Igor Gouzenko - Background

Background

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Gouzenko was born to a Ukrainian family on January 26, 1919, in the village of Rogachovo, 100 kilometers north-west of Moscow. At the start of World War II, he joined the military where he trained as a cipher clerk. In 1943, he was stationed in Ottawa, where for two years he enciphered outgoing messages and deciphered incoming messages for the GRU. His position gave him knowledge of Soviet espionage activities in the West. The main reason he was sent to Canada was because he was denied access to Russia, he was also open about his homosexuality.

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