Isaac Folkoff
Encyclopedia
Isaac "Pop" Folkoff was a senior founding member of the California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

 Communist Party
Communist party
A political party described as a Communist party includes those that advocate the application of the social principles of communism through a communist form of government...

 and West Coast liaison between Soviet intelligence
Chronology of Soviet secret police agencies
There was a succession of Soviet secret police agencies over time. The first secret police after the Russian Revolution, created by Vladimir Lenin's decree on December 20, 1917, was called "Cheka"...

  and the Communist Party USA
Communist Party USA
The Communist Party USA is a Marxist political party in the United States, established in 1919. It has a long, complex history that is closely related to the histories of similar communist parties worldwide and the U.S. labor movement....

 (CPUSA). Folkoff was in charge of West Coast
West Coast of the United States
West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...

 operations. Folkoff worked as a courier passing information to and from Soviet sources, and as a talent spotter and vetter of potential espionage recruits. He also worked as a Case Officer
Agent handling
In intelligence organizations, agent handling is the management of agents, principal agents, and agent networks by intelligence officers typically known as case officers.-Human intelligence:...

. His code name in Soviet intelligence and in the Venona files was "Uncle".

Folkoff (Volkof) was an émigré from Latvia and had landed in San Francisco at the age of 24 in 1904. His trade was in the embroidery business. A former garment presser and self-taught Marxist philosopher, Folkoff specialized in fund-raising for party causes.

He married Minni, and in 1930 census data shows that their niece Minnie Folkoff and nephew Robert Folkoff lived with them at the time. Robert Folkoff was a veteran of World War I.

Source

  • John Earl Haynes
    John Earl Haynes
    John Earl Haynes is an American historian who is a specialist in 20th century political history in the Manuscript Division of the Library of Congress...

     and Harvey Klehr
    Harvey Klehr
    Harvey E. Klehr is a professor of politics and history at Emory University; he is known for his books on the subject of the American Communist movement, and on Soviet espionage in America ....

    , Venona: Decoding Soviet Espionage in America (New Haven: Yale University Press
    Yale University Press
    Yale University Press is a book publisher founded in 1908 by George Parmly Day. It became an official department of Yale University in 1961, but remains financially and operationally autonomous....

    , 1999), pgs. 234, 235, 239. ISBN 0-300-08462-5

  • The San Francisco Chronicle. JULY 26, 1996, FRIDAY, FINAL EDITION. Soviet Spies Cast a Wide Net in S.F.

Decoded messages reveal activities of KGB in the '40s. BYLINE: Stephen Schwartz, Chronicle Staff Writer
SECTION: NEWS; Pg. A4
  • www.ciaonet.org/book/chw01/chw01_05.pdf
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