> Per Silverman’s research, Martynov was an officer in the technical espionage division of the Russian intelligence agency back in 1980, when he was sent to the United States to serve as an undercover agent at the Soviet Embassy in Washington, D.C. About two years into his stay, Martynov got flipped by the FBI and started to feed the US government Soviet secrets.
> Martynov was eventually identified as compromised by KGB counterintelligence officer Victor Cherkashin, who had himself successfully developed sources within the US intelligence agencies. In order to get Martynov back to Russia without him suspecting that he was found out, Cherkashin was asked to escort another Soviet spy back home (it’s a long story that Silverman explains in detail). As soon as the plane touched down, Martynov was arrested and ultimately executed.
> His widow eventually moved to the United States permanently, where she and her children would settle, marry, and have kids—including Edward.
* https://gizmodo.com/doge-staffer-known-as-big-balls-reported...