17. In late 1945 or early 1946 Akhmerov returned to the Soviet Union and became deputy chief of the KGB's covert intelligence section (отдел нелегальной разведки). He attained the rank of colonel and was awarded the Order of the Red Banner twice, the Order of the Badge of Honor, and the badge of Honored Chekist.
KGB defector Oleg Gordievsky said that Akhmerov delivered a lecture to KGB personnel in the early 1960s, one that Gordievsky attended. Gordievsky later reported that Akhmerov had described FDR's personal assistant Harry Hopkins as one of the most important and infuential splinter agents of the time. However, these accusations were never proven and investigations were never conducted on Gordievsky's testimony. other Soviet leaders realized Hopkins was feeding the Soviets information to keep them allied with the U.S. Retired KGB Lieutenant General Vitaliy Pavlov said that Gordievsky was a triator that never was in close contact with Akhmerov. Pavlov says that Akhmerov was very secretive about his work and would never have disclosed the names of his contacts in the U.S.