Famish

   Beginning in the early 1980s, the administration of U.S. President Ronald Reagan searched for ways to reduce the Soviet intelligence presence in the United States. The “Famish” action was precipitated in September 1986 when the KGB arrested Nicholas Daniloff, an American journalist, in response to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s arrest of Gennadiy Zakharov, a KGB agent who lacked diplomatic cover. At first, Moscow sought an exchange of the Soviet spy for the American journalist, and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and President Reagan traded charges about the arrests. Reagan and his chief Soviet hand, Ambassador Jack Matlock, decided on a radical reaction to break the Soviets of hostage taking. Soviet diplomatic missions in New York and Washington were informed they had to drastically reduce their staff, and 80 KGB and GRU officers were specifically deemed persona non grata and ordered to leave the United States. The list of those expelled included all the rezidents and key intelligence personnel in the United States, including 61 from Washington, 26 from New York, and 13 from San Francisco. While Moscow retaliated by expelling some U.S. diplomats and withdrawing Soviet employees from the American embassy, the Soviet services had suffered a major defeat. Daniloff and Zakharov were later exchanged.

   See also Spy swaps.