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 The KGB (russian: links=no, lit=Committee for State Security, Комитет государственной безопасности (КГБ), a=ru-KGB.ogg, p=kəmʲɪˈtʲet ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)əj bʲɪzɐˈpasnəsʲtʲɪ, Komitet gosud ...

)

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, 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 city ...

, 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) in 1919, and attended the Communist University of the Toilers of the East 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 movements in the USSR's Bukhara Republic between 1930 and 1931. In 1932, Akhmerov transferred to the foreign intelligence division ("

INO Ino or INO may refer to: Arts and music *I-No, a character in the ''Guilty Gear'' series of video games *Ino (Greek mythology), a queen of Thebes in Greek mythology *INO Records, an American Christian music label *Ino Yamanaka, a character in th ...

") 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 most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, where he served as an "

illegal Illegal, or unlawful, typically describes something that is explicitly prohibited by law, or is otherwise forbidden by a state or other governing body. Illegal may also refer to: Law * Violation of law * Crime, the practice of breaking the ...

" 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 primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

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 United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the country's fore ...

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

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 pharmaceutic ...

'' 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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. American agents he ran for the Soviets include Laurence Duggan,

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 Michael Whitney Straight (September 1, 1916 – January 4, 2004) was an American magazine publisher, novelist, patron of the arts, a member of the prominent Whitney family, and a confessed spy for the KGB. Early life Straight was born in New Yor ...

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

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 Octob ...

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 State ...

describes a Soviet ''

rezident A resident spy in the world of espionage is an agent operating within a foreign country for extended periods of time. A base of operations within a foreign country with which a resident spy may liaise is known as a "station" in English and a (, 're ...

'' 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 i ...

at the end of 1934. When Massing reported her encounters with

Noel Field Noel Haviland Field (January 23, 1904 – September 12, 1970) was an American communist activist, diplomat and spy for the NKVD, whose activities before and after World War II allowed the Eastern Bloc to use his name as a prosecuting rationale du ...

, 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 ''

'' named "Fred" had taken over from "Bill," at which point she began to "develop" Field. In January or February 1937, just before

Ignace Reiss Ignace Reiss (1899 – 4 September 1937) – also known as "Ignace Poretsky," "Ignatz Reiss," "Ludwig," "Ludwik", "Hans Eberhardt," "Steff Brandt," Nathan Poreckij, and "Walter Scott (an officer of the U.S. military intelligence)" ...

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 in ...

, and "Bill" resumed her management. Scholars

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 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 intelligenc ...

'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 Communist Party member (1925) and Soviet spy (1932–1938), defected from the Soviet underground (1938), ...

and

as "Bill" – and that he worked for Amtorg.

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 part ...

(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. Duri ...

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, 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 River ...

, 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 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 Octob ...

documents, as does his wife. During WWII, he served as one of three major contacts for comrade Vasily Zarubin. 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 ...

of Victor Perlo, which had reported previously to Jacob Golos 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 th ...

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