Anton Volkov (1924 - 2008) was a Russian mob boss who served as one of Perseus' agents during the late Cold War. After being captured during Operation Brick in the Wall on 24 February 1981, Volkov became an informant for the CIA, which allowed several listening posts to be established in East Berlin.
He later also served as an informant on the Russian Federation until his death in 2008 of a cardiac arrest, though some suspect he was assassinated by FSB agents.
Biography
Early life
Anton Volkov was born in 1924 on the outskirts of Leningrad in the Russian SFSR. He became a criminal at a young age, working as a small-time crook until he ascended the ranks of the Mafiya as the boss of his own crew.
Volkov then moved to East Berlin in early 1961 before the Berlin Wall was built, developing a connection with the Berlin underworld. Volkov smuggled drugs, guns, and women across the world, including to the Menendez Cartel in Nicaragua. He developed a habit of not traveling in the daytime, as well as tastes in scotch whiskey and medieval torture devices.
Eventually, he fell into contact with the Soviet spymaster Perseus, becoming an agent of his in East Germany. MI6 caught wind of this relationship in 1974, monitoring his activities. He once went to Italy for a meeting with his criminal associates; though CIA agent Lawrence Sims tried to track him down, Volkov gave his tail the slip. In 1981, Volkov managed to smuggle an Operation Greenlight nuclear device to Perseus, which he would later use to reverse engineer the activation code.
Operation Brick in the Wall
The former right-hand-man of Perseus was captured by CIA operatives during Operation Hard Knock, eventually being brainwashed by Special Agent Russell Adler utilizing MKUltra. The right-hand man became known as Bell, an old friend of Adler. Bell decoded a personnel dossier discovered by Adler, Alex Mason, and Frank Woods in Bell's transport, which named Anton Volkov as an agent of Perseus. Due to his proximity to the Iron Curtain, Volkov was targeted with a kill/capture order as part of Operation Brick in the Wall.
On 21 February 1981, Bell, Adler, and BND agent Greta Keller tailed Franz Kraus, an ex-Stasi agent and information courier for Volkov, though Bell and Keller were captured during this. While Volkov interrogated Bell alongside rogue Perseus-affiliated Spetsnaz at a warehouse, Bell remained calm, though told Volkov nothing; this likely saved Keller's life. As he prepared to execute Bell, Bell's team intercepted and injured Volkov.
He pursued Volkov through the warehouse, eventually cornering him. Volkov threw his gun away, but prepared to pull his second to surprise and kill Bell; however, Bell grabbed Volkov and captured him.
Informant
Volkov quickly flipped to NATO, informing the CIA of several weaknesses beyond the Iron Curtain. In exchange for his release and wiping of his criminal record, Volkov became an informant for the CIA until the mid-2000s, when he had a heart attack and died in Berlin, Germany in 2008. Some believe he was assassinated by the Russian Federation for his spy activities, though this was never confirmed.