Chapter 68 Section VII

The circumstances of Rastovorov's escape from Japan should be considered more deeply. According to the Soviet Union, Rastovorov was suffering from a severe nervous breakdown before his disappearance. However, according to the investigation conducted by the Metropolitan Police Department to find evidence, the situation is completely opposite; not only is he not suffering from neurasthenia, but he is also very energetic.In short, on the afternoon of the day before his disappearance (the 23rd), the Soviet was still at the Lawn Tennis Club in Azabu Morioka Town, Minato District, with Mrs. Ota, the wife of the American Bayer, the club manager, and members Fukushima and Tianzi. Playing tennis happily.It began to snow this afternoon, and it fell heavily.At night, the snow carts were out.The Japanese mentioned above clearly testified that at this time Rastovorov was no different than usual, full of energy and showing no signs of nervous breakdown.

So there was a big discrepancy between the Soviets saying he was "nervous" and the Lawn Tennis Club saying he was "spirited."The Metropolitan Police Department believes that the latter statement is a factual testimony. So, is there any unnatural element in the Soviet statement?It may be supposed that they foreshadowed Rastovorov's "neurasthenia" out of fear of something bad to say if he was found somewhere. Rastovorov's neurasthenia could also be based on his distress since his return to the country.But the testimony of those Japanese without any political intentions in the tennis club cannot be regarded as a lie.That is to say, both aspects are correct.What, then, is the difference in meaning?Before considering this question, let's talk about the following question.

After Rastovorov came out of the Soviet representative office, his first action was to take a "big American car".According to the U.S. military authorities: "In the U.S. military's special vehicles, passengers are not required to show their ID cards, so ordinary foreigners also take them." The Soviet representative organization also said: "Soviet people also ride in U.S. military vehicles." ( See "Asahi Shimbun", February 3, Showa 29) Therefore, it is not inconceivable that Rastovorov took a "big American car". However, as mentioned earlier, Rastovorov also went to visit two members of the Soviet representative organization and repeatedly invited them to go out to lunch together.Rastovorov had already made up his mind to flee, and according to the original plan, he was going to Ginza to meet an American about his escape.

What would have happened if the two Soviets had been invited to go with Rastovorov?Rastovorov invited two colleagues, probably as a gimmick so that no one would see any unnaturalness in his behavior.But it has to be said that this is a dangerous trick.If the other party really went with him, he would not be able to go to the meeting place with the American.And when he repeatedly invited others to go, he must have felt as if he had escaped the Anzhai Pass, feeling like "stepping on a tiger's tail".Of course, I am not without other opinions on the matter. But how did he get to Ginza by bus?The so-called notes that the US authorities distributed to reporters at the press conference were different from the notes that he published in Life magazine later.

In notes circulated at the press conference, he had this to say: "I took a U.S. military bus and got off at Toranomon, and changed to a bus on the street to Ginza. I went into the cafe 'Dinghao' in Ginza, and discussed with the American about fleeing there. After the discussion, It was already two o'clock in the afternoon when I returned to the representative office. I spent about two hours sorting out the special products and personal belongings to be taken away, and quietly left the representative office at four o'clock to go to Tokyo Hot Spring. There, I I took a Turkish bath in the private room, and asked the waiter there, a Turkish girl named Sonoda, to massage her shoulders.

"After coming out of Tokyo Onsen, I wandered around Ginza for a while, and had dinner at Suehiro restaurant, which is famous for its steak, at seven o'clock. Then I met the Americans who would meet at Dinghao at the agreed place, escaped from Japan." However, the notes published in "Life" magazine are slightly different from this, and the discrepancies are as follows: "At that time, my closest friend among Americans was a middle-aged woman from Texas who had served as an instructor in the U.S. Army Education Center. Let me call her Mrs. Browning here. I and this lady every Wednesday We met at the Old Sea Mansion Hotel and taught English and Russian to each other. Mrs. Browning told me about the situation in the United States and Alaska, where she lived for a while, and I told her about the actual situation in the Soviet Union."

In this way, Rastovorov kept company with Mrs. Browning, whom he felt had a brotherly affection for him.It was to this lady that he talked about his determination to flee from the motherland as soon as possible. "So, for the first time, I confessed to the lady that I was a Soviet intelligence officer with the rank of lieutenant colonel, and told her that I urgently needed the assistance she had promised. The lady said: 'In a few hours, I won't have to Worried.' We met at eight o'clock that evening near the hotel where the lady was staying, and I agreed with her on the spot to take the final steps towards freedom immediately."

He wrote: In this way, with the assistance of Mrs. Browning, he took her car and soon boarded the plane to the United States. Which statement is true?Rather than saying which is true, it is better to say that the materials published in "Life" magazine are more detailed.The "American" in the notes handed out at the press conference apparently referred to this "Mrs. Browning." Who was Mrs. Browning?After reading this passage, it makes people feel that his wife treats him like a brother, and he also has a deep love for his wife. As Rastovorov has explained, the so-called Mrs. Browning is a false name; the reader can't help but secretly suspect that this woman is probably a member of the American intelligence agency.

Moreover, a report by Robert Anson, the Tokyo bureau chief of the Meizhen News Agency, published in the September 1954 issue of the Saturday Evening Post, also shows that this suspicion is not without reason. Under the lurid headline "How We Caught the First Soviet Spy," the seasoned journalist wrote: "Catching a spy is not something an outsider can do. But in a recent case of spies on a huge scale, the West probably would never have won if it hadn't been for the assistance of two laymen. The spy was the Soviet Union in the Far East. Yuli Aleksandrovich Rastovorov, the head of espionage at the U.S. Army. The two laymen were young Americans whom Rastovorov had befriended in Tokyo. One of them was a girl. She usually taught Rastovorov speaks English and goes to nightclubs in Tokyo to dance etc. The other is a man he used to play tennis with at the Tokyo Lawn Tennis Club. Neither of the Americans was trained in espionage, and They also hate being involved with such things.

"How did Rastovorov get into the big car in order to get rid of the shackles of the past? About this, he did not say a word to the outside world for half a year, and now we can reveal the truth for the first time. This report is the reporter. After carefully sorting out the information provided by various parties that I believe to be 100% reliable." After making this confession, he went on to write: "One day, the Japanese police brought a photo of an American woman—it was said that she had been to the Soviet embassy. The 'counterintelligence team' immediately interviewed the young woman as if nothing had happened, and wanted to find out. Let's call this woman Let's be Mary Jones. Mary is a naive, pretty girl who came to Japan as a civilian in the army. She lives with hundreds of other civilians at the Marunouchi Old Marine Mansion Hotel, and works in an Army clerk. She worked as a secretary at the Soviet embassy. The 'counterintelligence team' showed her a picture, which alarmed her. But she finally explained that she was going to the Soviet embassy to take risks. They asked: 'Are you in the embassy? What did you see?" She said: "Well, the house is very dirty, making people feel not very solid, and there is nothing to see." "Did you see anyone?" "There is a man who speaks fluent English Russian. He showed me around and said welcome back.''Didn't he tell you his name?''Rastovorov--it was. He asked me The phone number.''Did you tell him the number?''Of course I did.' Hearing this, the staff of the 'counterintelligence team' were suddenly so happy that they almost knelt down for her.

"So, the 'counterintelligence team' asked her to spy on things around Rastovorov. At first she refused to agree, but finally promised to inform them if there was any situation. "Rastovorov finally told Mary that he was called back home and what he feared would happen when he returned home. Mary immediately told the news to her friends in the 'counterintelligence team'. They asked Mary to find out if he had plan to escape. "The next day, she brought back Rastovorov's reply: 'I'm going to run away.' The 'counterintelligence team' thought it was too simple, and there was something strange about it. They expected him to ask for help. His future was guaranteed. But he said nothing about it. They felt suspicious. They ordered Mary to inquire further about his intentions. "She asked him, 'Do you know what that means to you?' 'Yes.' 'What will happen to your family?' 'Most of my family will be killed. But even if I go back home, it won't help, we will be killed.''Have you made up your mind to escape?''Yes.' "The day before Rastovorov finally fled to the United States, he called Mary and made careful arrangements. "So, on the night of January 24, Rastovorov slipped into a group of Americans waiting for a bus near the building of the Japan Broadcasting Association, and got into a car. He held a press conference for him on January 1 and never showed up again." Readers will guess here: Is the "Mrs. Browning" mentioned by Rastovorov himself the "Mary Jones" mentioned by the director of the Tokyo Bureau of the Associated Press in the report?It is true that it is a person. Of course, neither "Mrs. Browning" nor "Mary Jones" are false names; An important American spy agent who went to the United States.Although Anson, director of the Tokyo bureau of the Associated Press, deliberately said that "she is an outsider", it does not seem to be the case anyway.What's more, the US military still believed that Rastovorov was the "number one" spy of the Soviet Union.

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