Mihail Moruzov (8 November 1887 – 26 November 1940) was the founder and first head of
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, a ...
's modern domestic espionage agency, the Secret Intelligence Service (SSI), forerunner of today's SRI.
Tulcea County
Tulcea County () is a county (județ) of Romania, in the historical region Dobruja, with the capital city at Tulcea. It includes in its northeast corner the large and thinly-populated estuary of the Danube.
Demographics
In 2011, Tulcea Coun ...
, to Nicolae and Maria Moruzov; he had four brothers and two sisters. The family was of Russian origin,
Lipovans
, flag = Flag of the Lipovans.png
, flag_caption = Flag of the Lipovans
, image = Evstafiev-lipovane-slava-cherkeza.jpg
, caption = Lipovans during a ceremony in front of the Lipovan church in the Romanian village of Slava Cercheză in 200 ...
Tulcea
Tulcea (; also known by other alternative names) is a city in Northern Dobruja, Romania. It is the administrative center of Tulcea County, and had a population of 73,707 . One village, Tudor Vladimirescu, is administered by the city.
Names
T ...
for forty years.Eşan, p.121
He was married twice: his first wife's family name was Văraru, and the couple had a daughter, Aurora-Florina; after they divorced, he married Teodora Săndulescu, a professor from
Silistra
Silistra ( bg, Силистра ; tr, Silistre; ro, Silistra) is a town in Northeastern Bulgaria. The town lies on the southern bank of the lower Danube river, and is also the part of the Romanian border where it stops following the Danube. Si ...
whom he also divorced. His education was limited, which delayed his permanent appointment as intelligence chief (the position demanded university studies): he was initially paid a daily wage as a temporary employee. In addition to
Russian
Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including:
*Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
, which he learned at home, and
Romanian
Romanian may refer to:
*anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania
**Romanians, an ethnic group
**Romanian language, a Romance language
*** Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language
**Romanian cuisine, traditiona ...
, he knew
Ukrainian
Ukrainian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Ukraine
* Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe
* Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine
* Som ...
Tatar
The Tatars ()Tatar in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different (languages spoken in his native
Dobruja
Dobruja or Dobrudja (; bg, Добруджа, Dobrudzha or ''Dobrudža''; ro, Dobrogea, or ; tr, Dobruca) is a historical region in the Balkans that has been divided since the 19th century between the territories of Bulgaria and Romania. I ...
and the nearby
Budjak
Budjak or Budzhak ( Bulgarian and Ukrainian: Буджак; ro, Bugeac; Gagauz and Turkish: ''Bucak''), historically part of Bessarabia until 1812, is a historical region in Ukraine and Moldova. Lying along the Black Sea between the Danube ...
).
Career
From 1917 to 1919 he headed the Dobruja Information and Security Service, then from 1924 to 1940, the Secret Intelligence Service of the
Romanian Army
The Romanian Land Forces ( ro, Forțele Terestre Române) is the army of Romania, and the main component of the Romanian Armed Forces. In recent years, full professionalisation and a major equipment overhaul have transformed the nature of the La ...
, which he was instrumental in creating. His clandestine work took place amid a turbulent backdrop—the socio-economic upheaval following
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
; the rise of the
Iron Guard
The Iron Guard ( ro, Garda de Fier) was a Romanian militant revolutionary fascist movement and political party founded in 1927 by Corneliu Zelea Codreanu as the Legion of the Archangel Michael () or the Legionnaire Movement (). It was strong ...
; the threat, both internal and external, of Communism, and the increasing authoritarianism of King Carol II, who, along with other political and military leaders, trusted and stood by Moruzov for his qualities and successes. Self-confident and ambitious, his intrigues included gathering compromising information on certain figures, amplifying and creating new imbroglios, and even betraying the SSI’s activities.
His office was equipped with recording devices (on tapes and discs), bugs, detectors, transparent mirrors, periscopes for indirect observation and sensitive photoelectric cells. His powerful
Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to as Mercedes and sometimes as Benz, is a German luxury and commercial vehicle automotive brand established in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a Mercedes-Benz Group subsidiary established in 2019) is headquarter ...
had a recording device and a two-way radio. After 1936, Moruzov established schools for preparing specialists, such as radio-telegraph operators, photo and film experts, and fingerprinters.
Moruzov had a keen talent for bringing together an impressive network of informants.
Horia Sima
Horia Sima (3 July 1906 – 25 May 1993) was a Romanian fascist politician, best known as the second and last leader of the fascist paramilitary movement known as the Iron Guard (also known as the Legion of the Archangel Michael). Sima was ...
was one of these, paid, according to Gheorghe, the brother of his successor Eugen Cristescu, 200,000 lei a month. Others included Princess Caradja (who worked with multiple agencies), Major Cristian Nicolae (a relative of the Brătianu family), Eugen Titianu (who kept him abreast of events at the newspaper ''
Universul
''Universul'' was a mass-circulation newspaper in Romania. It existed from 1884 to 1953, and was run by Stelian Popescu from 1914 to 1943 (with a two-year break during World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbrev ...
Victor Iamandi
Victor Iamandi (February 15, 1891 – 26 November 1940) was a Romanian politician who served as the Romanian Minister of Justice in 1938–1939, in several successive cabinets.
He was born in Hodora, Iași County, the son of Ion and Lucreția ...
(who offered information on Dinu Brătianu and the elder Liberals), Ghiţă Marincu (who had links to all the main parties),
Alexandru Vaida-Voevod
Alexandru Vaida-Voevod or Vaida-Voievod (27 February 1872 – 19 March 1950) was an Austro-Hungarian-born Romanian politician who was a supporter and promoter of the union of Transylvania (before 1920 part of Hungary) with the Romanian Old King ...
,
Nicolae Iorga
Nicolae Iorga (; sometimes Neculai Iorga, Nicolas Jorga, Nicolai Jorga or Nicola Jorga, born Nicu N. Iorga;Iova, p. xxvii. 17 January 1871 – 27 November 1940) was a Romanian historian, politician, literary critic, memoirist, Albanologist, poet ...
(who carried out historical studies for the SSI) and Admiral Ion Coandă. He reserved substantial amounts of money for key figures in the leadership of the Ministry of Defence and the General Staff (one method he used was to rent rooms for them at inflated prices).
Downfall
Toward the end of his career, Moruzov’s fascination with the technical aspects of espionage, along with his attitude of indispensability, caused him to neglect his mission of providing intelligence for the nation’s leaders to consider as they saw fit. Eugen Cristescu later wrote: “Moruzov had long become entangled in the network of internal political intrigues ndhad confused political information with politics itself and the informants’ game with the political game. Thus he also fell into the cascade of intrigues between foreign intelligence services that fought for influence in our country”.
His activities drew the ire of Sima and especially
Ion Antonescu
Ion Antonescu (; ; – 1 June 1946) was a Romanian military officer and marshal who presided over two successive wartime dictatorships as Prime Minister and '' Conducător'' during most of World War II.
A Romanian Army career officer who ma ...
, for whose mother, Liţă Baranga, he had drawn up a compromising file, and for whose wife, Maria, he had initiated a bigamy trial. Unfortunately for Moruzov, events in the late summer of 1940 brought his chief adversaries Antonescu and Sima to power as premier (with dictatorial powers) and vice-premier. He was arrested on 6 September 1940 and, before the investigation was complete, was killed in the Jilava Massacre on 26 November 1940, in cell number 1.Eşan, p.127-8