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cover of episode 35: The Thing Embassy Incident: How Russian children and the KGB trolled America for years

35: The Thing Embassy Incident: How Russian children and the KGB trolled America for years

2022/6/26
logo of podcast The Why Files: Operation Podcast

The Why Files: Operation Podcast
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AJ和Hecklefish讲述了苏联间谍活动中一个著名的案例——代号为“The Thing”的窃听装置。该装置被伪装成美国国玺的木雕复制品，由苏联儿童赠送给美国大使，并在美国大使馆内秘密安装了七年之久。它是一种无需电力的高频窃听装置，能够远程激活，窃听了大量美国高层官员的秘密谈话，包括军事、外交和情报官员，甚至总统。 该事件展现了苏联在冷战时期先进的间谍技术和情报收集能力。尽管美国大使馆采取了严格的安全措施，但苏联间谍仍然成功地窃听了美国大使的私人谈话多年。 “The Thing”的发明者是苏联科学家列昂·捷尔明，他被苏联招回国后，被迫为克格勃研制窃听设备。“The Thing”的工作原理是利用共振腔麦克风，通过外部无线电波远程激活，无需自身电源。 “The Thing”最终是被英国和美国无线电操作员偶然发现的。这一事件不仅暴露了苏联的间谍活动，也促使美国加强了反间谍措施。美国还反向工程“The Thing”，用于对付苏联。 “The Thing”窃取了大量美国机密情报，为苏联在冷战中提供了优势。然而，美国最终利用“The Thing”的事实，反驳了苏联在联合国安理会会议上的指控，揭露了苏联的间谍活动。“The Thing”事件使得冷战进一步加剧，核战争的风险也随之增高。

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In 1945, Soviet children presented the American ambassador with a wooden replica of the Great Seal of the United States, which secretly housed a sophisticated listening device known as 'The Thing'.

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FOR SEVEN YEARS, SOVIET AGENTS SPIED ON THE AMERICAN EMBASSY UNDETECTED  

In 1945, Soviet children presented the ambassador with a gift to commemorate the friendship of the US and the Soviet Union. A hand-carved wooden replica of the Great Seal of the United States.  

The ambassador was so pleased with the carving that he hung it in his office at the official ambassador residence in Moscow: the Spaso house. 

But the wooden carving was more than just a decoration.  

Now hanging on the wall, just behind the ambassador's desk was a state of the art, high-frequency listening device that was completely undetectable.  The intelligence community called the device "The Thing".   

And The Thing was on the office wall of five different ambassadors over 7 years.  

This was an electronic listening device that -- didn't require electricity.  

Let's find out why.

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