How the American coat of arms 'spied' on the US ambassador to the USSR

A listening device hidden in a carved wooden panel in 1945 remained undetected by American security services for seven years. This isn't the only instance of artwork being used for covert espionage, writes Air force.

Eighty years ago, in the final weeks of World War II, a detachment of Russian Young Pioneers presented the U.S. Ambassador to Moscow with a hand-carved wooden representation of the Great Seal of the United States. The piece was intended for the Ambassador's official residence, Spaso House. (Spaso House is the official residence of the U.S. Ambassador to Moscow. It is located in a historic mansion on Spasopeskovskaya Square, near Patriarch's Ponds. Built in the early 20th century for wealthy Moscow industrialist Nikolai Vtorov, it is considered one of the most beautiful mansions of pre-revolutionary Moscow—built in the neoclassical style with elements of Art Nouveau. After the Revolution, the building came under the control of the Soviet government, and in 1933, shortly after diplomatic relations between the USSR and the United States were established, it was transferred to the American Embassy. Since then, Spaso House has served as the permanent residence of U.S. ambassadors to Russia. ПRome.)

On the subject: Russian director's son detained in Israel: he spied for Iran

The gift symbolized the cooperation between Russia and the United States during the war, and US Ambassador Averell Harriman proudly hung it in his home, where it remained until 1952.

However, neither the ambassador nor his security service knew that the gift contained a listening device, later dubbed "The Thing" by American security experts. It secretly eavesdropped on diplomatic conversations for seven years. By using a seemingly innocuous work of art to gain a strategic advantage, Soviet engineers pulled off one of the most ingenious tricks since Odysseus's Trojan Horse. But this is no legend—it all happened in reality.

American technicians eventually realized that the hand-cut US seal was effectively an "invisible ear" eavesdropping on secret embassy conversations.

How did the Stuka work? John Little, a 79-year-old counterintelligence specialist, has long been fascinated by the device and even created a replica. A documentary about its remarkable work was released this year.

Little describes the device in musical terms—it consisted of organ-like tubes and a membrane "similar to a drumhead that vibrates with the human voice." All of this was housed in a small object, about the size of a hatpin, and had the advantage of being undetectable by conventional counterintelligence means, as it "contained no electronic components, had no battery, and was heat-resistant."

The design of this instrument was remarkable for its precision—"something between a Swiss watch and a micrometer." Historian H. Keith Melton claimed that the Stuka elevated the science of acoustic observation to a level previously considered impossible.

At the Spaso House, the device was activated only when an external transmitter located in a neighboring building was turned on. It emitted a high-frequency radio signal that reflected all vibrations emitted by the bug's antenna. In 1951, a British military radio operator stationed in Moscow accidentally tuned to the very frequency used by the Stuka and overheard distant conversations. A year later, American specialists thoroughly examined the ambassador's residence and only after three days of searching discovered that the carved US seal was the very same "invisible ear" eavesdropping on diplomatic conversations.

Art as a tool of espionage

Reflecting on the Stuka's success, Vadim Goncharov, one of the Soviet engineers who maintained the device, said: "For a long time, our country was able to obtain specific and very important information, which gave us certain advantages... during the Cold War." To this day, no one except Soviet intelligence officers knows how many more Stukas like this were used to spy on the West.

However, the device's success was not solely due to its technical genius. It proved effective because it exploited the Western cultural attitude toward art. Art and decorative objects were perceived as harmless symbols of status, taste, or cultural interest. Soviet intelligence skillfully exploited this by transforming a maple panel into a tool of espionage.

And this is not the only example of how works of art became tools of intelligence and war. In addition to creating the Mona Lisa, Leonardo da Vinci designed tanks and siege engines, and Peter Paul Rubens was a spy during the Thirty Years' War. Artists from various countries created camouflage and conducted disinformation operations during the First and Second World Wars, and the British art historian Anthony Blunt (Keeper of the Royal Art Collection) worked as a Soviet spy during World War II and the early Cold War.

The unusual history of the "Stuka" also reflects musical history. Its inventor, Lev Sergeyevich Termen, better known in the West as Leon Theremin, was an engineer and talented musician. He created the world's first electronic musical instrument, the theremin, which bears his name. It can be played without touching it: moving your hands in the air around the antennas controls the sound. The theremin's mesmerizing sound became an integral part of American science fiction films of the 1950s.

After its exposure, the Stuka remained highly classified in the United States for a long time. But in May 1960, at the height of the nuclear arms race, an American U-2 spy plane was shot down over Soviet territory. In the ensuing diplomatic scandal, US State Department officials displayed the Great Seal at a UN Security Council meeting to prove that Cold War-era espionage was not confined to one side. The security breach at the embassy compound was so shameful that, according to John Little, "it took the downing of the spy plane for the Stuka story to finally become public knowledge." However, the bug's design was never revealed to the general public.

The device was secretly studied by British counterintelligence, which codenamed it SATYR. Its description remained a state secret until former British security service officer Peter Wright revealed the details in his 1987 memoir, Spycatcher.

You may be interested in: top New York news, stories of our immigrants and helpful tips about life in the Big Apple - read it all on ForumDaily New York

The "Stuka" still amazes historians with how technically advanced it was for its time and how it changed the rules of the Cold War intelligence game. But it also reveals another, darker side of high culture—one that unfolds not in opulent opera halls and galleries, but where musicians create eavesdropping devices and hand-carved works of art are transformed into military intelligence tools.

Read also on ForumDaily:

US Withdraws from Group on Countering Russian Disinformation and Propaganda

Putin gave American a Russian passport for spying for Russia on Ukrainian territory

White House orders US intelligence agencies to spy on Greenland separatists: Denmark outraged

Do you want more important and interesting news about life in the USA and immigration to America? — support us donate! Also subscribe to our page Facebook. Select the “Priority in display” option and read us first. Also, don't forget to subscribe to our РєР ° РЅР ° Р »РІ Telegram  and Instagram- there is a lot of interesting things there. And join thousands of readers ForumDaily New York — there you will find a lot of interesting and positive information about life in the metropolis.