Overview

Goar Vartanian (Armenian: Գոհար Լևոնի Վարդանյան — Armenian; Russian: Гоар Левоновна Вартанян — Russian) was an Armenian-born woman who worked with Soviet intelligence during and after World War II. She is best known for actions undertaken together with her husband, Gevork Vartanian, which Soviet sources credit with uncovering a Nazi plan to assassinate Allied leaders at the 1943 Tehran Conference.

Early life and recruitment

Vartanian became active in anti-fascist circles in 1942. Operating in a complex wartime environment of intelligence networks and underground groups, she and her husband cultivated contacts and gathered information that they passed to Soviet handlers. Contemporary accounts portray her as resourceful and adaptable, qualities valued in covert work.

Tehran and the alleged "Operation Long Jump"

In late 1943 the Tehran Conference brought Joseph Stalin (Joseph Stalin), Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt (Franklin Roosevelt) together for high-level wartime negotiations. Soviet accounts attribute to the Vartanians the exposure of a German plan—often referred to as "Operation Long Jump"—to assassinate the Allied leaders. While details and interpretations of the plot vary among historians, the Vartanians are widely cited in Russian and Armenian sources as key operatives in identifying hostile agents and disrupting their activities.

Later life and recognition

After the war Goar Vartanian continued work connected with intelligence and security services for many years. She lived into advanced age and was publicly acknowledged for her wartime role in later decades. Vartanian died on 25 November 2019 at the age of 93.

Key points and legacy

  • Joined anti-fascist efforts in 1942 and later served in Soviet intelligence operations (Soviet Union).
  • Cited by Soviet-era sources as instrumental in uncovering an assassination plot around the Tehran Conference.
  • Her story is part of broader wartime intelligence history and is remembered in Armenia and Russia as an example of clandestine wartime service.

Further reading

For language, biographical notes and context see entries in Armenian and Russian sources as well as summaries of wartime espionage; these are available via general reference collections (Armenian references, Armenian, Russian, Soviet-era materials, and specific pages on the Tehran Conference and its participants).