History Main / DefectorFromCommieLand

* Vladimir Bogdanovich Rezun, better known by his UsefulNotes/ColdWar pen name of "Viktor Suvorov", a former GRU agent who defected in 1978 and since then has written a number of controversial books on Soviet history and the RedsWithRockets. He was on the team for ''Literature/TheThirdWorldWar: The Untold Story''.

->''"I have considered what you spoke of last night. And now that I am acclaimed as a gold medalist, I have decided to go forward ... You said that I required creative amplitude, that I could never develop my talents in spiritual fetters. I am defecting, Br-r-adfor-r-d! I place myself under your protection.''"

* Inverted in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', where a ballet teacher is such a hardass that he defects ''to'' East Germany, revealing that his story of coming to America by cartwheeling over the Berlin Wall in a previous episode may have not been what it seemed.

* Nikolai Stepanovich Sokolov from ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3''.

* ''Series/{{Castle}}'': One VictimOfTheWeek is a Cuban baseball player who defected eighteen years ago by bribing a guard during the Olympics.

A common plot for stories set during the UsefulNotes/ColdWar. A character from CommieLand wants to get to the West and the heroes have to help them get there. (There are also what are called "defectors in place", but they're TheMole... until they're blown, in which case they become one of these).

* ''Series/ColdCase'': One episode begins with the VictimOfTheWeek (a famous baseball player) and several other Cuban refugees rafting to Florida.

* Several Cuban baseball players have defected from their home country in order to play professionally in the United States, something which picked up in TheNineties following the end of the UsefulNotes/ColdWar as Cuba's economy suffered greatly without Soviet help. Among the most well-known are Liván and his half-brother Orlando Hernández, Aroldis Chapman, Yoenis Céspedes, and Yasiel Puig. Cuban soccer players have also been [[https://the18.com/soccer-news/five-cuba-soccer-defections-concacaf defecting with regularity]] after 2001. It's also worth noting that from 1995 until 2017, the US had the "[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wet_feet,_dry_feet_policy Wet feet, dry feet policy]]", where any Cuban who made it to shore would be allowed to remain and apply for asylum and residency, while those who were intercepted in water would be sent back.

* After the collapse of the Soviet Union, this trope continues to be played straight by people who manage to get out of UsefulNotes/NorthKorea. One of the more famous North Korean defectors in recent years is Shin Dong-hyuk, whose experience is recounted in the book ''Escape from Camp 14''. Even after they get out of North Korea, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKYqtKZ_8eA the struggles of North Korean defectors are not over]]. Another very dramatic North Korean example was captured on camera [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbNLHDBKlaM in December 2017]] when Korean People's Army soldier Oh Chong-song crashed a jeep to try to make it across the border, ran across on foot, and was shot by four other KPA soldiers before South Korean and American troops were able to rescue him. One of the pursuing KPA soldiers actually briefly ran across the border to the South Korean side [[OhCrap before realizing what he'd done]] and hastily running back to the North Korean side.
* Several Cuban baseball players have defected from their home country in order to play professionally in the United States, something which picked up in TheNineties following the end of the UsefulNotes/ColdWar as Cuba's economy suffered greatly without Soviet help. Among the most well-known are Liván and his half-brother Orlando Hernández, Aroldis Chapman, Yoenis Céspedes, and Yasiel Puig. Cuban soccer players have also been [[https://the18.com/soccer-news/five-cuba-soccer-defections-concacaf defecting with regularity]] after 2001.

* In 1953, North Korean air force pilot [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_Kum-sok No Kum-sok]] flew his [=MiG-15=] across the North/South border and landed at an American air base in South Korea. After surrendering to the Americans, he was given a monetary reward for bringing a working [=MiG=]. He later immigrated to the United States and became a citizen. He wrote about his defection in the memoir ''A [=MiG-15=] to Freedom''. The plane itself is now at the United States Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio. No, who [[NaturalizedName changed his name to "Kenneth Hill Rowe" one year after his defection to the U.S.]][[note: following pronunciation rules in North Korean dialect, his Korean surname 노 is pronounced identically to the English name Rowe; pronouncing it "No" like the English word would only be acceptable under South Korean grammatical allowances[[/note]], lived to be 90 years old and passed away on December 26, 2022.

* One of the most bizarre cases in the Cold War invoke the [[Soviet tanker Tuapse https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capture_of_the_Tuapse]], whose crew were captured and imprisoned by the Kuomintang regime, and were only offered freedom if the defected to the USA. Some defected and were declared traitors in the USSR, others resisted and were eventually returned to the USSR.

* In 1953, North Korean air force pilot [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_Kum-sok No Kum-sok]] flew his [=MiG-15=] across the North/South border and landed at an American air base in South Korea. After surrendering to the Americans, he was given a monetary reward for bringing a working [=MiG=]. He later immigrated to the United States and became a citizen. He wrote about his defection in the memoir ''A [=MiG-15=] to Freedom''. The plane itself is now at the United States Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio.

However, the defector may actually turn out to be TheMole or a RenegadeRussian. Compare HeroicRussianEmigre.

[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
* ''{{LightNovel/Schwarzesmarken}}'': Inverted with Katia Waldheim, a [[UsefulNotes/WeAreNotTheWehrmacht Bundeswehr]] [[Main/HumongousMecha TSF]] pilot who defects from West to East Germany at the start of the series.
[[/folder]]

* ''Film/{{The Net|2016}}'' (2016): Subverted in that the protagonist didn't actually want to. The main plot is about a fisherman from North Korea who accidentally crosses the border with South Korea, and wants to return home.

* The [[Recap/MysteryScienceTheater3000S08E15AgentForHARM [=MST3K=] episode "Agent for H.A.R.M."]] has this as {{Backstory}}.

* ''Film/TheNet2016'': the main plot is about a fisherman from DPRK who accidently crosses the border with South Korea, and wants to return home.

* Taiwan under the Kuomintang [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Communist_Hero used to encourage]] mainland Chinese pilots to defect with monetary rewards. The practice ceased with the end of the Cold War and an infamous case where one of such defectors engaged in kidnapping and murder of a prominent official's son.