According to him, Perseus, also known under the code name ‘Mlad’, was a young physicist at the Chicago University in the 1940s. [3], The details in Cohen's story coincide with the statements of Colonel Vladimir Chikov a few years ago, such as the recruitment of people close to the Manhattan Project as spies, the existence (suspected by the American intelligence) of an unidentified scientist who collaborated with Soviet intelligence, and the interaction of said scientist with Lona Cohen (Morris Cohen's wife) to transport stolen information. Activision has promised a full ⦠As one of the operators recall from their time fighting in the Vietnam War, itâs none other than Perseus, a mysterious Soviet spy that some people believe never even existed. Morrison denied the accusation and gave a solid rebuttal against it,[5][25] noting that: On the other hand, the reasons that led Stone to suspect Morrison were questioned. Its campaign mode follows CIA officer Russell Adler as he pursues an alleged Soviet spy, Perseus, whose stated goal is to subvert the US and tilt the balance of power towards the USSR. Once there, Lona Cohen would have received information allegedly directly from Perseus, and took it to the Soviet consul in New York, Anatoli Yatskov. He plans in sabotaging and subverting United States dominance, thus tipping the balance towards the Soviets. Dubbed âDr. Wikimedia Commons has media related to Spies from the Soviet Union. [12], In their book "Bombshell: The Secret Story of America's Unknown Atomic Spy Conspiracy", the authors Joseph Albright and Marcia Kunstel dedicate the twentieth chapter to Perseus under the title of "The Perseus Myth" in which they conclude that the spy never existed. In 1995, a partial declassification of the Soviet secret messages, collected within the U.S. counter intelligence program, known as the ‘Venona’ project, triggered another wave of discussions. Before his defection, Perseus presented ⦠Xâ in Stoneâs book, the accused was revealed in May to be an MIT professor emeritus, physi-cist Philip Morrison. In 1981, the Soviet Spy known as Perseus seeks to change the course of humanity through a radical plan of action that will lead to the death of millions, and only a select few who believe that he even exists can stop him. This website uses cookies. Since they contained the unidentified codename ‘PERS’, many believed it could be this Soviet agent, who stole U.S. nuclear secrets. The first knowledge about him was from a letter in Warzone, where Imran Zakhaev looks upon him as his mentor. [27], Given his education as an engineer, Seborer was assigned to the «Special Engineer Detachment»,[26] a program that identified members of the military with specific abilities and funneled them to the Manhattan project. Multiplayer will have new game modes, more extensive customization, and new map dynamics and elements. The Venona project was a counterintelligence program initiated by the United States Army's Signal Intelligence Service (later the National Security Agency) that ran from February 1, 1943 until October 1, 1980. Morrison has de-nied the charge. Players join legendary Black Ops characters Alex Mason, Frank Woods and Jason Hudson on the hunt of Perseus, a Soviet spy said to have infiltrated US intelligence and obtained a nuclear device. Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is set during the Cold War in the early ⦠[1][2], A reference to the profile of a spy who can be identified with Perseus describes him as an American scientist of young age at the time of the Manhattan Project. [12], Seborer was an American engineer who was drafted into the United States Army in 1942[26] and, like all his siblings, had sympathy for the Communist Party USA. Others disagreed, saying it was a Soviet intelligence disinformation operation to protect agent Theodore Hall, who was the real ‘Mlad’. Still without real proof, all of them (as well as Chikov’s info) remain as speculation. [12], Fuchs voluntarily confessed to British MI5 authorities in January 1950[18] and this subsequently lead to Greenglass in June of that same year. On August 19, 2020, Perseus was first referenced in the worldwide teaser trailer for Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War. "[7], In an interview published in 1992, the former Soviet consul in New York, Anatoli Yatskov, confirmed the existence of Perseus, [7] as an important figure among scientists working on the Manhattan project. [21], However, Sudoplatov also acknowledged that the codename Perseus was used to refer to or cover a number agents and anonymous sources. The spy Perseus could have been here. ], According to one source, Perseus was supposedly still alive in 1991. Perseus was believed to have breached US Los Alamos during the Manhattan Project, which produced the first nuclear weapons in World War 2. Perseus is loosely based on the codename of a hypothetical Soviet atomic spy who would've allegedly breached U.S. national security by infiltrating Los Alamos during the development of the Manhattan Project, and consequently would have been instrumental for the Soviet Union in its development of nuclear weapons. Concerned about the advance of fascism at the time, Hall developed sympathies for socialism.[30]. Kim Philby: The story of the Soviet Unionâs best spy in Britain. Despite his identity still remaining unknown, you can face and, probably, fight him in the new CoD installment! New versions of his story appeared, new details: Perseus, according to the new theories, joined the Manhattan project at its launch in 1939 and didn’t quit his service to the USSR, cooperating with famous Soviet agent Rudolf Abel even in the 1950s. Adler spent nearly three decades trying to eliminate Perseus, and according to Jason Hudson, was close to doing so. [12] Which could explain the presence of attributes that coincide between both at the same time of others that do not. In 1999, a major scandal connected to Perseus occurred. Perseus was the code name of a possible Soviet spy alleged to have breached U.S. national security at Los Alamos during the Manhattan Project. Most wanted to see Arnold Schwarzenegger play the role of Soviet spy Perseus. Perseus is the mysterious Soviet spy and the main antagonist in Call of Duty Cold War. A Research Historian's Working Reference. [5][6], In the early 1940s Perseus would have been in New York City visiting his sick parents. However, in Activision’s recently released teaser trailer we still can find out some details about the “inspired by actual events” game. Kern believes that Perseus was an extremely risky disinformation operation with multiple objectives, including:[23], In April 1999 American scientist, activist and, president of the Federation of American Scientists from 1970 to 2000; Jeremy Stone, published his memoirs under the title «Every Man Should Try": Adventures of a Public Interest Activist». With Morris Cohen in Europe, his wife, Lona Cohen, took it upon herself to travel to Albuquerque on one or two occasions (depending on the source consulted) to serve as a carrier. [9][12], This name is also given to a spy at White Sands Missile Range, located further south near Las Cruces, New Mexico.[source? Although Haynes and Klehr noted that the agent identified as Perseus (or sometimes as "Mlad") has attributes and characteristics that do not match Hall, they still concluded that Perseus must have actually been an invention, the result of a misinformation operation with the goal of protecting Hall, who was still alive in the early 1990s. [34], From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, "Who Is Trying to Keep What Secret From Whom and Why? Getty Images; ÐÐÐÐ/ÐDF; Public Domain, 27 Western spy tools confiscated by the Soviet KGB. [8], The meeting with Cohen must have been between September 1941 and July 1942, before Cohen enlisted in the army and left for the Western Front in Europe. "[9], However, Haynes acknowledges that although Perseus was an invention, there must have been a 4th Soviet spy operating in Los Alamos during the development of the Manhattan project in addition to the 3 spies identified until 1995: Klaus Fuchs, David Greenglass and Theodore Hall. Get the week's best stories straight to your inbox. [7], The Venona project was a United States counterintelligence program run by the Signal Intelligence Service that (later became part of the National Security Agency,) started in the Second World War and was active since February 1943 to October 1980. The direct sequel to the first Black Ops title that released over a decade ago drops players into the height of the Cold War as iconic character Alex Mason and Frank Woods attempt to track down Perseus, a Soviet spy said to have infiltrated American intelligence. Regarding the information published by Chikov in The New Times, an article in The Washington Post comments: "There are some contradictions and inconsistencies in Chikov's version of how Perseus was recruited, which make his New Times article a somewhat unreliable source. ⦠[7], In the 1950s, Perseus was supposedly under the control of Rudolf Abel.[source? Subcategories . And it seems like the player’s task will be to seek out and destroy this dangerous agent. Activision says the game is inspired by actual events: Perseus really was the codename of a possible Soviet spy. Stone was forced to accept his arguments and apologize “for the unfavorable publicity”. In the 1990s, a former KGB colonel named Vladimir Chikov claimed that the Soviets had infiltrated the Manhattan Project with a ⦠X» [21][24]), and explained why he believed that this "Scientist X" was the real Perseus. Cold war and spy games enthusiasts are excited — a new part in Call of Duty series is to be released on August 26. [6], Motivated by an article in The Washington Post about Vladimir Chikov's publications in Russia,[21] Stone decided to take on the subject, and in his book he disclosed conversations and visits he had with someone he knew personally and only identified with the pseudonym "Scientist X" (or «Dr. [17], Although there is no mention of Perseus in the Venona files, there are references to a spy under the code name PERS[11] or FOGEL. [31][32][33] He was later confirmed as the main antagonist in the game's campaign which is set in the 1980s and flashbacks of the Vietnam War. Right then, he was recruited to work for the Soviets and for several years delivered them top secret information on nuclear research. [15], Despite the fact that only a fraction of the messages intercepted by Venona were suitable for decryption,[16] the project left an archive of around 3000 decrypted and translated messages. Adler was also tasked with stopping Perseus, a Soviet spy whom is considered the "Russian Boogeyman" by the United States government. [9] These aspects include: Born in New York City, Hall was an American physicist who was considered a prodigy from an early age and graduate from Harvard University at 18. This name is also given to a spy at White Sands Missile Range, located further south near Las Cruces, New Mexico. After killing Kadivar, Adler saves an injured Soviet operative, who is later revealed to be a close associate of "Perseus", whom Kadivar attempted to kill out of jealousy. Click here to find out more. He was then recruited by the KGB in New York City in the early 1940s. ], In April 1991, KGB colonel and public relations officer Vladimir Chikov published articles in the Russian weekly "The New Times" in which he commented on the existence of a Russian spy who worked in the Manhattan project under the code name of Perseus, giving details of his recruitment and achievements.[7].