Robert Philip Hanssen was an American Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent who, from 1979 to 2001, spied for Soviet and Russian intelligence services against the United States. He was born on April 18, 1944, and died on June 5, 2023. The Department of Justice called his spying “possibly the worst intelligence disaster in American history.”
Hanssen’s first espionage cycle began in 1979, three years after he joined the FBI when he approached the Soviet Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) to offer his assistance. This cycle lasted until 1981.
When the Soviet Union fell apart in 1991, he stopped communicating out of concern that he would be discovered. He resumed his spying efforts in 1985. The next year, Hanssen resumed contact, which he kept up until his imprisonment. He kept his identity a secret while snooping.
Robert Hanssen cause of death: How did Robert Hanssen die?
At a federal prison in Florence, Colorado, Hanssen, 79, was discovered unconscious in his cell and subsequently confirmed dead, according to prison officials. According to a person acquainted with the situation, he is thought to have passed away naturally.
