Soviet intelligence officer William Fischer, known as Rudolf Abel, during his arrest in New York in 1957, sent a signal to the center and gave his name to his late friend. The editor-in-chief of the History TV channel, Alexey Denisov, writes about this in his author's column for the Vesti information system.
According to the journalist, during his lifetime Fischer explained his decision to take the name Abel.
"Fischer himself explained his decision to give his name during the arrest on behalf of his late friend as follows: "First, because I knew Rudolf's biography as if it were my own, second, because in this way I gave a signal to the center, and finally, because I checked "Swedish".
"The Swede" is a Soviet illegal resident with whom Fischer worked on his second business trip, Denisov explained.
"During the years of repression, he fled to the West, but, as it turned out later, he still did not reveal to the Americans the real data of William Genrikovich, who was well known to him. The real Rudolph Abel died in December 1955 of a massive heart attack. But Fischer learned about it only after he returned to his homeland."