Theodore Bayer (died 1959) was president of the ''Russky Golos'', or ''Russian Voice'' Publishing Company, which published an anti-capitalist Russian-language newspaper during the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

and

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 ...

. ''Russky Golos'' was funded by the

Comintern The Communist International (Comintern), also known as the Third International, was a Soviet Union, Soviet-controlled international organization founded in 1919 that advocated world communism. The Comintern resolved at its Second Congress to ...

and by advertising, commercial newsstand and

subscription The subscription business model is a business model in which a customer must pay a recurring price at regular intervals for access to a product or service. The model was pioneered by publishers of books and periodicals in the 17th century, and ...

sales. Its editorial position was closely aligned with the Communist Party of the United States (CPUSA). Bayer was part of a Soviet military intelligence ( GRU) network. As president of ''Russky Golos'', Bayer got to know John Hazard Reynolds, who provided financial support to a publication entitled ''Soviet Russia Today'', and recommended him to Communist Party of the United States (CPUSA)

General Secretary Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...

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 ...

. In a July 1943

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 ...

decryption sent by the New York GRU Rezident Pavel Mikhailov to Moscow, Bayer is credited with describing a CPUSA source near President

Franklin Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

as a woman 'from an aristocratic family, who has known the President and his wife for a long time, evidently a secret member of the CPUSA.' The message included praise of

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secreta ...

's leadership and an allegation that

Madame Chiang Kai-shek Soong Mei-ling (also spelled Soong May-ling, ; March 5, 1898 – October 23, 2003), also known as Madame Chiang Kai-shek or Madame Chiang, was a Chinese political figure who was First Lady of the Republic of China, the wife of Generalissimo and ...

was "a narcotics addict." The GRU later identified the woman as Josephine Treslow. Bayer worked with the National Council of American-Soviet Friendship (NCASF) from the mid-1940s until his death in 1959. He served as the Administrative Secretary. Richard Morford, Executive Director of the NCASF from 1946 to 1981, praised Bayer for his contributions to US-Soviet understanding during the early years of the Cold War. Theodore's wife, Minna Bayer, served as Secretary of the board of directors for the NCASF in the early 1970s."The US-Soviet Encounter: An Interview with Richard Morford," New World Review, 40:2: 76. The Report of the Subversive Activities Control Board found Theodore Bayer to be a high level and important member of the CPUSA.

Venona

Theodore Bayer cover name as assigned by the GRU and deciphered in Venona project transcripts is SIMON. Bayer is referenced in the following Venona project decryptions: *1169 GRU New York to Moscow, 19 July 1943 *1258–1259 GRU New York to Moscow, 31 July 1943 *1350 GRU New York to Moscow, 17 August 1943

References

*United States.

Subversive Activities Control Board The Subversive Activities Control Board (SACB) was a United States government committee to investigate Communist infiltration of American society during the 1950s Red Scare. It was the subject of a landmark United States Supreme Court decision of th ...

Reports of the Subversive Activities Control Board.
Washington. United States Government Printing Office. 1966. Vol. 1, pgs. 492, 495, 497, 502, 503, 507, 509, 514, 516, 529, 530. "...told by the national secretary, Fairchild, that Bayer's word was law in respondent (CPUSA). "; "...gave evidence showing Theodore Bayer as an important member of the Communist Party, and we so find. " * FBI interview with John Reynolds, 7 June 1947

serial 2503. *John Earl Haynes and Harvey Klehr, ''Venona: Decoding Soviet Espionage in America'' (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1999), pgs. 96–97, 189, 213–214, 233. {{DEFAULTSORT:Bayer, Theodore Year of birth missing 1959 deaths American spies for the Soviet Union American people in the Venona papers Members of the Communist Party USA