Guy Burgess: Drunken English Socialite and a Soviet Spy

Our historical documentary series on the history of the Cold War continues with our episode covering the third member of Cambridge Five - Guy Burgess, a Soviet spy and drunken English socialite.
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#ColdWar #Burgess #CambridgeFive

[@Airedale260]

One thing that was overlooked: Burgess’s escapades in getting the three tickets in a day was actually deliberate in order to get him recalled to London so he could warn Maclean.

[@BurtonRdForever]

Just reading Stalin's English Englishman by Andrew Lownie. Really good.

[@Mr.Nichan]

Getting the foreign office to ask him to resign at exactly the time he needed to escape seemed like a pretty good idea too. It sounds like maybe he realized at some point that he could use his problems as a tool.

[@fredaaron762]

The story of the Cambridge Five is a cautionary tale of what happens when a society turns a blind eye to the misconduct of the children of the political, economic and social elite.

[@oiuhwoechwe]

Obviously no one learned that.

[@Grimenoughtomaketherobotcry]

@@oiuhwoechwe ...probably because they are the children of the political, economic and social elite.

[@johnl5316]

the Biden family

[@sammymcfone8281]

@@johnl5316 trump supporter huh? he only tried to take your childs right to choose their leader. You tried to give your own child less of a life than you. bravo

[@johnl5316]

@@sammymcfone8281 lol

[@christopherconard2831]

So what you're saying is, walking into a bar while wearing a custom fitted tuxedo, ordering a couple martinis, giving your real name and letting people know you work for an intelligence agency doesn't work. I knew something was off about that Bond fellow.

[@charlesramirez587]

actually giving your real name was a common practice for cold war era spy's

[@benjaminpeter6240]

😂😂😂😂😂 you were not informed too...??! 😹😹😹

[@christopherconard2831]

When all of this came out I can imagine the anger in many former German intelligence personnel. "These?!? These are the sort of idiots that outsmarted us?"

[@yaldabaoth2]

German spies were probably too strict and proper to blend in.

[@gerdforster883]

@@yaldabaoth2 At least one german spy in the US was discovered because he new ALL the verses of the national anthem and not just the first.

[@James-ip8xs]

The only way they got away with it was the complete incompetence of British intelligence, really don't blame the Americans for not trusting us

[@mojewjewjew4420]

@@gerdforster883 Who was he?

[@robertortiz-wilson1588]

@@James-ip8xs thanks

[@Xerxezkov]

Soviet: Cambridge Five are five drunkard useless guys Also them: Damn, where is my vodka?

[@seanpollard5809]

Something I only came to realize recently: when I was a kid during the cold war, soviet alcoholism was regarded with respect. It was amazing to us, here in the west, that they were able to function while drinking vodka like it was water. Then December 1991 and Yeltsin happened. After that, Russian alcoholism was thoroughly reevaluated.

[@brokenbridge6316]

Impressive. And this guy was impressively lucky to have gotten away with what he did for as long as he did. But it was only a matter of time before he was caught or otherwise. My compliments to all those who made this video a reality.

[@j3lny425]

I suspect that he got away with it so long because he came from "The right class" and would not be questioned by the 'lower orders'

[@csfelfoldi]

Some people are just lucky in life. Seen it a few times how an absolute mess of humanity became powerful and wealthy despite being incompetent morons. It's mostly down to character. If someone has the right kind of charm he/she can get away with anything,

[@dmanvell]

@@j3lny425 You "suspect" the commonly accepted explanation...? edit: he even mentions it in the video, as is the case with all videos and books and blog posts about the subject

[@crose7412]

@Broken Bridge He wasn't "caught or otherwise" though.

[@brokenbridge6316]

@@j3lny425---I'm sure that helped a lot.

[@lolwutyoumad]

Who knew Sterling Archer was a Soviet spy

[@TheColdWarTV]

Rampage!

[@csfelfoldi]

He was scared that he stopped all at once the accumulative hangover would kill him.

[@youngimperialistmkii]

Indeed. What a mad lad😉

[@aidanhart9871]

@@TheColdWarTV daaannger zone

[@BeingFireRetardant]

Lana... Lana... L A N A !!!

[@jamesraymond1158]

Excellent report. I'm beginning to realize that the real bad guys in the Cambridge 5 story were MI5 and MI6 because of their unbelievable incompetence.

[@kaos7186]

Just in time, just finished watching Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy!

[@christopherconard2831]

I found the audio version on KZbin, started listening to it at work.

[@TerrellThomas1971]

Which version?

[@mixererunio1757]

Great Alec Guinness version or mediocre Gary Oldman one?

[@TerrellThomas1971]

@@mixererunio1757 there is Only one version ...Alec Guiness

[@kaos7186]

@@mixererunio1757 Alec Guinness of course, true patricians only haha

[@KashmiriKhalid-f8q]

Didn't get any candy or gift this Halloween,but The Cold War upload i'll consider a treat

[@burtvhulberthyhbn7583]

Greetings from a Canadian in California. Your "show" is just the BEST.

[@beachboy0505]

The story is always nice to listen to again from different sources.

[@JonatasAdoM]

He was such a crazy drunk, no one actually believed him! Now that's charisma

[@snapdragon6601]

When even the Russians call you a hopeless drunk, you know that you've got a problem. 🍸😆

[@JonatasAdoM]

Who would imagine that the land of James Bond was the one actually committing the comical espionage blunders.

[@wtfbuddy1]

Started watching this morning, suggested get a drink and then finally watched in the afternoon - MI6 was dooped by many and my drink is now empty, refill time. Cheers

[@liamjack4996]

Just discovered this channel. Amazing stuff. Subbed and have a lot of videos to get through now.

[@shaider1982]

Weird, I just learned that Sean Connery, the actor whose take on 007 had him a hard drinking ladies man that had to be sent to a health spa, had passed away.

[@crose7412]

8:54 The Prospect of Whitby in Wapping is a lovely pub.

[@missrachael1709]

First time watcher, 5 mins in and thoroughly enjoying it. Thank you. P.S You have a lovely voice.

[@williestyle35]

Really coming into your own little niche of historical video production, The Cold War ! Guy Burgess had been overlooked for a long time because of his drinking and other liabilities, eventually giving massive amounts of information and influence to the Soviet Union. Somewhat an unusual spy, while kinda fitting a movie trope.

[@nedd.8479]

There's a film called 'An Englishman Abroad' that focuses on Burgess' life after defecting to the USSR. It offers a surprisingly sympathetic portrayal of Burgess, and is well worth watching if you're interested in the Cambridge Five.

[@kylelacroix1023]

Guy Burgess is the Jim Lahey of Britain's Trailer Park Boys.

[@belbrighton6479]

“The “hot mess” of the Cambridge five” #priceless

[@farqitol]

The "Sid Vicious" of his time. 😂😂😂😂

[@CanuckWolfman]

...Have we considered the possibility that the KGB was never really all that good? We were just tremendously shit at counterintelligence?

[@edsonlizarraga9633]

Spying is like hard man

[@thefestooner]

The guy in your thumbnail is actor Tom Hollander, who played Burgess in a tv miniseries. Brilliant actor, not a real spy.

[@seanpollard5809]

The first time I heard about the Cambridge 5 and Burgess was in the Christopher Hyde spy novels of the 90s. Great books.

[@DaveSCameron]

Commenting from here in a sleepy village just outside Cambridge I hear often tales of the old mincing soak, misled fools!

[@amanshukla8758]

Bro, do a video on the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War It involved a significant amount of US-USSR Cold War dynamic playing out in the Indian Subcontinent

[@benthejrporter]

Could you do a video about George Blake?

[@joaopedrogambarellineves9609]

Good morning, again I would like to thank you for another excellent video.

[@Jay92925]

I don’t understand why people who were gay would be disillusioned with their country due to their view on homosexuality to the point they’d align with the Soviet Union, which also criminalised being gay from the 1930’s

[@michaelstora70]

The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence

[@keenanradyk7238]

Burgess was not tasked with getting Maclean to Moscow, he was simply asked by Philby to tip him off - at that point his promised not to run with him. Philby, Maclean, and their Soviet handler confirmed this is seperate books they wrote personally.

[@joaopedrogambarellineves9609]

I have a question with you, do you intend or intend to make a video on the dispute between Italy and Yuglolavia for the city of Trieste and on COMECON? please i would like to know your answer, again i thank you and now i say goodbye.

[@stevenconroy5864]

Thx 4 the great vid always love the content happy Halloween every 1

[@romanclay1913]

In TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY, the Bill Haydon character is based on Kim Philby.

[@goldenfiberwheat238]

0:47 sure. As long as it’s shaken, not stirred :(

[@johnl5316]

Soviet archives and Soviet cables from the war period have revealed that there were several thousand people working in the administrations of Franklin Roosevelt & Truman who were working as Soviet agents

[@babayaga6376]

I always laugh when I hear people bitching and moaning about McCarthy...when the guy was right all along.

[@Martijn_Steinpatz]

Burgess is like having Hunter S. Thompson on your team, without the drugs.

[@Ikaros23]

Alcohol is a drug

[@andrewedwards2211]

can you do one about the Vietnam-Cambodian War after the Vietnam War, how it further ruined Moscow-Beijing Relationships, and strengthened Hanoi and Moscow.

[@freedomvigilant1234]

My own theory is that higher up forces were sponsoring Guy Burgess and the Cambridge Five.

[@loupiscanis9449]

Thank you

[@Zorglub1966]

"Champagne socialist" in fench we say "Gauche caviar" (caviar left wing)

[@ostrich67]

In America it's "Limousine Liberal".

[@Zorglub1966]

@@ostrich67 fun fact, "Liberal" in french is not left sided on the contrary. For example M. Thatcher was labelled liberal.

[@ostrich67]

@@Zorglub1966 There's classical liberalism, social liberalism, and economic liberalism; also known as neoliberalism. Thatcher was neoliberal, which meant private enterprise with minimal governmental regulation. Neoliberals tend to be on the right, yet it was Jimmy Carter who introduced it to the US. So you see, the word "liberal" has different meanings depending upon exactly what it is you're talking about.

[@raymondjelich185]

"fench?" Is their really a language called "fench?"

[@percamihai-marco7157]

Can you talk about the space race and also about Rudolph Abel?

[@tylerpedigo2938]

So cool that LockPickingLawyer has a history channel

[@yourstruly4817]

Mmmm, Burgess!

[@guyburgess7832]

What an amazing chap! 😜

[@beachboy0505]

One document which frightened the hell out of Stalin was ‘Operation Unthinkable’ LOL

[@oldesertguy9616]

@tp dat they didn't have nukes yet, though. They knew that put them behind the curve.

[@thechekist2044]

@@RedDawn370 I would've loved to seen the Soviet red flag flying over lady liberty.

[@Grimenoughtomaketherobotcry]

@@RedDawn370 Then you would have kissed goodbye to western Europe and Britain. Fortunately, FDR, Truman and Marshall were way ahead of Churchill, who was desperate to maintain the Empire (and his political career). Many people today do not understand the degree to which most people, pretty much everywhere, were absolutely sick of war by the spring of 1945. So much so that Churchill was thrown out of office only a few months after VE Day. People were much more interested in, "A world fit for heroes" than, "On to Moscow!". Given that the fairly moderate socialist Bevan won in a landslide, how do you think the British people would have reacted to a unilateral decision by Churchill to continue the war? It might very well have prompted a far more radical revolution. And that revolution might well have spread to the far more deprived, war-weary people in Europe, whose cooperation and support in such a war could hardly be guaranteed. Then there is the issue of the US, where people, both elite and non-elite, were eager to shift from a war-time to a peace-time civilian economy, and enjoy the prosperity that being the most powerful victor was sure to bring to them. That optimism would have evaporated if the war had dragged on, and who knows what that might have resulted in. In any event, who "won" the Cold War? The USSR and Warsaw Pact no longer exist. FDR and George Marshall didn't think it would survive Stalin's death; they were only off by forty years, which is nothing for an empire. While the Cold War was hardly without violence, we were at least spared nuclear war. FDR, Truman and Marshall got it right.

[@ragulkarthikeyan6104]

Please make a video on the Indo Pak war of 1971. It too played a role in the Cold war

[@Brahmdagh]

This is fucking HILARIOUS!

[@Thaumazo83]

Topic suggestion: Salazar's regime in Portugal

[@williestyle35]

Good tie in to a video on spies! ( Portugal was a small "back door" for spies transiting Europe during and after WWII ).

[@oceanmadrosci3381]

💪💪🏻💪🏼💪🏽💪🏾💪🏿

[@joeyhelean7584]

Show San Francisco… but don’t say why. Assume he was in SF for that part but last place you mentioned was DC?

[@brianrunyon266]

Cover the other 4 when you can. I'd say John is the most obscure. The other 4 members seem to be the most well known.

[@williestyle35]

John ended up passing on a lot of information to the Soviets. Philby helped make himself more famous, after defecting ( which ended his spy career, earlier ).

[@Ilovetherepublic]

What is the name of the song at the end

[@vicentesaiz1670]

Watching this while treating my hangover with 6 cans of beer

[@akashchoubey3207]

What's this music at the end?

[@goodman4966]

Have a happy and safe Halloween Everyone!🎃👻🍫🍬🍭🍰

[@davidoffice9922]

There's always someone in the system..thats the way it works there those who get caught and those that don't

[@ArkaSinghaRoy97]

Please make a video about Naxalite movement

[@OffGridInvestor]

You know David it's ACTUALLY NORMAL for them to TARGET people who have money problems or be a bit moralless, or out of control or SOME problems.

[@babayaga6376]

Well, at the time, his justification was "waaagh, I'm a homo, people don't like me, so I'll become a traitor".... for a country that also puts homos in prison. These days, it's "queers for Palestine".... I don't think the society is the main culprit here... But yeah, it was an effective tactic to target individuals who can easily be blackmailed. What I don't understand is the incompetence of the British counter intelligence.

[@tightcamper]

It's a good ruse to tell everyone you are a spy. Clearly no one believed him so no harm was done.

[@michaelbellinger1363]

Hot mess, no. Dumpster fire, yes.

[@carfonju1018]

greatests questions about him: why he goes to russia with mclean? why is the man with moore fiction story: an englishman abroad, another country, the turning point, etc?

[@Paciat]

Lol, a useless drunk fell of the stairs. I was just turning on Borderlands 3 game, where theres a useless robot on 1 wheel called Claptrap. His biggest enemy are stairs.

[@TheColdWarTV]

Dammit, Jack - how did you know stairs were my ONLY weakness?! Next to electrocution, and explosions, and gunfire, rust, corrosion, being kicked a lot, viruses, being called bad names, falling from great heights, drowning, adult onset diabetes, being looked at funny, heart attacks, exposure to oxygen, being turned down by women, and pet allergens! Your brilliance is matched only by your malevolence!

[@MichaelDavis-mk4me]

@@TheColdWarTV That's in Borderlands 2 two during the final mission when there are stairs right before the last zone. I know all the lines of this game by heart.

[@savindamadushan7989]

Guys please do some documentary about sri lankan civil war too..!🇱🇰❤️

[@jamestaylor8807]

The guy in the thumbnail is a British actor who played one of the Cambridge spies. You know this surely. Or is this simply American ignorance.

[@sick9990101]

the cambrigde five are the only good ones of the british upperclass.

[@tshackelton]

Is that a monty python skit overdubbed? 2:40, the rep from the ministry of silly walks....

[@Marinealver]

So many socialists come from wealthy families. And NEVER GIVE UP THEIR WEALTH

[@crose7412]

@Maldus Alver His parents had the wealth, Guy Burgess had a series of various jobs...as explained in this film.

[@mikhailv67tv]

They weren't becoming 1st Century Christians... BTW so many Christians don't give up their wealth even though Jesus asked them to do so.

[@primevaltimes]

Why are all the traitors of English history named Guy?

[@kerriwilson7732]

That should be a clue.

[@tangodelta7617]

I look forward, with bated breath, to your fascinating forthcoming documentary on the infiltration of the United States security services.

[@madcat789]

What is a Governess?

[@danceswithbadgers]

A hired replacement mother. Sort of like a nanny but with more power.

[@madcat789]

@@danceswithbadgers Huh. Took a year but I got my answer. Do they occasionally get married to the man who hired her, or was that frowned upon?

[@danceswithbadgers]

@@madcat789 I suppose it must have happened, should the actual mother be out of the picture for some reason. The actual mother isn't absent, just not interested. It was common for parents of the upper classes to have little day to day contact with their offspring, hence the mention of a governess and boarding school.

[@madcat789]

@@danceswithbadgers Makes sense. I imagine it was only something the middle class and up can attain.

[@danceswithbadgers]

@@madcat789 Hi, my answer seems to have disappeared. Yes, it was an upper class thing. The governess would have had charge of the child - Burgess in this case - up until the age he was sent off to boarding school. As mentioned, this was when he was 9 years old.

[@rolfharry4753]

No, Britain was eager for negociations with the Soviet Union and to get a friendship contract or something else to encircle Germany. Stalin refused the signing - not Britain.

[@andrewevans5750]

So when did he escape to Thailand and become leader of a pirate gang? [Archer reference]

[@theparadigm8149]

The last time I was this early, I witnessed the Russian Revolution... ...WITHOUT LENIN!!!

[@EvilCorp420]

This guy is a little soft on these guys, the Cambridge Five got numerous anti-communist agents killed (especially in Albania)

[@Eamonshort1]

It pains me he's the historical figure I relate the most too

[@Clem_Fandango11]

You mean you don't want to work, have a partying life, drink heavily and sell your soul to an evil dictator as well as betray and cause the deaths of thousands of people?

[@gojo76]

Japan during the cold war please

[@willtrap4food698]

they already did that video fam

[@gojo76]

@@willtrap4food698 send link

[@Thaumazo83]

@@gojo76 kzbin.info/www/bejne/qnq9XqODn6iUeLs

[@Martmns]

Guy Burgess and the rest of the Cambridge Five....Soviet heroes all!

[@cezardan01]

* raises glass of wine * Cheers Bell Button! You've been through enough. :P

[@TheColdWarTV]

The bell button will continue to be abused until such time as we have ALL the subscribers.

[@aidanhart9871]

Cold war....named after all the whiskey on the rocks

[@Vagus32000]

Man. If only the CIA was as successful as the KGB.

[@keenanradyk7238]

Why take shots at Tara Reid

[@The__Leo69]

US agent: Probably I know who's the mole. Call Guy! Handler: What guy? US agent: Wtf! Guy who worked with BBC. Handler: So many guys did that before. Which one of them? US agent: *sighs* BURGESS! Wtf. Connection lost!

[@Spencer481]

Talk about failing upwards

[@kazkk_87]

Stalin might have died of atherosclerosis. This is quite a coincidence

[@perezmig577]

The guy in the thumbnail pic looks like the actor Tom Hollander

[@futuregirl8803]

It is he played burgess in the BBC four part series Cambridge spies (2003) its good and funny check it out if you haven't already seen it 😀👍

[@SkandikFilm]

Guy Burgess died at 52, not 53.

[@oiuhwoechwe]

Boris Johnson? Eton - Check. Toff - Check. Russian name - Check. Destroying the UK - Check. OMG

[@MaryamofShomal]

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

[@slrhas]

Burgess has got to be the worst spy in existence

[@edwardrodgers9383]

Whose running the country?🇬🇧

[@kazkk_87]

I imagine what they would have thought if they saw the rise of modern capitalism.

[@2bit8bytes]

So the UK was to Soviet Russia in the Cold War what Germany was to the London UK in WW2? heh

[@cosmicmusicreynolds3266]

thing is they could nt have been that drunk or useless or they would never have gotten as far as the did. build a better society or these tragedies might just come about again

[@georgiyfilatov]

Actually I imagine that being gay and wealthy in 1920 England wasn't too bad

[@comradeJon629]

Did you really need to use this opportunity to slander Tara Reade? I mean honestly, that was unnecessary.

[@amymatthews4980]

Stylish 💪🏽💪🏽💪🏽 👍🍉🤣

[@MrShotgunAmmo]

Bro is my relative