The Discredited Hero (Igor Gouzenko) Essay Example
The Discredited Hero
Igor Gouzenko was a Russian who did a great deal of damage to communism and the USSR. Some may see him as a selfish man, who betrayed his country for money and personal freedom, but others may see him as a selfless man, who despite the severe consequences for him and his family, did what would ultimately benefit the whole world. My opinion is that he was a great, selfless man who sacrificed all he had for the freedoms we enjoy in democratic countries around the globe. Gouzenko's sacrifice also included the imprisonment of 11 people who had barely done anything wrong, but was unavoidable because the supporters of communism had to be stopped if they couldn't be converted.
Igor Gouzenko was born in Russia on January 13, 1919. He lived in Communist Russia under Stalin. He did very well in school and was accepted at the Moscow Architectural Institute. When WWII began he was lucky to not be sent to the front. Instead the NKVD chose him to become a cipher clerk. His job was to code and decode documents and messages sent by mail. This was necessary because there was no reliable way of communicating information secretly without having messengers intercepted by enemy spies. Gouzenko lived well in Russia, but he also saw the horrors of Stalin's regime all around him. He was sent to work in the Russian embassy for Colonel Nikolai Zabotin in 1943. His term was supposed to last 3 years. While in Canada, Gouzenko saw the many benefits of democracy and how much better it was than Stalin's regime. The most shocking scene he saw in Canada was at the airport, where he saw so many old people that in his book he commented on that fact that in Canada you can be old and "not only alive, but obviously happy," unlike in Russia, where people weren't allowed to get old. They would be killed before that. He also loved the freedom of speech in Canada. Most political articles in Canadian newspapers would be considered illegal in Russia and the authors wouldn't
Igor Gouzenko was a Russian who did a great deal of damage to communism and the USSR. Some may see him as a selfish man, who betrayed his country for money and personal freedom, but others may see him as a selfless man, who despite the severe consequences for him and his family, did what would ultimately benefit the whole world. My opinion is that he was a great, selfless man who sacrificed all he had for the freedoms we enjoy in democratic countries around the globe. Gouzenko's sacrifice also included the imprisonment of 11 people who had barely done anything wrong, but was unavoidable because the supporters of communism had to be stopped if they couldn't be converted.
Igor Gouzenko was born in Russia on January 13, 1919. He lived in Communist Russia under Stalin. He did very well in school and was accepted at the Moscow Architectural Institute. When WWII began he was lucky to not be sent to the front. Instead the NKVD chose him to become a cipher clerk. His job was to code and decode documents and messages sent by mail. This was necessary because there was no reliable way of communicating information secretly without having messengers intercepted by enemy spies. Gouzenko lived well in Russia, but he also saw the horrors of Stalin's regime all around him. He was sent to work in the Russian embassy for Colonel Nikolai Zabotin in 1943. His term was supposed to last 3 years. While in Canada, Gouzenko saw the many benefits of democracy and how much better it was than Stalin's regime. The most shocking scene he saw in Canada was at the airport, where he saw so many old people that in his book he commented on that fact that in Canada you can be old and "not only alive, but obviously happy," unlike in Russia, where people weren't allowed to get old. They would be killed before that. He also loved the freedom of speech in Canada. Most political articles in Canadian newspapers would be considered illegal in Russia and the authors wouldn't