Aleksandr Yakovelich Galpern (; 1879—28 June 1956), also known as Alexander Halpern, was a Russian

Menshevik The Mensheviks ('the Minority') were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with Vladimir Lenin's Bolshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903. Mensheviks held more moderate and reformist ...

politician and attorney, who played a significant part in the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution, social change in Russian Empire, Russia, starting in 1917. This period saw Russia Dissolution of the Russian Empire, abolish its mona ...

. He was a member of the Grand Orient of the Peoples of Russia and sat in

Alexander Kerensky Alexander Fyodorovich Kerensky ( – 11 June 1970) was a Russian lawyer and revolutionary who led the Russian Provisional Government and the short-lived Russian Republic for three months from late July to early November 1917 ( N.S.). After th ...

Russian Provisional Government The Russian Provisional Government was a provisional government of the Russian Empire and Russian Republic, announced two days before and established immediately after the abdication of Nicholas II on 2 March, O.S. New_Style.html" ;"title="5 ...

. Following the

October Revolution The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Historiography in the Soviet Union, Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of Russian Revolution, two r ...

, he fled abroad to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Halpern worked in British service as an

MI6 The Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), commonly known as MI6 ( Military Intelligence, Section 6), is the foreign intelligence service of the United Kingdom, tasked mainly with the covert overseas collection and analysis of human intelligenc ...

agent in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, as part of

British Security Co-ordination British Security Co-ordination (BSC) was a covert organisation set up in New York City by the British Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) in May 1940 upon the authorisation of the Prime Minister, Winston Churchill. Its purpose was to investigate ...

Biography

Background

Halpern was born into a family of

Russian Jews The history of the Jews in Russia and areas historically connected with it goes back at least 1,500 years. Jews in Russia have historically constituted a large religious and ethnic diaspora; the Russian Empire at one time hosted the largest po ...

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

. His father, Yakov Markovich Halpern (1840-1914) was a prominent official of the

Ministry of Justice of the Russian Empire The Ministry of Justice was one of the Russian Empire's central public institutions and was established on 8 September 1802. The ministry was headed by the Minister of Justice (who was at the same time the Governing Senate, Senate Procurator Genera ...

and a lawyer. Halpern graduated from the Faculty of Law of

St. Petersburg University Saint Petersburg State University (SPBGU; ) is a public research university in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in Russia. Founded in 1724 by a decree of Peter the Great, the university from the be ...

and became an attorney at St. Petersburg. Politically, Halpern was aligned with the

-wing of the

Russian Social Democratic Labour Party The Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP), also known as the Russian Social Democratic Workers' Party (RSDWP) or the Russian Social Democratic Party (RSDP), was a socialist political party founded in 1898 in Minsk, Russian Empire. The ...

. He worked as a legal adviser to the British Embassy in St. Petersburg, working with a number of British and American firms.

Menshevism and Masonry

He joined an irregular

freemasonic Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

lodge; the Grand Orient of the Russian Peoples; upon the recommendation of

and

Bruno Germanovič Lopatin-Bart Bruno may refer to: People and fictional characters * Bruno (name), including lists of people and fictional characters with either the given name or surname * Bruno, Duke of Saxony (died 880) * Bruno the Great (925–965), Archbishop of Cologne ...

. He sat as a member of the Supreme Council of the Grand Orient from 1912 to 1917 and was the Secretary General of the Supreme Council of the Grand Orient from 1916 to 1917. In February 1917 he replaced

Vladimir Dmitrievich Nabokov Vladimir Dmitrievich Nabokov (; – 28 March 1922) was a Russian criminologist, journalist, and progressive statesman during the last years of the Russian Empire. He was the father of Russian-American author Vladimir Nabokov. Early life ...

as manager of the affairs of the

and held this post until the overthrow of the Provisional Government in October 1917 during the

. He was associated with the failed Committee for Salvation of Motherland and Revolution. Until the end of 1918, he lived covertly in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

and

Petrograd Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

, before fleeing first to Paris and then to London.

Exile and in British intelligence service

In 1928 he gave an interview about Freemasonry to Boris Nikolayevsky, later published in the book ''"Russian Masons and Revolution."'' He married

Salomea Andronikova Salome Andronikashvili () (also known as Salomea Ivanovna Andronikova), born Salome Andronikashvili ( ka, სალომე ანდრონიკაშვილი) (October 1888 – May 8, 1982) was a Georgia (country), Georgian socialite of t ...

; for a long time the couple lived separately, Halpern in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, and his wife in Paris. The two reunited in the United Kingdom only in the 1940s. During the

, Halpern lived in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

in the

, working for British Intelligence (

). The project was set up in 1940 by the

Secret Intelligence Service The Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), commonly known as MI6 (MI numbers, Military Intelligence, Section 6), is the foreign intelligence service of the United Kingdom, tasked mainly with the covert overseas collection and analysis of Human i ...

(MI6) under the approval of

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

. The primary objective of the operation was to change the American public mood from one of isolationism to intervention in the war. While there he maintained contact with old Mensheviks such as

Boris Nicolaevsky Boris Ivanovich Nicolaevsky () (20 October 1887 – 22 February 1966) was a Russian Marxist activist, archivist, and historian. Nicolaevsky is best remembered as one of the leading Menshevik public intellectuals of the 20th century. Biography Ea ...

Irakli Tsereteli Irakli Tsereteli, ' , ' ( – 20 May 1959) was a Georgian politician and a leading spokesman of the Social Democratic Party of Georgia and later Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) during the era of the Russian Revolutions. Tseretel ...

Raphael Abramovitch Raphael Abramovitch Rein (Рафаил Абрамович Рейн; 21 July 1880 – 11 April 1963), best known as Raphael Abramovitch, was a Russian socialist, a member of the General Jewish Labour Union, General Jewish Workers' Union in Lithuani ...

and others, who collaborated in ''The Socialist Herald''. After the war he returned to England, where he lived with his wife in a house at 39 Chelsea Park Gardens in the affluent area of

Chelsea, London Chelsea is an area in West London, England, due south-west of Kilometre zero#Great Britain, Charing Cross by approximately . It lies on the north bank of the River Thames and for postal purposes is part of the SW postcode area, south-western p ...

. One of the rooms in the Halpern house was handed over to Anna Kallin (1896-1984), a mistress of

Oskar Kokoschka Oskar Kokoschka (1 March 1886 – 22 February 1980) was an Austrian artist, poet, playwright and teacher, best known for his intense expressionistic portraits and landscapes, as well as his theories on vision that influenced the Viennese Expre ...

who worked for the

British Broadcasting Corporation The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public broadcasting, public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved in ...

as a producer. While in London, Halpern was well acquainted with personalities such as

Isaiah Berlin Sir Isaiah Berlin (6 June 1909 – 5 November 1997) was a Russian-British social and political theorist, philosopher, and historian of ideas. Although he became increasingly averse to writing for publication, his improvised lectures and talks ...

Moura Budberg Maria Ignatievna von Budberg-Bönninghausen (, ''Maria (Moura) Ignatievna Zakrevskaya-Benckendorff-Budberg'', née Zakrevskaya; February 1892 – 1 November 1974), also known as Countess von Benckendorff and Baroness von Budberg, was a Russian ...

Anthony Blunt Anthony Frederick Blunt (26 September 1907 – 26 March 1983), (formerly styled Sir Anthony Blunt from 1956 until November 1979), was a leading British art historian and a Soviet spy. Blunt was a professor of art history at the University ...

and

Zinovy Peshkov Zinovy Alekseyevich Peshkov (, or ''Pechkov'', 16 October 1884 – 27 November 1966) was a Russian Empire, Russian-born France, French general and diplomat. Early life Born as Zalman or as Yeshua Zalman Sverdlov (in Russian: Zinovy Mikhai ...

. Halpern was for a long time the chairman of the ORT UK. He died in 1956.

Bibliography

* * *

References

External links

Alexander Halpern, Ort Leader, Dies; Was Member of British Mission to U.S.
at

Jewish Telegraphic Agency The Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) is an international news agency and wire service that primarily covers Judaism- and Jewish-related topics and news. Described as the "Associated Press of the Jewish media", JTA serves Jewish and non-Jewish news ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Halpern, Alexander 1879 births 1956 deaths Politicians from Saint Petersburg Russian Jews Mensheviks People of the Russian Revolution Russian Social Democratic Labour Party members Members of the Grand Orient of Russia's Peoples MI6 personnel Special Operations Executive personnel Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United Kingdom World War II spies for the United Kingdom Russia–United Kingdom relations United Kingdom–United States relations People of the Russian Provisional Government