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Elizaveta Yulyevna Zarubina (; 1 January 1900 – 14 May 1987; Ester Yoelevna Rosentsveig (Эстер Иоэльевна Розенцвейг)) was a
Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
spy, holding the rank of ''
podpolkovnik ''Podpolkovnik'' () is a military rank in Slavic and nearby countries which corresponds to the lieutenant colonel in the English-speaking states and military. In different languages the exact name of this rank maintains a variety of spelling ...
'' in the
Ministry of State Security (Soviet Union) The Ministry of State Security (, ), abbreviated as MGB (), was a ministry of the Soviet Union from 1946 to 1953 which functioned as the country's secret police. The ministry inherited the intelligence and state security responsibilities of the ...
. She was known as Elizabeth Zubilin while serving 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 ...
. Another alias was Elizaveta Gorskaya.


Early years

Born in Rzhavyntsi, in the
Khotinsky Uyezd Khotinsky County () was an uezd, one of the subdivisions of the Bessarabia Governorate of the Russian Empire. It was situated in the northwestern part of the governorate. Its administrative centre was Khotyn (''Khotin''). Demographics At the time ...
of the
Bessarabia Governorate The Bessarabia Governorate was a province (''guberniya'') of the Russian Empire, with its administrative centre in Kishinev (Chișinău). It consisted of an area of and a population of 1,935,412 inhabitants. The Bessarabia Governorate bordered t ...
of the
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...
(present-day
Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
) to
Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
parents, Yoel and Ita Rosentsveig. She studied history and
philology Philology () is the study of language in Oral tradition, oral and writing, written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also de ...
at universities in
Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
,
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
, and
Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
, and spoke in English, French, German, Romanian, Russian and
Yiddish Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...
.


Career

Zarubina was one of the most successful agent recruiters, establishing her own illegal network of
Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
migrants from
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
, and recruiting one of
Leó Szilárd Leo Szilard (; ; born Leó Spitz; February 11, 1898 – May 30, 1964) was a Hungarian-born physicist, biologist and inventor who made numerous important discoveries in nuclear physics and the biological sciences. He conceived the nuclear ...
's secretaries, who provided technical data. She was the wife of Soviet Intelligence
Resident Resident may refer to: People and functions * Resident minister, a representative of a government in a foreign country * Resident (medicine), a stage of postgraduate medical training * Resident (pharmacy), a stage of postgraduate pharmaceut ...
Vasily Zarubin Vasily Mikhailovich Zarubin () (4 February 1894 – 18 September 1972) was a Soviet Union, Soviet intelligence officer. In the United States, he used the cover name Vasily Zubilin and served as the chief Soviet intelligence Rezident from 1941 ...
. She was an active participant in the revolutionary movement in
Bessarabia Bessarabia () is a historical region in Eastern Europe, bounded by the Dniester river on the east and the Prut river on the west. About two thirds of Bessarabia lies within modern-day Moldova, with the Budjak region covering the southern coa ...
after
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. In 1919, she became a member of the
Komsomol The All-Union Leninist Young Communist League, usually known as Komsomol, was a political youth organization in the Soviet Union. It is sometimes described as the youth division of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), although it w ...
of Bessarabia. She became part of the Soviet intelligence system in 1924. In 1923, she joined the ranks of the Austrian Communist Party. From 1924 through 1925, she worked in the embassy and trade delegation of the USSR. From 1925 to 1928, she worked in the
Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
Rezidentura. In 1929, Zarubina and
Yakov Blumkin Yakov Grigoryevich Blumkin (; 12 March 1900 – 3 November 1929) was a Left Socialist-Revolutionary, a Bolshevik, and an agent of the Cheka and the Joint State Political Directorate (OGPU). Early life Blumkin was born into a Jewish sho ...
were posted as illegals in
Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
, where he sold
Hasidic Hasidism () or Hasidic Judaism is a religious movement within Judaism that arose in the 18th century as a spiritual revival movement in contemporary Western Ukraine before spreading rapidly throughout Eastern Europe. Today, most of those aff ...
manuscripts from the Central Library in Moscow to support illegal operations in Turkey and the
Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...
. Soviet intelligence officer
Pavel Sudoplatov Pavel Anatolyevich Sudoplatov (; ; July 7, 1907 – September 24, 1996) was a senior Soviet official in the intelligence services of the former Soviet Union whose career spanned over 34 years in the different intelligence branches of the Soviet A ...
, who later organized
Leon Trotsky Lev Davidovich Bronstein ( – 21 August 1940), better known as Leon Trotsky,; ; also transliterated ''Lyev'', ''Trotski'', ''Trockij'' and ''Trotzky'' was a Russian revolutionary, Soviet politician, and political theorist. He was a key figure ...
's murder, writes in his autobiography that Blumkin gave part of the sale proceeds to Trotsky, who was then in exile in Turkey.Pavel Sudoplatov, Anatoli Sudoplatov, Jerrold L. Schecter, Leona P. Schecter, ''Special Tasks: The Memoirs of an Unwanted Witness -- A Soviet Spymaster'' (Little Brown, Boston, 1994), pg. 189. According to his account, Zarubina had an affair with Blumkin and that was the reason why he was recalled to Moscow and executed. Shortly thereafter (1929), she married Vasily Zarubin, and they traveled and spied together for many years, using the cover of a
Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
n and USA business couple for work in
Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...
, Germany, France and the United States.


In the USA

In 1941, the Zarubins were sent to the US, where Vasily was to serve as the first secretary to the Embassy of the Soviet Union, while Zarubina was responsible for collecting information about the development of nuclear weapons in the US, as well as to recruit engineers working close to the
Manhattan Project The Manhattan Project was a research and development program undertaken during World War II to produce the first nuclear weapons. It was led by the United States in collaboration with the United Kingdom and Canada. From 1942 to 1946, the ...
as their agents. In August 1942, Paul Massing notified the
NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (, ), abbreviated as NKVD (; ), was the interior ministry and secret police of the Soviet Union from 1934 to 1946. The agency was formed to succeed the Joint State Political Directorate (OGPU) se ...
that his friend, Franz Neumann, had recently joined the
Office of Strategic Services The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was the first intelligence agency of the United States, formed during World War II. The OSS was formed as an agency of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) to coordinate espionage activities behind enemy lines ...
(OSS). Massing reported to Moscow that Neumann had told him he had produced a study of the Soviet economy for the OSS's Russian Department. In April 1943, Zarubina met with Neumann, ''"(Zarubina) met for the first time with (Neumann) who promised to pass us all the data coming through his hands. According to (Neumann), he is getting many copies of reports from American ambassadors ... and has access to materials referring to Germany."'' According to Jerrold and Leona Schecter, Zarubina was "one of the most successful operators in stealing
atomic bomb A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission or atomic bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear weapon), producing a nuclear expl ...
secrets from the United States". Together with Gregory Kheifetz (the Soviet vice-consul in
San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
from 1941 to 1944), she supposedly set up a social ring of young communist physicists around
Robert Oppenheimer J. Robert Oppenheimer (born Julius Robert Oppenheimer ; April 22, 1904 – February 18, 1967) was an American theoretical physicist who served as the director of the Manhattan Project's Los Alamos Laboratory during World War II. He is often ...
at Los Alamos to transmit nuclear weapon plans to Moscow,Schecter and Schecter (2002), pg. 79 and befriended him in order to achieve her goal. In 1944, the NKVD agent
Vassili Mironov Vasili, Vasily, Vasilii or Vasiliy (Russian language, Russian: wikt:Василий, Василий) is a Russian masculine given name of Greek language, Greek origin and corresponds to ''Basil (name)#Given name, Basil''. It may refer to: *Vasily ...
accused the Zarubins of being in secret contact with the FBI. In August 1944, Zarubina and her husband were recalled to Moscow to be investigated. It was found that the accusations from Mironov were false; he was later arrested for slander. Later that same year, she was awarded the
Order of the Red Star The Order of the Red Star () was a military decoration of the Soviet Union. It was established by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of 6 April 1930 but its statute was only defined in decree of the Presidium of the ...
, after recruiting a total of 22 agents in her network."The woman who stole America's Atomic bomb secrets-Elizabeth Zarubina"
''
Medium Medium may refer to: Aircraft *Medium bomber, a class of warplane * Tecma Medium, a French hang glider design Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''The Medium'' (1921 film), a German silent film * ''The Medium'' (1951 film), a film vers ...
''. Accessed 17 October 2022.


Death

Zarubina died in a traffic accident in Moscow on 14 May 1987, aged 87. She was buried at Kalitnikovsky Cemetery.


In Film

Zarubina's life as a spy is told in the 2015 video, "Cold War Secrets: Stealing the Atomic Bomb", directed by Gerard Puechmorel."Elizabeth Zarubina, la espía de Stalin que le robó el secreto de la bomba atómica a los americanos"
ValenciaPlaza.com. Accessed 17 October 2022.

El Mundo


References


Sources

*
John Earl Haynes John Earl Haynes (born 1944) is an American historian who worked as a specialist in 20th-century political history in the Manuscript Division of the Library of Congress. He is known for his books on the subject of the American Communist and anti- ...
and
Harvey Klehr Harvey Elliott Klehr (born December 25, 1945) is a professor of politics and history at Emory University. Klehr is known for his books on the subject of the American Communist movement, and on Soviet espionage in America (many written jointly with ...
, ''Venona: Decoding Soviet Espionage in America'',
Yale University Press Yale University Press is the university press of Yale University. It was founded in 1908 by George Parmly Day and Clarence Day, grandsons of Benjamin Day, and became a department of Yale University in 1961, but it remains financially and ope ...
, 1999. . * Jerrold L. Schecter and Leona Schecter, ''Sacred Secrets: How Soviet Intelligence Operations Changed American History'', Potomac Books, 2002. *
Pavel Sudoplatov Pavel Anatolyevich Sudoplatov (; ; July 7, 1907 – September 24, 1996) was a senior Soviet official in the intelligence services of the former Soviet Union whose career spanned over 34 years in the different intelligence branches of the Soviet A ...
, Anatoli Sudoplatov, Jerrold L. Schecter, Leona P. Schecter, '' Special Tasks: The Memoirs of an Unwanted Witness -- A Soviet Spymaster'', Boston:
Little, Brown and Company Little, Brown and Company is an American publishing company founded in 1837 by Charles Coffin Little and James Brown in Boston. For close to two centuries, it has published fiction and nonfiction by American authors. Early lists featured Emil ...
, 1994. *
Allen Weinstein Allen Weinstein (September 1, 1937 – June 18, 2015) was an American historian, educator, and federal official who served in several different offices. Under the Reagan administration, he was cofounder of the National Endowment for Democracy i ...
and Alexander Vassiliev, ''The Haunted Wood: Soviet Espionage in America—the Stalin Era'', New York:
Random House Random House is an imprint and publishing group of Penguin Random House. Founded in 1927 by businessmen Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer as an imprint of Modern Library, it quickly overtook Modern Library as the parent imprint. Over the foll ...
, 1999, pgs. 162, 249–50, 251, 274, 276, 303, 341. * Edvin Stavinsky "Zarubins-the family "rezidentura"" "Olma-press" 2002 Moscow (in Russian).


External links

* Irina Titova
"Soviet Spy Who Outwitted Einstein"
''
The Moscow Times ''The Moscow Times'' (''MT'') is an Amsterdam-based independent English-language and Russian-language online newspaper. It was in print in Russia from 1992 until 2017 and was distributed free of charge at places frequented by English-speaking to ...
'', 28 July 2004 *
Zoya Zarubina
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zarubina, Elizabeth 1900 births 1987 deaths People from Chernivtsi Oblast People from Khotinsky Uyezd Bessarabian Jews Ukrainian Jews NKVD officers Soviet spies Soviet Jews in the military Road incident deaths in the Soviet Union