26 May 1941—Aldrich Hazen “Rick” Ames born in River Falls, Wisconsin
18 Apr 1944—Robert Philip Hanssen born in Chicago, Illinois
Dec 1954—James Jesus Angleton becomes chief of CIA’s newly created Counterintelligence Staff
Nov 1961—GRU officer Dmitriy Fedorovich Polyakov volunteers to the U.S. military in New York City. Later backs off, but is brought to recruitment by the FBI.
Dec 1961—KGB CI officer Anatoliy Mikhaylovich Golitsyn defects to CIA in Helsinki
Mar 1962—KGB S&T specialist Aleksey Isidorovich Kulak volunteers to the FBI in New York
Jun 1962—Ames joins the CIA, works part time while completing his college education at George Washington University
Jun 1962—KGB Second Chief Directorate (internal CI) officer Yuriy Ivanovich Nosenko, while on a trip to Bern, makes his first contact with the CIA
Early 1960s—GRU photo technician Nikolay Chernov volunteers to the FBI in New York. Shortly thereafter returns to the USSR. One further contact takes place in the early 1970s while he is on a short trip to the United States.
22 Nov 1963—assassination of U.S. president John F. Kennedy
Feb 1964—defection of Nosenko
Nov 1965—SB reports officer Len McCoy writes his paper defending Nosenko
May 1966—the East European (EE) Division and the Soviet Russian (SR) Division of the CIA’s Directorate of Operations are combined into the Soviet Bloc (SB) Division
Dec 1967—after completing college, Ames applies for the CIA Officer Training Program and is accepted
Summer 1968—Rolfe Kingsley becomes chief, SB, replacing David Murphy
Sep 1969—Ames is assigned to Ankara
May/Jun 1970—Richard Stolz becomes chief, SB/CI
Jul 1970—Burton Gerber becomes chief, SB/CI/I. Cynthia Haussmann is his deputy.
Late spring 1971—David Blee becomes chief, SB, replacing Deputy Chief Stacy Hulse, who served for a short period as acting chief following the departure of Kingsley
Apr 1972—Ames leaves Ankara, is assigned to SE Division
1 May 1972—death of J. Edgar Hoover
1973—academic researcher Sergey Petrovich Fedorenko recruited by the FBI/CIA in New York City. Ames later becomes one of his handlers, traveling from CIA headquarters.
Jan 1973—Ames begins a year of full-time Russian language studies
Summer 1973—John Horton becomes chief of SB Division, changes the name to the Soviet and East European (SE) Division
Dec 1973—Ames finishes Russian language studies, returns to SE Division
1974—Soviet Ministry of Foreign Affairs official Aleksandr Dmitriyevich Ogorodnik recruited by CIA in Bogota. (Ames was the desk officer responsible for this case.)
1974—KGB officer Leonid Georgiyevich Poleshchuk recruited by CIA in Kathmandu
1974—KGB officer Oleg Antonovich Gordievsky recruited by the British SIS in Copenhagen
31 Dec 1974—Angleton fired from his position as chief of the CI staff by DCI William Colby. Replaced by George Kalaris.
1975—Poleshchuk returns to Moscow with a communications plan, which he never implements
Spring 1975—Stolz becomes chief, SE Division, replacing Horton
12 Jan 1976—Hanssen joins the FBI. After training, he is assigned to Indianapolis/Gary, where he serves on a white-collar crime squad.
Spring 1976—GRU officer Sergey Ivanovich Bokhan recruited by CIA in Athens
Aug 1976—Ames is assigned to New York City. He continues to handle Fedorenko; also is one of the handlers for Soviet UN ambassador Arkadiy Nikolayevich Shevchenko.
Aug 1976—after spending two separate tours in New York, Kulak returns to Moscow preparatory to retirement
1977—Fedorenko returns to the USSR
Jan 1977—Adolf Grigoryevich Tolkachev, a scientific worker in an R&D institution, volunteers to the CIA in Moscow. Regular communications not established until 1979.
Mar 1977—Admiral Stansfield Turner becomes CIA director, replacing George H. W. Bush
Jun 1977—CIA officer Gardner “Gus” Hathaway becomes COS, Moscow, replacing Robert Fulton
Summer 1977—Ogorodnik arrested in Moscow and commits suicide
1978—Shevchenko defects
1978—KGB officer Vladimir Mikhaylovich Piguzov volunteers to the CIA in Jakarta. The same year he returns to Moscow and we lose contact with him.
2 Aug 1978—Hanssen is transferred to New York, where he initially works on accounting matters in the criminal division
Late summer 1978—Bokhan returns to Moscow. He makes one “sign of life” signal, but otherwise we do not hear from him.
Mar 1979—Hanssen is transferred to New York’s intelligence division to help establish the office’s automated CI database. This was a classified database of information about foreign officials, including intelligence officers, assigned to the United States.
31 Oct 1979—KGB communications specialist Viktor Ivanovich Sheymov volunteers to the CIA in Warsaw
Nov 1979—Hanssen volunteers (anonymously) to the GRU
1979—KGB officer Boris Nikolayevich Yuzhin recruited by the FBI in San Francisco
1980—beginning of the GTTAW technical operation in Moscow. This operation involved CIA officers going down a manhole to tap into classified communications.
Jan 1980—Burton Gerber becomes COS, Moscow, replacing Gus Hathaway
Spring 1980—Sheymov is exfiltrated from the Soviet Union
May 1980—Polyakov summoned to Moscow from New Delhi, ostensibly to attend a conference. He does not return to India and we never have contact with him again.
20 Oct 1980—Harold James Nicholson joins the CIA
Nov 1980—KGB S&T officer Vladimir Ippolitovich Vetrov (“Farewell”) makes his first overtures to a French businessman
Early 1980s—Kulak dies of natural causes
1981—IUSAC official Vladimir Viktorovich Potashov volunteers to the U.S. defense secretary in Washington. Subsequently handled by the CIA and FBI.
Jan 1981—Edward Lee Howard joins the CIA
12 Jan 1981—Hanssen is transferred to FBI headquarters. At first he is assigned to the budget unit of the intelligence division, which, per the affidavit issued at the time of his arrest, “had access to the full range of information concerning intelligence and counterintelligence activities involving FBI resources.”
28 Jan 1981—William J. Casey becomes CIA director, replacing Turner
Spring 1981—Hanssen drops contact with the GRU
14 Jul 1981—John H. Stein becomes DDO, replacing Max Hugel
Sep 1981—Ames transfers from New York to Mexico City
1982—GRU officer Vladimir Mikhaylovich Vasilyev volunteers to the U.S. military in Budapest. Subsequently handled by the CIA.
1982—Yuzhin returns to Moscow
1982—Bokhan returns to Athens for a second tour and resumes contact with the CIA
Feb 1982—Howard begins to work in SE Division
Early 1982—KGB officer Valeriy Fedorovich Martynov recruited by an FBI officer in Washington, DC. Subsequently handled as a joint FBI/CIA asset.
Sep 1982—CIA officer Carl G becomes COS, Moscow, replacing Burton Gerber
1983—the GTABSORB technical operation is run by the CIA in the USSR. This operation involved the shipment of concealed sensors on the Trans-Siberian railroad.
Jan 1983—KGB officer Sergey Mikhaylovich Motorin recruited by the FBI in Washington, DC. The CIA apprised and disseminates his CI production.
Early 1983—Vetrov tried for espionage and executed
2 May 1983—Howard is forced out of the CIA
Aug 1983—Hanssen is transferred to the Soviet analytical unit, which supported FBI operations and investigations involving the Soviet intelligence services and provided analytical support to senior FBI management and the intelligence community. He also serves on the FBI’s foreign CI technical committee, which was responsible for coordinating technical projects relating to FCI (foreign counterintelligence) operations.
Summer 1983—Rod Carlson becomes chief of SE/ORP
Sep 1983—Ames leaves Mexico City and is assigned to SE/ORP Soviet Branch at headquarters, where his job is to monitor worldwide CIA operations against the Soviet target from a CI viewpoint
18 Sep 1983—Earl Edwin Pitts joins the FBI
Late 1983—GRU officer Gennadiy Aleksandrovich Smetanin volunteers to the CIA in Lisbon
1984—Moscow City Directorate KGB officer Sergey Yuryevich Vorontsov volunteers to the CIA in Moscow
1984—USMC sergeant Clayton Lonetree arrives in Moscow to serve as a Marine guard at the U.S. embassy
1 Jul 1984—Clair George becomes DDO, replacing Stein
16 Jul 1984—Burton Gerber becomes chief of SE Division, replacing Dave Forden. Gerber’s deputy is Ken Wesolik.
Sep 1984—Paul Redmond becomes chief of SE/USSR
ca. Sep 1984—Murat N becomes COS, Moscow, replacing Carl G
ca. Sep 1984—probably Howard’s first substantive personal contact with the KGB
2 Oct 1984—FBI agent Richard Miller arrested for espionage on behalf of the Soviet Union. Tried three times, finally convicted in Oct 1990, but released in May 1994.
Nov 1984—former CIA contract employee Karel Koecher arrested for espionage on behalf of Czechoslovakia
Early Jan 1985—Motorin returns to Moscow
Jan 1985—Poleshchuk assigned to the KGB residency in Lagos, resumes contact with the CIA
Mar 1985—KGB illegals support officer Gennadiy Grigoryevich Varenik volunteers to the CIA in Bonn
Mar 1985—Konstantin Chernenko dies and Mikhail Gorbachev becomes CPSU general secretary
16 Apr 1985—Ames volunteers to the KGB in Washington, DC. Provides information and asks for fifty thousand dollars.
Spring 1985—Hathaway becomes chief of the CI staff, replacing David Blee who retires
15 May 1985—Ames has a face-to-face meeting with KGB line KR (counterintelligence) chief Viktor Ivanovich Cherkashin at the Soviet embassy in Washington
17 May 1985—Gordievsky is recalled from London. After arrival in Moscow, he is drugged and interrogated, but not arrested. In July SIS exfiltrates him from Moscow.
20 May 1985—Cherkashin makes a clandestine trip back to Moscow, which was not detected by the FBI at the time. He returns to Washington on 31 May.
24 May 1985—former Navy enlisted man John Walker arrested for espionage on behalf of the USSR. He had provided the KGB with cryptographic materials and other intelligence for approximately twenty years.
Late May 1985—in accordance with CIA advice, Bokhan defects to the United States. He had been recalled to Moscow to take care of a problem involving his son, and the CIA suspected that he was under suspicion.
9 Jun 1985—Tolkachev is arrested in Moscow, subsequently tried and executed
13 Jun 1985—probable date of the “big dump.” Ames betrays numerous CIA/FBI assets to the KGB.
13 Jun 1985—Moscow Station CIA officer Paul Stombaugh arrested by the KGB trying to meet Tolkachev
Jul 1985—Milt Bearden assigned as deputy chief of SE, replacing Wesolik
19 Jul 1985—exfiltration of Gordievsky from Moscow
1 Aug 1985—defection of KGB CI officer Vitaliy Sergeyevich Yurchenko to the CIA in Rome. Immediately brought to the United States, where Ames becomes one of his debriefers.
Early Aug 1985—based on Yurchenko’s reporting of Howard’s cooperation with the KGB, we assume that the GTTAW technical operation in Moscow has been compromised. Howard was trained to service the device.
Early Aug 1985—Poleshchuk, on home leave in Moscow, is arrested when he attempts to pick up a dead drop put down by Moscow Station. Subsequently tried and executed.
Late Aug 1985—Smetanin is arrested while on home leave in Moscow. Subsequently tried and executed. His wife is given a five-year sentence for aiding him.
Sep 1985—Lonetree’s first private meeting with Violetta Seina, local employee of the U.S. embassy in Moscow
19 Sep 1985—the FBI interviews Howard based on Yurchenko’s reporting
21 Sep 1985—Howard evades FBI surveillance and flees the United States. Probably arrives in the USSR a day or so later.
23 Sep 1985—Hanssen is transferred to New York, where he serves as supervisor of a technical surveillance squad
Fall 1985—Redmond becomes chief of SE CI (formerly SE/ORP), replacing Carlson
2 Oct 1985—we learn that Poleshchuk has been arrested
4 Oct 1985—Hanssen volunteers (anonymously) to the KGB
4 Oct 1985—Smetanin does not show up for a post-home-leave meeting. We never have contact with him again.
8 Oct 1985—Ames begins full-time Italian language training
6 Nov 1985—Yurchenko re-defects. Martynov is one of his escorts back to Moscow.
ca. 7 Nov 1985—Martynov is arrested, subsequently tried and executed
9 Nov 1985—Varenik is lured to East Berlin, where he is arrested. Subsequently tried and executed.
25 Nov 1985—NSA employee Ronald Pelton is arrested for espionage for the USSR. The arrest was based on a lead from Yurchenko.
11 Dec 1985—last contact with Vasilyev, who dead-drops materials to us in Moscow
Mid-Dec 1985—we learn that Smetanin has been arrested
Late 1985—Casey first briefed on the compromised Soviet operations
Dec 1985–Jan 1986—we conduct probes in Nairobi and Moscow to see if the KGB is reading our communications. Results are negative.
Dec 1985–Feb 1986—sometime in this period, Lonetree has his first meeting with “Uncle Sasha” (KGB officer Aleksey Yefimov/Yegorov)
Jan 1986—SE Division begins stricter compartmentation of its cases. A super-encipherment system is instituted.
Mid-Jan 1986—Mister X “volunteers” to the CIA via an anonymous letter in Bonn. Claims to be a KGB officer. Tells us that we have a mole in Warrenton, and that Varenik was caught because his father found his spy gear. Sends a total of six letters, through summer 1986.
Mid-Jan 1986—Motorin arrested in Moscow, subsequently tried and executed
Late Jan 1986—KGB opens a GTABSORB shipment in the USSR
Early 1986—former DDO, and later IG, John Stein prepares a report for DCI Casey. Reportedly it is his conclusion that there is no connection between the compromised cases.
Feb 1986—Vorontsov arrested in Moscow, subsequently tried and executed
Mar 1986—Lonetree transferred to Vienna
10 Mar 1986—Moscow station officer Mike Sellers arrested by the KGB trying to meet Vorontsov
4 Apr 1986—last phone call from Motorin to his girlfriend in Washington. Calls give the impression that Motorin is not in any trouble.
16 Apr 1986—Robert M. Gates becomes DDCI, replacing John McMahon
Apr 1986—Ames finishes Italian language training, works temporarily on the Italian desk while preparing for his overseas assignment to Rome
2 May 1986—Ames is polygraphed. Clears out after only one session.
7 May 1986—Moscow Station officer Erik Sites is arrested by the KGB trying to meet with GTEASTBOUND, later identified as a dangle
May 1986—Bearden assigned to Afghanistan. Replaced as deputy chief, SE, by Bill Piekney.
Early Jun 1986—Vasilyev arrested in Moscow, subsequently tried and executed
1 Jul 1986—Potashov arrested in Moscow. Subsequently tried and sentenced to prison, but amnestied in 1992.
7 Jul 1986—Polyakov arrested in Moscow, subsequently tried and executed
21 Jul 1986—Ames leaves for Rome, where he heads the Hard Targets Branch
7 Aug 1986—Howard surfaces publicly in Moscow
23 Aug 1986—FBI arrests Soviet scientist and KGB officer Gennadiy Zakharov, as the result of a “sting”
30 Aug 1986—the Soviets arrest U.S. journalist Nicholas Daniloff in retaliation
17 Sep 1986—the United States expels twenty-five named Soviets; the Soviets retaliate by expelling five Americans. The numbers then escalate until mid-October.
30 Sep 1986—both Daniloff and Zakharov are released
Oct 1986—we learn of the arrests of Motorin and Martynov
27 Oct 1986—beginning of the CI/STF investigation in the CIA
4 Nov 1986—beginning of the ANLACE investigation in the FBI
14 Dec 1986—Lonetree begins confession to COS Vienna
23 Dec 1986—Yuzhin arrested in Moscow. Tried and convicted of espionage and sentenced to fifteen years, amnestied in 1992.
3 Jan 1987—Pitts is assigned to New York
29 Jan 1987—Casey resigns after suffering a stroke, dies 6 May
Feb 1987—Piguzov, with whom we had been out of contact since 1979, is arrested in Moscow. Subsequently tried and executed.
Mid-Mar 1987—U.S. Marine corporal Arnold Bracy reportedly confesses that he helped Lonetree let the KGB into the U.S. embassy in Moscow. Confession later retracted.
May 1987—beginning of the RACKETEER/BUCKLURE program, designed to tempt KGB officers into cooperating with the United States
26 May 1987—Judge William H. Webster becomes DCI, replacing Casey
12 Jun 1987—charges against Bracy dropped
Summer 1987—Redmond becomes deputy chief, SE Division, replacing Piekney
15 Jul 1987—Pitts volunteers to the KGB in New York
3 Aug 1987—Hanssen is transferred back to FBI headquarters, where he serves as a supervisory special agent in the intelligence division’s Soviet analytical unit
13 Aug 1987—Lonetree found guilty by a military court-martial and sentenced to twenty-five years. He is freed in February 1996.
4 Jan 1988—Richard F. Stolz becomes DDO, replacing George
Apr 1988—the CI staff is reorganized and becomes the Counterintelligence Center. Hathaway now wears two hats: chief of the CI Center and a new position, ADDO for Counterintelligence
Jun 1988—beginning of the GTPROLOGUE dangle case in Moscow
28 Apr 1989—The CIA informs the FBI that State Department officer Felix Bloch may be working for the KGB
22 May 1989—Hanssen informs the KGB via dead drop about the Bloch case
22 Jun 1989—Bloch is warned by the KGB that he is under suspicion. An FBI technical operation picks up the message. The FBI immediately interviews Bloch, but he refuses to confess and is never arrested.
Jul 1989—Ames leaves Rome
Jul 1989—Bearden returns to SE Division, replacing Gerber
Aug 1989—Pitts is transferred to FBI headquarters in Washington
Sep 1989—after home leave, Ames becomes chief of the SE component that follows Soviet and East European cases in Europe
Early Nov 1989—Diana Worthen brings Ames’ wealth to CIC’s attention
Nov 1989—Fedorenko travels to the United States. The FBI and CIA (in the person of Ames) resume contact with him. Fedorenko, who was never arrested, eventually resettles in the West.
Dec 1989—Ames becomes chief of the Czech Branch
Mar 1990—Hathaway retires and is replaced by Hugh E. “Ted” Price
25 Jun 1990—Hanssen assigned to the FBI’s inspection staff as an inspector’s aide. Travels to FBI offices in the United States and abroad.
Aug 1990—Ames serves on the GS-12 promotion panel
Oct 1990—Ames assigned to CIC/AG, where he works on KGB-related matters
Jan 1991—Thomas A. Twetten becomes DDO, replacing Stolz
Early 1991—Price becomes ADDO, is replaced as chief, CIC by James Olson, who previously was deputy chief
May 1991—Redmond becomes deputy chief of CIC
Jun 1991—CIC/SIU set up
1 Jul 1991—Hanssen returns to the intelligence division at FBI headquarters and serves as a program manager in the Soviet operations section. He is in the unit responsible for countering efforts by the Soviets to acquire U.S. S&T intelligence.
31 Aug 1991—Webster resigns
Late Aug 1991—Ames returns to SE Division to serve on the “KGB working group”
6 Nov 1991—Robert M. Gates becomes DCI, replacing Webster
Dec 1991—the KGB First Chief Directorate becomes the SVR
Dec 1991—Ames transferred to the counternarcotics center, where he remains until his arrest
16 Dec 1991—Hanssen and the KGB/SVR have a dead-drop exchange. Hanssen then breaks off contact.
End Dec 1991—the Soviet and East European (SE) Division is renamed the Central Eurasian (CE) Division
Early 1990s—Chernov, who had not been in touch with the FBI since the early 1970s, is arrested in Moscow, tried, and sentenced to eight years. However, he is amnestied after six months.
1992—Nicholson assigned to Kuala Lumpur
6 Jan 1992—Hanssen serves as chief of the national security threat list (NSTL) unit. He focuses the unit’s efforts on economic espionage.
18 Oct 1992—Pitts becomes dormant
5 Feb 1993—R. James Woolsey becomes DCI, replacing Gates
Jul 1993—Hanssen makes an unsuccessful approach to the GRU, again anonymously. The event results in a Russian protest to the USG, and the FBI opens an investigation.
Jan 1994—Price becomes DDO, replacing Twetten
21 Feb 1994—Ames arrested for espionage, with attendant publicity
Apr 1994—Hanssen is temporarily assigned to the Washington metropolitan field office
28 Apr 1994—Ames pleads guilty to espionage
ca. May 1994—Nicholson volunteers to the SVR in Kuala Lumpur. Leaves post shortly thereafter.
Jul 1994—Nicholson assigned to the CIA’s training facility as an instructor
Dec 1994—Hanssen is reassigned to FBI headquarters, in the office of the assistant director for the national security division
Jan 1995—Pitts is moved to the behavioral sciences unit at Quantico
10 Jan 1995—Woolsey resigns
12 Feb 1995—Hanssen is detailed to serve as the FBI’s senior representative to the Office of Foreign Missions at the State Department. He functions as the head of an interagency CI group, and as FBI’s liaison to State’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research
May 1995—Jack Downing becomes DDO, replacing Price
10 May 1995—John Deutch becomes DCI, replacing Woolsey
Aug 1995—FBI launches a sting, reactivating Pitts
28 Feb 1996—Lonetree released from prison
Jul 1996—Nicholson assigned to the counterterrorism center
16 Nov 1996—Nicholson arrested for espionage
15 Dec 1996—Deutch resigns
18 Dec 1996—Pitts arrested for espionage
1997—David Cohen becomes DDO, replacing Downing
28 Feb 1997—Pitts pleads guilty
5 Jun 1997—Nicholson sentenced to twenty-three years and seven months
ca. 22 Jun 1997—Pitts sentenced to twenty-seven years
11 Jul 1997—George Tenet becomes DCI, replacing Deutch 1999—James Pavitt becomes DDO, replacing Cohen
Jul 1999—Hanssen resumes contact with the SVR (formerly the KGB)
Nov 2000—Hanssen’s last successful dead-drop exchange with the SVR
13 Jan 2001—Hanssen reassigned to FBI headquarters as part of the investigation of his activities
18 Feb 2001—Hanssen arrested
6 Jul 2001—Hanssen pleads guilty
10 May 2002—Hanssen sentenced to life imprisonment
12 July 2002—death of Howard in Moscow