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Maria FortusSoviet intelligence officer, partisan, participant in three wars.
Country:
 Ukraine |
Content:
- Early Life
- Joining the Revolution
- Spanish Civil War
- World War II
- Post-War Activities
- Retirement and Recognition
Early Life
Maria Fortus was born into a Jewish family in Kherson, Ukraine, on March 24, 1903. Her father was a bank employee, and she worked as an embroiderer in a sewing workshop during her youth. In 1914, she passed an external exam at the Kherson Men's Gymnasium and became involved in revolutionary activities through a literary circle led by socialist-democrats at the Municipal Public Library.
Joining the Revolution
At the age of 16, Fortus joined the Socialist Revolutionary Party but switched allegiance to the Bolsheviks after the October Revolution. She carried out assignments for underground groups and participated in the Russian Civil War. In 1918, she worked in the Kherson Provincial Extraordinary Commission (GUB CHK), risking her life to transport valuables from Kherson to Kyiv.
Spanish Civil War
In 1929, Fortus traveled to Spain for covert work with her future husband, Ramon Luke, a member of the Communist Party of Catalonia. Luke was killed in 1930, but Fortus remained in Spain for five years of clandestine activities before returning to Moscow in 1934.
In 1936, Fortus returned to Spain as "Maria Julia" to participate in the Spanish Civil War. She served as an interpreter for Soviet military advisor General Petrovich (K.A. Meretskov) and worked with prominent Spanish Communist Party members, including Jose Diaz, Dolores Ibarruri, and Antonio Mije. From December 1937, she was a liaison officer for General G.M. Stern, the senior Soviet military advisor to the Republican government.
During the war, Fortus played a crucial role in a successful bombing raid on a rebel airfield near Leon, destroying 40 fascist aircraft. Her only son, Ramon, who had been sent to Spain as a Republican pilot by the Comintern, died in an air battle near Zaragoza.
World War II
After returning to Moscow, Fortus studied at the Frunze Military Academy, graduating with honors in 1941. She became a captain and worked as an instructor in a reconnaissance school. During World War II, she was the chief of staff of the 46th Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment led by Marina Raskova. Later, she joined the "Winners" partisan detachment under Colonel D.M. Medvedev in Ukraine, participating in combat operations with legendary spy Nikolai Kuznetsov.
Post-War Activities
After the war, Fortus served in the Central Group of Forces in Vienna, where she discovered an underground factory producing V-2 rockets. She also served in the Moscow Military District. In 1948, she married fellow military intelligence officer Gennady Zaitsev and took his surname. They worked for the central branch of the GRU.
Retirement and Recognition
In July 1955, Fortus retired for health reasons. She defended her PhD dissertation and worked at the Institute of Specific Social Research of the USSR Academy of Sciences. She became a participant in international symposia on sociology and philosophy. On the anniversary of the Victory Day, Fortus was promoted to the rank of Colonel. She was an honorary citizen of the Czechoslovakian city of Litoměřice and the Hungarian city of Székesfehérvár.
Fortus authored several literary works, including "Operation Alba Regia," "The Revealed Secret," "In the Struggle in Spain," and "Duel with the Gestapo." She received numerous awards, including two Orders of Lenin, two Orders of the Red Banner of Combat, the Order of the Red Star, and many medals. A street in her hometown of Kherson was named after her.
