TRAITORS

 Hello ladies and gents this is the Viking telling you that today we are talking about

Sidney Reilly

While there are plenty of notable traitors throughout history, not many were skilled enough at betrayal that they could actually make a living off of it. Sidney Reilly, better known as the ‘Ace of Spies’, was a British intelligence officer and is the most accomplished spy in human history. His complete exploits may never be fully known, but it was rumored he had worked for more than four different governments during his career. Details as to his heritage are fuzzy. Whether he was Irish, Russian, Ukrainian or English, we may never no. Regardless, Reilly is responsible for more cloak-and-dagger deception than possibly any other spy.

Reilly’s career reads just like a James Bond novel, mainly because James Bond novels are based on Reilly’s career. During his career, he worked for the Soviets while serving as a double agent for the British and the Japanese, sent confidential Russian information back to London during WWI, and sent information to Tokyo during the Russo-Japanese War. Reilly was discovered as a double agent for the British during an attempt to assassinate Vladimir Lenin and had to flee to Russia for his life. 

Depending on who ask, Reilly is either a national hero or conniving double-crosser, but either way, he is definitely the most accomplished traitor on this list. Unfortunately, the Soviets got tired of his meddling and lured him back to Russia, where he was caught, tortured, and executed. Apparently, even during his incarceration in the Soviet Union, he was recording Russian interrogation techniques to sell to the highest bidder. Old habits die hard, even in Soviet gulags.

And as always have a chilled day from the Viking