{ "id": "epktp5hegc", "slug": "seventeen-moments-of-spring", "title": "Seventeen Moments of Spring", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.crime-thriller-mystery", "label": "Crime, thriller, and mystery films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.crime-thriller-mystery" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.crime-thriller-mystery.1970s-films", "label": "1970s films", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.crime-thriller-mystery.1970s-films" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.eeu.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Eastern Europe · 1946 to 2000: Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.eeu.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "path": [ { "id": "geo.eeu", "label": "Eastern Europe", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.eeu" }, { "id": "geo.eeu.t1946", "label": "Eastern Europe · 1946 to 2000", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.eeu.t1946" }, { "id": "geo.eeu.t1946.culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.eeu.t1946.culture" }, { "id": "geo.eeu.t1946.culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.eeu.t1946.culture.performance" }, { "id": "geo.eeu.t1946.culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.eeu.t1946.culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "geo.eeu.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.eeu.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "geo.eeu.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.eeu.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Seventeen Moments of Spring (Семнадцать мгновений весны) is a 1973 Soviet 12-episode spy miniseries directed by Tatyana Lioznova from Yulian Semyonov's novel, starring Vyacheslav Tikhonov as Stierlitz, a Soviet mole in the SS thwarting separate peace talks in 1945.", "snippet": "Seventeen Moments of Spring (Семнадцать мгновений весны) is a 1973 Soviet 12-episode spy miniseries directed by Tatyana Lioznova from Yulian Semyonov's novel, starring Vyacheslav Tikhonov as Stierlitz, a Soviet mole in the SS thwarting separate peace talks in 1945.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.crime-thriller-mystery.1970s-films", "markdown": "# Seventeen Moments of Spring\n\n**Seventeen Moments of Spring** (Семнадцать мгновений весны, *Semnadtsat mgnoveniy vesny*) is a 1973 Soviet twelve-part television miniseries directed by Tatyana Lioznova, based on the novel of the same title by Yulian Semyonov, about the Soviet intelligence officer Maksim Isaev operating deep inside [Nazi Germany](https://www.edgepedia.org/nazi-germany) in the final months of World War II under the identity of SS Standartenführer Max Otto von Stierlitz.[1](https://www.rbc.ru/life/news/64d5c35c9a7947b4c52fbcfb) • [2](https://stream-tracker.com/en/serie/seventeen-moments-of-spring-1973) It became a national event during its first broadcast on [Soviet Central Television](https://www.edgepedia.org/soviet-central-television) and has remained a hardy perennial on the Russian small screen.[3](https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2016/11/21/moscow-tv-round-up-hitlers-people-seventeen-moments-of-spring-and-more-a56221)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Original run | First episode broadcast 11 August 1973 on Central Television; 12 episodes of about 69 minutes each[1](https://www.rbc.ru/life/news/64d5c35c9a7947b4c52fbcfb) • [4](https://www.kinopoisk.ru/series/89540/) |\n| Production | Filmed 1971–1973 at the M. Gorky Film Studio, commissioned by Gosteleradio[5](https://gorkyfilm.ru/catalog/zolotaya-kollekcziya/semnadczat-mgnovenij-vesny/) • [6](https://mospravda.ru/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/90-Semenov-elec.pdf) |\n| Setting | Seventeen days in the spring of 1945, before the surrender of Nazi Germany[4](https://www.kinopoisk.ru/series/89540/) |\n| Plot premise | Isaev, as Stierlitz, is ordered to find out which Reich leaders are negotiating a separate peace with the Western Allies behind Hitler's back[7](https://tv.apple.com/ru/show/%D1%81%D0%B5%D0%BC%D0%BD%D0%B0%D0%B4%D1%86%D0%B0%D1%82%D1%8C-%D0%BC%D0%B3%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B8-%D0%B2%D0%B5%D1%81%D0%BD%D1%8B/umc.cmc.2k5s9uljcmtw14lpiux08qfqg) |\n| Lead cast | Vyacheslav Tikhonov as Stierlitz, with Leonid Bronevoy (Müller), Oleg Tabakov (Schellenberg), Rostislav Plyatt (Pastor Schlag), and Evgeniy Evstigneev (Pleyschner)[4](https://www.kinopoisk.ru/series/89540/) |\n| Composer | Mikael Tariverdiev, whose score and title song are among the series' most recognized elements[4](https://www.kinopoisk.ru/series/89540/) |\n| Audience | The first showing gathered 70 million viewers; the full series was repeated on television three months later[8](https://www.vokrug.tv/article/show/16917477041/) |\n| Ratings | IMDb 8.7/10 (about 5.6K votes); Kinopoisk 9.0, ranked 13th in its top 250[9](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0069628/ratings/) • [4](https://www.kinopoisk.ru/series/89540/) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Plot and historical setting\n\nThe action covers seventeen days in the spring of 1945, a few months before Germany's capitulation. Maksim Isaev, a deeply embedded agent of Soviet intelligence who has lived for years under the identity of SS Standartenführer Max Otto von Stierlitz, receives orders from Center to establish which leaders of the Third Reich are conducting secret negotiations with the Western Allies behind Hitler's back. He must work under constant surveillance, where a single careless word or meeting could destroy a legend he had built over decades.[7](https://tv.apple.com/ru/show/%D1%81%D0%B5%D0%BC%D0%BD%D0%B0%D0%B4%D1%86%D0%B0%D1%82%D1%8C-%D0%BC%D0%B3%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B8-%D0%B2%D0%B5%D1%81%D0%BD%D1%8B/umc.cmc.2k5s9uljcmtw14lpiux08qfqg) English-language summaries describe the mission as sabotaging a covert backchannel between SS leader [Karl Wolff](https://www.edgepedia.org/karl-wolff) and the American official [Allen Dulles](https://www.edgepedia.org/allen-dulles) in neutral Switzerland.[2](https://stream-tracker.com/en/serie/seventeen-moments-of-spring-1973)\n\nThe title refers to days rather than episodes. Lioznova explained that she decided to examine seventeen days of the spring 1945 struggle and tell, within them, of the moments and hours in Isaev's life; the series itself has twelve episodes, not seventeen.[10](https://www.rusol.ru/sites/default/files/otechestvo/7_8_19_web.pdf)\n\n### Cast and characters\n\n[Vyacheslav Tikhonov](https://www.edgepedia.org/vyacheslav-tikhonov) played Stierlitz with what one retrospective calls an icy, stoic restraint, and the writer himself insisted on Tikhonov for the role.[2](https://stream-tracker.com/en/serie/seventeen-moments-of-spring-1973) • [8](https://www.vokrug.tv/article/show/16917477041/) The supporting cast drew on leading Soviet character actors: Leonid Bronevoy as Gestapo chief [Heinrich Müller](https://www.edgepedia.org/heinrich-muller-gestapo), a role that brought him all-Union fame; Oleg Tabakov as [Walter Schellenberg](https://www.edgepedia.org/walter-schellenberg), whose resemblance to the real Schellenberg was so close that a niece of Schellenberg wrote to Tabakov from Germany thanking him; Rostislav Plyatt as Pastor Schlag; Evgeniy Evstigneev as Pleyschner; Leonid Kuravlyov as Aisman; and Yuri Vizbor as Bormann.[5](https://gorkyfilm.ru/catalog/zolotaya-kollekcziya/semnadczat-mgnovenij-vesny/) • [13](https://www.kinopoisk.ru/film/89540/cast/) The role of Hitler went to the East German actor Fritz Diez after Kuravlyov and Bronevoy were considered.[5](https://gorkyfilm.ru/catalog/zolotaya-kollekcziya/semnadczat-mgnovenij-vesny/)\n\nThe production team had no photographs of the real Müller, so the film's Gestapo chief departed considerably from the original, while the sympathetic portrayal of many lower-ranking and civilian Germans distinguished the series from earlier Soviet depictions of wartime Germans.[5](https://gorkyfilm.ru/catalog/zolotaya-kollekcziya/semnadczat-mgnovenij-vesny/) • [14](https://www.cia.gov/resources/csi/static/Cold-War-Spy-Fiction.pdf)\n\n## From novel to screen\n\nSemyonov wrote the screenplay for a television adaptation himself, and the project was initially assigned to Lenfilm as a military-historical film.[11](https://kinoreporter.ru/bessmertnyj-shtirlic-kak-snimali-semnadcat-mgnovenij-vesny/) Tatyana Lioznova, already known for the dramas *They Conquer the Sky* and *Three Poplars on Plyuschikha Street*, fought for the right to direct; Semyonov eventually withdrew the script from Lenfilm and handed it to her.[11](https://kinoreporter.ru/bessmertnyj-shtirlic-kak-snimali-semnadcat-mgnovenij-vesny/) • [12](https://televid.by/2016/09/kak-snimali-semnadcat-mgnovenij-ve/)\n\nLioznova found the approved screenplay lacked the lyrical episodes she considered necessary, and she reworked it, adding dramatic material before casting began.[11](https://kinoreporter.ru/bessmertnyj-shtirlic-kak-snimali-semnadcat-mgnovenij-vesny/) Filming took place from 1971 to 1973 at the [Gorky Film Studio](https://www.edgepedia.org/gorky-film-studio).[5](https://gorkyfilm.ru/catalog/zolotaya-kollekcziya/semnadczat-mgnovenij-vesny/) The premiere was planned for May 1973 around Victory Day, but was postponed because [Leonid Brezhnev](https://www.edgepedia.org/leonid-brezhnev)'s visit to [West Germany](https://www.edgepedia.org/west-germany) fell in those days; viewers saw the first episode only in August.[5](https://gorkyfilm.ru/catalog/zolotaya-kollekcziya/semnadczat-mgnovenij-vesny/) • [6](https://mospravda.ru/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/90-Semenov-elec.pdf)\n\n## Reception in the Soviet Union\n\nThe first broadcast became a national event: streets emptied during airings, crime statistics and water and electricity consumption fell, and the first showing gathered 70 million viewers. Three months later Gosteleradio repeated the entire twelve-part series, something the source describing it calls a unique case in domestic television history.[8](https://www.vokrug.tv/article/show/16917477041/) • [6](https://mospravda.ru/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/90-Semenov-elec.pdf) Lioznova received as many as twelve sacks of fan letters per episode.[1](https://www.rbc.ru/life/news/64d5c35c9a7947b4c52fbcfb) By the number of its cast members awarded the title People's Artist of the USSR, the series ranks among the leaders in Soviet film history.[5](https://gorkyfilm.ru/catalog/zolotaya-kollekcziya/semnadczat-mgnovenij-vesny/)\n\nScholars place the series at the origin of the fictional miniseries as a television genre in the USSR. Christine E. Evans, a historian of Soviet Central Television, argues that the series generated public conversation about moral complexity and the need for post-Stalin heroes, and that its deliberate contradictions invited viewer participation rather than undermining the film.[15](https://academic.oup.com/yale-scholarship-online/book/30467/chapter-abstract/257568546) A distinctive device was the voice-over: the protagonist acts and speaks as an exemplary Nazi officer while a disembodied narration reveals his hidden thoughts, dreams, and memories, often dissociating from him to comment on history and on the hero himself.[16](https://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/8019/1/prokhorova_etd2003.pdf)\n\n## The KGB connection and Cold War context\n\nThe series was filmed on commission from the KGB with the goal of improving that service's image by depicting its contribution to victory in World War II.[17](https://gce.unisg.ch/fileadmin/user_upload/HSG_ROOT/Institut_GCE/Euxeinos/26-25/Euxeinos_25_26_2018.pdf) A CIA *Studies in Intelligence* analysis describes the series as supported and vetted throughout by the government whose agents' heroics it portrayed, while noting that director Lioznova used an unusually long leash to introduce layers of subtlety, including Stierlitz's enjoyment of black-market Western cigarettes and cognac.[14](https://www.cia.gov/resources/csi/static/Cold-War-Spy-Fiction.pdf) In the Cold War context, viewers treated Stierlitz as a Soviet alternative to [James Bond](https://www.edgepedia.org/james-bond), and scholars group the series with Poland's *Stakes Greater than Life* and East Germany's *The Invisible Visor* as [Eastern Bloc](https://www.edgepedia.org/eastern-bloc) spy dramas that were not Bond imitations but expressions of their own national anxieties and memories.[17](https://gce.unisg.ch/fileadmin/user_upload/HSG_ROOT/Institut_GCE/Euxeinos/26-25/Euxeinos_25_26_2018.pdf) • [18](https://academic.oup.com/ahr/article-abstract/130/4/1773/8404770)\n\n## Stierlitz as a cultural icon\n\nStierlitz became a fixture of Soviet and post-Soviet popular culture. The series has been dismantled into quotations and anecdotes, and the Stirlitz joke cycle is a recognized folklore genre; one study notes that while ordinary Soviet citizens criticized the character's many weaknesses in these anecdotes, they did not question the underlying communist ideology they carried.[4](https://www.kinopoisk.ru/series/89540/) • [17](https://gce.unisg.ch/fileadmin/user_upload/HSG_ROOT/Institut_GCE/Euxeinos/26-25/Euxeinos_25_26_2018.pdf) A 1999 poll in *Kommersant* found that of all Russian film characters, Russians saw Stierlitz as having the qualities they most desire in a leader, citing his honesty.[19](https://newlinesmag.com/review/seventeen-moments-of-spring-the-ussrs-brilliant-but-troubling-tv-epic/) The same review observes that in modern Russia the series offers an image of the intelligence services, from the Cheka and KGB to the FSB and SVR, that many find a comforting antithesis of present-day reality, and that its lasting positive impression of espionage became a political asset for an ascendant [Vladimir Putin](https://www.edgepedia.org/vladimir-putin).[19](https://newlinesmag.com/review/seventeen-moments-of-spring-the-ussrs-brilliant-but-troubling-tv-epic/) • [14](https://www.cia.gov/resources/csi/static/Cold-War-Spy-Fiction.pdf)\n\n## Form, music, and later versions\n\nThe series was shot in black and white, with abundant documentary footage and voice-over narration contributing to an impression of authenticity.[16](https://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/8019/1/prokhorova_etd2003.pdf) Mikael Tariverdiev composed the score; Lioznova introduced the image of the sky with departing cranes, birds that know no war and no borders, and the music is closely tied to the series' most lyrical episodes.[20](https://www.bogolublib.ru/upload/inc/biblo_collection/persons/tariverdiev_m._l.pdf) [Iosif Kobzon](https://www.edgepedia.org/iosif-kobzon), the singer of the soundtrack, was widely linked to the series in press coverage at the time of his death.[21](https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2018/09/14/seventeen-moments-seventeen-thousand-jokes-a62888/pdf)\n\nA colorized version later appeared, and both the New Lines review and a Kinopoisk video essay argue that colorization runs against the creators' intent, with the original black-and-white rhythm and imagery considered superior.[19](https://newlinesmag.com/review/seventeen-moments-of-spring-the-ussrs-brilliant-but-troubling-tv-epic/) • [22](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyNaVkzgo-o) As of recent listings, the series streams in Russia on Premier and Kinopoisk, with no free options listed.[23](https://www.justwatch.com/ru/%D1%81%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%B0%D0%BB/semnadtsat-mgnovenii-vesny)\n\n## References\n\n1. [Легендарному сериалу «Семнадцать мгновений весны» — 50 лет. Факты и кадры, РБК Life](https://www.rbc.ru/life/news/64d5c35c9a7947b4c52fbcfb)\n2. [Seventeen Moments of Spring (1973), Stream Tracker](https://stream-tracker.com/en/serie/seventeen-moments-of-spring-1973)\n3. [Moscow TV Round-Up: Hitler's People, Seventeen Moments of Spring and More, The Moscow Times](https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2016/11/21/moscow-tv-round-up-hitlers-people-seventeen-moments-of-spring-and-more-a56221)\n4. [Семнадцать мгновений весны (сериал 1973), Кинопоиск](https://www.kinopoisk.ru/series/89540/)\n5. [Семнадцать мгновений весны, Киностудия им. М. Горького](https://gorkyfilm.ru/catalog/zolotaya-kollekcziya/semnadczat-mgnovenij-vesny/)\n6. [Юлиан СЕМЁНОВ, Московская правда (PDF)](https://mospravda.ru/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/90-Semenov-elec.pdf)\n7. [Семнадцать мгновений весны, Apple TV](https://tv.apple.com/ru/show/%D1%81%D0%B5%D0%BC%D0%BD%D0%B0%D0%B4%D1%86%D0%B0%D1%82%D1%8C-%D0%BC%D0%B3%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B8-%D0%B2%D0%B5%D1%81%D0%BD%D1%8B/umc.cmc.2k5s9uljcmtw14lpiux08qfqg)\n8. [К 50-летию телефильма «Семнадцать мгновений весны», Вокруг ТВ](https://www.vokrug.tv/article/show/16917477041/)\n9. [Seventeen Moments of Spring (TV Series 1973) — Ratings, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0069628/ratings/)\n10. [Отечество 7/8 2019 (PDF), rusol.ru](https://www.rusol.ru/sites/default/files/otechestvo/7_8_19_web.pdf)\n11. [Бессмертный Штирлиц: Как снимали «Семнадцать мгновений весны», КиноРепортер](https://kinoreporter.ru/bessmertnyj-shtirlic-kak-snimali-semnadcat-mgnovenij-vesny/)\n12. [Как снимали «Семнадцать мгновений весны», Телвид](https://televid.by/2016/09/kak-snimali-semnadcat-mgnovenij-ve/)\n13. [Семнадцать мгновений весны (1973) — актеры и съемочная группа, Кинопоиск](https://www.kinopoisk.ru/film/89540/cast/)\n14. [Cold War Spy Fiction in Russian Popular Culture, Studies in Intelligence, CIA](https://www.cia.gov/resources/csi/static/Cold-War-Spy-Fiction.pdf)\n15. [Christine E. Evans, \"Spiritual Coauthorship\": Seventeen Moments of Spring and the Soviet TV Miniseries, Between Truth and Time, Yale Scholarship Online](https://academic.oup.com/yale-scholarship-online/book/30467/chapter-abstract/257568546)\n16. [Elena Prokhorova, Fragmented Mythologies: Soviet TV Mini-Series of the 1970s, University of Pittsburgh ETD](https://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/8019/1/prokhorova_etd2003.pdf)\n17. [Isabelle de Keghel, Seventeen Moments of Spring, a Soviet James Bond Series?, Euxeinos 25–26 (2018)](https://gce.unisg.ch/fileadmin/user_upload/HSG_ROOT/Institut_GCE/Euxeinos/26-25/Euxeinos_25_26_2018.pdf)\n18. [Review of Tarik Cyril Amar, James Bond's Socialist Rivals, The American Historical Review](https://academic.oup.com/ahr/article-abstract/130/4/1773/8404770)\n19. ['Seventeen Moments of Spring': the USSR's Brilliant but Troubling TV Epic, New Lines Magazine](https://newlinesmag.com/review/seventeen-moments-of-spring-the-ussrs-brilliant-but-troubling-tv-epic/)\n20. [Микаэл Таривердиев (PDF), bogolublib.ru](https://www.bogolublib.ru/upload/inc/biblo_collection/persons/tariverdiev_m._l.pdf)\n21. [Seventeen Moments, Seventeen Thousand Jokes, The Moscow Times](https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2018/09/14/seventeen-moments-seventeen-thousand-jokes-a62888/pdf)\n22. [Чем до сих пор восхищают «Семнадцать мгновений весны», Кинопоиск (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyNaVkzgo-o)\n23. [Семнадцать мгновений весны — смотреть сериал онлайн, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/ru/%D1%81%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%B0%D0%BB/semnadtsat-mgnovenii-vesny)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Crime, thriller, and mystery films (individual works) › 1970s films*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/seventeen-moments-of-spring", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/seventeen-moments-of-spring.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Seventeen Moments of Spring\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/seventeen-moments-of-spring. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Seventeen Moments of Spring](https://www.edgepedia.org/seventeen-moments-of-spring)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/seventeen-moments-of-spring](https://www.edgepedia.org/seventeen-moments-of-spring). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Seventeen Moments of Spring\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/seventeen-moments-of-spring. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Seventeen Moments of Spring is a 1973 Soviet 12-episode spy miniseries directed by Tatyana Lioznova from Yulian Semyonov's novel, starring Vyacheslav Tikhonov as Stierlitz, a Soviet mole in the SS thwarting separate peace talks in 1945." }