An Assassination Attempt?
In 2008, Gordievsky’s name made the news when he claimed that “rogue elements in Moscow” tried to assassinate him by poisoning him. Allegedly, they gave him, through an acquaintance, tainted sleeping pills. Gordievsky was hospitalized and unconscious for almost three days. Luckily, he recovered. And the incident didn’t even faze him.
Oleg Gordievsky. Source: Twitter
Just by agreeing to be interviewed by Macintyre, being fully aware that the information he would give the writer would essentially put him back into the limelight again, proves that the man really is fearless. Not only bold and confident, but he also remembers pretty much everything. Macintyre said that Gordievsky “has astonishing powers of recall. He was open… and frequently very funny.”