‘Third Man’ Philby Buried in Moscow With Military Honors

British-born “Third Man” spy Kim Philby was buried in a Moscow cemetery today with full military honors, including a brass band and three volleys fired over his grave by a Soviet KGB honor guard.

The funeral, attended by about 200 mourners led by Philby’s red-haired Russian wife, Rufa, and British son, John, was held in bright sunshine at Kuntsevo military cemetery.

Four funeral orations read by the open coffin paid tribute to Philby as “a great internationalist and famous Soviet intelligence agent.”

The spy, who penetrated British intelligence and came close to being appointed its head in the late 1940s, had been “a man of great charm and intellect,” one orator said.

The coffin, swathed in red material and piled high with red carnations and white lilies, was placed on a velvet-draped concrete plaque for the ceremony.

One speaker, in his early 20s and in civilian clothes, said Philby had spent his last few years “on training the younger generation”--an apparent reference to new recruits to the KGB. The honors accorded Philby at the funeral appeared to confirm reports that he ended his career as a general in the KGB, although no reference was made to his rank during the funeral.