The Petrov Case: Espionage or Politics?

This article presents the author's views on the issue of espionage and politics. In the year 1954 the Australian Prime Minister, R. G. Menzies, announced to a crowded and expectant Parliament that Vladimir Petrov, third secretary of the Soviet embassy at Canberra, had sought and been granted political sanctuary. Petrov, he said, had brought with him a mass of documents that revealed the existence of widespread Soviet espionage in Australia, with contacts in many high government offices. The impact of this announcement was immediate and dramatic. Press and radio alike treated it, as had Mr. Menzies, as a matter of the greatest national importance. The bill was passed by both houses without debate in a few hours.