Sidney Reilly and the Lockhart Plot
Sidney Reilly was “the” spy. He was not only considered the first super spy of the 20th century but he also provided the inspiration for Ian Fleming’s James Bond. He was the precursor to the British MI-5/MI-6 and today much of his life is so shrouded in mystery and legend that few people know the truth. While there are many stories of Sidney’s exploits and aliases, few are as daring or as well-known at the Lockhart plot.
The Lockhart plot was a supposed plan by the British government to assassinate Vladimir Lenin. The British government denies any involvement in a plot against Lenin, but 90 years later the documents regarding the Lockhart plot remain sealed under the Official Secrets Act. This leads many historians to believe that the Lockhart plot and Sidney Reilly’s daring espionage really happened.
In 1918, the Russians had pulled out of the war, which left the Allies with an influx of Germans on the Western front. The British wanted the Russians back in the war and decided that the only way to do that was to get rid of Lenin. Robert Bruce Lockhart hatched a plan to overthrow the Bolshevik government and get Lenin out of power. He teamed up with Sidney Reilly who had established a reputation as an agent for the British Intelligence.
Sidney drew up plans for military officials who would take over after the Bolsheviks were taken out of power and started conducting secret meetings with anti-Bolsheviks in Russia. On August 30th Fanya Kaplan shot Lenin three times and badly wounded him. The Cheka used the assassination attempt as proof of a grand conspiracy and rounded up anyone was suspected to be involved in the coup attempt. Reilly was implicated in the plot, many of his associates were arrested but Sidney managed to escape and make his way back to Britain. But he was sentenced to death by the Russians if he was ever caught.