The critically acclaimed FX series The Americans is packed with KGB operatives all seeking to gather as much information as possible about the US at the height of the Cold War. From globetrotting assassins and their handlers to those that choose to settle and blend into the American society, the agents will stop at nothing to get the job done.
Among the dozens of KGB operatives on the show, a few can be singled out as the cream of the crop. These operatives are not only more clinical in espionage-related affairs when compared to their colleagues, but they are also more interesting to follow thanks to their involved story arcs and character development.
10 Oleg Burov
Other operatives might seem too busy, but the head of KGB's Directorate X never fails to allocate time to both work and dates. Over the course of the series, he gets romantically involved with Tatiana, Nina, and Elina.
Being a hopeless romantic is what makes Oleg a fascinating character. As a spy, he ought to know better than focus on matters of the heart since they create weaknesses for enemies to target, but Oleg continues to do just about anything for love. Collaborating with the FBI so as to save Nina from being punished for treason is a half-witted move, but it soothes him. Marrying Elina, though they have nothing in common, is also one of his most surprising moves, but she tames him. Unfortunately, he cannot help but get into trouble, so he gets a prison sentence.
9 Tatiana Vyazemtseva
Tatiana is one of the few agents who get to work for both Directorate S and the germ warfare department known as Department 12. The two KGB units never blend.
Tatiana keeps secrets better than other spies, and her colleagues at Department 12 and Directorate S have no idea she works for both units. She is also one of the most adventurous agents in the KGB, continent-hopping from Europe to Africa to America. Regrettably, she ranks lower in the least because she fails most of her important missions. Her efforts to extract the Lassa virus through William are thwarted by her own lover Oleg, while her assassination attempt on Fyodor Nesterenko is also stopped by Elizabeth.
8 Claudia
Having been in the KGB for decades, Claudia gets appointed as the new handler for Elizabeth and Philip. She has a hostile relationship with Elizabeth, but Philip and Paige are warmer to her.
Other handlers on the show have a family-like bond with the agents they are in charge of, but Claudia is devoid of emotion. She is extremely brutal with the Jennings, and, as a result, fights often ensue. In spite of all this, she always gets the job done. To her, service to the country is the most important thing.
7 Kate
Kate is appointed the new handler of the Jennings after their relationship with Claudia breaks down. She has a great relationship with the couple up until the time she is murdered.
Kate's adventures make her one of the best characters introduced in The Americans after season 1. With her unwavering loyalty as her most impressive trait, she refuses to talk even when she gets tortured by Andrew Larrick in order to reveal the home address of the Jennings. It's a move that costs Kate her life, but she gladly welcomes the consequences. Before her death, Kate has a good run as a seductress, feeding her superiors information after extracting it from unsuspecting men.
6 Ivanovich Zotov
As the KGB Rezident at the US Rezidentura, Zotov provides support for spies on American soil. In the later stages of the series, he returns home where he becomes Deputy Chief of Directorate S.
Zotov has great leadership skills that are visible through his interactions with Oleg, Tatiana, and Nina. He is arguably the luckiest operative on the show, too. He is influential enough that he makes the FBI worried, so the bureau hatches an assassination plot on him, but he cheats death by choosing not to go for his routine jog on the day he is meant to be killed. When he gets deported, later on, he proves too charming that he gets a promotion instead of a punishment.
5 Nina Sergeevna
The Rezidentura KGB officer falls in love with Oleg then betrays her country by giving the FBI sensitive information. For this reason, she is charged with treason and executed.
Nina is nowhere close to being a fan-favorite character, but her detailed story arc as a mole makes her one of the best characters to be invested in. The frantic manner in which she covers her tracks makes for entertaining viewing, and, in one of the show's biggest twists, she sleeps with the FBI's Agent Stan.
4 William Crandall
Foster Medical Research Group employee William Crandall has a stereotypical American name, but he is actually a KGB operative whose real name is Vitaly Sorokin. He's been in America for 25 years, and, during that time, he has been able to gather plenty of science-related intelligence.
As a character, Crandall is an illustration of the negative effects of spy work, and that's what makes him so appealing. Most of the best spy movies of all time give the impression that people in the field of intelligence gathering live like James Bond or Ethan Hunt, but Crandall shows that this is not the case. His undercover work has exposed him to dangerous chemicals for years, and he has developed numerous allergies. His living conditions aren't good, either, but he remains a devoted servant of the USSR, and he never defects.
3 Philip Jennings
There is a long list of Philip Jennings aliases in The Americans. Philip isn't his real name, either. His birth name is actually Mikhail Andreiovich Petrov.
Brilliance is always acknowledged by others, and, in season 3's "Salang Pass," handler Gabriel describes Philip as one of the best KGB agents ever produced. This is because he understands American culture better than any other agent. Apart from being the "Lord of blinding in," Philip is quite the seducer, too, hence making it easy for him to obtain information. His only blemish is a major one—he keeps wondering whether it's all worth it. Over the years, he has doubted the Soviet agenda and always chose family ahead of country whenever the dilemma arose.
2 Gabriel Beloszoksy
Gabriel is the only two-time handler on the show. The first-ever handler of the Jennings is given the task of 'parenting' them once again when Kate is murdered.
Gabriel is more adorable than other KGB handlers on the show. Instead of giving the Jennings assignments through quick car chats like Claudia, he prefers to do that over dinners and scrabble games. He is very understanding, too, and that's best demonstrated when he recommends lighter duties for the Jennings when he realizes that work-life balance has become a problem for the couple. As a man who has seen it all, Gabriel provides wise counsel on the regular.
1 Elizabeth Jennings
Directorate S operative Nadezhda Borisovna Popova adopts the alias Elizabeth Jennings when she is paired with Philip. Their cover soon turns real when they fall in love and start a family. Together, they juggle both work and family.
Elizabeth and Philip might appear equally matched, but she is better than him, as she has a greater sense of loyalty. When Philip considers defecting after FBI agent Stan Beeman moves into their neighborhood, Elizabeth totally rejects the idea. She also has the ability to compartmentalize her work and personal duties, whereas Philip tends to get too attached to female assets.
Elizabeth is adept in all spy tasks, too. She can encrypt messages, tail targets, make dead drops, carry out hits, and plant bugs without botching either of them.
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September 21, 2021 at 02:00AM
