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Venona
and Alexander Vassiliev’s Notebooks:
Confirming
and Correcting Identified Venona Cover Names and Revealing the Unidentified
2009
Symposium on Cryptologic History
By
John Earl Haynes and Harvey Klehr
In March 2009 former KGB officer
Alexander Vassiliev gave nine notebooks with 1,115 pages of detailed notes on
KGB archival documents to the Library of Congress. He had written the notebooks during an
authorized SVR research project in the early 1990s. Along with the original notebooks,
hand-written in Russian, came transcriptions into word-processed Russian and
translations into English as well as a concordance cross-indexing cover names
and real names. All three versions of
the notebooks, with identical pagination, were also made available on the web
for examination and downloading. At the
same time Yale University Press released Spies:
The Rise and Fall of the KGB in America authored by John Earl Haynes,
Harvey Klehr, and Vassiliev. The
provenance of the notebooks is discussed at length in the preface (by Haynes
and Klehr) and the introduction (by Vassiliev) to Spies.
Vassiliev’s notebooks focus on
archival records of the activities of the KGB’s predecessor agencies in the
The Venona decryptions contain many
cover names. Sometimes the real name
behind the cover name is stated in plain text.
More often, NSA and FBI analysts had to use the information in the
messages to identify the real name. In
many cases the information provided was sufficiently detailed and ample that
identification of the real name was easy.
In other cases it required extensive field investigation by FBI
agents. Hundreds of Venona cover names
were thus identified, mostly with confidence, some less so. Additionally, there remained hundreds of
other cover names where the information was insufficient to make even a
tentative identification of the real name.
Vassiliev’s notebooks also contain
hundreds of cover names. The notebooks
provide the real name in plain text for many of these cover names. In other cases the real name is not given but
the details about that person are sufficient to make a confident
identification. There are also cover
names that remain entirely unidentified.
Based on our earlier work on Venona and our examination over the past
three years of Vassiliev’s notebooks, we were able to provide corroboration for
the real names identified by the Venona project for 177 cover names. These are listed in Appendix 1.
Significantly, we discovered only
four cases where Venona analysts made incorrect identifications. These are the subject of Appendix 2. The most notable correction is that Venona’s
“Veksel” appears to be a decoding error in constructing the Soviet code book
and the correct cover name was “Vector.”
More importantly, “Vector” wasn’t Robert Oppenheimer as asserted but
Enrico Fermi. The notebooks also show
that KGB attempts to contact Fermi failed (as did its attempts to contact
Oppenheimer). Oppenheimer’s cover names
in the notebooks, by the way, were
“Chester” (early 1944 to mid-1945), “Chemist” (September 1944), and
“Yew” (late 1944-1945), none of which occur in the deciphered Venona cables The
other significant misidentification is that in Venona “Arena” was identified as
Mary Price, when in fact it is clearly linked to Gerald Graze in the
notebooks. Only four errors in
identification out of hundreds of correct ones is impressive and reflects well
on the care and thoroughness of NSA/FBI analysts.
What is, of course, of special
interest are the real names that Vassiliev’s notebooks attach to cover names
that are unidentified in Venona. These are the subject of Appendix 3,
and there are sixty-three of these. Some
of these cover names unidentified in Venona appeared to be important sources
and were the subject of much speculation as to the real names hidden behind the
cover names. Vassiliev’s notebooks allow
us to attach real names to these ‘high-profile’ unidentified cover names in
Venona.
“19”: In Venona 812, KGB New York to Moscow, 29 May
1943, KGB illegal station chief Iskhak Akhmerov told Moscow that agent “19” had
provided information from a conversation in which he took part that included
President Roosevelt, Prime Minister Churchill, and a senior American with the
cover name “Deputy” whom NSA/FBI analysts thought might have been
Vice-President Wallace or, less likely, presidential aide Harry Hopkins. (The conversation would have been in
connection with the “Trident” conference of 12-27 May 1943 in Washington that
brought together top British and American military and diplomatic policy
makers.) This message was, however, only
partially deciphered and provides little information about the identity of
“19,” and this is also the only Venona message in which “19” appears.
The identity of “19” is intriguing
because he was sufficiently senior to take part in a conversation that involved
FDR and Churchill, and it prompted considerable speculation. The late Eduard Mark argued in “Venona’s
Source 19 and the Trident Conference of May 1943: Diplomacy or Espionage?” that
an analysis of a variety of records of meetings at the Trident conference
suggest that “19” probably was Harry Hopkins,
“Fogel”/“Persian”:
Another much-discussed unidentified cover name in Venona was “Fogel,” later
renamed “Persian.” “Fogel”/“Persian”
commanded attention because he was clearly an atomic source, reporting
information about the Manhattan Project’s facilities at
“Nil”/“Tu...”: While identifying McNutt as a
previously unknown member of the Rosenberg ring, Vassiliev’s notebooks also
provide the name of one of its sources left unidentified in Venona. The Venona project decrypted only part of the
code-name of one of Julius Rosenberg’s sources- “Tu...”, later changed to
“Nil.” Documents in the notebooks show
the full code-name was “Tuk” and it was Nathan Sussman, a college friends of
Julius, who specialized in aviation radar at Western Electric. The FBI extensively questioned Sussman; after
first lying, he eventually admitted being a Communist, but denied spying. He agreed to testify that Julius was also a
Communist, but was not used at the trial when the
Incidentally, the Vassiliev
notebooks also provide Morton Sobell’s cover name, “Senya,” which does not
occur in Venona. Some of you may recall
that at a previous conference on Venona, Sobell dramatically stood up and
rolled up his pant leg to demonstrate that he could not have been “Serb” whom
analysts had suggested was possibly Sobell.
“Serb” had an artificial leg. He
too is identified in the notebooks as Joseph Chmilevski, a
“Quantum”: Another unidentified atomic source was
“Quantum.” Only three deciphered Venona
cables mentioned “Quantum.” All three dealt with his meeting with a senior
Soviet diplomat and two KGB officers at the Soviet Embassy in
All of the speculation was
wrong. Vassiliev’s notebooks identify
“Quantum as Boris Podolsky, a scientist never suspected of any association with
Soviet intelligence. Born in
“Huron”:
Another unidentified source in Venona was “Huron,” who appeared in five deciphered cables that
indicated he was a scientist and had some connection with Soviet atomic
intelligence. Like “Quantum,” however, he was not identified by American
counterintelligence. And just as in
“Quantum’s” case, the connection to atomic espionage encouraged widespread
speculation. Candidates suggested
included Bruno Pontecorvo (also suggested for “Quantum”) and Ernest
Lawrence. Again, the speculation was
wrong. “Huron” was Byron Darling, who had received a PhD at the
“Eric”: Yet another unidentified atomic source in Venona was
“Eric,” a major source in
“Ramsay”: The final Venona atomic-related unidentified
cover name is “Ramsay.” Again there was
little information in the deciphered messages to enable analysts to identify
him, although there were some suggestions it might be the physicist Norman F.
Ramsey. However, the notebooks show
“Ramsay” was Clarence Hiskey, a Manhattan Project physicist who worked first at
its facilities at Columbia University and then at the University of
Chicago. (The KGB never recruited
Hiskey; unaware he was already working for the GRU, Soviet Military
Intelligence. The FBI, however, spotted
Hiskey meeting with a GRU agent. Hiskey
held an Army reserve commission, and the U.S. Army removed him from the
Manhattan Project by lifting his exemption from military service and sending
him to a remote Army base in northern
“Reed”/“Solid”: A source code-named “Solid,”
changed to “Reed” in 1944 resisted the efforts of Venona investigators. Although he is not named in Vassiliev’s
notebooks, there is enough information about him to establish his identity with
certainty. A 1943 memo describes him as
“chief of the Chem. Division of the U.S. Tariff Commission,” a position held by
James Hibben from 1939 until his death in 1959.
His older brother Paxton was a one-time State Department employee turned
radical, whom the Soviets buried in a
“Vick”:
Although “Vick” appeared in only one decrypted Venona cable from 1943,
indicating some connection with the State Department, his story, revealed by Vassiliev’s
notebooks, is fascinating. He was Henry
Ware, the son and grandson of presidents of
“Pol”:
The famous “Ales” message of March 30, 1945, decrypted by the Venona project,
mentioned that “Ales,” whom analysts believed was Alger Hiss, had worked in
recent years with “Pol,” whom neither the NSA, FBI, or scores of scholars was
able to identify. Pol', with the
Cyrillic soft sign, is one of the two ways the Latin alphabet name Paul is
rendered into Russian. Vassiliev’s
notebooks have more information about “Pol.”
Harold Glasser, for example, sent in a report to the KGB that “Pol” had
contacted Glasser after Chambers’ disappearance. And Chambers noted in Witness that “Paul” was the covert name used by his long-time friend
and fellow underground agent working with the GRU, Maxim Lieber, the well-known
literary agent. In our view there is now
sufficient information to be confidant that “Pol” was Lieber.
Vassiliev’s notebooks also provide
us with insight into names redacted when the Venona material was released to
the public. Although the full
explanation for why some material was blacked out has never been made public,
one of the logical explanations is that some, perhaps most, were people who,
after being identified, cooperated with American government investigators. Appendixes 4 and 5 deal with redacted
names. Appendix 4
lists eight cover names where NSA/FBI analysts made an identification,
but NSA redacted the real names when it released Venona. None are prominent or
previously known people; several were involved with the ring of aircraft
engineers assembled by Andrey Shevchenko in upstate
Appendix 5 is a special case of redaction not involving cover
names. When NSA released Venona 1354,
KGB New York to
Finally, attaching real names to
unidentified cover names does not work just one way. Vassiliev’s notebooks also have many cover
names to which no real name was attached.
In a number of cases the description of the person involved was
sufficient to attach a real name, but not all.
And, in any case, as we see in Appendix 6,
there are twenty-eight unidentified cover names in Vassiliev’s notebooks
where Venona supplies a real name.
Vassiliev’s
notebooks go a long way to filling in the blanks in the history of Soviet
espionage in the
Cover
Names Similarly Identified in Venona and Vassiliev’s Notebooks.
Following
the convention used in Vassiliev’s notebooks, cover names are within double
quote marks.
Transliterated
Russian cover names and titles are in Bold using the BGN/PCGN system for
transliterating Russian from the Cyrillic to the Latin alphabet. The BGN/PCGN
system is relatively intuitive for anglophones to read and pronounce and is
familiar to many American readers because it is used by major publications. In
many publications a simplified form of the system is used to render English
versions of Russian names, typically converting ë to yo and
simplifying -iy and -yy endings to -y. That convention will be used here. The Cyrillic soft sign ь is represented by a single straight quote mark, ' and the soft sign ъ by a double straight quote
mark, ". To avoid confusion, some names and titles
that have well established Latin alphabet spellings under different
transliteration systems are spelled in accordance with the their predominance
in the literature. For example, “Grigory
Kheifets” rather than “Grigory Kheyfets” as called for by BGN/PCGN. Over its several decades of existence
translators for the Venona project used several different transliteration
systems.
1 . “Abram” (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): Soble, Jack. Soble appears
in Venona under the cover name “Abram.”
2 .
“Acorn” [Zholud'] (cover name in Vassiliev notebooks): Bela (William)
Gold. “Acorn” was identified in Venona
as Gold.
3 . “Adam” (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): Eva Getzov in 1948. (Alternative translation Getsov,
Getzoff) “Adam” was was identified in
Venona for 1944 and 1945 messages as Rebecca Getzoff. While it seems likely, it is not firmly
established that Eva Getzov and Rebecca Getzoff are the same person. “Adam” as a cover name for ‘Eva’ Getzov looks
like a KGB play on words (Adam and Eve).
4 . “Aileron” [Eleron] (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): Abraham George Silverman.
“Aileron” was identified in the Venona decryptions as Abraham George
Silverman.
5 .
“Albert” [Al'bert] (cover name in Vassiliev notebooks): Iskhak Abdulovich
Akhmerov. “Albert” was identified in
Venona as Akhmerov.
6 . “Aleksey” (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): Anatoly Antonovich Yatskov (also used the pseudonym Anatoly
Antonovich Yakovlev). (Alternative
translation: Aleksej, Alexey, Alexsei)
“Aleksey” was identified in the Venona decryptions as Yatskov/Yakovlev.
7 . “Ales” (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): Soviet intelligence source/agent, 1945. Identified in a marginal note by Vassiliev as
likely Alger Hiss. “Ales” was identified
in Venona as likely Alger Hiss.
8 . “Announcer”
[Diktor] (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): William Donovan. “Announcer” as “Radio Announcer” was identified as
Donovan in the Venona decryptions.
9 . “Ant” (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): Mrs. Kristal Fuchs Heineman.
“Ant” was identified in Venona as Kristal Fuchs Heineman.
10 . “Antenna” (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): Julius Rosenberg. “Antenna”
was identified in Venona as Julius Rosenberg.
11 . “Anton” (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): Leonid Kvasnikov, KGB officer.
“Anton” was identified in the Venona decryptions as Kvasnikov.
12 . “
13 . “Arsenal” (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): U.S. War Department.
“Arsenal” was identified in the Venona decryptions as the U.S. War
Department.
14 . “Arseny” (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): Soviet intelligence officer working on aviation intelligence in
upstate
15 . “Art” (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): Helen Koral beginning in September 1944. “Art” was identified in the Venona
decryptions as Helen Koral.
16 . “Artem” (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): A. Slavyagin, KGB officer.
“Artem” was identified in the Venona decryptions as likely the cover
name of either G. N. Ogloblin or M.N. Khvostov, two young Soviet diplomatic
staff. Those latter two names may be pseudonyms,
and A. Slavyagin identified in Vassiliev’s notebooks as “Artem” may be the real
name of one of the former.
17 . “Author” [Avtor] (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): Vladimir Borisovich Morkovin in 1945. “Author” was identified in the Venona decryptions
as Morkovin.
18 . “
19 . “Bank” (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): U.S. State Department, 1941-. “Bank” was identified in the Venona
decryptions as the State Department.
20 . “Bear
Cubs” [Medvezhata] (cover name in
Vassiliev’s notebooks): Republicans and Republican Party, circa 1944.
21 . “Beck” [Bek] (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): Sergey Kurnakov starting in September 1944. “Beck” was identified in the Venona
decryptions as Kurnakov.
22 . “Big
House” [Bol'shoy Dom] (cover name in
Vassiliev notebooks): Communist International. “Big House” was identified in
the Venona decryptions as the Communist International.
23 . “Black” [Cherny] (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): Thomas Black prior to October 1944. “Black” was identified in the
Venona decryptions as Thomas Black.
24 . “Blerio” (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): Stanislav Shumovsky, KGB officer, aviation espionage. “Blerio” as “Bleriot” was identified as
Shumovsky in the Venona decryptions.
25 . “Boar” [Kaban] (cover name in Vassiliev’s
notebooks): Winston Churchill. “Boar”
was identified in the Venona decryptions as Churchill.
26 . “Bob” (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): Boris Krotov, Soviet intelligence officer in the
27 . “Bumblebee” [Shmel']
(cover name in Vassiliev notebooks): David Greenglass in October 1944, paired
with the cover name “Wasp” for his wife.
“Bumblebee” was identified in the Venona decryptions as David Greenglass
in November 1944 By December 1944
Greenglass’s cover name in the Venona decryptions appeared as “Caliber,” likely
changed when KGB noticed that it was already using “Bumblebee” as the cover
name for the journalist Walter Lippmann.
28 . “Cabaret”
[Kabare] (cover name in Vassiliev’s
notebooks): Office of the Coordinator of
Inter-American Affairs (Rockerfeller committee).
29 . “Cabin” [Izba] (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): Office of Strategic Services,
30 . “Caliber”
[Kalibr] (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): David Greenglass, December 1944-March 1950. “Caliber” was identified in the Venona
decryptions as Greenglass.
31 .
“Callistratus” [Kalistrat]
(cover name in Vassiliev notebooks): Alexander Feklisov. “Callistratus” was identified in the Venona
decryptions as Aleksandr Fomin, pseudonym used in the
32 . “Camp 1” [Lager'
1] (cover name in Vassiliev notebooks): Oak Ridge Manhattan atomic project
facility. “Camp 1” appeared in the
Venona decryptions as unidentified
33 . “Camp 2” [Lager'
2] (cover name in Vassiliev notebooks): Los Alamos Manhattan atomic project
facility. “Camp 2” was identified in the
Venona decryptions as the Los Alamos Manhattan atomic project facility.
34 . “Captain” [Kapitan]
(cover name in Vassiliev notebooks): Franklin D. Roosevelt. “Captain” was identified in the Venona
decryptions as
35 . “Carmen” [Karmen] (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): Helen Koral prior to August 1944.
“Carmen” was identified in the Venona decryptions as Helen Koral.
36 . “
37 . “
38 . “Chap” [Chep] (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): Zalmond David Franklin.
“Chap”/“Chep” was identified in the Venona decryptions [translated as
“Chap” and “Chen”] as Salmond Franklin, a variant spelling of Zalmond Franklin.
39 . “Charles”
[Charl'z] (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): Klaus Fuchs starting in October 1944. “Charles” was identified in
the Venona decryptions as Fuchs.
40 . “Charon” [Kharon]
(cover name in Vassiliev notebooks): KGB officer Grigory Kheifets. “Charon” was
identified in the Venona decryptions as Kheifets.
41 . “
42 . “Clever
Girl” [Umnitsa] (cover name in
Vassiliev notebooks): Elizabeth Bentley, circa 1940 until August 1944.
(Alternative translations Miss Wise, Smart Girl, Good Girl) “Clever Girl” was identified in the Venona
decryptions as Bentley.
43 .
“Constructor” [Konstruktor]
(cover name in Vassiliev notebooks): Abraham Brothman prior to October 1944.
“Constructor” was identified in the Venona decryptions as Brothman.
44 . “Corporal”
[Kapral] (cover name in Vassiliev’s
notebooks): Edward Stettinius, Jr.
“Corporal” was identified in the Venona decryptions as Stettinius.
45 . “Country”
[Strana] (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): the
46 . “Czech” [Chekh] (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): Jack Soble starting in September 1944. “Czech” was identified in the Venona
decryptions as Jack Soble.
47 . “Decree” [Dekret] (cover name in Vassiliev’s
notebooks): U.S. Lend Lease program and agency, circa 1944. “Decree” was identified in the Venona
decryptions as Lend Lease.
48 . “Depot” [Depo] (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): War Production Board,
49 . “Dir” (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): Mary Price from late 1941 to August 1944. (Alternative translations: Dear, Deer). “Dir” appeared in the Venona decryptions as
Mary Price.
50 . “Dock” [Dok] (cover name in Vassiliev’s
notebooks): U.S. Department of the Navy.
“Dock” was identified in the Venona decryptions as the Navy department
51 . “Donald” [Donal'd] (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): William Ludwig Ullmann begining in August 1944 (after “Polo”),
changed to “Pilot” in September 1944. “Donald” was identified in the Venona
decryptions as Ullmann.
52 . “Dora” (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): Helen Silvermaster. “Dora”
was identified in the Venona decryptions as Helen Silvermaster.
53 . “Douglas”
[Duglas] (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): Joseph Katz beginning in August 1944, changed to “X” in September
1944. “
54 . “Echo” [Ekho] (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): Bernard Schuster beginning in June 1943. “Echo” was identified in the Venona
decryptions as Schuster.
55 . “Editorial
Office” [Redaktsiya] (cover name in
Vassiliev’s notebooks): TASS ( Telegraf-noye agentstvo Sovetskogo Soyuza
—Telegraph Agency of the
56 . “Elsa” [El'za] (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): Helen Lowry (mid-1945)
(Alternative translation: Elza).
“Elsa” was identified in the Venona decryptions as Lowry.
57 . “Enormous”
[Enormoz] (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): cover name given to the intelligence project targeting the
Anglo-American atomic bomb development and the
58 . “Express
Messenger” [Gonets] (cover name in
Vassiliev notebooks): Richard Setaro.
“Express Messenger” was identified in the Venona decryptions as Setaro.
59 . “Factory”
[Fabrika] (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): Amtorg. “Factory” was
identified in the Venona decryptions as Amtorg.
60 . “Farm” [Khutor] (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): U.S. Foreign Economic Administration (FEA), December 1944. “Farm” was identified in the Venona
decryptions as the Foreign Economic Administration.
61 .
“Fellowcountryman” and “Fellowcontrymen” [Zemlyak, Zemlyaki] (cover names in Vassiliev’s notebooks): Local
Communists, members of the CPUSA or other fraternal Communist
party/organization. “Fellowcountryman”
was identified in the Venona decryptions as a member of the CPUSA.
62 . “Ferro” (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): Alexander N. Petroff after October 1944. “Ferro” was identified in the Venona
decryptions as Petroff.
63 . “Frank” (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): Laurence Duggan’s designation in reports of “Mer” in 1942-1943. “Frank” was identified in the Venona
decryptions as Duggan.
64 .
“Fraternal” [Bratsky] (cover
name): Refers to a local Communist party, such as the CPUSA, or other local
Communist-aligned institution.
“Fraternal” was identified in the Venona decryptions as the CPUSA.
65 . “Frost” (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): Boris Morros. Morros
anglicized his Russian family name of “Moroz” as Morros. Moroz is also the Russian work for frost. His cover name, then, is a play on his
Russian family name. “Frost” was
identified in the Venona decryptions as Morros.
66 . “Gennady” (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): KGB officer Gayk Badalovich Ovakimyan. (Alternate transliteration Guennady).
“Gennady” was identified in the Venona decryptions as Ovakimyan.
67 . “Gift” [Dar] (cover name in Vassiliev’s
notebooks): KGB station chief
68 . “Gnome” [Gnom] (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): William Perl prior to September 1944. “Gnome” was identified in the Venona
decryptions as Perl.
69 . “Goose” [Gus'] (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): Harry Gold prior to October 1944. “Goose” was identified in the
Venona decryptions as Harry Gold.
70 .
“Grandfather” [Ded] (cover
name in Vassiliev’s notebooks):
71 . “Gymnasts”
[Fizkul'turniki] (cover name in
Vassiliev’s notebooks): Young Communist League and YCL members and circa
1944. “Gymnasts” were identified in the
Venona decryptions as YCL members.
72 . “Hare” [Zayats]
(cover name in Vassiliev notebooks): Maurice Halperin. “Hare” was identified in the Venona
decryptions as Halperin.
73 . “Helmsman”
[Rulevoy] (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): Earl Browder. “Helmsman” was
identified in the Venona decryptions as Browder. “Helmsman” was identified in Andrew and
Mitrokhin as Browder.
74 . “Hicks” [Khiks] (cover name in Vassiliev’s
notebooks): Guy Burgess. “Hicks” was
identified in the Venona decryptions as Burgess.
75 . “Homer” [Gomer] (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): Donald Maclean. “Homer” was
identified in the Venona decryptions as Maclean.
76 . “Hughes” [Kh'yuz]
(cover name in Vassiliev notebooks): Alfred Epaminondas Sarant. “Hughes” was identified in the Venona
decryptions as Sarant.
77 . “Hut” [Khata] (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). KGB cover name for FBI was “Khata”, in
Vassiliev’s notebooks translated as “Hut”.
KGB cover name for
78 . “Ide” [Yaz'] (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): Samuel Krafsur. The Ide is a
type of fish found in Europe and
79 . “Imperialist” (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): Walter Lippmann.
“Imperialist” was identified in the Venona decryptions as Lippmann.
80 . “Informer”
[Stukach] (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): Joseph Katz prior to August 1944.
“Informer” was identified in the Venona decryptions as Joseph Katz.
81 . “Island” [Ostrov] (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks):
82 . “Izra” (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): Donald Wheeler. “Izra” was
identified in the Venona decryptions as Wheeler.
83 . “Julia” [Yuliya] (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): O. V. Shimmel, KGB officer/agent, 1945. “Julia” occured in the Venona decryptions in
a number of messages as the cover name of Olga Khlopkova, a Soviet consulate
staff member and KGB operative.
Khlopkova likely is the pseudonym used in the
84 . “Jurist” [Yurist] (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): Harry Dexter White, 1941-August 1944. “Jurist” was identified in
the Venona decryptions as White.
85 . “Kant” (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): Harry Magdoff prior to 29 December 1944 (when changed to
“Tan”). “Kant” was identified in the
Venona decryptions as Magdoff in May 1944 messages. Note September-December 1944 overlap with
“Kant”/Zborowski.
86 . “Kant” (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): Mark Zborowski starting in September 1944. “Kant” was identified in the Venona
decryptions as Zborowski in September 1944 - April 1945 messages. Note September-December 1944 overlap with
“Kant”/Magdoff.
87 . “Kinsman”
(Rodstevennik) (cover name in the
Venona decryptions): Very likely James H. Hibben. “Kinsman” does not appear in Alexander
Vassiliev’s notebooks. But in the Venona
decryptions, “Solid” appeared in the Venona decryptions as an unidentified
technical source in 1943 and 1944 that was name changed to “Kinsman” in October
1944. And “Solid” is identified in
Alexander Vassiliev’s notebooks as Hibben, thus “Kinsman” is Hibben. However, the “Kinsman” cover name may not
have been implemented or was used only briefly because “Solid” had become “Reed”
in Alexander Vassiliev’s notebooks by 1945.
See “Solid.”
88 . “Klo” (cover name in Vassiliev’s
notebooks): Soviet intelligence source/agent, after September 1944. Likely Esther Trebach Rand. “Klo” was identified in the Venona
decryptions as
89 . “Koch” [Kokh] (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): Duncan Lee. “Koch” was
identified in the Venona decryptions as Lee.
90 . “Kulak” (cover name in Vassiliev’s
notebooks): Thomas Dewey, crica 1944.
“Kulak” was identified in the Venona decryptions as Dewey.
91 . “Lawyer” [Loyer] (cover name in Vassiliev’s
notebooks): Harry Dexter White in August 1944.
92 . “League” [Liga]
(cover name in Vassiliev notebooks):
93 . “Leonid” (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): Soviet intelligence
officer/agent,
94 . “Liberal” (cover name in Vassiliev’s
notebooks): Julius Rosenberg (September 1944-1950). “Liberal” was identified in the Venona
decryptions as
95 . “Liza” (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): Martha Dodd Stern (1936-1950s).
“Liza” was identified in the Venona decryptions as Martha Dodd Stern.
96 . “Louis” [Lui] (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): Alfred Stern. “Louis” was
identified in the Venona decryptions as Stern.
97 . “Luka” (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): Pavel Panteleimovich Pastelnyak who used the pseudonym Pavel P.
Klarin in the
98 .
“Matchmaker” [Svat] (cover
name in Vassiliev’s notebooks): Chairman of Amtorg. “Matchmaker” was identified in the Venona
decryptions as the chairman of Amtorg.
99 . “Maxim” [Maksim] (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): Vasily Mikhailovich Zarubin, early 1940s. “Maxim” was identified in the Venona
decryptions as Vasily Zubilin, the pseudonym Zarubin used in the
100 . “Men” (cover name in Vassiliev’s
notebooks): Averell Harriman, beginning in December 1944. “Men” was identified
in the Venona decryptions as Harriman.
101 . “Mer”
(cover name in Vassiliev notebooks): Iskhak Akhmerov, 1942-1944. KGB illegal officer Iskhak Akhmerov was
referred to in Vassiliev’s notebooks in Russian Cyrillic as both “Мер” and “Мэр”, words so
phonetically close that both are transliterated under the BGN/PCGN
transliterations system identically as “Mer”.
Мер means nothing in Russian while
Мэр means “Mayor”
Whether this use of two phonetically close cryptonyms for the same
person was a product of confusion on the part of KGB cipher clerks, an artifact
of the ciphering system, or two distinct cryptonyms for the same person is
unclear. To reduce confusion, in the
Vassiliev notebooks the transliteration “Mer” will be used for both. “Мер”/“Mer” and
“Мэр”/”Mayor” both occur in the Venona decryptions as
cover-names for Akhmerov.
102 . “Meter” [Metr] (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): Joel Barr starting in September 1944. “Meter” was identified in the Venona
decryptions as Barr.
103 . “Miranda” (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): Helen Koral begining in August 1944. “Miranda” was identified in the Venona
decryptions as Helen Koral.
104 . “Mlad” (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): Theodor Hall. (Alternative
translation: Young). “Mlad”/ Hall as a
cover name is pared with “Star” (Saville Sax) as in the Russian expression
"y star, y mlad" (old and young people). Hall, a physics prodigy and Harvard graduate
at age 18, offered his services to the KGB at age 19, assisted by his friend
Saville Sax, only a few years older. The
KGB deemed them “Mlad” and “Star”.
“Mlad” sometimes translated as “Young” was identified in the Venona
decryptions as Hall.
105 . “Myrna” [Mirna] (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): Elizabeth Bentley after August 1944. “Myrna” was identified in the Venona
decryptions as Bentley.
106 . “Nabob” (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): Henry Morgenthau, jr.
“Nabob” was identified in the Venona decryptions as Morgenthau.
107 . “Nazar” (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): Soviet intelligence officer/agent.
Likely Stepan Nikolaevich Shudenko.
“Nazar” was identified in the Venona decryptions as Shudenko.
108 . “Needle”
[Igla] (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): Jones York. “Needle” was
identified in the Venona decryptions as
109 . “Nemo” (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): William Pinsly, starting in October 1944. “Nemo” was identified in the Venona
decryptions as Pinsly.
110 . “Old
Man [Starik] (cover name in Vassiliev notebooks): Leon Trotsky,
1937-1942. “Old Man” was identified in
the Venona decryptions as Trotsky.
111 . “Oleg” (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): Mikhail Sergeevich Vavilov.
“Oleg” was identified in the Venona decryptions as Vavilov.
112 . “Page” [Pazh] (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): Lauchlin Currie, 1942-1948.
[Page as in a knight’s pageboy].
“Page” was identified in the Venona decryptions as Currie.
113 . “Pal” [Pel] (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): Nathan Gregory Silvermaster, 1942 until August 1944. “Pal” was identified in the Venona
decryptions as Silvermaster.
114 . “Pancake”
[Blin] (cover name in Vassiliev’s
notebooks): I.F. Stone, 1936-1945.
“Pancake” was identified as Stone in the Venona decryptions.
115 . “Peak” [Pik] (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): Frank Coe. “Peak” appeared
in the Venona messages as Coe.
116 . “Peer” [Per] (cover name in Vassiliev’s
notebooks): Winston Churchill, circa 1944. “Peer” was identified as Churchill
in the Venona decryptions.
117 . “Peter” [Piter] (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): Thomas Black starting in October 1944. “Peter” was identified in
the Venona decryptions as Black.
118 . “Petrov” (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): Very senior offical at
119 . “Photon”
[Foton] (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): Ivan Kamenev. In the Venona
decryptions “Photon” was identified as the cover name of Leonid G. Pritomanov,
likely Kamenev’s diplomatic pseudonym.
120 . “Pilot” (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): Ludwig Ullmann after September 1944. “Pilot” was identified in the Venona
decryptions as Ullmann.
121 . “Plumb” [
122 .
“Polecats” [Khor'ki] (cover
name in Vassiliev notebooks): Trotskyists. “Polecats” were identified in the
Venona decryptions as Trotskyists.
123 . “Polo” (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): Ludwig Ullmann until August 1944.
“Polo” was identified in the Venona decryptions as Ullmann.
124 .
“Preserve” [Zapovednik] (cover name in Vassiliev notebooks): Los
Alamos Manhattan atomic project facility in February 1945. “Preserve” was
identified in the Venona decryptions as an unidentified
125 . “Prince”
[Knyaz'] (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): Laurence Duggan, after September 1944. “Prince” was identified in the Venona
decryptions as Duggan.
126 .
“Provinces” [Provintsiya]
(cover name in Vassiliev notebooks): Latin America /
127 . “Radio
Station” [Ratsiya] (cover name in
Vassiliev notebooks): Initially “Donovan’s Committee,” i.e., the Office of the
Coordinator of Information, in late 1941 and the first half of 1942. After the Office of the Coordinator of
Information was split into
128 . “Raid” [Reyd] (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): Victor Perlo. “Raid” (as
“Raider” rather than “Raid”) was identified in the Venona decryptions as
Perlo. The difference between Venona’s
“Raider” and “Raid” given in Vassiliev’s notebooks is likely a matter of Venona
code breakers making a minor error in reconstructing the KGB code book.
129 . “Ras” (cover name in Vassiliev’s
notebooks): Charles de Gaulle. “Ras” was
identified in the Venona decryptions as de Gaulle.
130 . “Rasists”
[Rasisty] (cover name in Vassiliev’s
notebooks): Gaullists. “Rasists” were identified in the Venona decryptions as
Gaullists.
131 . “Rats” [Krysy]
(cover name in Vassiliev notebooks): Zionists in particular but applied
broadly to Jewish ethnic organizations and their adherents that were not under
Communist leadership. “Rats” were
identified in the Venona decryptions as Zionists and Jews.
132 . “Rest” (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): Klaus Fuchs prior to October 1944.
“Rest” was identified in the Venona decryptions as Fuchs.
133 . “Richard” (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): Harry Dexter White starting in September 1944. “Richard” was identified in the Venona
decryptions as White.
134 . “Rio” (cover name in Vassiliev’s
notebooks):
135 . “Robert” (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): Nathan Gregory Silvermaster beginning in August 1944. “Robert” was identified in the Venona
decryptions as Silvermaster.
136 . “Ruble” [Rubl'] (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): Harold Glasser. “Ruble” was
identified in the Venona decryptions as Harold Glasser.
137 . “S-1” [“C-1”]
(cover name in Vassiliev notebooks): Herman Jacobson. “S-1” was identified in the Venona
decryptions as Jacobson. [Venona supplies Herman Jacobson, notebooks only
Jacobson]
138 .
“S-2” [“C-2”] (cover name in Vassiliev notebooks): Unidentified Soviet
intelligence source/agent. Female
secretary in the Aviation Division of the Department of the Navy, source from
early 30s through WWII. Also appears as
“S-II” and “S/2”. “S-2” appeared in the
Venona decryptions as a Soviet intelligence source/agent, female, age 45 in
1944 whose name was redacted.
139 . “Sailor”
[Matros](cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): Harry Truman. “Sailor” was
identified in the Venona decryptions as Truman.
140 . “Satyr” [Satir] (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): Sylvia Callen prior to August 1944.
“Satyr” was identified in the Venona decryptions as Callen.
141 . “Scout” [Skaut] (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): Joel Barr prior to September 1944.
“Scout” was identified in the Venona decryptions as Barr.
142 . “Seal” [Tyulen'] (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): Konstantin Umansky. “Seal”
was identified in the Venona decryptions as Umansky.
143 . “Sergey” (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): Vladimir Pravdin. “Sergey”
was identified in the Venona decryptions as Pravdin.
144 . “Shah” [Shakh] (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): Konstantine. A. Chugunov.
“Shah” occured in the Venona decryptions as the cover name of Soviet
diplomat and KGB officer Konstantin A. Shabanov or Chabanov. Likely Shabanov was Chugunov’s pseudonym.
145 . “Shelter”
[Priyut] (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration,
UNRRA. “Shelter” was identified in the
Venona decryptions as UNRRA.
146 .
“Sherwood” [Shervud] (cover
name in Vassiliev notebooks): Laurence Duggan beginning in August 1944, changed
to “Prince” in September 1944.
“Sherwood” was identified in the Venona decryptions as Duggan.
147 . “Shore” [Bereg] (cover name in Vassiliev’s
notebooks):
148 . “Si” (cover name in Vassiliev’s
notebooks): Manager of the Soviet Consulate in
149 . “
150 . “Slang” [Sleng] (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): Jane Foster. Also known as
Jane Foster Zlatowski (married name).
151 . “Slava” (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): Ilya Elliott Wolston.
“Slava” was identified in the Venona decryptions as Wolston. Slava translates as Glory, but Wolston was
know to Jack Soble and Boris Morris, two of his KGB contacts, by the untranslated
“Slava.”
152 . “
153 . “Sound” [Zvuk] (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): Jacob Golos. “Sound” was
identified in the Venona decryptions as Golos.
154 . “Spa” [Kurort] (cover name in Vassiliev’s
notebooks): broadly,
155 . “Star” (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): Saville Sax, 1944-1945.
“Star” (Saville Sax) as a cover name was pared with “Mlad” (Theodore
Hall) as in the Russian expression "y star, y mlad" (old and young
people). Hall, a physics prodigy and
Harvard graduate at age 18, offered his services to the KGB at age 19, assisted
by his friend Saville Sax, only a few years older. The KGB deemed them “Mlad” and “Star”. “Star” sometimes rendered as “Old” was
identified in the Venona decryptions as Sax.
156 . “Stepan” (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): Soviet intelligence officer and acting chief of the
157 .
“Stepfather” [Otchim] (cover
name in Vassiliev notebooks): Soviet Ambassador to the
158 . “Stock” [Shtok] (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): Mikhail A. Shalyapin. “Stock” was identified in Venona as
Shalyapin.
159 . “Store” [Magazin] (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): Soviet Government Purchasing Commission “Store” was identified in the Venona
decryptions as the Soviet Government Purchasing Commission.
160 . “Tea
Shop” [Chaynaya] (cover name in
Vassiliev’s notebooks): U.S. Department of Commerce, circa 1944. “Tea Shop” was identified in the Venona
decryptions as the Commerce Department.
161 . “Ted” (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): Edward Fitzgerald.
References to in 1944. “Ted” was
identified in the Venona decryptions as Fitzgerald.
162 . “
163 .
“Territory” [Kray] (cover
name in Vassiliev’s notebooks):
164 .
“Townsman” [Gorozhanin]
(cover name in Vassiliev’s notebooks): An American, circa 1944. “Townsman” was
identified in the Venona decryptions as an Amererican
165 . “Trust” [Trest] (cover name in Vassiliev’s
notebooks): Embassy of the
166 . “Tulip” [Tyul'pan] (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): Mark Zborovsky prior to September 1944. “Tulip” was identified in the Venona
decryptions as Zborovsky.
167 . “Twain” [Tven] (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): KGB officer Semen Markovich Semenov. “Twain” was identified in the Venona
decryptions as Semenov.
168 . “
169 . “Vadim” (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): Anatoly Gorsky. “Vadim” was
identified in the Venona decryptions as Gorsky under his diplomatic pseudonym
of Anatoly Gromov.
170 . “Vardo” (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): Elizabeth Zarubin, early 1940s. Also known as Yelizaveta
Zarubina. (Vardo means Rose in
Georgian.) “Vardo” was identified in the Venona decryptions as Elizaveta
Zarubin.
171 . “Victor”
[Viktor] (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): Pavel Fitin. “Victor” was
identified in the Venona decryptions as Fitin.
172 . “Wasp” [Osa] (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): Ruth Greenglass, beginning October 1944-1950. “Wasp” was identified in the Venona
decryptions as Ruth Greenglass.
173 . “X” [Iks] (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): Joseph Katz. (The cover name
in Russian is “Iks”, not the Cyrillic letter “X”.) “X” was identified in the Venona decryptions
as Katz.
174 . “Yakov” (cover name in Vassiliev’s
notebooks): William Perl starting in September 1944. “Yakov” was identified in the Venona
decryptions as Perl.
175 . “Yun” (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): Stephen Laird. References to
in 1942. “Yun” was identified in the
Venona decryptions as Laird.
176 . “Zero” [Nul']: Soviet intelligence
source/agent. Leona Oliver Franey until
October 1944. Alternative translation
“Null”. This “Zero”, spelled Nul' in Russian, is not the same cover
name as “Zero”, spelled Zero in
Russian. “Nul'” was translated as “Zero” in the Venona decryptions and to
avoid confusion that translation is used here.
“Zero” was identified in the Venona decryptions as Franey.
177 . “Zhenya” (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): Sonia Steinman Gold.
“Zhenya” was identified in the Venona decryptions as Sonia Gold.
Cover
Names where Vassiliev’s Notebooks Correct an Identification of Real Names in
Venona
1 . “Arena”
(cover name in Vassiliev notebooks): Gerald Graze. “Arena” appeared in Venona and was identified
by NSA/FBI as the cover name of Mary Price in messages of April and May 1944
and as unidentified in a message of June 1943. In light of the detail supplied
in the Vassiliev notebooks, the identification of “Arena” in the Venona cables
as Mary Price appeared to be incorrect.
2 . “Salt” [Solt]
(cover name in Vassiliev’s notebooks): U.S. Office of Naval Intelligence. In
Venona, “Salt” was identified as “Possibly Counter Intelligence Corps, G-2.”
3 . “Squirrel”
[Belka] (cover name in Vassiliev notebooks): Unidentified Soviet
intelligence source/agent, 1945, 1947, 1950.
Wife of “
4 . “Veksel” [Veksel']
(cover name in Venona] and “Vector” [Vektor] (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks). In Venona “Veksel” is
identified as Robert Oppenheimer. In
Vassiliev’s notebooks Enrico Fermi unambiguously has the cover name “Vector.” In view of what the notebooks say of
“Vector”/Fermi, and what the two Venona messages that mention “Veksel” say,
Venona’s “Veksel” was likely a decoding garble for “Vector”. See particularly Venona 259 Moscow to
Unidentified
Cover Names in Venona where Vassiliev’s Notebooks Supply a Real Name.
1 . “19”
(cover name in Vassiliev notebooks): Laurence Duggan starting in 1935, and
appearing as Duggan as late as August 1944.
In the Venona decryptions “19” appears as an unidentified source of
diplomatic information in a 1943 report from Iskhak Akhmerov.
2 . “Alan”
(cover name in Vassiliev notebooks): Mikhail Korneev, KGB officer. “Alan” is an unidentified KGB officer meeting
with an American agent in
3 . “Alexander”
[Aleksandr] (cover name in Vassiliev’s notebooks): Leopol Arenal. “Alexander” appears in the Venona decryptions
as an unidentified cover name associated with Central and South American
matters.
4 . “
5 . “Berg”
(cover name in Vassiliev notebooks): Alexander Koral. “Berg” appeared in the Venona decryptions as
unidentified but in a context that suggests Alexander Koral.
6 . “Bir”
(cover name in Vassiliev notebooks): Alfred Slack starting in October
1944. (Alternative translation:
Beer) “Bir” (translated as “Beer”) appeared
in the Venona decryptions as an unidentified Soviet intelligence source/agent,
earlier “Ell”.
7 . “Block” [Blok]
(cover name in Vassiliev notebooks): Stephen Urevich starting in September
1944. “Block” appeared in the Venona
decryptions as an unidentified Soviet intelligence source/agent.
8 . “Blue Tit”
[Sinitsa] (cover name in Vassiliev notebooks): Vladimir Stepankowsky.
“Blue Tit” appeared in the Venona decryptions as an unidentified Soviet source
whose activities were compatible with those of Stepankowsky.
9 . “Bolt”
(cover name in Vassiliev notebooks): Inoke N. Varie (also know as Innokenty
Nikol. Vorozheyka). “Bolt” appeared in
the Venona decryptions as an unidentified Soviet intelligence source/agent.
10 . “Charlie”
[Charli] (cover name in Vassiliev notebooks): Cedric Belfrage, 1944.
“Charlie” appeared in the Venona decryptions as unidentified but the context
would fit Belfrage.
11 .
“Colleague” [Kollega] (cover name in Vassiliev notebooks): Mrs.
Bella Joseph. Wife of Julius Joseph and
employed in the photographic section of
12 . “Dan”
(cover name in Vassiliev notebooks): Stanley Graze. “Dan” appeared in the Venona decryptions as
unidentified but in a context that suggests Stanley Graze.
13 . “Davis” [Devis]
(cover name in Vassiliev notebooks): Norman Hight after October 1944.
14 . “Ell”
(cover name in Vassiliev’s notebooks): Alfred Slack prior to October 1944. Variant of “El.” “El” and “Ell” both appears as the cover name
Alfred Slack in Alexander Vassiliev’s notebooks. “Ell” appeared in the Venona decryptions as
an unidentified Soviet intelligence source/agent whose cover name was changed
to “Bir” in October 1944.
15 . “Emma”
(cover name in Vassiliev’s notebooks): Helen Lowry. The New York KGB station proposed changing
Lowry’s cover name from “Stella” to “Emma” in September 1944, but it does not
appear that this change was adopted.
“Stella” continued to appear as Lowry’s cover name into 1945. New York KGB station’s proposed cover name
shifts of 2 September 1944 are in the White notebook #1, p. 55 and in the
Venona 1251,
16 .“Eric” [Erik] (cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): Engelbert Broda, 1942-44. “Eric” was an unidentified source on the
British atomic program in Venona.
17 . “
18 . “Ernst”
(cover name in Vassiliev notebooks): Byron Darling from October 1944 to
February 1945. “Ernst” is unidentified
in the Venona decryptions. In Venona
“Huron” (unidentified) was changed to “Ernst” in October 1944 but this was
canceled by
19 . “Ernst”
(cover name in Vassiliev notebooks): Paul Nahin, 1945. “Ernst” under the alternative translation as
“Ernest” appeared in the Venona decryptions as an unidentified scientific
source/agent (the former “
20 . “Fakir”
(cover name in Vassiliev notebooks): Andrew Steiger prior to October 1944.
“Fakir” appeared in the Venona decryptions as an unidentified Soviet
intelligence source/agent.
21 .
“Fisherman” [Rybolov] (cover name in Vassiliev notebooks):
Stephen Urewich until September 1944.
“Fisherman” “Rybolov”, with an
alternative translation as “Osprey”, appeared in the Venona decryptions as an
unidentified Soviet intelligence source/agent.
“Fisherman” is not directly identified as Urevich in Vassiliev’s
notebooks. However, “Fisherman” appeared
in the Venona decryptions as an unidentified Soviet intelligence source/agent
later changed to “Block”. “Block” in
Vassiliev’s notebooks is identified as Stephen Urewich. Therefore, “Fisherman” is Urewich.
22 . “Flora”
(cover name in Vassiliev notebooks): Ruth Rivkin, staff of UNRRA. “Flora” appeared in the Venona decryptions as
an unidentified cover name reporting on UNRRA.
23 . “Fogel” [Fogel']
(cover name in Vassiliev’s notebooks): Russell McNutt prior to September
1944. “Fogel” appeared in the Venona
decryptions as an unidentified Soviet intelligence source/agent.
24 . “Girl
Friend” [Podruga] (cover name in Vassiliev notebooks): Elsie
Fairfax-Cholmeley. “Girl Friend”
appeared in the Venona decryptions as unidentified Soviet intelligence source/agent.
25 . “Gor”
(cover name in Vassiliev notebooks): Joseph Gregg (alternative translations:
Gore, Hor) “Gor” appeared in the Venona
decryptions as an unidentified Soviet intelligence source/agent of American
diplomatic information on South America, a context compatible with Gregg’s
position in the Office of the Co-ordinator of Inter-American Affairs.
26 . “Grin”
(cover name in Vassiliev notebooks): John Spivak. The cover name is thought to derive from the
popular Russian writer of the 1920s, Alexander Grin, but treating it
phonetically would produce Green. “Grin”
is used here. “Grin” as “Green” appeared
in the Venona decryptions as unidentified and in a context highly compatible
with Spivak.
27 .
“Herdsman” [Pastukh] (cover name in Vassiliev notebooks): Anton
Lavrentyevich Nikunas, 1943. “Herdsman” appeared in the Venona decryptions as
an unidetified technical source compatible with Nikunas.
28 . “Huron” [Guron]
(cover name in Vassiliev notebooks): Byron T. Darling prior to October 1944 and
from February 1945 and later. “Huron”
appeared in the Venona decryptions as unidentified, a scientific source in the
Venona decryptions assigned at one point to contact
29 . “Jack” [Dzhek]
(cover name in Vassiliev notebooks): Bernard Schuster, December 1943. “Jack” appeared in the Venona decryptions as
an unidentified GRU contact/agent in 1943 who appeared to play an intermediary
role with CPUSA, and Schuster, who also performed that role for KGB, would be a
very likely candidate for performing that task for GRU as well.
30 . “Leslie” [Lesli]
(cover name in Vassiliev notebooks): Lona Cohen. “Leslie” translated as “Lesley” appeared in
the Venona decryptions as unidentified but in a context that would be
compatible with Lona Cohen.
31 . “Long” [Dlinny]
(cover name in Vassiliev notebooks): Norman Hait prior to October 1944. “Long”
appeared in the Venona decryptions as an unidentified Soviet intelligence
source/agent but in a context that would fit Norman Hait.
32 . “Map” (cover
name in Vassiliev notebooks): Louise Bransten.
“Map” appeared in the Venona decryptions as unidentified but in a
context that suggests Louise Bransten.
33 . “Mirage” [Mirazh]
(cover name in Vassiliev notebooks): Robert Miller. “Mirage” appeared as an unidentified Soviet
source in the Venona cables, and the context supports identification of
“Mirage” as Miller.
34 . “Mole” [Krot]
(cover name in Vassiliev notebooks): Charles Kramer. “Mole” appeared in the Venona decryptions as
an unidentified Soviet intelligence source/agent but in a context compatible
with Kramer.
35 . “Mon”
(cover name in Vassiliev notebooks): Bernard Redmont. “Mon” occured in the Venona messages as an
unidentified Soviet source compatible with identification of “Mon” as Redmont.
36 . “Muse” [Muza]
(cover name in Vassiliev notebooks): Helen Tenney. “Muse” appeared in the Venona decryptions as
unidentified but in a context that would fit Tenney.
37 . “Nelly” [Nelli]
(cover name in Vassiliev notebooks): Helen Lowry, 1939-August 1944. “Nelly” appeared in the Venona decryptions as
an unidentified Soviet intelligence source/agent in 1944.
38 . “Neutron”
[Neytron] (cover name in Vassiliev notebooks): Aristid Victorovich
Grosse in 1942. “Neutron” appeared in
the Venona decryptions as an unidentified in 1942.
39 . “Nil”
(cover name in Vassiliev notebooks): Nathan Sussman after September 1944. (Alternative translations
40 . “Octane” [Oktan]
(cover name in Vassiliev notebooks): Dr. Maurice Bacon Cooke, 1938-1945. “Octane” appeared in the Venona decryptions
as an unidentified Soviet intelligence source/agent.
41 . “Pavel”
(cover name in Vassiliev notebooks): Lavrenty Beria, early 1940s. “Pavel” appeared in the Venona decryptions as
an unidentified authoritative official at
42 . “Persian”
[Pers] (cover name in Vassiliev notebooks): Russell McNutt starting in
September 1944. “Persian” appeared in
the Venona decryptions as an unidentified Soviet intelligence source/agent with
attributes compatible with McNutt.
43 . “Plucky”
[Smel'y] (cover name in Vassiliev notebooks): Jan Patek. “Plucky” appeared in Venona as an
unidentified Soviet intelligence source/agent with attributes compatible with
Patek.
44 . “Quantum”
[Kvant] (cover name in Vassiliev notebooks): Boris Podolsky. Alexander Vassiliev’s notebooks do not
directly provide a real name for “Quantum” but stated that Podolsky “approached
the [Soviet] embassy with a proposal to go to the Soviet Union to work on the
problem of Uranium-235” that matches the description of “Quantum’s” proposals
to Soviet intelligence officers posing as senior diplomats. “Quantum” appeared
in the Venona decryptions as an unidentified Soviet intelligence source who in
mid-1943 provided detailed information about the gaseous diffusion method of
separating U-235 from U-238.
45 . “Ramsay” [Ramzay]
(cover name in Vassiliev notebooks): Clarence Hiskey. “Ramsay” appeared in the Venona decryptions
as a unidentifed target of recruitment associated with the
46 . “Redhead” [Ryzhaya]
(female) (cover name in Vassiliev notebooks): Hede Massing. “Redhead” occured in the Venona decryptions
as an unidentified cover name in a context that suggests that it was Massing
and was later identified as Massing in retrospective NSA histories.
47 . “Reed” [Rid]
(cover name in Vassiliev notebooks): James H. Hibben, references to in
January-June 1945. Former cover name
“Solid.” “Reed” appeared in the Venona
decryptions as an unidentified technical line source in November 1944 and is
compatible with being Hibben.
48 . Relay” [Rele]
(cover name in Vassiliev notebooks): Joseph Chmilevski prior to September
1944. “Relay” appeared in the Venona
decryptions as an unidentified Soviet intelligence source/agent.
49 .
“Ruff” [Yersh] (cover name
in Vassiliev notebooks): Franz Neumann.
“Ruff” occured in the Venona decryptions as an unidentified Soviet
source in the
50 . “Sachs” [Saks]
(cover name in Vassiliev notebooks): Solomon Adler, 1941-1945. “Sachs” appeared in the Venona cables as an
unidentified Soviet source and in a context compatible with Adler.
51 . “Sam”
(cover name in Vassiliev notebooks): Michael Bogart, 1943-1945. “Sam” appeared in the Venona decryptions as
an unidentified Soviet intelligence source but as working in
52 . “Senor” [Sen'or]
(cover name in Vassiliev notebooks): Alexander Koral in August 1944. “Senor” changed to “Berg” in September
1944. “Senor” appeared in the Venona
decryptions as an unidentified Soviet intelligence source/agent in 1944 whose
cover name was changed to “Berg” in September 1944.
53 . “Serb”
(cover name in Vassiliev notebooks): Joseph Chmilevski starting in September
1944. Earlier “Relay”. “Serb” appeared in the Venona decryptions as
an unidentified Soviet intelligence source/agent with an artificial leg, an
attribute that matchs Chmilevski.
54 . “Siskin” [Chizh]
(cover name in Vassiliev notebooks): Eduardo Pequeño. Siskin (a type of bird) occured in the Venona
decryptions as an unidentified cover name of a Soviet agent operating in South
and
55 . “Skiers” [Lyzhniki]
(cover name in Vassiliev notebooks):
56 . “Smart”
(cover name in Vassiliev notebooks): Elliot Goldberg, engineer for an oil
equipment company in
57 . “Solid” [Solidny]
(cover name in Vassiliev notebooks): James H. Hibben prior to October 1944.
“Solid” appeared in the Venona decryptions as unidentified technical source in
1943 and 1944. In the Venona decryptions
“Solid” was changed to “Kinsman” in October 1944. “Kinsman” does not does not appear in
Alexander Vassiliev’s notebooks and the name may not have been implemented
because “Solid” had become “Reed” in Alexander Vassiliev’s notebooks by
1945. Additionally, a New York KGB
station Venona cable shortly after the shift from “Solid” to “Kinsman” stated
that the reported change in “Solid” cover name was garbled. “Reed” appeared in the Venona decryptions as
an unidentified technical intelligence source in November 1944, and this likely
was “Reed”/Hibben. Hibben’s real name
does not appear in Vassiliev’s notebooks, but “Solid”/“Reed” is unambiguously
identified as the chief of the Chemical Division of the U.S. Tariff Commission,
a position James Hibben held at the time.
FBI also identified Hibben as an associate of Soviet agent Mary Price
and had information that he was using his position to access documents on
military explosives that were unrelated to his official duties.
58 . “Stella”
(cover name in Vassiliev’s notebooks): Helen Lowry, August 1944 to mid-1955.
“Stella” appeared in the Venona decryptions as an unidentified Soviet intelligence
source/agent whose activities were compatible with Lowry.
59 . “Storm” [Shtorm]
(cover name in Vassiliev notebooks): Josef Peters. Storm occured in the Venona decryptions as an
unidentified cover name and one that is consistent with it being Peters.
60 . “Tan”
(cover name in Vassiliev notebooks): Harry Magdoff, 1945-1948. “Tan” appeared only once in the deciphered
Venona traffic, in a 1945 message, and was unidentified; but the context was
consistent with it being Magdoff.
61 . “Tuk”
(cover name in Vassiliev notebooks): Nathan Sussman, a member of Julius
Rosenberg’s espionage apparatus prior to September 1944. A partially decoded cover name, “Tu..,”
appeared in the Venona decryptions as a unidentified member of Julius
Rosenberg’s technical intelligence apparatus, very likely a partial decoding of
“Tuk.”
62 . “Vick” [Vik]
(cover name in Vassiliev notebooks): Henry Ware. “Vick” appeared in the Venona
decryptions as an unidentified Soviet intelligence source/agent, 1943.
63 .
“Volunteer” [Volonter]
(cover name in Vassiliev notebooks): Morris Cohen. “Volunteer” appeared in the Venona
decryptions as an unidentified Soviet intelligence source/agent.
64 . “Zone” [Zon]
(cover name in Vassiliev’s notebooks): Mary Price starting in September 1944. “Zone” appeared in the Venona decryptions as
an unidentified Soviet intelligence source/agent with attributes compatible
with Price.
Cover
Names where Vassiliev’s Notebooks Supply a Real Name where the
Real
Name in Venona was Redacted.
1 . “Ampere” [Amper]
(cover name in the Venona decryptions): Emma Phillips’ husband. “Ampere” does not occur in Vassiliev’s
notebooks but is in the Venona decryptions but with the real name
identification redacted. However, Venona
indicates “Ampere” was married to “Cora”, “Cora” is identified in Vassiliev’s
notebooks as Emma Phillips, consequently, “Ampere” was Emma Phillips’ husband.
2 . “Armor” [Bronya]
(cover name in Vassiliev notebooks): Harold Smeltzer starting in October 1944.
A technical intelligence source at
3 . Cora” [Kora]
(cover name in Vassiliev notebooks): Emma Phillips. Soviet intelligence source/agent. “Cora” was a cover name in the Venona
decryptions whose identity was established but which NSA redacted when it
released the messages. The Venona
messages indicated that “Cora” was married to another Soviet source, cover
names “Roy” and “Ampere”, who was also identified but whose identify was also
redacted.
4 . “Noise” [Shum]
(cover name in Vassiliev notebooks): Michael K. Cham starting in October
1944. “Noise” appeared in the Venona
decryptions as a Soviet intelligence source/agent but the NSA/FBI
identification of the real name was redacted.
5 . “
6 . “Karl”
(cover name in Vassiliev notebooks): Soviet intelligence source/agent,
technical line, 1944-1945. Likely
William Stapler. Described as “chemical
engineer at the Hercules Powder Company.
With us since ’34.” Prior to
October 1944 designated as “Ray.” “Karl”
was identified in the Venona decryptions but the real name was redacted by NSA.
7 . “Ray” [Skat] (cover name in Vassiliev notebooks): Soviet
intelligence source/agent, technical line, prior to October 1944, later changed
to “Karl”. As “Karl” described as
“chemical engineer at the Hercules Powder Company. With us since ’34”.“Ray” and “Karl’s” real
name is not provided in Vassiliev’s notebooks but the details provided easily
identify him as William Stapler. “Ray”
was identified in the Venona decryptions but the real name was redacted by NSA.
8 . “Stamp” (Shtamp)
(cover name in the Venona decryptions): “Stamp” was identified in the Venona
decryptions as a Soviet intelligence source/agent for a source at Bell Aircraft
in
The Special Case of Venona 1354
When NSA released Venona 1354, KGB
New York to
**********************************************************************************
To Viktor.
Further to number
741. On the Security Division of IZBA’s
list of Fellow Coutrymen are the following:
REDACTED, REDACTED, REDACTED, REDACTED, REDACTED, REDACTED, REDACTED,
REDACTED, REDACTED, DONALD WHEELER, REDACTED, REDACTED, REDACTED, REDACTED,
REDACTED, REDACTED, REDACTED, REDACTED
Both the REDACTED and REDACTED are
included in a list of persons “concerning whom it is known that they give
information
[10
groups unrecoverable]
such
persons and a proposal
[6 groups unrecovered]
dismissal
no.
768
23
September Maj
******************************************************************************
White
notebook #3 on page 110 contains Vassiliev’s notes on this cable and supply the
redacted names:
******************************************************************************
List of
Major Arthur Goldberg, T.D.
Schocken, E.A. Mosk, Fleisher, A.O. Hirshman, Julius Rosenfeld Carlo A. Prato,
Manuel T. Jiminez, Irving Goff, Michael A. Jiminez, David Zablodowsky, Carl
Marzani, Virginia Gerson, Bert D. Schwartz, Victor Dimitrievich, Leo Drozdov,
Alexander Lesser, Louis E. Madison, Donald Wheeler, Gerald Davidson, Seymore
Shulberg, Fena Harrison, Robert M. McGregor, Netty Solovitz, Tilly Solovitz,
Frederick Pollock.
Both Jiminezes and Zablodowsky are
on a list of individuals “known to pass info. to the Russians.”
******************************************************************************
Cover
names were Venona provides a real name for a cover name in Vassiliev’s
notebooks.
1 . “Henry” [Genri]
(unidentified cover name in Vassiliev notebooks): “Henry” was identified in the
Venona decryptions as Malisoff.
References to in 1945.
2 . “Aida”
(unidentified cover name in Vassiliev’s notebooks): “Aida” was identified in
the Venona decryptions as
3 . “Bar” (unidentified
cover name in Vassiliev notebooks): Unidentified institution to which
“Charlie”/Cedric Belfrage was connected in 1943. “Bar” was identified in the Venona
decryptions as British Security Coordination.
4 . “Cavalryman” [Kavalerist] (unidentified
cover name in Vassiliev notebooks): Unidentified Soviet intelligence agent
linked to Ruski Golos.
“Cavalryman” was identified in the Venona decryptions as Sergey
Kurnakov, a military affairs writer for Ruski Golos.
5 . “Condenser”
[Kondensator] (unidentified cover name in Vassiliev notebooks):
“Condenser” was identified in the Venona decryptions as Kenneth Richardson.
6 .
“Contractor” [Podryadchik] (unidentified cover name in
Vassiliev’s notebooks): “Contractor” was identified in the Venona decryptions
as Alexander Saffian.
7 .
“Countryside” [Derevnya] (unidentified cover name in Vassiliev’s
notebooks): “Countryside” was identified in the Venona decryptions as
8 . “Dak”
(unidentified cover name in Vassiliev notebooks): “Dak” was identified in the
Venona decryptions as James Cannon.
9 . “Dicky” [Diki]
(unidentified cover name in Vassiliev notebooks): “Dicky” was identified in the
Venona decryptions as journalist Johannes Steele
10 . “Fir” [El']
(unidentified cover name in Vassiliev notebooks): “Fir” (Alternative
translation: Spruce) was identified in the Venona decryptions as Helen Grace
Scott Keenan.
11 . “Gnat” [Komar]
(unidentified cover name in Vassiliev’s notebooks): “Gnat” was identified in
the Venona decryptions as Victor Kravchenko.
12 . “Grimm”
(unidentified cover name in Vassiliev notebooks): Unidentified KGB officer,
possibly cipher officer, late 1930s.
“Grimm” in 1944 was identified in the Venona decryptions as KGB officer
Nikolay Alelseev Golovin who may have been a cipher officer.
13 . “Igor”
(unidentified cover name in Vassiliev notebooks): Soviet intelligence
officer/agent. Likely Konstantin Mikhailovich Kukin. “Igor” was identified in the Venona
decryptions as Konstantin Mikhailovich Kukin, Counselor Soviet embassy,
14 . “Korobov”
(unidentified cover name in Vassiliev’s notebooks): Soviet intelligence officer
in
15 . “Lens” [Linza]
(unidentified cover name in Vassiliev notebooks): “Lens” was identified in the
Venona decryptions as Michael Sidorovich who ran a safe house in
16 . “Light” [Svet] (unidentified cover name in Vassiliev notebooks):
“Light” was identified in the Venona decryptions as KGB officer Aleksandr
Andreevich Raev. (Raev may the the
diplomatic pseudonym of Aleksandr Rogov.)
17 . May”
(unidentified cover name in Vassiliev notebooks): Unidentified KGB station chief
in
18 . “Nick” [Nik]
(unidentified cover name in Vassiliev notebooks): “Nick” was identified in the
Venona decryptions as Amadeo Sabatini.
19 . “Osipov”
(unidentified cover name in Vassiliev’s notebooks): “Osipov” was identified in
the Venona decryptions as Nikolay W.
Orloff.
20 . “Pa”
(unidentified cover name in Vassiliev notebooks): “Pa” was identified in the
Venona decryptions as Richard Lauterbach.
21 . “Perch” [Okun]
(unidentified cover name in Vassiliev’s notebooks): “Perch” was identified in
the Venona decryptions as Tkach.
22 . “Petrov”
(unidentified cover name in Vassiliev notebooks): Very senior offical at
23 . “Roman” (unidentified cover name in Vassiliev
notebooks): “Roman” was identified in the Venona decryptions as Robert Soblen.
24 . “Said”
(unidentified cover name in Vassiliev notebooks): “Said” was identified in the
Venona decryptions as probably Valentin Matveevich Sadovnikov.
25 . “Scout” [Skaut]
(unidentified cover name in Vassiliev notebooks): “Scout” was identified in the
Venona decryptions as Joel Barr
26 . “Talent” [Talant]
(unidentified cover name in Vassiliev notebooks): “Talent” was identified in
the Venona decryptions as William Marias Malisoff (Malisov) prior to October
1944.
27 . “Uncle” [Dyadya]
(unidentified cover name in Vassiliev notebooks): “Uncle” was identified in the
Venona decryptions as Isaac Folkoff.
28 . “Zora”
(unidentified cover name in Vassiliev notebooks): “Zora” was identified in the
Venona decryptions as Flora Don Wovschin.
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