1) Esterhase makes an oblique reference to it just as the plane is landing - easy to miss:
Moscow thinks Polyakov's working for them, so, every now and then we give him the odd file to take back to them chicken-feed, just to keep his bosses happy. But Polyakov's our Joe, part of a big operation ...
Toby's explanation in the book (Ch. 34):
“Come on, George,” Toby said. “You’re not a child. Think how many operations we ran this way. We buy Polyakov, okay? Polyakov’s a Moscow hood but he’s our Joe. But he’s got to pretend to his own people that he’s spying on us. How else does he get away with it? How does he walk in and out of that house all day, no gorillas, no baby-sitters, everything so easy? He comes down to our shop, so he got to take home the goodies. So we give him goodies. Chicken-feed, so he can pass it home and everyone in Moscow claps him on the back and tells him he’s a big guy—happens every day.”
The files are meant as cover to deceive Moscow into thinking Polyakov is obtaining intel for them, while supposedly giving Witchcraft "treasure" to the Circus. The irony of course is that Moscow turns the tables on the safe house operation, securely gathering prime info from Haydon while distributing glitter/chickenfeed to the others.
2) In the book (Ch. 37) Smiley summons all the main players in various states of shell shock to the safe house bust:
At some point Smiley reappeared from upstairs and mentioned Tarr. Alleline phoned the Circus and dictated one telegram to Paris saying that he could return to England with honour, whatever that meant; and a second to Mackelvore [Paris section chief and who had initially talent spotted Tarr as a scalp-hunter over a decade earlier in Malaysia] saying that Tarr was an acceptable person, which again seemed to Guillam a matter of opinion.
Probably reinstalled into the Service - but not again in Le Carré world as far as I'm aware.
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Drooch (5333)
4 years ago
1) Thanks for this info. I’m still a bit confused here - what is the purpose of the illusion that Polyakov is receiving intel from the British? Who needs to believe that illusion and why? Moscow know he’s a triple agent, as does Haydon, and the Three dummies believe he’s a traitor who’s giving them gold.
2) That’s good to hear, I’m relieved that Ricky is brought home with ‘honour’.
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simon23 (6)
4 years ago
The Circus believes Polyakov and the secret source high up in Moscow Center to be genuine double agents spying for them. In order to "protect" Polyakov (as the legitimate asset they see him) from being caught by Russian counterintelligence, cover is provided for the various meetings by fabricating the notion that Polyakov is just a garden-variety Russian spy cultivating contacts and returning with (low grade) intel as payoff so as to avoid any suspicion he is anything other than loyal to the Motherland. The intel is to make Moscow Center believe the illusion (as the Circus sees it) that Polyakov is a routine spy loyal to them.
The reality tearing this complacent Circus view to shreds is Polyakov is indeed loyal and only pretending to be a double agent, in sync with Moscow all along subverting the safe house operation as cover to securely retrieve files from Haydon under the noses of the Circus.
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Drooch (5333)
4 years ago
Ah OK, so it helps dupe the Three Dummies by adding credibility to the illusion that Polyakov is a careful double agent trying to avoid detection from Moscow counterintelligence.
Thanks for helping to clear that up, the layers of deception are so deep and complex you can see why Control went mad and had a stroke.
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