The nature of spying requires its operatives to commit the worst acts of betrayal against those who consider themselves their friends or colleagues. Spies are hated by those they deceive and are distrusted by those who employ or use them. Therefore a spy is always an outsider whose work and personal life are permanently in opposition. To succeed, a spy requires certain peculiar characteristics that are found in few people. Spies must immerse themselves in a life of perpetual deception in the world’s most despised and lonely profession. Even before the Bolshevik Revolution in October 1917, Britain had long been…