Richard Sorge: The Soviet's Spy in World War II Japan

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The Weider History Group's web site http://www.historynet.com/ offers an interesting piece on Richard Sorge, the Soviet's spy in Japan in World War II. The piece was written by Stuart D. Goldman.
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Working under the cover of a German journalist, the half-German, half-Russian Sorge reported to the GRU, Soviet military intelligence. His spy ring was eventually rolled up by the Japanese and he was hanged in 1944.
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You can read the piece via the below link:
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http://www.historynet.com/the-spy-who-saved-the-soviets.htm
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I read a good book on Sorge a while back called Target Tokyo: The Story of the Sorge Spy Ring by Gordon W. Prange. If you're interested in Sorge, espionage and World War II, you'll find this book fascinating.
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Sorge has often been compared to Ian Fleming's fictional secret agent James Bond and some state that Fleming based Bond on Sorge.
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Although Sorge, like Sidney Reilly, the British spy, was a womanizer and a somewhat glamorous spy, Fleming didn't base Bond on the communist agent.
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Fleming based Bond on the British Navy commandos and secret agents he met while serving as a World War II British naval intelligence officer. Fleming also infused Bond with a good bit of his own personality.
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Fleming, of course, knew of Sorge and his accomplishments as a wartime spy. Sorge is considered to be one of the greatest spies of the 20th Century.
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In 1965 the Soviets declared Sorge a Hero of the Soviet Union and commemorated his life with stamp (see below).
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You can read more about espionage (and crime) via the link below to my old blog at GreatHistory.com.
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http://greathistory.com/members/pauldavisoncrime/blogs/recent-posts