World Alexei Botyan, Soviet Spy Hailed as ‘Hero,’ Dies at 103 March 6, 2020March 7, 2020KATHARINE Q. SEELYEComments Off on Alexei Botyan, Soviet Spy Hailed as ‘Hero,’ Dies at 103 The Russians say he saved the Polish city of Krakow from being destroyed by the Nazis, but historians say that is a fiction of the Putin era.