Sidney Reilly, later dubbed the “king of espionage,” was born in the Russian Empire, according to differing accounts, in 1873 or 1874. British service records list his birth date as March 24, 1873. His real name is usually given as Sigmund Rosenblum, though some sources also mention Solomon. The future intelligence operative came from a family originating in Grodno Governorate and grew up in Odesa.
In the early 1890s he left for Europe, and after returning to Russia he was arrested in a case involving banned literature. Rosenblum soon left the country, later surfaced in South America, and, according to the article, joined a British intelligence expedition in Brazil in 1895. He then obtained British papers and moved to the United Kingdom, where he became known as Sidney Reilly.
In 1897 he entered British intelligence service. His biography later became surrounded by myths and contradictions: different versions diverge on his studies, service, and travels. The article notes that this confusion may have been created deliberately. Reilly is also described as a possible prototype for the hero of The Gadfly, the novel by Ethel Voynich.
One of Reilly’s most notable operations was his activity in Port Arthur on the eve of the Russo-Japanese War. The article states that in 1903, posing as a timber merchant, he obtained plans of Russian fortifications and passed them to the Japanese side. After the Japanese fleet’s night attack on Port Arthur on January 27, 1904, the fortress was eventually lost, although the author stresses that the outcome of the war cannot be reduced to Reilly’s actions alone.
“At any cost this abomination born in Russia must be destroyed. There is only one enemy. Humanity must unite against this midnight horror,” Reilly wrote in a letter that, according to the article, was intercepted by the Cheka.
After the revolution, Reilly took part in anti-Bolshevik activity. The operations attributed to him include helping Alexander Kerensky leave Russia through Murmansk aboard a British destroyer, preparing assassination attempts on Vladimir Lenin, and playing a role in the events surrounding the killing of German ambassador Wilhelm von Mirbach on July 6, 1918.
His career ended with Operation Trust. In August 1925, Reilly was detained while crossing the Soviet-Finnish border. After interrogations at the Lubyanka, he was executed. Intelligence historian Oleg Matveev, quoted by the publication, says Soviet counterintelligence regarded Reilly as a dangerous enemy but respected him as a professional.