Maria Fortus

Maria Alexandrovna Fortus (Russian: Мария Фортус; 1908–1980)[1] was a Soviet translator and intelligence officer.

Biography

Fortus married the Catalan anarchist Ramon Casanellas, who had fled to the Soviet Union as a refugee. Fortus and her husband spent time together in Spain, allowing her to develop a familiarity with the Spanish language and culture. This familiarity assisted her when she was appointed to a Soviet military delegation to Spain during the Spanish Civil War in 1936, where she served as a translator. While working in Spain, she used the false name Julia Jiménez Cárdenas. Fortus became an intelligence agent in World War II.[1] She primarily operated in the Ukrainian SSR, where she trained other intelligence officers. She was also involved in operations in the Kingdom of Romania and the Kingdom of Hungary.[2] Fortus received the Order of Lenin for her service.[3] The 1970 film Hail, Mary! was based on Fortus's life.[4]

References
  1. Rodríguez-Espinosa, Marcos (2016-01-02). ""¡No Pasarán!": Translators under siege and ideological control in the Spanish Civil War". Perspectives. 24 (1): 22–35. doi:10.1080/0907676X.2015.1073765. ISSN 0907-676X.
  2. Zalietok, Nataliia (2018-11-02). "British and Soviet Women in the Military Campaign of 1939-45: A Comparative Review". MCU Journal (Gender): 25. doi:10.21140/mcuj.2018si01.
  3. Baigorri-Jalón, Jesús (2021). "Appendix: Honors and Awards Received by Interpreters". Languages in the Crossfire: Interpreters in the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939). Routledge. ISBN 978-1-000-39610-2.
  4. "Feature Film Premiered". Soviet Life. 1971-10-27. p. 27.
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