Russian intelligence service honors former East German spy chief Markus Wolf

Russia’s foreign intelligence service has put up a memorial to Markus Wolf in central Moscow.

The bronze relief and plaque are on a house where Wolf lived from 1934 to 1945.

Wolf led East Germany’s Stasi foreign intelligence service for nearly 30 years, overseeing about 4,000 spies.

He became known in the West as the “man without a face,” and his agents recruited Günter Guillaume, whose exposure in 1974 led West German Chancellor Willy Brandt to resign.

The tribute comes 20 years after Wolf’s death, on the eve of the anniversary of his death on November 9.

Wolf’s record remains tied to the Stasi’s actions, and German courts later sentenced him for crimes, though one conviction was overturned.

The plaque reflects Russia’s decision to honor Wolf’s role in Cold War history; no further steps were announced.