Alexander Ulanovsky
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Alexander Ulanovsky (1891–1970) was the chief illegal "
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 ...
" for Soviet Military Intelligence (
GRU The Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, rus, Гла́вное управле́ние Генера́льного шта́ба Вооружённых сил Росси́йской Федера́ци ...
), who was
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 1931–1932 with his wife and was imprisoned in the 1950s with his family in the Soviet
gulag The Gulag, an acronym for , , "chief administration of the camps". The original name given to the system of camps controlled by the GPU was the Main Administration of Corrective Labor Camps (, )., name=, group= was the government agency in ...
.Улановская Н. М., Улановская М. А. История одной семьи.
/ref>


Early life

Born Izrail Khaykelevich Ulanovsky to a
Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
family in Chişinău, ( Bessarabia), he joined the
anarchists Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not necessari ...
as a young man. In 1907, his family moved to
Kerch Kerch ( uk, Керч; russian: Керчь, ; Old East Slavic: Кърчевъ; Ancient Greek: , ''Pantikápaion''; Medieval Greek: ''Bosporos''; crh, , ; tr, Kerç) is a city of regional significance on the Kerch Peninsula in the east of t ...
(
Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...
). Arrested for radical activity, he was deported to
Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive region, geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a ...
, where he was confined to the same village (
Turukhansk Turukhansk (russian: Туруха́нск) is a rural locality (a '' selo'') and the administrative center of Turukhansky District of Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia, located north of Krasnoyarsk, at the confluence of the Yenisey and Nizhnyaya Tu ...
) as
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 Secretar ...
. While in exile, he made a daring escape and "on his way out" entered Stalin's flat and took his fur coat, as was customary among fellow-exiles in such a situation. Following the
October Revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key mome ...
, Ulanovsky returned to Russia and enlisted in the
Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army ( Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, afte ...
. He served as the deputy-commander of an armored train (under anarchist revolutionary Anatoli Zhelezniakov) and took part in fighting against White armies in
Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
and
Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...
. After the
Russian Civil War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Russian Civil War , partof = the Russian Revolution and the aftermath of World War I , image = , caption = Clockwise from top left: {{flatlist, *Soldiers ...
, he joined Soviet military intelligence and served as a secret agent in, among other places,
Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
and
Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...
.


Espionage

Together with his wife Nadezhda, Ulanovsky came to America on the maiden voyage of the ''SS Bremen'' in 1931. His mission was to take over the GRU (military intelligence) apparatus assembled by his predecessor,
Manfred Stern Manfred (Moses) Stern (also known as Emilio Kléber, Lazar Stern, Moishe Stern, Mark Zilbert) (1896–1954) was a member of the GRU, Soviet military intelligence. He served as a spy in the United States, as a military advisor in China, and gained ...
, who was moving on to China. Some of the known members of the group were Lydia Stahl, Robert Gordon Switz, Leon Minster, Robert Osman, Joshua Tamer, and
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) ...
. In his memoirs, ''Witness'', Chambers provided an insider's view of the workings of the apparatus and a deferential portrait of Ulanovsky, whom he called "the only Russian who was ever to become my close friend." The spy
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 ...
also knew Ulanovsky at this time under the alias "William Joseph Berman" ("Bill Berman"—also "Felik" and "the Long Man"). In her memoirs, she picked up on his anarchist tendencies without understanding where they came from. Thus, she describes him as a "nice enough man," a "simple man," and "one of the least ambitious and offensive" Russian agents she ever knew, but also "confused and inept." When Massing mentions that Ulanovsky had told her he was not her boss and that they were "both waiting for the boss", she implies that he ranked closely to her. However, Ulanovsky meant not that "the" (their) boss but that "her" boss was coming ( Valentin Markin). Despite all this, she notes, "But one thing he did know expertly: This was conspiracy." The group's principal activity was securing patent applications, blueprints, and technical manuals which they would pack into a large crate and ship to the Soviet Union. Ulanovsky returned to Europe after the failure of several GRU operations, notably a bungled scheme to counterfeit U.S. currency and the arrest of Robert Osman in
Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...
on espionage charges. An
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. ...
illegal, Valentin Markin, came to America and took control of GRU operations in 1934.


Personal life and death

By 1922, Ulanovsky married Esther Markova Fridgant (Party name Nadezhda Ulanovskaya). They had a son and a daughter named Maya Ulanovskaya. In 1970, Ulanovsky died in the Soviet Union. In 1983, wife Nadezhda, daughter Maya, son-in-law Anatoly Yakobson, and grandson
Alexander Yakobson Alexander Anatolyevich Yakobson ( he, אלכסנדר יעקובסון) is an Israeli historian, professor of Ancient history at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, political activist, and opinion journalism, commentator. Background Alexander An ...
emigrated to
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
.


See also

* Nadezhda Ulanovskaya * Maya Ulanovskaya *
Alexander Yakobson Alexander Anatolyevich Yakobson ( he, אלכסנדר יעקובסון) is an Israeli historian, professor of Ancient history at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, political activist, and opinion journalism, commentator. Background Alexander An ...
*
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) ...
*
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 ...
* Valentin Markin *
Richard Sorge Richard Sorge (russian: Рихард Густавович Зорге, Rikhard Gustavovich Zorge; 4 October 1895 – 7 November 1944) was a German-Azerbaijani journalist and Soviet military intelligence officer who was active before and during Wo ...
*
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)" ...


References


External sources

* *Hede Massing, ''This Deception'', Duell, Sloan, and Pearce, 1951. *Sam Tanenhaus, ''Whittaker Chambers'', Random House, 1997. *Maya and Nadezhda Ulanovskaya, ''Istoriya Odnoi Semyi'' (One Family's Story), Chalidze Publications, 1982. *Louis Waldman, ''Labor Lawyer'', E.P. Dutton, 1944. * *Улановские Надежда и Майя: ''История одной семьи''. С.-Петербург : Инапресс, 2005. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ulanovsky, Alexander 1891 births 1970 deaths People from Chișinău Moldovan Jews People convicted of spying for the Soviet Union GRU officers Place of death missing Date of birth unknown Date of death unknown Russian anarchists