Editing Robert Hanssen (section)

=== FBI career and first espionage activities (1976–1981) ===
Upon becoming a special agent on January 12, 1976, Hanssen was transferred to the FBI's field office in [[Gary, Indiana]]. In 1978, he and his growing family of three (eventually six) children relocated to New York City when the bureau transferred him to its field office there.<ref>{{Harvnb|Wise|2003|pp=18–19}}</ref> The next year, Hanssen was transferred to [[counterintelligence]] and given the task of compiling a database of Soviet intelligence for the FBI.<ref name="death" />

In 1979, Hanssen approached the Soviet [[Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU)|Main Intelligence Directorate]] (GRU) and offered his services. He never indicated any political or ideological motive for his actions, telling the FBI after he was caught that his only motivation was financial.<ref>{{Harvnb|Wise|2003|p=21}}</ref> During his first espionage cycle, Hanssen provided a significant amount of information to the GRU, including details of the FBI's bugging activities and lists of suspected Soviet intelligence agents. His most important leak was the betrayal of [[Dmitri Polyakov]], a [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] informant who passed enormous amounts of information to U.S. intelligence while rising to the rank of general in the [[Soviet Army]]. Following a second betrayal by CIA [[mole (espionage)|mole]] [[Aldrich Ames]] in 1985, Polyakov was arrested in 1986 and executed in 1988. Ames was officially blamed for giving Polyakov's name to the Soviets, while Hanssen's attempt was not revealed until after his 2001 capture.<ref>{{Harvnb|Wise|2003|pp=21–24}}</ref>