Pyotr Sokolov (footballer)

Pyotr Petrovich Sokolov (Russian: Пётр Петрович Соколов, 16 December 1890 (OS)/28 December 1890 (NS) – 11 May 1971) was a Russian football player who competed in the 1912 Summer Olympics.[1] He was also a spy.

Pyotr Sokolov

Personal information
Full name	Pyotr Petrovich Sokolov
Date of birth	(1890-12-28)28 December 1890
Place of birth	Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire
Date of death	11 May 1971(1971-05-11) (aged 80)
Place of death	Enköping, Sweden
Position(s)	Defender
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1909–1911	Udelnaya Saint Petersburg
1911–1917	Unitas Saint Petersburg
International career
1912	Russia	4	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

He was a member of the Russian Olympic squad and played one match in the main tournament as well as one match in the consolation tournament.

After the Russian Revolution of 1917 he did not accept the Soviet regime. He was recruited by the British Secret Service Bureau and became a spy. He was sent to Finland, where he tried to struggle against Bolsheviks. In 1936, he received Finnish citizenship,[2] and, during World War II, he served in the Finnish Defence Forces in the Winter War and Continuation War. After the Continuation War, the Soviet counterespionage tried to eliminate him but he was able to flee to Sweden in September 1944.[3] He changed his name to Peter Sahlin and remained living in Enköping near Stockholm.[4]