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Alexander Vassiliev’s Notes on Anatoly Gorsky’s December 1948 Memo on
Compromised American Sources and Networks (Annotated)
Annotated by John Earl Haynes
Translated by Ronald Bachman and Harold Leich, assisted by John Earl Haynes
Additional assistance provided by Alexander Vassiliev
[Revised October 2005]
Alexander Vassiliev, a former KGB officer, coauthored The Haunted Wood: Soviet Espionage in America -- The Stalin Era with Allen Weinstein. Under an agreement with the SVR (successor to the KGB), Vassiliev has access to a segment of KGB records dealing with Soviet espionage in the United States. While he could not remove copies from the archive, he could make notes. Below is a translation of Vassiliev’s handwritten notes on a December 1948 memo written by Anatoly Gorsky. Gorsky was a senior official of the Committee of Information (KI), the agency then supervising Soviet foreign intelligence.
Portions of the notes were quoted in The Haunted Wood.[1] The complete notes were made public as a part of Vassiliev v Frank Cass & Co Ltd., a 2003 libel case in the United Kingdom. David Lowenthal obtained a copy and provided it to Eduard Mark who provided a copy to John Earl Haynes in January 2005. David Lowenthal cites the document as: transcript of KGB file 43173 vol.2 (v) pp. 49-55, attached to Alexander Vassiliev to Hartwig, 1 February 2002, in Alexander Vassiliev and Frank Cass & Co Ltd, High Court of Justice Queen's Bench Division Claim No. HQ1X03222, Amended Particulars of Claim.
Russian linguists Harold Leich and Ronald Bachman prepared both a transcription of Vassiliev’s handwritten notes in Russian (Vassiliev’s handwriting is not always clear) to typed Cyrillic Russian and a translation to Latin alphabet English. John Earl Haynes assisted in providing conventional English spellings for names phonetically translated from the Russian. David Lowenthal also reviewed the translations and made suggestions on items. Alexander Vassiliev himself later provided his own translation that assisted in clarifying ambiguities.
Below is the English language translation with footnoted annotations and followed by an analysis of cover names. Materials in brackets are interpolations. Page numbers given in the text are Vassiliev’s notes of the page of the archival file from which his note was extracted.
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[Vassiliev’s Notes on Gorsky Memo begins in middle of a sentence]
[illegible] middle of 1949 essentially terminated all efforts to seek out recruiters and new agents
[illegible] refrained from reestablishing links with failed agents.
p. 47.
“In its practical operations, the rezidentura has proceeded along the path of least resistance, either recruiting persons widely known for their links to the Communist Party of the U.S.A. (“Jack,” “Guide,” “Lana,” “Rur,” “Kan [Kahn],” et al.) or trying to employ as agents persons from the people’s democracies who are sympathetic to us but do not have access to information of interest.”[2]
The responsibility rests on the deputy rezident “Fyodor.” Because of his preoccupation with fundamental work, “Vladimir” cannot be involved in all [aspects ?] of operational activities.[3]
p. 48.
It is essential to complement your [ illegible] rezidentura with the best cadres of KI workers.[4]
Failures in the U.S.A. (1938-48)[5]
p. 49.
“Karl’s” Group
1. Karl – Whittaker Chambers, former chief editor of the magazine “Time.” Traitor.[6]
2. Jerome – Barna Bukov (Altman), our former cadre colleague. Now in the USSR.[7]
3. Leonard – Alger Hiss, former employee of the State Department.[8]
4. Junior – Donald Hiss, former employee of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.[9]
5. 104th – Henry A. Wadleigh, former employee of the State Department.[10]
6. 118th – F. V. Reno, former employee of Aberdeen proving ground.[11]
7. 105th – Henry Collins, former employee of the Department of Agriculture, presently the director of the American-Russian Institute in New York.[12]
8. 114th – William W. Pigman, former employee of the Bureau of Standards.[13]
9. “Storm” – Joseph Peters (aka Isidore Burstein), former member of the Central Committee of the CPUSA.[14]
10. “Wig” (Vig) – Lee Pressman, former legal adviser of the Congress of Industrial Organizations.[15]
11. 116th – Harry Azizov, former employee of a steel-smelting company in Chicago.[16]
12. 101st – Peter MacLean, reporter and photojournalist, not used since ’37.[17]
p. 50
13. 103rd – David Carpenter, newspaper employee.[18]
14. 107th – Felix Inslerman, place of employment unknown.[19]
15. 113th – Harry Rosenthal, employee of an insurance company in Philadelphia.[20]
16. 115th – Lester Hutm [Hume?], former employee of the Frankford Arsenal.[21]
17. “Ernst” – Noel Field, former employee of the State Department.[22]
18. “Rupert” – V.V. Sveshnikov [Sveshchnikov ?], former employee of the War Department.[23]
19. “Richard” – Harry White, former assistant of Treasury Secretary Morgenthau, died in ’48.[24]
20. “Aileron” – D. Silverman, former chief of planning, statistics department of the AAF [literal translation: “VVS” for Military Air Force][25]
21. “Ruble” – Harold Glasser, former chief of the Monetary section of the Treasury Department.[26]
“Redhead’s Group”
1. “Redhead” – Hedwiga Gompertz , Vatsek’s wife, sent to the U.S. in ’38 to carry out fieldwork assignments, traitor since ’48.[27]
2. “Vatsek” [Watsek?] – Paul Massing, scientist at Columbia University’s Institute of Social Research. Traitor.[28]
3. “Oscar” – Oscar Bernstein, lawyer, used for organizing covers for our workers in the U.S.[29]
4. “Prince” [“Kniaz'”] – Laurence Duggan (aka 19th), former employee of the State Department. Suicide.[30]
5. “Ruff” [“Ersh” or “Yeursch”] – Franz Neumann, former consultant in the Department of Research and Analysis of the OSS.[31]
6. “Vardo” – E. Y. Zarubina, our former cadre colleague. [Residing] in the USSR.[32]
p. 51
“Buben’s Group”
1. “Buben” – Louis Budenz, former member of the Central Committee of the CPUSA, former editor of the newspaper Daily Worker, presently a professor at Fordham Catholic University.[33]
2. “Bob” – Robert Menaker, traveling salesman to a variety of trade firms.[34]
3. “Liberal” – Frank Palmer. Place of employment unknown. Former member of the CPUSA, broke with the Communist Party in ’37. “Buben” was recruited with his assistance.[35]
4. “Chap” [“Chen”?] – Franklin Zalmond, without specific assignments, husband of “Rita.” Used as a courier..[36]
5. “Rita” – (aka “Satyr”). Sylvia Caldwell, technical secretary for a Trotskyite group in New York.[37]
6. “Harry” – Rabinovich, our former cadre colleague, Now in the USSR.[38]
“Sound” and “Myrna” Groups
1. “Sound” – Jacob Golos (Raisin), our former illegal colleague in the U.S. Died in ’43.[39]
2. “Myrna” – Elizabeth Bentley, former vice-president of the company United States Service and Shipping Corporation. Traitor since ’45.[40]
3. “Tan” – Harry Magdoff, former employee of the Commerce Department.[41]
4. “Ted” – Edward Fitzgerald, former employee of the Commerce Department.[42]
5. “Mole” – Charles Kramer, former adviser to Senator Pepper.[43]
6. “Izra” – Donald Wheeler, former OSS employee.[44]
7. “Sid” – Allan Rosenberg, former employee of the Foreign Economic Administration [Literal translation: International Economics Administration].[45]
8. “Dan” – Stanley Graze, State Department intelligence employee.[46]
9. “Arena” – Gerald Graze, Dan’s brother, former Department of Defense employee.[47]
10. “Boy” [Boi]” – Charles Flato, former employee of the Foreign Economic Administration.[48]
11. “Raid” – Victor Perlo, former employee of the War Production Board.[49]
12. “Robert” – Gregory Silvermaster (also Pal), former employee of the Reconstruction Financial Corporation in the Department of Commerce.[50]
13. “Vim” – (aka Page), Lauchlin Currie, former aide to President Roosevelt.[51]
14. “Pick” [or “Peak”?] – Frank Coe, former chief of the monetary section of the Treasury Department.[52]
15. “Acorn” – Bela Gold, former employee of the Commerce Department.[53]
16. “Zhenya” – Sonia Gold, former secretary to the chief of the Monetary Research Administration of the Treasury Department.[54]
17. “Tino” – Irving Kaplan, former employee of the Foreign Economic Administration.[55]
18. “Sax” [“Sachs”] – Solomon Adler, former employee of the U.S. Treasury Department.[56]
p. 53
19. “Pilot” – Ludwig Ullmann, former employee of the U.S. Department of War.[57]
20. “Buck” [“Bak”] – David Weintraub, former employee of the UNRRA [United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration].[58]
21. “X” [“Iks”] – (aka Informer]. Joseph Katz, our old agent/group leader [gruppovik] co-owner of a glove factory, a front that we set up, is currently forming a company in Italy to cover our illegal courier line between Europe and U.S.[59]
22. “Adam” – Eva Getzov [Getsov, Getzoff], employee, Jewish Welfare Board.[60]
23. “Hare” – Maurice Halperin, former employee. OSS.[61]
24. “Koch” – Duncan Lee, former employee. OSS.[62]
25. “Muse” – Helen Tenney, former employee. OSS.[63]
26. “Flora” – Ruth Rivkin, former employee, UNRRA.[64]
28. [27.] “Mon” – Bernard Redmont, former employee of the Rockefeller Commission [Office of the Co-ordinator of Inter-American Affairs headed by Nelson Rockefeller].[65]
28. “Mirage” – Robert Miller, former employee of the State Department.[66]
[29. missing number] “Dear” [“Dir”] – Mary Price, former secretary of American journalist Lippmann.[67]
30. “Gor” [“Hor”?] – Joseph Gregg, former employee of the Rockefeller Commission.[68]
31. “Teddy” [Fedya] – William Remington, former employee of the War Production Board.[69]
32. “Cautious” [Watchful, Careful] – Julius Joseph, former OSS employee.[70]
33. “Echo” – S. Schuster, staff member of the Central Committee of the CPUSA.[71]
34. “Irma” – Ray Elson, former vice-president of “United States Service and Shipping Corporation.”[72]
p. 54
35. “Green” – John Spivak, journalist, before ’41 used on the Trotskyites.[73]
35. [“35” is repeated, actual 36] “Vadim” – A. V. Gorsky, former rezident of the MGB USSR in Washington, [resides] in the USSR.[74]
36. [37] “Lyucya” [Lucia, Lucie ?] – Pravdina, former employee of the Ministry of Trade [Amtorg], wife of “Sergei,” the rezident in New York, [resides] in the USSR.[75]
37. [38] “Sergei” – V. Pravdin, former rezident of the MGB USSR in New York. Now in the USSR.[76]
38. [39] “Stock” [“Shtok”] – our cadre colleague M. Shaliapin [Shalyapin], [resides] in the USSR.[77]
39. [40] “Gennady” – G. B. Ovakimian, former rezident of the MGB USSR in New York, [resides] in the USSR.[78]
40. [41] “Albert” – A. I. Akhmerov, former illegal rezident of the MGB USSR in New York, [resides] in the USSR.[79]
41. [42] “Elza” (Elsa)– Akhmerova, Albert’s wife, American, Soviet citizen, [resides] in the USSR.[80]
42. [43] “Mushroom” [“Gruzd,” a type of milk mushroom] – Willard Park, employee of the Rockefeller Commission.[81]
43. [44] “Charlie” – Cedric Belfrage, former employee of the English intelligence rezidentura in New York. Presently a journalist.[82]
The “Berg” – “Art” Group
1. “Berg” – Alexander Koral, former engineer of the municipality of New York.[83]
2. “Art” – Helen Koral, Berg’s wife, housewife.[84]
3. “Son” [“San”] – Richard Koral, son, student.[85]
4. “Long” – Norman Hite [Haight?], engineer for the firm “Sperry Gyroscope Company” in New Jersey.[86]
5. “Smart” – Elliot Goldberg, engineer for an oil equipment company in New York.[87]
6. “Huron” [“Guron”] – Byron T. Darling, engineer for the Rubber Company.[88]
7. “Teacher” [“Uchitel’nitsa,” female ending] – Melamed, teacher in a music school in New York.[89]
8. “Cora” [“Kora”] – Emma Phillips, housewife.[90]
9. “Lock” [Lok] – Sylvia Koral, former secretary of the code section, Office of War Information.[91]
10. “Siskin” [“Chizh,” a type of bird] – Eduardo Pekino [Pequeño?], businessman in Caracas, Venezuela.[92]
11. “Express Messenger” [“Gonets”] – Richard Setaro, journalist/writer, former employee of the Columbia Broadcasting System, presently in Buenos Aires.[93]
12. “Artem” – A. Slavianin, our cadre colleague, [resides] in the USSR.[94]
13. “Twain” [“Tven”] – S. M Semenov [Semyonov], rezident, technical intelligence for the KI in Paris, presently on leave in Moscow.[95]
14. “Aleksey” [Alexey] – A.A. Yatskov, our cadre colleague, [resides] in the USSR.[96]
15. “Julia” – O. V. Shimmel, our cadre colleague, [resides] in the USSR.[97]
16. “Shah” – K. A. Chugunov, our cadre colleague, [resides] in the USSR.[98]
-- A. Gorsky (December ‘48)
[End of Gorsky Memo]
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[1]Allen Weinstein and Alexander Vassiliev, The Haunted Wood: Soviet Espionage in America--the Stalin Era (New York: Random House, 1999), 296–97. The quoted portions are from the first ten lines of the document translated below.
[2]The identifies of Jack, Guide, Lana, and Rur are unknown. Kahn occured in the deciphered Venona cables in 1944 and, while unidentified by NSA/FBI, was likely Avram Landy, a senior CPUSA official who supervised party work among ethnic groups. But whether Kahn/Landy of 1944 is this Kahn is unclear.
[3]KGB officer Girgory Dolbin, who replaced Gorsky as head of the KGB rezidentura when Gorsky and other KGB officers were hastily withdrawn in late 1945 and early 1946, had few assistants and had himself only limited English. Dolbin suffered a partial breakdown and was withdrawn to Moscow. His replacement in late 1947 was an mixed arrangement of Alexandr Panyushkin (Vladimir), who simultaneously held the position of Soviet ambassador to the United States and chief (rezident) of the KGB station (rezidentura), and a KGB professional Gyorgi Sokolov (Fyodor), as deputy KGB station chief. As Gorsky noted, this was an inherently awkward arrangement considering the burden of Panyushkin’s diplomatic duties.
[4]KI (Komitet Informatsii) or Committee of Information, established in 1947, combined both the foreign intelligence arms of GRU (military intelligence) and the MGB security service. Most of the military personnel were returned to the GRU in 1948 and the rest returned to the MGB in 1951, becoming the KGB in 1954.
[5]“Collapses in the U.S.A. (1938-1948)” would be another way to translate this.
[6]Karl and Carl were cryptonyms used by Chambers in the mid-1930s when he was the liaison between a covert CPUSA espionage network and professional GRU officers. Chambers was a senior editor at Time and not chief editor. The reference to him as “traitor” referred to Chambers’ 1938 defection from the Soviet espionage service. Karl appeared a cover name in Venona but these were clearly different “Karls.” Chambers’ Karl cover name was from the mid-1930s rather than the later era covered by the Venona decryptions.
[7]One Soviet officer known to Chambers as Peter was identified to Chambers in 1939 by Walter Krivitsky, a senior KGB defector, as Boris Bykov of the GRU, Soviet military intelligence. Krivitsky, who had been a GRU officer before shifting to the increasingly dominant KGB in the mid-1930s, also identified Boris Bykov as the chief of GRU operations in the U.S. in 1936-1939 in his autobiography, see W. G. Krivitsky, In Stalin’s Secret Service (New York: Enigma Books, 2000), 236. In the H-HOAC Gorsky forum (15 March 2005), the Russian historian Svetlana Chervonnaya pointed to the entry in V. M. Lurie and V. IA. Kochik, GRU: Dela i Liudi [GRU: Cases and People] (Sankt-Peterburg Moskva: Neva Olma-Press, 2002), 356. for “Bukov (Altman) Boris Yakovlevich,” which lists Bukov as “Illegal resident of Razvedupr in the U.S.A. (1936-1939).” Note that both the Gorsky memo and the Luire & Kochik entry list “Altman” as another name for Bukov. Likely Altman was a Jewish birth name with Bukov as a later Russianized replacement. The “Bykov” and “Bukov” are the same person is made even clearer when it is understood that Chambers told the FBI that “Bykov” was pronounced “boo-koff.” See Sam Tanenhaus, Whittaker Chambers: A Biography (New York: Random House, 1997), 548, n. 16. One should also note that the Russian Cyrillic letter “y” is pronounced with a Latin alphabet “u” sound. What is unclear is why Gorsky (or perhaps Vassiliev) listed his first name as Barna rather than Boris or why Krivitsky (or his translator/editor) would transliterate the name as Bykov. rather than Bukov.
[8]Alger Hiss’s known cryptonyms were Lawyer (or Advocate) in the mid-1930s and Ales in 1945. Leonard did not occur as a cover name in the World War II deciphered Venona traffic and may be a later (or possibly earlier) cryptonym.
[9]Donald Hiss worked at the Interior Department, presumably what is meant by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, as well as the Labor Department and the State Department. Junior did not occur in the Venona traffic as a cover name. Junior has the look of a KGB play on words in as much as Donald was Alger’s younger brother and throughout his life remained in Alger’s shadow.
[10]Henry Julian Wadleigh (the middle initial is in error), a State Department official who confessed to being a part of Chambers’ espionage network and testified at the Hiss trials. “104” does not occur as a cover name in Venona.
[11]Franklin Victor Reno (aka Vincent Reno). A mathematician at the Army’s Aberdeen Proving Grounds, Reno in late 1948 confessed that he had furnished government documents to Chambers’ apparatus. “118” does not occur as a cover name in Venona.
[12]In Witness Whittaker Chambers discussed Henry Collins’ role as a member of the CPUSA Washington underground and talent spotter for Soviet intelligence. Former State Department official Laurence Duggan, shortly before his suicide, told the FBI that Collins had attempted to recruit him for Soviet espionage. “105” does not occur as a cover name in Venona.
[13]In Witness Chambers refers to William Ward Pigman using the pseudonym Abel Gross as a source for his CPUSA-GRU network. “114” does not appear in Venona as a cover name.
[14]Peters, a senior CPUSA cadre, headed the party’s underground apparatus from 1932 to 1937 and pioneered its role as an auxiliary to Soviet intelligence activities. One of Peters’ pseudonyms was Isidore Boorstein. Storm occured in Venona as an unidentified cover name and one that is consistent with it being Peters.
[15]Whittaker Chambers identified Pressman as a member of the CPUSA underground in Washington in the 1930s. Pressman, who denied party membership for years, in 1950 admitted to having been a secret member in 1934-35 and an ideological ally thereafter. Wig did not occur in Venona as a cover name.
[16]Chambers in Witness did not discuss a Harry Azizov. However, without providing a name, he noted that Boris Bykov’s network included an industrial spy at the laboratory of a Chicago steel firm. However, Chambers did identify William Crane as part of his and Bykov’s apparatus. The FBI interviewed Crane, he cooperated in part, and that let the FBI to Morris Asimow. Asimow told the FBI that in the mid-1930s he was a metallurgist for Carnegie Illinois Steel, a Chicago subsidiary of U.S. Steel, and he covertly furnished Crane with formula for making steel alloys. See: Sam Tanenhaus, Whittaker Chambers: A Biography (New York: Random House, 1997), 115. While there is an obvious steel connection here, the names Morris Asimow and Harry Azizov have only a little in common. “119” did not appear in Venona as a cover name.
[17]Unknown. Chambers did not discuss a Peter MacLean in Witness. “101” did not appear in Venona as a cover name.
[18]Whittaker Chambers identified Carpenter, a CPUSA activist in Maryland, as part of his CPUSA-GRU network. Carpenter worked at various times for the CPUSA’s Daily Worker. “103” did not occur in Venona as a cover name.
[19]Inslerman testified in 1954 that he had been the photographer for Chambers’ espionage network in 1937-1938. “107” did not appear in Venona as a cover name.
[20]Unknown. Chambers did not discuss a Harry Rosenthal in Witness. “113” did not appear in Venona as a cover name.
[21]Unknown. Chambers did not discuss a Lester Hutm in Witness. However, Chambers noted that among the sources that reported to Boris Bykov, the GRU officer to whom Chambers also reported, was someone at an arms manufacturer. In his statement to the FBI Morris Asimow stated he had introduced William Crane of Bykov’s network to Lester Marx Huettig, who worked for Remington Arms in Bridgeport, CT, with an eye for obtaining information on automatic loading of shells. However, while the first names are identical, the family names, Hutm and Huettig, are not identical, and the Frankford Arsenal near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is not Remington Arms at Bridgeport, Connecticut.
[22]Both Whittaker Chambers and Hede Massing, a KGB defector, testified that Noel Field, then in the State Department, had been recruited as a KGB source in the mid-1930s. Field was not in the U.S. during the period covered by the Venona messages.
[23]Chambers did not discuss a V.V. Sveshnikov in Witness. However, he did note that among the sources that reported to Boris Bykov was a ballistics expert at the War Department. In statements to the FBI he identified Valdimir Vladimirovich De Sveshnikov as the ballistics expert. Inteviewed by the FBI, De Sveshnikov said he was first approached by Soviet intelligence in the mid-1920s and from 1931 to 1938 or 1939 he furnished Soviet intelligenge with industrial and military patents as well as military journals and received regular payments in return.
[24]Whittaker Chambers and Elizabeth Bentley testified to White’s cooperation with Soviet intelligence. Richard occured in the Venona traffic as a Soviet source and was identified as Harry Dexter White by FBI/NSA analysts.
[25]Aileron occured in the Venona traffic and was identified as Abraham George Silverman. The “D.” first initial given here may be an error or perhaps based on Silverman generally being known as “George Silverman.” The first letter of the name “George” is rendered in Russian by a Cyrillic letter that is usually Latinized as “Dzh.” In 1942 Silverman became civilian chief of analysis and plans to the assistant chief of the Army Air Force Air Staff for Material and Service. Aileron as a cover name was an obvious reference to Silverman’s Air Force position.
[26]Whittaker Chambers for the mid-1930s and Elizabeth Bentley for 1943-44 identified Glasser as a Soviet source. Ruble occured in the Venona as a Soviet source and was identified as Harold Glasser. Ruble, the name of Soviet currency, as a cover name reflected KGB occasional playfulness with cover names in as much as Glasser was in the monetary section of the U.S. Treasury.
[27]Hede (or Hedda) Gompertz or Gumperz (know in the U.S. as Hede Massing) and her husband Paul Massing were German Communists who worked as in as covert agent first for the GRU but shifted to to the KGB and were sent to the U.S. in the mid-1930s. They quietly dropped out of Soviet service in the late 1930s, thus the reference to them as traitors. Gompertz did not admit to her work in Soviet espionage until 1947 and testified at the second Hiss trial. Redhead occured in Venona as an unidentified cover name in a context that suggests that it was Gompertz/Massing and was identified as Massing in Robert L. Benson, The Venona Story (Ft. Meade, MD: Center for Cryptologic History, National Security Agency, 2001), 36.
[28]Paul Massing (see previous footnote) was a social scientist (veteran of the Marxist Frankfurt School) at Columbia.
[29]Unknown. Oscar did not occur in Venona as a cover name.
[30]Whittaker Chambers identified Duggan as assisting Soviet espionage in the mid-1930s. Duggan was identified as a Soviet source in the Venona traffic under several cover names, one of which was Prince. “19” occured as a unidentified cryptonym in Venona in 1943 but Duggan is an unlikely candidate for that 19. [See: Eduard Mark, “Venona’s Source 19 and the Trident Conference of May 1943: Diplomacy or Espionage?” Intelligence and National Security 13, no. 2 (April 1998)] Weinstein and Vassiliev in The Haunted Wood identify 19 as Duggan’s cover name in the mid-1930s.
[31]Franz Neumann, an anti-Nazi German exile, worked in the German section of the OSS’s Research and Analysis section. Ruff occured in Venona as an unidentified Soviet source in the OSS. A left-wing Social Democrat, Neumann returned to Germany after World War II and worked for a coming together of the Communist and Social Democratic movements. However, he became disillusioned with the reality of Communist rule in East Germany and broke off contact with the Communists. Ersh is Russian for a type of fish known as Ruff or Ruffe in English but also has several other meanings, including that of a mixed beer and vodka drink. Neumann was associated with the Marxist Frankfurt School as was Paul Massing.
[32]Elizaveta Yulyevna Zarubina, wife of a senior KGB officer, was also a long-time KGB operative in her own right and worked in the U.S. under the name Elizabeth Zubilin. She was identified in the deciphered Venona traffic under the cover name Vardo.
[33]Budenz, who became a Roman Catholic in 1945 and broke with the CPUSA, wrote that in 1937 Dr. Gregory Rabinowitz, KGB officer, directed him to assist in recruiting American Communists to infiltrate and subvert the Trotskyist movement. Buden did not occur in the Venona traffic.
[34]Robert Menaker under the cover name Bob and Czech occured in the Venona traffic as a Soviet agent involved in anti-Trotsky work and KGB South American work. He worked for Midland Export Corporation, a firm that provided business fronts for the KGB.
[35]Unknown. Liberal here was the cover name for Palmer in the mid-1930s before he broke with the CPUSA in 1937. Liberal occured in Venona as a cover name for Julius Rosenberg in 1944 and 1945.
[36]Transposition of the name of Zalmond David Franklin (aka Irving Zalmond Franklin and Salmond Franklin. There are indications that Franklin, who did considerable covert work for the Soviets, at time deliberately transposed his name and used spelling variations). Chap occured in the Venona traffic and was identified as Salmond Franklin. Louis Budenz said that Franklin was recruited by anti-Trotsky work when he returned from the Spanish Civil War and also carried out KGB assignments in Canada.
[37]Budenz said he recruited Sylvia Callen, a young Chicago Communist, to go to New York and infiltrate the Trotskyist Socialist Workers Party under the name Sylvia Caldwell. She succeeded in becoming the secretary of James Cannon, chief of the SWP. She later testified about her infiltration of the SWP and that she had been married for a time to Zalmond Franklin. She was also known as Sylvia Doxsee. She was identified in the Venona traffic under the cover name Satyr. Rita occured in Venona but is clearly a different Rita and not Callen: Rita appeared on the KGB Mexico City channel as a cover name for Ramón Mercader and once in the KGB New York channel as the cover name for a Soviet diplomatic personnel. Rita was likely a cover name subsequent to Satyr. Satyr did appear in Venona as Callen’s cover name. She later testified to a Federal Grand Jury to part of her work as a Communist infiltrator into the Socialist Workers Party.
[38]Most likely Dr. Gregory Rabinovich, a doctor and KGB officer sent to the U.S. in the mid-1930s to supervise penetration of the Trotskyist movement. Harry occured in the Venona traffic but Harry/Rabinovich was clearly a mid- to late-30s cover name whereas Venona’s Harry is 1943 and a different person. Svetlana Chervonnaya (H-HOAC 15 March 2005) agreed that Harry was Rabinovich’s code name but also said that he was executed in the purges of the late 30s and Gorsky should have know this and not bothered to list him. On the other hand, Gorsky identified him as a “former” cadre colleague.
[39]Russian-born Jacob Golos (birth name Raisin) was a senior CPUSA official long involved in its covert work and cooperation with Soviet intelligence agencies. In WWII he developed several large espionage networks of secret Communist party members who worked for the federal government and linked them to the KGB. Sound appeared in the Venona decryptions as a Soviet source and was identified as Jacob Golos. The term “nelegal’ny sotrudnik” can be translated as “illegal colleague,” “illegal associate” or “illegal operative,” was Soviet espionage terminology for a Soviet officer or professional agent who operated without the protection of diplomatic or official status with a Soviet embassy, consulate or agency and usually with false documents. Soviet officers with the latter status were said to be “legal.” Bentley asserted that Golos had told her that he was not merely a CPUSA official assisting the KGB (an agent or “probationer” in KGB slang) but held official rank in the KGB. This reference to Golos as an “illegal colleague” corroborates Bentley’s memory. He died in 1943, thus the reference to him as a “former” colleague.
[40]Elizabeth Bentley, Golos’s companion since the late 1930s, worked as courier to his networks and took over their supervision after his death in 1943. Myrna occured in the Venona as a Soviet source and was identified as Elizabeth Bentley. Bentley turned herself in to the FBI in late 1945, thus the designation traitor. Her wide ranging-knowledge of Golos’s contacts with Soviet intelligence officers and scores of American Communists who assisted the Soviets was a body blow to Soviet espionage from which it took years to recover.
[41]Magdoff, an economist, was a source for Bentley’s Perlo network. He worked for the War Production Board in World War II and then for the Commerce Department. He appeared in 1944 Venona messages as a Soviet source under the cover name Kant. 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. Tan, it appears, had replaced Kant as Magdoff’s cryptonym in 1945.
[42]Fitzgerald, a government economist, was a member of Bentley’s Perlo group and appeared in Venona as a Soviet source under the cover name Ted. He worked for the War Production Board in World War II and then for the Commerce Department.
[43]Kramer worked as professional staff for several U.S. Senate committees during and immediately after WWII, one of the last of which was chaired by Senator Claude Pepper. He was identified in the Venona traffic as a Soviet source under the cover named Lot and Plumb. Mole also occured in the Venona traffic. NSA/FBI analysts list the cover name Mole as unidentified, but the fit between the information reported by Mole and Kramer’s activities at the time is extremely tight. Mole also appeared only after Plumb, Kramer’s prior cover name, disappeared.
[44]Wheeler was a member of Bentley’s Perlo group and appeared in Venona as a Soviet source inside the Office of Strategic Services under the cover name Izra.
[45]Rosenberg, a member of Bentley’s Perlo apparatus, appeared in a single Venona message under his real name as a Soviet source. Sid did not appear in the deciphered Venona messages as a cover name.
[46]Dan did not appear in Venona’s U.S. traffic as a cryptonym, only as the real name of the Menshevik Theodore Dan. Stanley Graze was listed on the circa-1947 “Lee list” of Department of State security officer Robert Lee of unresolved security risk investigations. In 1952 Stanley Graze, citing his right to refuse to provide testimony that might subject him to criminal prosecution, refused to answer questions before the Senate Subcommittee on Internal Security about having been secret Communist Party members or ever having engaged in espionage. At that time he worked for the United Nations.
[47]In 1944 Katherine Perlo, Victor Perlo’s ex-wife, named Gerald Graze as one of her former husband’s network of secret Communists in the government. Gerald Graze was listed on the circa-1947 “Lee list” of Department of State security officer Robert Lee. 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. Mary Price also appeared in Venona under the cover name Dir in two messages: one in June 1943 and another in July 1944. Mary Price appeared in this Gorsky memo as Dar or possibly Dir (see the note on Dar/Dir below). In light of this Gorsky memo, NSA/FBI’s identification of Arena in the Venona cables as Mary Price appeared to be incorrect, although it is possible that the contradiction is due to the KGB having shifted cover names.
[48]Flato, a member of Bentley’s Perlo apparatus, worked for the Board of Economic Warfare in WWII and his real name appeared in clear text in Venona as a Soviet source. Boi in Russian is translated as Battle or Struggle. Often, however, the KGB used Cyrillic to phonetically spell out an English word, in which case this would be Boy.
[49]The central figure in Bentley’s Perlo network, he appeared under the cover name Raider in the Venona decryptions as a Soviet source. The difference between Venona’s Raider and Raid given here is no more than a linguistic choice by the translators.
[50]Nathan Gregory Silvermaster was the central figure of Bentley’s Silvermaster apparatus. He appeared in the Venona cables under both of cover names given here; Robert and Pal.
[51]White House aide Lauchlin Currie assisted Soviet espionage via Bentley’s Silvermaster network. He appeared in the Venona cables as a Soviet source under the cover name Page. The other cover name that appears here, Vim (whose transcription and translation are unclear due to difficulty in reading Vassiliev’s handwriting) did not occur in the deciphered Venona messages.
[52]Frank Coe was a member of Bentley’s Silvermaster group. He appears in the Venona messages as a Soviet source under the cover name Peak.
[53]Bela (William) Gold was part of Bentley’s Silvermaster apparatus and was identified as a Soviet source in the Venona messages under the cover name Acorn.
[54]Sonia Steinman Gold, wife of Bela Gold, part of Bentley’s Silvermaster group. She worked for the Division of Monetary Research of the U.S. Treasury Department. Prior to the war she worked for the U.S. House of Representatives Select Committee on Interstate Migration and in the U.S. Bureau of Employment Security. She appears as a Soviet source in the Venona cables under the cover name Zhenya.
[55]Chambers identified Kaplan as a member of the covert Communist network in Washington in the 1930s. Bentley identified him as a member of the Silvermaster network. Kaplan did not appear in the deciphered Venona messages, nor does the cover name Tino.
[56]Bentley identified Adler as part of Silvermaster’s network. Sax appeared in the Venona cables as an unidentified Soviet source but the context of the Sax messages is compatible with the Adler identification.
[57]Bentley identified William Ludwig Ullmann as a leading figure in the Silvermaster network, and he was identified as a Soviet source in Venona under the cover name Pilot. During WWII he worked on the staff of the Army Air Force at the Pentagon.
[58]Weintraub headed a mid-1930s New Deal project that hired a number of secret CPUSA members (Whittaker Chambers was one). He joined the professional staff of the United Nations after WWII. In 1954, the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Internal Security complained that the division he headed was hiring and providing U.N. cover for Soviet-bloc spies, and he resigned. Elizabeth Bentley did not discuss Weintraub in her statement to the FBI or later memoir. Neither Weintraub or the cryptonym Buck appear in the Venona cables.
[59]Katz worked for the KGB from the 1930s to the late 1940s as one of its most active liaison agents. He was known to Bentley as “Jack.” He moved to Western Europe after World War II, probably prompted to Bentley’s defection. He appeared as a Soviet agent in Venona under the cover named X and Informer.
[60]Adam was identified in Venona 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. Elizabeth Bentley did not discusses Getzov in her statement to the FBI or later memoir.
[61]Bentley identified Maurice Halperin as one of her sources and he was identified as a Soviet source in Venona under the cover name Hare. During WWII he worked on as an analyst for the OSS.
[62]Bentley identified Duncan Lee as a source for the KGB and he was identified as a Soviet source in Venona under the cover name Koch. During WWII he was a high level OSS officer.
[63]Bentley identified Tenney as KGB source and she was identified as a Soviet source in Venona under the cover name Muse. During WWII she worked for the OSS.
[64]Elizabeth Bentley identified Ruth Rivkin as source for her espionage apparatus. During WWII she worked for the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration. Flora appeared in Venona as an unidentified cover name reporting on UNRRA.
[65]Bentley identified Redmont as a source for her networks. Mon occured in the Venona messages as an unidentified Soviet source and one compatible with identification of Mon as Redmont.