Iskhak Abdulovich Akhmerov (russian: italic=yes, Исха́к Абду́лович Ахме́ров, tt-Cyrl, Исхак Габдулла улы Әхмәров, translit=İsxaq Ğabdulla ulı Əxmərov) (1901–1976) was a highly decorated

OGPU The Joint State Political Directorate (OGPU; russian: Объединённое государственное политическое управление) was the intelligence and state security service and secret police of the Soviet Union f ...

NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (russian: Наро́дный комиссариа́т вну́тренних дел, Naródnyy komissariát vnútrennikh del, ), abbreviated NKVD ( ), was the interior ministry of the Soviet Union. ...

( KGB)

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

security officer, best known to historians for his role in KGB operations in the United States 1942–1945. His name appears in the Venona decryptions over fifty times, often as signatory, and on his return to the Soviet Union in 1945/46, he rose to deputy chief of the KGB's 'illegal' intelligence section. (NOTE: Many details from Haynes and Klehr's ''Venona'' come from ''Veterany Vneshnei Razvedki Rossii'' oscow: Russian Foreign Intelligence Service, 1995 which forms the basis of their profile of him in their book's Appendix E.)

Career

Background

Akhmerov was born in

Troitsk Troitsk (russian: Троицк) is the name of several inhabited localities in Russia. Modern localities ;Urban localities *Troitsk, Chelyabinsk Oblast, a town in Chelyabinsk Oblast; *Troitsk, Moscow, a town in Troitsk Settlement of Troitsky Adm ...

, located in modern

Chelyabinsk Oblast Chelyabinsk Oblast (russian: Челя́бинская о́бласть, ''Chelyabinskaya oblast'') is a federal subject (an oblast) of Russia in the Ural Mountains region, on the border of Europe and Asia. Its administrative center is the ...

, and came from a

Tatar The Tatars ()Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different

background. He joined the

Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) "Hymn of the Bolshevik Party" , headquarters = 4 Staraya Square, Moscow , general_secretary = Vladimir Lenin (first)Mikhail Gorbachev (last) , founded = , banned = , founder = Vladimir Lenin , newspaper ...

in 1919, and attended the

Communist University of the Toilers of the East The Communist University of the Toilers of the East (KUTV) (russian: link=no, Коммунистический университет трудящихся Востока; also known as the Far East University) was a revolutionary training scho ...

and the First State University, where he graduated from the School of International Relations in 1930.

OGPU/NKVD

Akhmerov joined the

in 1930 and participated in the suppression of

anti-Soviet Anti-Sovietism, anti-Soviet sentiment, called by Soviet authorities ''antisovetchina'' (russian: антисоветчина), refers to persons and activities actually or allegedly aimed against the Soviet Union or government power within the ...

movements in the USSR's Bukhara Republic between 1930 and 1931. In 1932, Akhmerov transferred to the foreign intelligence division (" INO") of the

and served as a 'legal' intelligence officer under diplomatic cover in Turkey. In 1934, he transferred to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

, where he served as an " illegal" field officer. In 1935, he entered the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

with false identity papers. He recruited agents in the

U.S. Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other n ...

U.S. Treasury The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an executive department. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and t ...

, and U.S. intelligence services. In 1939, he was transferred back to the Soviet Union. By 1942, Akhmerov had become chief ''illegal resident'' in the United States during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. American agents he ran for the Soviets include

Laurence Duggan Laurence Duggan (May 28, 1905 – December 20, 1948), also known as Larry Duggan, was a 20th-century American economist who headed the South American desk at the United States Department of State during World War II, best known for falling to his ...

Mary Price Mary Price may refer to: * Mary Price (alleged spy) (1909–1980), American accused of being a spy for the Soviet Union *Mary Grant Price (1917–2002), costume designer * Mary Sue Price, playwright and scriptwriter * Mary Elizabeth Price (1877–19 ...

, and Michael Straight (the last knew Akhmerov as "Michael Green"). Places he likely lived during that time include New York City and Baltimore. According to

Pavel Sudoplatov Pavel Anatolyevich Sudoplatov (russian: Пáвел Aнатóльевич Cудоплáтов; ua, Павло Анатолійович Судоплатов, translit=Pavlo Anatoliiovych Sudoplatov; July 7, 1907 – September 24, 1996) was a member ...

, Akhmerov ran one of five spy rings targeting the United States for atomic bomb secrets. The Akhmerov led ring targeted United States Communist Party members for the Kremlin's needs. In 1945, Akhmerov returned again to the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

to become deputy chief of the KGB's 'illegal' intelligence section (отдел нелегальной разведки). He attained the rank of colonel.

Aliases

Akhmerov is known to have used the cover names "William Grienke", "Michael Green", "Michael Adamec", and several others while in the United States. His code names in the

Venona project The Venona project was a United States counterintelligence program initiated during World War II by the United States Army's Signal Intelligence Service (later absorbed by the National Security Agency), which ran from February 1, 1943, until Oc ...

decrypts of Soviet intelligence messages are ''MAYOR'' and ''ALBERT''.

Hede Massing Hede Tune Massing, née "Hedwig Tune" (also "Hede Eisler," "Hede Gumperz," and "Redhead") (6 January 1900 – 8 March 1981), was an Austrian actress in Vienna and Berlin, communist, and Soviet intelligence operative in Europe and the United Sta ...

describes a Soviet '' rezident'' in the United States named "Bill Grinke," "Bill," and "Walter Grinke," whom she describes as a "pedestrian" man, looking about 40 years old, who took her on from

Valentin Markin Valentin Markin (aka "Arthur Walter") (1903 – 1934) was the chief illegal ''rezident'' and director of the espionage operations of the Soviet Union in the United States from 1933 to 1934. Markin headed the activities of both Soviet military ...

at the end of 1934. When Massing reported her encounters with Noel Field, she was reporting to "Bill": she had met Field through ''

Daily Worker The ''Daily Worker'' was a newspaper published in New York City by the Communist Party USA, a formerly Comintern-affiliated organization. Publication began in 1924. While it generally reflected the prevailing views of the party, attempts were m ...

'' journalist Marguerite Young. By "May or June 1935," another '' rezident'' named "Fred" had taken over from "Bill," at which point she began to "develop" Field. In January or February 1937, just before Ignace Reiss defected from the Soviet underground, Massing received an assignment to spy on

Ludwig Lore Ludwig Lore (June 26, 1875July 8, 1942) was an American socialist magazine editor, newspaper writer, lecturer, and politician, best remembered for his tenure as editor of the socialist '' New Yorker Volkszeitung'' and role as a factional leader i ...

, and "Bill" resumed her management. Scholars John Earl Haynes and Harvey Klehr report that the FBI considered

Elizabeth Bentley Elizabeth Terrill Bentley (January 1, 1908 – December 3, 1963) was an American spy and member of the Communist Party USA (CPUSA). She served the Soviet Union from 1938 to 1945 until she defected from the Communist Party and Soviet intellige ...

's "Bill" to be Akhmerov. Scholar Raymond W. Raymond stated that "Walter Grinke" was known to

Whittaker Chambers Whittaker Chambers (born Jay Vivian Chambers; April 1, 1901 – July 9, 1961) was an American writer-editor, who, after early years as a Workers Party of America, Communist Party member (1925) and Soviet Union, Soviet spy (1932–1938), defe ...

and

as "Bill" – and that he worked for

Amtorg Amtorg Trading Corporation, also known as Amtorg (short for ''Amerikanskaya Torgovlya'', russian: Амторг), was the first trade representation of the Soviet Union in the United States, established in New York in 1924 by merging Armand Hammer ...

Personal and death

Akhmerov spoke Turkish, English and French. He married

Helen Lowry Elza Akhmerova, also Elsa Akhmerova was an American citizen, born Helen Lowry. She is a niece of Earl Browder, General Secretary of the Communist Party of the United States (CPUSA). She died of leukemia. From 1936 to 1939, Lowry was an equal par ...

(AKA "Elza Akhmerova"), a niece of the

CPUSA The Communist Party USA, officially the Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA), is a communist party in the United States which was established in 1919 after a split in the Socialist Party of America following the Russian Revo ...

General Secretary

Earl Browder Earl Russell Browder (May 20, 1891 – June 27, 1973) was an American politician, communist activist and leader of the Communist Party USA (CPUSA). Browder was the General Secretary of the CPUSA during the 1930s and first half of the 1940s. Durin ...

and who also worked for Soviet intelligence. She was also a "full partner" in his espionage. He died in 1976.

Awards

Akhmerov received the

Order of the Red Banner The Order of the Red Banner (russian: Орден Красного Знамени, Orden Krasnogo Znameni) was the first Soviet military decoration. The Order was established on 16 September 1918, during the Russian Civil War by decree of th ...

twice, the

Order of the Badge of Honor The Order of the Badge of Honour (russian: орден «Знак Почёта», orden "Znak Pochyota") was a civilian award of the Soviet Union. It was established on 25 November 1935, and was conferred on citizens of the USSR for outstanding ...

, and the badge of Honored Chekist.

Legacy

On April 7, 2011, a memorial plaque was unveiled in honor of the 110th anniversary of Akhmerov's birth. On April 16, 2015, a monument for Akhmerov was unveiled at the Scarlet Field in

Chelyabinsk Chelyabinsk ( rus, Челя́бинск, p=tɕɪˈlʲæbʲɪnsk, a=Ru-Chelyabinsk.ogg; ba, Силәбе, ''Siläbe'') is the administrative center and largest city of Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia. It is the seventh-largest city in Russia, with a ...

. A monument to him and his wife was created in Tatarstan By the artist Rim Akchurin that features the

Brooklyn Bridge The Brooklyn Bridge is a hybrid cable-stayed/ suspension bridge in New York City, spanning the East River between the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn. Opened on May 24, 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge was the first fixed crossing of the East Rive ...

, symbolizing his espionage work in New York, as well as the kremlins of Moscow and Kazan.

Venona

As chief of KGB in the US during WWII, Akhmerov's name appears on many decrypted Venona documents, as does his wife. During WWII, he served as one of three major contacts for comrade

Vasily Zarubin Vasily Mikhailovich Zarubin (russian: Васи́лий Михáйлович Зарýбин) (4 February 1894 – 18 September 1972) was a Soviet intelligence officer. In the United States, he used the cover name Vasily Zubilin and served as th ...

. He also ran the

Perlo group Headed by Victor Perlo, the Perlo group is the name given to a group of Americans who provided information which was given to Soviet intelligence agencies; it was active during the World War II period, until the entire group was exposed to the FBI ...

Victor Perlo Victor Perlo (May 15, 1912December 1, 1999) was an American Marxist economist, government functionary, and a longtime member of the governing National Committee of the Communist Party USA. Biography Early years Victor Perlo was born May 15, 19 ...

, which had reported previously to

Jacob Golos Jacob Golos (born Yakov Naumovich Reizen, Russian: Яков Наумович Рейзен; April 24, 1889 - November 27, 1943) was a Ukrainian-born Bolshevik revolutionary who became an intelligence operative in the United States on behalf of the U ...

and

. Cables also mention the Silvermaster group under

Nathan Gregory Silvermaster Nathan Gregory Silvermaster (November 27, 1898 – October 7, 1964), an economist with the United States War Production Board (WPB) during World War II, was the head of a large ring of Communist spies in the U.S. government. It is from him that ...

Notes

References

External links

Aleksandr Vassiliev's Notes from KGB Archives of Akhmerov as ''ALBERT''
(in Russian) * *Richard C.S. Trahair and Robert Miller, ''Encyclopedia of Cold War Espionage, Spies, and Secret Operations'' (New York: Enigma Books, 2008) {{DEFAULTSORT:Akhmerov, Iskhak 1901 births 1976 deaths Moscow State University alumni NKVD officers KGB officers Tatar people of the Soviet Union Soviet spies