Georgetown Spies

By Dhanraj Bhagwandin

Subjects: Politics and government, Russian Espionage, World politics, Social life and customs, History, American Espionage

Description: In Georgetown, (Guyana), a small colonial type capital on the north eastern tip of South America, a dreaded Soviet secret spy network code-named the KAYS, tried desperately to infiltrate their bitter rival, the American SAYS. There, the KAYS gathered sensitive information and for several years made a vain attempt to influence the domestic and international political environment. While the agenda of the KAYS unfolded, veteran Guyanese politician Dr. Cheddi Jagan, a long time friend of Moscow played his politics both ways, East and West. But the odds were against the KAYS. Nevertheless, their undercover work was spiced with glamour and romance when seductive Soviet Film Actress Irina Shmeleva visited Georgetown and used her charm to entice both the writer and an agent of the KAYS. This saga reached its climax when one of the Georgetown agents hastily left for Moscow. Hours after his departure, the world was shaken by the news of an aborted coup against Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. In a few months, the KAYS were crushed as the Soviet Union collapsed, leaving behind scanty traces of the Georgetown episode. A facinating account of international politics, spying and intrigue, played out largely in Guyana, and to a lesser extent, in the Caribbean and Europe, during the cold war. Dhanraj Bhagwandin, a seasoned international journalist cleverly describes and analyses real political situations. He uses indepth knowledge of places, his extensive travels and personalities together with his analytical skills to weave an intricate and delicate yarn that is certain to arouse and keep the imagination of the reader. Professor Robert Ramraj Written with a sharp journalistic eye and ear, Bhagwandin’s Georgetown Spies combines the charm of a bildungsroman, a travelogue, and a intriguing tale of espionage. The thinking traveler/observer writes with stylistic grace and reveals a sophisticated intelligence as he presents his vision of the world in political flux. His product- inquiring, penetrating, edventurous-- is bound to leave the reader haunted. Dolly Z. Hassan, Ph.D. (English), Attorney At Law.