10 Soviet spy movies you can watch online for FREE
Chases, conspiracies, covert spies - it's impossible to tear yourself away from these movies. We’ve put together a list of the most interesting spy dramas from the Soviet era.
‘17 Moments of Spring’, 1973
Considered to be the most famous Soviet spy mini-series, based on Julian Semyonov's book about ‘Operation Sunrise’ during World War II. Soviet spy Maxim Isaev, who, under the name of Max Otto von Stierlitz, works in the security service of the Reichsführer-SS, must disrupt negotiations between the German Reich and the United States and Great Britain.
Throughout the 12 episodes, viewers watch in suspense as the protagonist cleverly evades the suspicions of the Gestapo and continues his work. The drama about the Soviet spy was so popular that many quotes and anecdotes from it are enshrined in every day conversations. "And you, Stierlitz, I'll ask you to stay!" upon hearing this phrase, Russian viewers unmistakably recognize "one of their own”.
‘Shot in the Fog’, 1964
A talented Soviet scientist makes a discovery in which foreign intelligence immediately becomes interested. It does not work and he suddenly disappears. But the trick with changing his last name is quickly discovered and now his life is in danger - a real hunt for him and his discovery is announced.
As one of the heroes jokes: "As soon as a worthy discovery is made, it immediately becomes necessary to all: agriculture, the Ministry of Defense, the Union of Writers!" The dramatic story about how the secrets of Soviet scientists are ready to be protected at any cost, even now attracts attention with plot twists and how dynamically it was filmed.
‘Tehran 43’, 1980
A spy action movie in which, in addition to Soviet actors, famous French and German actors Alain Delon, Claude Jade and Curd Jurgens played. During the Tehran Conference in 1943, an assassination attempt was being prepared on the heads of the U.S., Great Britain and the USSR. Soviet intelligence officer Andrei Borodin, with the help of translator Marie Looney, prevents sabotage.
Thirty years later, one of the participants in the conspiracy decides to auction off his memories and newsreels of that time. And it all starts all over again: chases, murders and ‘Eternal Love’ - French singer Charles Aznavour dedicated this song to leading female actress Natalya Belokhvostikova.
‘The Shield and the Sword’, 1968
The protagonist of this four-part series about a spy working in the heart of a Reichsführer-SS' security service has real-life prototypes. They were Rudolf Abel and Alexander Svyatogorov, famous Soviet spies, who worked covertly in the West for many years.
In the story, a man named Johan Weiss manages to move from Riga, Latvia, to Germany before the war and starts a career there - first in the Abwehr and then in the SS. He has an unremarkable appearance, is a pleasant conversationalist and is no longer a distinguished servant, of which there are many. If it were not for one thing: under the name of Weiss hides Alexander Belov - a scout who passes on classified information about the enemy’s plans.
The song ‘Where the Motherland begins’ was included in the soundtrack and became an independent hit in the USSR.
‘One of Us’, 1970
April 1941, a carefree Moscow spring: people are dancing and walking in parks, pioneers are marching through the streets and workers are heading to the factory entrance ahead of their next shift. Meanwhile, German saboteurs are about to blow up the factory, in which they are about to start producing ‘Katyusha’ war machines. The date when it will happen is even known - June 21, 1941. To frustrate their plans, the NKVD sends them a reserve commander named Sergei Biryukov, who is "one of us".
At first glance, the movie looks like a collection of spy cliches. But, on the other hand, it is about the big game of world intelligence, in the center of which ordinary people find themselves.
‘Dead Season’, 1968
An atmospheric black-and-white movie about how an undercover Soviet spy tries to expose a war criminal and stop his development of weapons of mass destruction from going west. The plot is based on real events from the life of Russian spy Konon Molodiy. In the 1950s-1960s, he lived in England under the name Gordon Lonsdale, was quite a respectable businessman and spied on German scientists who worked for Hilter during the war.
What’s most interesting is that the spy even acted as a consultant for ‘Dead Season’. Of the many spy movies, perhaps this one is one of the most authentic and action-packed.
‘Resident Error’, 1968
The very history of the filming of this spy saga about the confrontation between Western and Soviet intelligence services is like a detective story with a dashingly twisted plot. As legend has it, a real spy was even discovered among the movie’s crew! Filming was also carried out at secret facilities, for example, nuclear power plants. And, to ensure that everything in the frame was authentic, they provided the “correct props” - a real lie detector.
The story of a Western spy, who first hunts for the secrets of the USSR nuclear industry and then becomes a double agent has grown into four movies. ‘Resident Error’ has all the necessary elements: a charming spy, a dramatic plot, chases, secrets and lots of conspiracies.
‘Rockin' the long way’, 1969
An unexpected cast immediately attracts the attention of any Russian: the role of a young biologist who is blackmailed into working for a foreign intelligence agency is played by Alexander Demyanenko, the star of Leonid Gaidai's comedies. Here, he plays a conscientious Soviet citizen, who immediately reports that he is being forced to spy and the intruders are caught by the KGB.
But still, the movie turned out to be more of a parody of the work of intelligence services, which has all the "spy" signs. There are psychotropic drugs, which the main protagonist is pumped with, a journey in a Soviet submarine and a demonic agent of Western intelligence services - all too much to seem credible.
‘TASS Authorized to Declare’, 1984
A series of movies based on a novel by Yulian Semenov, which is based on real events. The plot revolves around the search for a CIA spy, who gained access to data about the Soviet presence in the fictitious “African” country of Nagonia.
KGB officers want to expose the intelligence network and, at the same time, must prevent a coup on another continent.
‘Death on Takeoff’, 1982
Ethnographer Nora meets a scientist from a secret institute where new types of armor steel are being developed. Having broken his watch, she gives him a new one in return - however, it contains a small transmitting device.
Too late the hero realizes that he has become the object of interest of foreign intelligence and unwittingly gave out classified information: as a result, he dies. The movie was shot according to all the laws of the genre: the death of the scientist will not be in vain and the criminals will be caught.
