Today, I return to discuss the topic of the genius physicist Einstein, but from the perspective of his personal life. As a respected scientist, he was, like many men, easily captivated by beauty.
Indeed! Einstein became obsessed with a woman who was decades younger than him, and he even revealed secrets about the development of the atomic bomb in the Soviet Union. Who was this woman? How did she make Einstein willing to disclose such classified information?
Who could have imagined that such a renowned scientist would be easily swayed by a woman 20 years his junior, Margarita Konenkova (1895-1980)? She came to the United States with her husband, the famous sculptor Sergei Konenkov. At that time, Margarita was a housewife with little to do, so she often went for walks.
Famous Russian sculptor Sergei Konenkov with his wife Margarita Konenkova.
Coincidentally, at a sculpture exhibition organized by Margarita’s husband, she was discovered by Soviet intelligence officers in the U.S. They secretly sought her out, wanting Margarita to participate and become a spy for them. Initially, Margarita was cautious; after all, she was just a housewife, and spying was very dangerous.
The Soviet agents had anticipated Margarita’s concerns. Rather than rushing her into action, they first required her to undergo spy training. During this time, she wanted to be a beauty spy and successfully completed several relatively easy, non-dangerous tasks.
After a few years, she was tasked with approaching the famous scientist Einstein. She learned that Einstein had immigrated to the United States early on and, as a Jew, was assured safety there, but even so, the security measures the U.S. had in place for him remained strict.
Margarita’s first encounter with Einstein occurred when her husband was invited by Princeton University to sculpt a statue of Einstein, the university’s distinguished professor, in 1935.
When Margarita entered the workshop while her husband was working with the model, Einstein felt embarrassed for the first time in his life due to his messy hair, wrinkled clothes, and even wearing sandals.
Margarita Konenkova in a portrait.
Einstein spoke about Margarita: “Margarita is like this: I want to sit beside her, hold her hand, gaze into her green eyes, and talk with her for the rest of my life. My husband trusts Margarita one hundred percent: such eyes cannot lie…” Einstein seemed completely “smitten” by the Russian beauty: he would sit quietly for hours beside her or spend hours explaining his theory of relativity.
Margarita spoke about Einstein as follows: “He is surprisingly humble and dislikes any gatherings or parties. Albert joked that he was famous only because of his wild hair like a lion’s mane. While Sergei Timofeevich Konenkov worked on the portrait, Einstein was always very animated, enthusiastically discussing his theory of relativity. I listened intently but couldn’t understand much. Nevertheless, my attentive listening encouraged him to share even more.”
They quickly became close, and then love blossomed. It is important to note that Margarita’s love for Einstein was sincere and pure, but for the Soviet intelligence at that time, it was a golden opportunity. The higher-ups did not forbid it; they even encouraged this romance while also assigning Margarita a crucial mission: to extract information about the Manhattan Project, in which Einstein played a significant role.
Margarita’s relationship made Einstein, at 56 years old, feel youthful and vigorous once again. The two secretly met.
As the time to complete the statue approached, Albert Einstein feared he would no longer be with his lover, so they planned to lie, saying she was ill and needed to stay in the U.S. for treatment before returning to the Soviet Union.
To ensure he could be close to his lover, Einstein even wrote a letter to Konenkov, stating that according to a doctor friend of his, Margarita should frequently go to Saranac Lake for rest because the climate there was suitable for someone with a serious illness like hers.
Few people knew that in that area, Einstein owned a famous yacht and had also rented a charming lakeside house.
Einstein discreetly asked leading American doctors to help create a medical record, and Margarita had no trouble convincing her husband that she needed long-term treatment, as her medical records bore the official stamps of major hospitals.
Thus, Margarita’s husband returned to the Soviet Union alone for urgent work, leaving his beautiful 39-year-old wife in America to “recover.”
From that point on, the two ended their secretive relationship. They openly declared their love, and the long-suppressed feelings finally had the chance to flourish. Moreover, Albert Einstein even designed a romantic “nest” at his workplace for their spontaneous meetings.
His letters to Margarita resembled poetry, and sometimes they truly were poems:
“You cannot escape the confines of family. This is our common misfortune. The high sky does not illuminate our future. My head buzzes like a beehive, and my heart grows dry. Come to Princeton with me, where peace and relaxation await. We will read Lev Tolstoy together, and when you feel tired, you will look at me affectionately, and I will see in you the image of God.”
They came up with a joint name for the two of them: Almar, formed from the initials of Albert and Margarita. Throughout their romance, Margarita often washed Einstein’s hair, and he always claimed that no one else could do it better than her.
Margarita Konenkova and Albert Einstein.
However, the information regarding the first atomic bomb in America was a task that Margarita could not forget, especially as time grew urgent. The higher-ups could not wait; they needed classified documents about everything, the process of developing the atomic bomb, as this was the real reason Margarita lingered near Einstein.
The situation became increasingly urgent, and Margarita felt more pressured. In August 1945, while the two were dating, Einstein was in the height of love while Margarita was very anxious. Einstein sensed something was wrong with the woman he loved and hurriedly asked, and Margarita did not hide anything.
She approached Einstein, explaining the reason, even revealing her true identity—that she wanted to sneak close to Einstein to gather information. The lives of her loved ones in the Soviet Union were in serious jeopardy. Seeing the woman he loved cry, and cry a lot, Einstein started to soften and lost track of his thoughts.
However, what no one expected was that Einstein not only did not get angry but was very sympathetic towards this woman, as he had become deeply involved in this relationship and could not abandon the one he loved.
Unable to bear the sorrow of his beloved, and also valuing the development of the atomic bomb, Einstein not only did not disclose Margarita’s identity but after some time of contemplation, he ultimately met with a Soviet envoy.
After discussing the process of developing the atomic bomb, Einstein finally provided some information related to the atomic bomb’s development to the Soviets. Four years later, in 1949, the Soviet Union successfully tested its first atomic bomb.
With the emergence of atomic bomb information, Margarita’s espionage mission came to an end. To ensure her safety, the Soviet Union arranged for Margarita to return home immediately, along with a generous financial reward and a countryside house.
Clearly, the Soviet Union could conduct its own research, so why did they go to such lengths to obtain America’s secrets regarding the atomic bomb development process? Einstein knew that the atomic bomb was a weapon of mass destruction; why did he decide to provide such confidential information to the Soviet Union?
In fact, Margarita’s husband was aware of the relationship between his wife and Einstein. Although she completed her mission, she still corresponded with Einstein upon returning to the Soviet Union. Perhaps during that ten years of their relationship, she had deeply fallen in love with the outstanding scientist.
If one were to ask why it took the Soviet Union so long to acquire the materials to build an atomic bomb, it should also be noted that during World War II, the U.S. and the Soviet Union appeared to be allies against Germany, but in reality, the United States was building the “Manhattan Project” and began summoning top scientists from around the world to develop the atomic bomb.
Einstein was one of many scientists who lived through two world wars. The initial purpose of these scientists was to develop weapons capable of immense destruction to maintain world peace. In reality, their original intentions were noble, but after the atomic bomb was developed, the United States dropped two bombs directly on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan. The moment the nuclear bomb exploded, hundreds of thousands of lives were lost, leading scientists to realize that the weapons they initially intended to use to preserve peace transformed into instruments of mass destruction, causing even more human deaths.
At that time, the United States was the only country that mastered this technology, which meant that American technological monopoly would lead to terrible consequences. Additionally, there was a strategic aim to use the Soviet Union to test and balance the power of the United States; after all, the world could not be dominated solely by the U.S. After some reflection, Einstein ultimately decided to reassess the overall situation. Some documents related to the development of the atomic bomb were handed over to the Soviet Union.
In fact, Margarita was fortunate to find her ideal partner and successfully complete her mission. The couple enjoyed ten sweet years together, and ultimately, the mission was accomplished excellently.
In 1955, the great physicist Einstein, her beloved partner, passed away. In 1971, the sculptor also departed. In her later years, the former spy lived alone in solitude, unknown to others, and even suffered abuse from her own maid. Margarita Konenkova, unsure of what else to do, stopped eating and died of exhaustion in 1980.
