Rylance wins Best Supporting Actor in the most high profile British win of Oscars 2016| author = Catherine Gee| date = February 29, 2016| access-date = May 17, 2016| publisher = Telegraph.co.uk}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/xbZC51nLh2kR8BlKP14TVS/bafta-film-award-nominations-and-winners-2016| title = BAFTA Film Award Nominations and Winners 2016| date = February 10, 2016| access-date = May 17, 2016| publisher = BBC One}}</ref>
* On 18 December 2015, on the eve of the Day of State Security Officers (a professional holiday), a grand opening ceremony of the memorial plaque to William Genrikhovich Fisher took place in [[Samara]]. The plaque, authored by Samara architect Dmitry Khramov, appeared on 8, Molodogvardeyskaya Street. It is believed that exactly here the family of the intelligence officer lived during the years of World War II. William Genrikhovich himself at that time taught radio business at a secret intelligence school, and later led a [[Funkspiel|counterintelligence radio operation]] against German intelligence from Kuibyshev.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://samadm.ru/media/news/4720/ |title=A memorial plaque to the legendary Soviet intelligence officer William Fisher was put up in Samara |access-date=2 January 2020 |archive-date=5 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160805023132/http://samadm.ru/media/news/4720/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* In 1990, the USSR released a set of stamps entitled "Intelligence Agents" depicting Abel, [[Stanislav Vaupshasov]], [[Ivan Kudrya]], [[Kim Philby]] and [[Konon Molody]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://colnect.com/en/stamps/stamp/171579-Portrait_of_RI_Abel_1903-1971-Intelligence_Agents-Soviet_Union_USSR|title=Portrait of R.I. Abel (1903-1971)|publisher=Colnect.com|access-date=January 2, 2020}}</ref>

== References ==
{{reflist|20em}}

== Bibliography ==
* [[Christopher Andrew (historian)|Andrew, Christopher]]. (1999). ''The Sword and the Shield: The Mitrokhin Archive and the Secret History of the KGB''. Basic Books. New York. {{ISBN|0-465-00310-9}}.
* Arthey, Vin. (2004). ''Like Father Like Son: A Dynasty of Spies''. St. Ermin's Press in association with Little Brown. London. {{ISBN|1-903608-07-4}}.
* Bernikow, Louise. (1970). ''Abel''. Introduction by Burt Silverman. Hodder and Stoughton. London, Sydney, Auckland, Toronto. {{ISBN|0-340-12593-4}}.
* Bigger, Philip J. (2006). ''NEGOTIATOR: The Life And Career of James B. Donovan''. Bethlehem: Lehigh University Press. United States. {{ISBN|978-0-934-22385-0}}.
* Damaskin, Igor with Elliott, Geoffrey. (2001). ''Kitty Harris: The Spy With Seventeen Names''. St. Ermin's Press. London. {{ISBN|1-903608-06-6}}.
* [[James B. Donovan|Donovan, James B.]] (1964). ''Strangers On A Bridge: The Case of Colonel Abel''. Atheneum House, Inc. New York. {{LCCN|6414248}}
* Hearn, Chester G. (2006). ''Spies & Espionage: A Directory''. Thunder Bay Press. San Diego, California. {{ISBN|978-1-59223-508-7}}.
* Romerstein, Herbert. (2001). ''The Venona Secrets: Exposing Soviet Espionage and America's Traitors''. Regnery Publishing Ltd. Washington, D.C. {{ISBN|978-0-89526-225-7}}.
* [[Pavel Sudoplatov|Sudoplatov, Pavel]]; Sudoplatov, Anatoli; Schecter, Jerrold L. and Schecter, Leona. (1994). ''Special Tasks: The Memoirs of an Unwanted Witness, a Soviet Spymaster''. Little Brown. Toronto, Canada. {{ISBN|0-316-77352-2}}.
* [[Giles Whittell|Whittell, Giles]]. (2010). ''[[Bridge of Spies (book)|A True Story of the Cold War: Bridge of Spies]]''. Broadway Books. New York. {{ISBN|978-0-7679-3107-6}}.

== External links ==
{{portal|Biography}}
{{commons category}}
* {{Internet Archive|id=CEP149|name=Universal News reporting Capture Of Soviet Spy Col. Rudolph Abel (1957)}}
* [http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/jun/30/us-intel-braces-kremlin-blowback-result-spy-case/ ''Washington Times: "U.S. intel braces for Kremlin blowback as result of spy case"'']. Retrieved: December 29, 2010.
* [https://www.fbi.gov/history/famous-cases/hollow-nickel-rudolph-abel/ ''FBI: Rudolph Ivanovich Abel (Hollow Nickel Case)''] Retrieved: August 8, 2016.
* [https://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/26/nyregion/thecity/26spy.html?_r=0 ''New York Times: The Spy of Cadman Plaza'']. Retrieved: February 2, 2013.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20130524204307/http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F40C12FC3A54177B93C0AB1783D85F438585F9%2F ''New York Times: ABEL, SPY SUSPECT, ACCEPTS DONOVAN; Russian Has Long Talk With Former O.S.S. Counsel Who Will Defend Him Returned to Detention Cell''] {{subscription required}} Retrieved: March 20, 2013.
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uw4wtObPv4k/ ''Bridge of Spies Movie Trailer''] Retrieved: October 9, 2015.

{{Soviet Spies}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abel, Rudolf}}

[[Category:1903 births]]
[[Category:1971 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Newcastle upon Tyne]]
[[Category:British emigrants to the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:People convicted of spying for the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:English people of German descent]]
[[Category:English people of Russian descent]]
[[Category:GRU officers]]
[[Category:KGB officers]]
[[Category:NKVD officers]]
[[Category:Soviet Cold War spymasters]]
[[Category:Soviet people imprisoned abroad]]
[[Category:British spies for the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Soviet spies against the United States]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Order of Lenin]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Order of the Red Star]]
[[Category:Deaths from lung cancer in the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Burials at Donskoye Cemetery]]