Aquarium (Suvorov)
Encyclopedia
Aquarium is a partly autobiographical description by Viktor Suvorov
of the GRU
(Soviet military intelligence directorate). The account starts in 1969, when Suvorov, as an ordinary tank company commander, is recruited into intelligence analysis by an up-and-coming Lieutenant Colonel. From there he transfers to Spetsnaz
and, from there, into the GRU proper. A combination of circumstances lead to his eventual defection to the British.
The "Aquarium" of the title is the nickname given to GRU headquarters in Moscow by those who work there. "What sort of fish are there swimming there?" asks Suvorov of his boss when he learns about it. "There's only one kind there – piranhas."
Suvorov admits that some details of his career have been altered; for example, he portrays himself as being posted to Austria when, in fact, he was in Switzerland. The reason given is that this allowed him to hide his identity at a time when the Soviet Union still existed and there was the possibility of retaliation against friends and relatives.
Viktor Suvorov
Viktor Suvorov is the pen name for Vladimir Bogdanovich Rezun , a former Soviet and now British writer of Russian and Ukrainian descent who writes primarily in Russian, as well as a former Soviet military intelligence spy who defected to the UK...
of the GRU
GRU
GRU or Glavnoye Razvedyvatel'noye Upravleniye is the foreign military intelligence directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation...
(Soviet military intelligence directorate). The account starts in 1969, when Suvorov, as an ordinary tank company commander, is recruited into intelligence analysis by an up-and-coming Lieutenant Colonel. From there he transfers to Spetsnaz
Spetsnaz
Spetsnaz, Specnaz tr: Voyska specialnogo naznacheniya; ) is an umbrella term for any special forces in Russian, literally "force of special purpose"...
and, from there, into the GRU proper. A combination of circumstances lead to his eventual defection to the British.
The "Aquarium" of the title is the nickname given to GRU headquarters in Moscow by those who work there. "What sort of fish are there swimming there?" asks Suvorov of his boss when he learns about it. "There's only one kind there – piranhas."
Suvorov admits that some details of his career have been altered; for example, he portrays himself as being posted to Austria when, in fact, he was in Switzerland. The reason given is that this allowed him to hide his identity at a time when the Soviet Union still existed and there was the possibility of retaliation against friends and relatives.
Publication details
- Original English translation: Hamish Hamilton, 1985; ISBN 0-241-11545-0
- United States publication (as Inside the Aquarium): MacMillan, 1985; ISBN 0-02-615490-0