Richard Sorge (October 4, 1895 – November 7, 1944) was a Soviet military intelligence officer, active before and during World War II, working as an undercover German journalist in both Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan. His code name was "Ramsay" (Russian: Рамза́й). A number of famous personalities considered him one of the most accomplished spies.
Sorge is most famous for his service in Japan in 1940 and 1941, when he provided information about Adolf Hitler's plan to attack the Soviet Union
In mid-September 1941, he informed the Soviets that Japan would not attack the Soviet Union in the near future, which dramatically altered the plight of Operation Barbarossa and allowed the command to transfer 18 divisions, 1,700 tanks, and over 1,500 aircraft from Siberia and the Far East to the Western Front against Nazi Germany during the most critical months of the Battle for Moscow, one of the turning points of World War II.
A month later Sorge was arrested in Japan on the counts of espionage. He was tortured, forced to confess, tried, and hanged in November 1944. He was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union in 1964.
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