Helsinki, Tallinn and Stockholm - Part 6 - KGB in Tallinn

The KGB were active in Tallinn while it was under Soviet Control.  In that time Tallinn was a key destination for tourists and the KGB were keen to ensure that they had a good experience but did not take anything of tactical value away from their visit.

The Sokos Hotel Viru was first opened on May 5 1972 and was constructed by Finnish workers.  The construction site caught fire in 1970 but this was supressed under usual Soviet news control.

The hotel officially has 22 floors, but a 23rd was used as a KGB listening post to track guests of the hotel.  60 of the rooms were bugged and the guests were monitored in a variety of different ways.  One visitor from Finland noted than on over 50 stays he only ever got places in one of three rooms - obviously those ones that were bugged.

The hotel elevator only goes to floor 22 and the only way to access floor 23 was by a gated staircase.  Workers and guests were told that the 23rd floor hosted elevator controls and wasn't a full floor.

View from the 22nd floor (bending due to the panoramic function)

The view from the hotel is awesome, but back in soviet times the windows were blacked out, despite the 22nd floor hosting a restaurant just on the other side of the glass from this view.  It was believed that spies could record the layout of the city if they were able to see the view.

The hotel was created to house everything a guest could need to prevent foreigners from needing to enter Estonia and risk seeing something they shouldn't.  If a guest wanted to visit town they were given a driver who was a KGB agent who could show them only what was allowed to be seen.

The hotel had a dentist, shoemaker, sound studio, tailor and hairdresser.  All possible amenities of the time were available such as spas and saunas as well as restaurants and bars.  It made the hotel a place for locals to come to feel as though they were abroad.  The hotel also hosted a variety theater for the elite and the tickets were treated as currency.

Some of the papers from the old hotel

The employees of the hotel were strictly controlled and monitored.  Letters of authorization and written orders were issues if someone needed to make photocopies or send faxes and also to control the amount of food served and the good supplied to the hotel.

The employees were forbidden to interact with foreigners more than necessary to do their jobs and any found in violation could be made a Persona Non Grata.

Estonia now uses the Euro, but Estonia originally used the Estonian Kroon. During Russian times the Rouble and the Finnish Mark were used but it was considered illegal to convert currencies.





There is a balcony on Floor 23 with excellent views, where the KGB staff would come for a smoke or a break:

View from floor 23

View

The first room we visited was for the head of the hotel.  He had a red phone which connected him directly to KGB headquarters.  The white phone was very heavy as it was filled with solid metal to prevent listening devices.

Using the phones

View from the office.  the big grey roofed building next to the church is the former KGB Headquaters

Tomas receives the call

The KGB used a variety of tools to listen in on and spy on guests of interest and some were demonstrated in the listening room - a camera with an extended lens allowed taking of photos from small holes in the walls.

The camera demonstrated

The camera

Map of the extra wiring in the hotel, showing which rooms were bugged

Staff were forbidden from handling foreign currency or holding anything from foreign visitors.  In order to test loyalty, purses with red dye bombs were often planted in rooms or around the hotel.  Staff members were expected to take them, unopened, to the management.  Anyone opening one would get a face full of red dye that would take a week or two to wear off.

The purse

Dye bomb

The listening equipment

The KGB usually had 10 workers in the hotel and were focused on foreigners but more importantly expatriate Estonians.  There are stories of visitors from American entering a room and noticing there was no toilet paper.  They exclaimed "The commies don't even have toilet paper!" and a few minutes later a flustered maid appeared with a basket of paper at the door.

Listening equipment

Other equipment - hidden cameras and cuff link microphones

KGB uniforms - however the officers at the hotel were plainclothed.

The door to the listening room - translates to "There is nothing here."

Demonstrating plates that had listening devices fitted into the bases.  Staff at the restaurant were given marked lists showing which tables to pay special attention to

Estonian women were employed to sit at tables on the hotel floors and record information on travelers such as numbers, luggage and who visited which rooms.  This was collected and passed on to the KGB.  Older, married women were chosen as they were less likely to dally with the foreign men.

View over the city wall