“The Thing”- the Revolutionary Soviet Spy Gadget That Baffled the West | Summary and Q&A

TL;DR

The US ambassador to the Soviet Union received a gift that was actually a high-tech listening device, leading to the discovery of the Great Seal Bug.

Key Insights

• 😀 The Great Seal Bug was an ingenious invention by Russian inventor Lev Theremin, who fled to the Soviet Union after facing financial and tax troubles in the US.
• 🐛 The bug remained undetected for years due to its clever design and the Soviets' ability to shut it off whenever they wanted to.
• 🥺 The discovery of the bug led to the development of similar technology by the CIA, as well as other Western nations.

Transcript

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Questions & Answers

Q: How did the US ambassador receive the Great Seal Bug?

The ambassador received it as a gift from the Soviet Union's version of the Boy Scouts, believing it to be a symbol of cooperation between the two nations during World War II.

Q: How did the bug remain undetected for so long?

The bug went undetected because regular sweeps of the ambassador's residence did not reveal any hidden wires or components. The Soviets had designed it to be invisible to regular metal detectors.

Q: Who discovered the Great Seal Bug and how?

The bug was discovered accidentally in 1951 by a radio operator at the British Embassy who picked up a conversation between the US ambassador and a British naval attaché. This led to a search that eventually located the bug.

Q: How did the Great Seal Bug work?

The bug was powered by an external radio beam and transmitted its own signal when activated. It used a microphone diaphragm and a metal post to capture sounds and change the frequency of its transmission.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• In 1945, the US ambassador received a gift from the Soviet equivalent of the Boy Scouts, which turned out to be a Trojan horse listening device.

• The device, known as the Great Seal Bug, was hidden inside a wooden version of the Great Seal of the United States.

• The bug went undetected for years until it was accidentally discovered in 1951, revealing the extent of Soviet espionage.