Aleksandr Orlov
Alexander Mikhailovich Orlov (born Leiba Lazarevich Feldbin; 21 August 1895 – 25 March 1973) was a Jewish officer in the Soviet military intelligence and secret police, starting in 1918, later being posted to many foreign countries.
He was a NKVD top agent during the Spanish Civil War. According to his own disputed testimony, he was placed in command of the operation which moved the Spanish gold reserves from Madrid to Moscow. However, Orlov's main task in Spain was arresting and executing various perceived anti-Communist enemies, including far left ones. Documents released from the NKVD archives detail a number of Orlov's crimes in Spain
In 1938, Orlov refused to return to the Soviet Union due to the fears of execution during the Great Purge, and instead fled with his family to the United States and wrote The Secret History of Stalin's Crimes. Orlov was shown to have produced a number of false claims to support his story and elevate his status in the eyes of his debriefing officials and the wider Western public.
