Probably worked to death in a salt mine but it'd be much nicer to believe he snuck off one night, made it to safety, and died free somewhere of natural causes. If he did manage to escape one thing is 100% for sure, Ivan would never mention it and would sanitize anyone who even spread a rumor to that effect.
HITESH ADHIKARI if it’s unknown and untold then it’s probably unproven and probably some made up story that we can’t test or prove. We will know who’s the greatest spy on paper but the greatest spy is probably unknown and we would never know. We can only determine how great it is if we know of it’s existence and what it is.
@@testserver2054 our minds often think that what we don't understand or know is a figment of imagination. That is work of spy, to make you think nothing or no such person exists
thatd be good! Or the fact that Nazi troops where issued heavy doses of amphetamines, which was a big reason why they where able to take so much territory so quickly, but also why after a few years the military started falling apart because most of the soldiers were strung out
I have to say that this channel is the only one of many that I watch that totally keeps my attention...Most scripted stories on these type channels have me nodding off after 5 min of a 15-20 min video!!!..You do such a great job I your research,writing and presentation!!.. I’m always riveted to the story...Thanks for taking the time and effort for these videos and just not throwing them together to make a quick buck!!..Keep up the great work!!
Apart from imbuing Bond with his own tastes, Fleming based his fictional creation on a number of individuals he came across during his time in intelligence, admitting that Bond "was a compound of all the secret agents and commando types I met during the war".
Definitely one of those “inspired by” or “based on” the life of …. Though it is a good and entertaining series, it bears little actual resemblance to Riley or his life.
Great video, but disagree on the James bond part on numerous reasons: I) James bond does not flip sides, 007 heart her Majesty II) Ian Fleming operated actively in WWII not WWI and there is very slim chance he physically encountered him vs all the numerous other spies Fleming met
Correct James Bond is a mix of many people Ian Fleming knew and heard of throughout his life. But Robert Bruce Lockhart and Ian Fleming were friends for many years after Lockhart was in Russia and Ian stated himself he created the character after hearing what Lockhart told him about Reilly.
That’s definitely a “pffft please”, most of Mata Haris info was Paris street gossip about the sex lives of French generals and politicians (much of which was already in foreign newspapers).
I've been following this guy for so long. HOW THE HELL DOES HE NOT HAVE OVER 1 MILLION SUBSCRIBERS!!🤯 I love these videos bro. Please keep them coming.
Yes in the early 90s the archives of the KGB were smuggled out by the archive director and printed in a book called Sword and Shield- in the KGB analysis of Riley- he was rated poorly caught and executed- so states the records but who really knows lol. The book is interesting because it revealed the SS attempt to murder the The Big Three in Tehran presumably why Stalin wanted Roosevelt and Churchill to stay in the compound overnight. The plot was exposed by a KGB agent working in a brothel where the SS commandos frequented- one promised her a Persian rug- the information was relayed to Moscow- the SS team was eliminated in Tehran. The book may be in limited print still- interesting read!
Much of the mitrokin archive remains classified. My own research indicates a lot about Reilly was destroyed. References to about thirty files I and no one else can find in plain english.
Very interesting episode! Did not realize just how much influence he had during his career! Would defiantly been an interesting character to talk with if given the chance... One heck of a story and his exploits are great to hear about!! Thanks for a great 15min of work!
This channel has really become one of my favorite for interesting pieces of history just like this! They're well thought out, and factual too! Which is now beginning to become hard to come by. If you ever need any translation for any Russian text or help with pronunciations, I'd love to help you out!
A good book on Riley is "Russian Roulette How British Spies Thwarted Lenins Plot for Global Revolution" by Giles Milton, one of his fellow officers got his disguises from a London theatrical outfitter and turned up at the Kremlin front door and just asked to see "Mr Lenin" whilst another walked from India to central Asia to ferment Jihad against the Bolsheviks
I read that James Bond was also partly based on Christopher Lee. I wonder if James Bond is just a mashup of the two. If you don’t know Christopher Lee’s background, check it out. It’s an incredible read
CL was overseas fighting the Russians briefly in the Winter War, but when asked about it he just said he was a stretcher bearer on the frontlines. I think he did more than just carry stretchers through.
There's a myth that before he died he changed his last name to Hunt and had a son in America named Ethan working for a secret spy service that did Impossible Missions.
Hi I wanted to say I really love your videos they are very entertaining and intriguing. Are you open to suggestions? Would you be able to make the format a little lengthier? 15 minutes or so seems to be only enough time to go into the very basic facts of the story and not really get into the detail. I think many of your videos could be a little longer like 25 minutes or so, the content is definitely interesting enough to merit that length. Good work.
God your videos are literally the best stuff on UA-cam. I adore all "Dark" media but you really should re-make some of the old dark5 stuff with voiceover ♥️
At Harrow School my history teacher was Bruce Lockart's nephew and he read to us from his uncle's diaries including excellent descriptions of Rasputin who, though strange, was a good man. Coincidentally, my sister used to play croquet with Alexander Kerensky's son at The Roehampton Club in London.
dude, the way you describe him in your intro is epic.. like, how awesome would it be to be at a party with him and just listen to his stories? ..."And this one time.. I was just about to help save the Royal family and.." or ..."And just then I realized I was caught! so I quickly changed my identity through a clever trick of .............. thus making it possible for me to pull off the assassination.. And that is how I saved the entire world, for the third time..."
Is this where the phrase "living the life of Riley comes from"? I have a hard time respecting a person who only spies for money. By my reckoning the greatest spy ever was Elie Coen. Spied for Israel and almost became Minister of defence for Syria. Believe he planted olive trees to provide shade for the Syrian Army on the Golan Heights marking all the spots for the IDF during the 6 day war.
you just now finished the netflix series eh?!?! It was very good though, and don't they both look the same?!?! and come from the same religion?? interesting to say the least...
14:20 Although it helps nicely bookend another good installment (and is oft, lazily, parroted around the Internet), what is the primary source material supporting the notion that Ian Fleming used Reilly as the model for Bond?
'Last Seen in Soviet Russia'
yeah, wrap it up, he's dead.
Probably got addicted to heroine
@@manneredcheetah6665 nah hookers n cheap vodka got him he retired
He was a class traitor
Probably worked to death in a salt mine but it'd be much nicer to believe he snuck off one night, made it to safety, and died free somewhere of natural causes.
If he did manage to escape one thing is 100% for sure, Ivan would never mention it and would sanitize anyone who even spread a rumor to that effect.
He's still alive in a gulag... 121 yrs later
"Sidney George Riley's life began when he was born" - yep, that'll do it.
JägerLange I too was born at a young age
What a coincidence, so did mine!!
Shallow
Hahahaha I’m dying
😂
Trust me the "Greatest spy to have lived" is not one we know of.
We may know them, but not as spies.
@Jimbop Because a good spy wouldn't have his exist be known of. duh. That's like the whole point of subversion.
@Jimbop Bruh you're a dumb ass. I didn't say he wasn't a spy, all i said is the best spy alive probably isn't known to the public.
@@andrew9068 Yeah if everyone knows his identity then he's probably not the world's greatest spy.
Keep it dark there....
*Greatest spy is one who's stories are unknown and untold*
HITESH ADHIKARI if it’s unknown and untold then it’s probably unproven and probably some made up story that we can’t test or prove. We will know who’s the greatest spy on paper but the greatest spy is probably unknown and we would never know. We can only determine how great it is if we know of it’s existence and what it is.
Exactly, it's an oxymoron
Weak cliché, yawn.
Boyan Tang ? You’re not making any sense. Lol
@@testserver2054 our minds often think that what we don't understand or know is a figment of imagination.
That is work of spy, to make you think nothing or no such person exists
You should do a piece on hitler and his personal doctor and the effects it had on the fuhrers mind and war machine of Germany.
thatd be good! Or the fact that Nazi troops where issued heavy doses of amphetamines, which was a big reason why they where able to take so much territory so quickly, but also why after a few years the military started falling apart because most of the soldiers were strung out
Such great history and what an interesting man! Stories like these need to be shared more! Thankyou for doing so!
This is definitely in my top 3 favorite channels.
same
Lookup 'that chapter '
What are you other favourites? I like lemmeknow
I have to say that this channel is the only one of many that I watch that totally keeps my attention...Most scripted stories on these type channels have me nodding off after 5 min of a 15-20 min video!!!..You do such a great job I your research,writing and presentation!!.. I’m always riveted to the story...Thanks for taking the time and effort for these videos and just not throwing them together to make a quick buck!!..Keep up the great work!!
Apart from imbuing Bond with his own tastes, Fleming based his fictional creation on a number of individuals he came across during his time in intelligence, admitting that Bond "was a compound of all the secret agents and commando types I met during the war".
There was tv series based on his life, i think it was titled “Riley: Ace of Spies”.
Indeed, with Sam Neil! A great mini-series.
@@fetishartist137 it was great and choice intro music
Sam Neil I think, perfect training for playing damien thorn the anti christ in the third omen
Definitely one of those “inspired by” or “based on” the life of …. Though it is a good and entertaining series, it bears little actual resemblance to Riley or his life.
Oh oh, Sterling Archer's had his heart broken again.
Blame Barry
Great video, but disagree on the James bond part on numerous reasons:
I) James bond does not flip sides, 007 heart her Majesty
II) Ian Fleming operated actively in WWII not WWI and there is very slim chance he physically encountered him vs all the numerous other spies Fleming met
Correct James Bond is a mix of many people Ian Fleming knew and heard of throughout his life. But Robert Bruce Lockhart and Ian Fleming were friends for many years after Lockhart was in Russia and Ian stated himself he created the character after hearing what Lockhart told him about Reilly.
Subject of a superb British TV Series in the 80s, ‘Reilly, Ace of Spies’ starring Sam a Neil as the man himself.
Nope - the greatest spy is the one you've never heard of - if you are a famous spy, you're not doin' it right....
Mata Hari: I'm the greatest spy that has ever existed!
Sidney Riley: pfft, please.
That’s definitely a “pffft please”, most of Mata Haris info was Paris street gossip about the sex lives of French generals and politicians (much of which was already in foreign newspapers).
@AlCeeProd2.0 she was a dancer in France back in WWI
I've been following this guy for so long. HOW THE HELL DOES HE NOT HAVE OVER 1 MILLION SUBSCRIBERS!!🤯 I love these videos bro. Please keep them coming.
His main channel does.
His main channel has 2.3 million subscribers not much of a follower it seems are you....smh
Love your stuff.. But I understood that James Bond was based on Ian Fleming himself per his exploits in war 2. Either way great video! Thank you DD 👍💯
Was there any files when the Soviet Union fell and they released documents about this man and his final fate ?
alex357ist might be in metrotkin archive
Yes in the early 90s the archives of the KGB were smuggled out by the archive director and printed in a book called Sword and Shield- in the KGB analysis of Riley- he was rated poorly caught and executed- so states the records but who really knows lol. The book is interesting because it revealed the SS attempt to murder the The Big Three in Tehran presumably why Stalin wanted Roosevelt and Churchill to stay in the compound overnight. The plot was exposed by a KGB agent working in a brothel where the SS commandos frequented- one promised her a Persian rug- the information was relayed to Moscow- the SS team was eliminated in Tehran. The book may be in limited print still- interesting read!
Much of the mitrokin archive remains classified. My own research indicates a lot about Reilly was destroyed. References to about thirty files I and no one else can find in plain english.
Russians don't release such things, even if it was 100 years ago
Yes - the OGPU files
Excellent piece. Thank you
This is one of the most interesting channels I've ever found on YT, thank you!
Make Felton Productions is another good one, if you haven't watched his yet.
im glad he was born at the beginning of his life. thats not common any more.
". .. towards HelSINKi on a ship. '
Disconcerting for the passengers I bet.
This is your best work
Very interesting episode! Did not realize just how much influence he had during his career! Would defiantly been an interesting character to talk with if given the chance... One heck of a story and his exploits are great to hear about!! Thanks for a great 15min of work!
Definitely
Defiantly
Two very different words with equally different meanings
This guy had one crazy sick life
Sydney Riley has a great life story. Every time I hear it, it’s different.
Thanks Dark for the......Dark Docs...Awesome stuff....!
This channel has really become one of my favorite for interesting pieces of history just like this! They're well thought out, and factual too! Which is now beginning to become hard to come by. If you ever need any translation for any Russian text or help with pronunciations, I'd love to help you out!
Always enjoy getting these notices of a new video.
A good book on Riley is "Russian Roulette How British Spies Thwarted Lenins Plot for Global Revolution" by Giles Milton, one of his fellow officers got his disguises from a London theatrical outfitter and turned up at the Kremlin front door and just asked to see "Mr Lenin" whilst another walked from India to central Asia to ferment Jihad against the Bolsheviks
Well he is the incarnation of Italy! He changed sides like they were women
What about the french? you could buy there rifles cheep.. never fired and only dropped once 😜
Great as always
naah. "dusko popov" is the real deal ;)
Riley: Ace of spies.
I read that James Bond was also partly based on Christopher Lee. I wonder if James Bond is just a mashup of the two. If you don’t know Christopher Lee’s background, check it out. It’s an incredible read
Lee was related to Fleming by marriage. They knew each other
CL was overseas fighting the Russians briefly in the Winter War, but when asked about it he just said he was a stretcher bearer on the frontlines. I think he did more than just carry stretchers through.
There's a myth that before he died he changed his last name to Hunt and had a son in America named Ethan working for a secret spy service that did Impossible Missions.
Bwahahahahaha!!!!!! That's very clever!!!
Can you do a video on Operation Highjump?
Nice One and Definitely Different! Cheers
Man this guy did allot of shit. I’d need like 10 lifetimes to do all that.
Dude Probably Did a Ton of Crank😃
Especially during ww1, when traveling around wasn't that fast. No big 747's.
Dark Docs: Never boring...
AWESOME!!
You should do one on the American Forces that landed in Russia, their struggles and fate.
Hi I wanted to say I really love your videos they are very entertaining and intriguing. Are you open to suggestions? Would you be able to make the format a little lengthier? 15 minutes or so seems to be only enough time to go into the very basic facts of the story and not really get into the detail. I think many of your videos could be a little longer like 25 minutes or so, the content is definitely interesting enough to merit that length. Good work.
what a resourceful guy. He had skillz !
God your videos are literally the best stuff on UA-cam. I adore all "Dark" media but you really should re-make some of the old dark5 stuff with voiceover ♥️
Yeah that's the only reason I don't watch it I don't feel like reading that shit I'm on YT for a reason not Reddit
At Harrow School my history teacher was Bruce Lockart's nephew and he read to us from his uncle's diaries including excellent descriptions of Rasputin who, though strange, was a good man. Coincidentally, my sister used to play croquet with Alexander Kerensky's son at The Roehampton Club in London.
dude, the way you describe him in your intro is epic.. like, how awesome would it be to be at a party with him and just listen to his stories?
..."And this one time.. I was just about to help save the Royal family and.." or ..."And just then I realized I was caught! so I quickly changed my identity through a clever trick of .............. thus making it possible for me to pull off the assassination.. And that is how I saved the entire world, for the third time..."
He was just too good
Great video!
Just think about the ones we don’t know about...
That’s crazy to even imagine to me...
The life of Riley
Hey love the video. But did anyone else catch the Reenactor hitting a vape and not a cigarette? 2:59
" Reilly.........Sidney Reilly "
A SPY disappearing is perhaps the least mysterious disappearance possible.
Wait, this video's not about *Sterling Archer* ! Clickbait !
Sounds like it's time for a... RAMPAGE!
Is this where the phrase "living the life of Riley comes from"?
I have a hard time respecting a person who only spies for money.
By my reckoning the greatest spy ever was Elie Coen. Spied for Israel and almost became Minister of defence for Syria. Believe he planted olive trees to provide shade for the Syrian Army on the Golan Heights marking all the spots for the IDF during the 6 day war.
you just now finished the netflix series eh?!?!
It was very good though, and don't they both look the same?!?! and come from the same religion?? interesting to say the least...
@Pat Scan Its called, "the Spy," and its on Netflix. Its excellent.
Man this dude was set tripping all over the place
His life began when he was born
3:22 "Russia and Continental Exploits" Intentional pun on James Bond's cover company's name?
Love. Your. Work.
...they seek him here, they seek him there... what a guy
Start a documentary based on declassified files, leaked documents etc. A true fly on the wall series.🕵️♂️🎯👌
Funny how spy’s just disappear... almost like there supposed to be good at it.
One can say that he must be the inspiration for the James Bond novels written by Sir Ian Fleming.
The background music from 7:38-9:40, where did you source it?
Dude Did Nose Candy With Lenin...Dope!
He seems closer to Archer than Bond.
but most importantly he could be one of us, he could be you, he could be me, it could even be-
Let me give you a bit of advice. No one watches the ads for the fucking power banks
Watch the old mini series Reilly - Ace of Spies with Sam Neill. It's one of the best I've ever seen.
Do a dark docs on that bad ass that broke out Meussilini before WW2. It was in greatest story never told. One of the greatest docs ever made.
This deserves a netflix original
WRONG. The greatest spy was Leslie Nielsen in Spy Hard (1996). Unsubscribe!
That's the most accurate documentary on the man I've ever seen. Maybe the most accurate documentary ever.
Frank S 😂
unsubscribe? calm down man
Billy Maze here with the cleaning power of oxi clean. It's so strong that it erased my past life
He sounds like professor Moriarty.
Moriarty had class. This unmensch was an opportunistic, mercenary conman.
He WAS an amazing man.
Really, the Ace of Spies.
Obviously you're not aware of a certain Harry Chapman then, top of the list by far!
Ahh yes, the Michael western of old times
What happened to the part a out saving the royal family ?
"the name's Sidney"
"Sidney George"
The name's Riley.
Sydney Riley.
The history of spies, i.e. the history of people who have no history, must be such a difficult thing to be able to shed any light on.
14:20 Although it helps nicely bookend another good installment (and is oft, lazily, parroted around the Internet), what is the primary source material supporting the notion that Ian Fleming used Reilly as the model for Bond?
There was so much spying in Soviet Russia that they knew how much your dump after breakfast weighed in kilograms
306 really a man bun back then.
Sees last seen in russia: Yup he ded
Do a dark docs on col. General Rienhard Gehlen...
The real James bond. .
The real James Bond. The real 007.💋😎🕵️♂️👌🎯
Either he retired when he wanted or he wasn't the greatest spy after all..
Rumor has it he’s still spying.
Austin Powers ranks high as well.International man of mystery. The spy that shagged me . Huge movie and shagged many a ladies.
That Dos Equis dude ain’t got shit on this guy.
Description adds up to a diagnosis of psychopathy.
This is pretty mysterious, but the greatest mystery is how Ray Mak comments on EVERY VIDEO
Nice we got something new
I guess the greatest Spy wouldn’t be known!
Only whilst they are a spy.
He looks like a vampire.
He probably retired in USSR