The Petrov Affair was a Cold War spy incident in Australia in April 1954. Vladimir Petrov was Third Secretary of the Soviet embassy in Canberra. Petrov offered to provide evidence of Soviet espionage in exchange for political asylum. The defection was arranged by Michael Bialoguski, a Polish doctor and musician, and part-time ASIO agent.
About Petrov Affair in brief
The Petrov Affair was a Cold War spy incident in Australia in April 1954. Vladimir Petrov was Third Secretary of the Soviet embassy in Canberra. Petrov made contact with the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation and offered to provide evidence of Soviet espionage in exchange for political asylum. The defection was arranged by Michael Bialoguski, a Polish doctor and musician, and part-time ASIO agent. The photos of Evdokia Petrova being rough-handled by KGB agents at Sydney Airport and her agonised last-moment decision to defect with her husband, made at Darwin Airport, have become iconic Australian images of the 1950s. The affair grew more dramatic when Prime Minister Robert Menzies told the House of Representatives that Petrov had brought with him documents concerning Soviet espionage. He announced that a Royal Commission would investigate the matter, the Royal Commission on Espionage. The final report did not uphold these charges, but his career from then on was blighted by these suspicions.
As a result of the defections, the Australian embassy in Moscow was expelled and the USSR Embassy in Canberra was recalled. Diplomatic relations were not re-established until 13 March 1959. The defections came shortly before the federal election of 1954, and did not coincide with the election for the benefit of the Australian public. Dr. H. V. Evatt, a former justice of the High Court of Australia and the third President of the United Nations General Assembly, appeared before the commission as counsel for his staff members. His cross-examination of a key ASIO operative transformed the commission’s hearings and greatly perturbed the government. Dr Evatt alleged that the judges of the commission were biased towards the MenZies’ government in the wake of this unprecedented denial of his right to appear. His mother, Susannah Prich, was a committed Communist, and it was strongly suggested he had at least inadvertently, if not classified, as actively spying for the Soviet Union.
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This page is based on the article Petrov Affair published in Wikipedia (as of Nov. 12, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
