Tolkachev, A Worthy Successor to Penkovsky | Page 9

amount of rubles equivalent to almost $100,000 for the
information that he had provided to date. In response to this, Tolkachev
now wrote that, when he said he wanted compensation in the "six
figures," he meant "six zeroes!" He went on to say that he had heard on
the Voice of America that "American specialists" estimated that the
Soviets would have to spend $3 billion to reequip the MiG-25 as a
result of the Belenko defection. If that were the case, he reasoned,
"several million dollars is not too fantastic a price" for the information
that he had provided to the CIA on the new technology with which the
Soviets would reequip this aircraft.
In Tolkachev's first meeting with Guilsher in January 1979, the latter
had told him that his superiors were worried that, if the agent were
given a substantial amount of money, he would start throwing it around.
Returning to this topic, Tolkachev wrote in his April note that "the
subject of reckless handling of sums of money can never arise." He
stated that he already had the means to buy a car and an expensive
dacha. Although he said that he never wanted a car, he planned to buy
one when his son turned 15 or 16--depending on "how his relations
develop with his growing son." He also said that neither he nor his wife
had any inclination to be saddled with a dacha, although they were
considering eventually buying a small house and some land.
Perhaps realizing that his salary demands might seem exorbitant,
Tolkachev went on in his April note to emphasize that his "basic goal
in working with [the CIA] consists of passing the maximum amount of
information in the shortest time." He wrote that he knew that "the end
may come at any moment, but it does not frighten me and I will work

to the end."
In the next meeting in December 1979, Tolkachev said that he realized
that his salary demands were unrealistic. He said he had made them
because he wanted to ensure that he got appropriate recognition for his
work. On accepting the over 100,000 rubles that he was passed at this
meeting, Tolkachev commented that this was much better than the few
thousand rubles that he had previously been paid. He went on to say
that he did not really need the money and that he would just store it; he
added that he did not want any money at the next meeting. He said he
just wanted the money as proof that the CIA really valued his work.
By May 1980, Tolkachev's salary had finally been agreed on. He was
told that he was to be paid an annual salary "equivalent to the salary of
the US President" for his work in 1979 and an even higher salary for
each year thereafter that he was in place and productive. The bulk of
these funds would be held in escrow, to be available to him at some
future date when he determined that he wanted to be exfiltrated to the
United States with his family. Meanwhile, these funds would earn 8.75
percent interest, and he would be able to draw on them at his discretion.
Tolkachev suggested in one of his notes that he wanted to consider
donating some of his salary to the Russian dissident movement. He said
that previously he had not raised this possibility because he had not yet
worked out the matter of his CIA compensation and that, "I would not
like to divide up the hide of an unkilled bear." Now that agreement had
been reached to pay him certain funds, however, he said that he wanted
to consider how some of these funds might be made available to the
families of dissidents who had been repressed by the Soviet authorities.
The hard part would be to find a way to do this securely, and he asked
for the CIA's ideas. As it turned out, no such arrangement was ever
made, presumably because no way could be found to do this without
possibly compromising Tolkachev.
Dealing With a Camera Problem
Another vitally important issue that took some time to work out
concerned how Tolkachev could best collect the large quantities of

highly technical data to which he had access. The miniature camera
passed to him in February 1979 had a number of limitations. Although
it allowed for 70 to 80 exposures per roll, it required more light than
was normally available for the photography done by Tolkachev at his
office. More important, its small size made it almost impossible to hold
steady, frequently resulting in blurred photos. Tolkachev also
complained that it clicked too loudly, and that he had to stack several
books in order to get the camera at the right 13-inch height to