Mikhail Tkach
Encyclopedia
Mikhail Tkach, also Michal Tkacz, Michael J. Tkach, and M. Nastivsky, (born October 18, 1891, date of death unknown) born in Mastisiw, Poland
, of Ukrainian
parents, and arrived in the United States
at New York City
on November 25, 1909, under the name Michal Tkacz. Tkach's wife, Yeroslava, was born in Slatchev, Poland, and entered the U.S. in 1913. The Tkachs lived in New York City from 1922 onwards. Tkach became a naturalized U. S. citizen in New York City on December 8, 1936.
Tkach had long been active in the Communist Party of the United States (CPUSA) and was editor of the Ukrainian Daily News, the leading Ukrainian Communist newspaper in the U.S. As early as 1923, under the name M. Nastivsky, Tkach was an organization member of the Society for Technical Aid to Soviet Russia. Elizabeth Bentley
told the FBI that in 1941 and 1942 Tkach had provided Jacob Golos
with considerable information concerning the Ukrainian nationalism movement in the United States which Golos considered of great importance. Golos told Bentley much of the information was secured by Tkach from one W. J. Stepankowski, who for a time worked as an investigator for Golos. In July 1944 Tkach was elected president of the Ukrainian Section of the International Workers Order
, a communist-affiliated insurance and fraternal order. The Ukraniain Daily News was by that time published by the Ukrainian Section of the IWO.
Tkach supervised a small network of American communists working as agents of the Soviet Union
. Tkach's daughter, Ann Sidorovich, and her husband, Michael Sidorovich, were part of Julius Rosenberg's espionage network. Tkach's agent handler was SELIM KHAN, or KHAN, thought to be Avram Landy who also had contact with Albert Kahn
, Eufrosina Dvoichenko-Markov
, Walter Bernstein
, and Bolesław Gebert. Tkach was investigated under the Internal Security Act by the FBI New York Field Division, which considered him to be a key figure in Communist subversion .
and deciphered in Venona project
transcripts is PERCH. Tkach is referenced in the following Venona decrypts:
Venona 1056 KGB New York to Moscow, 3 July 1943; 823 KGB New York to Moscow, 7 June 1944; 881 KGB New York to Moscow, 20 June 1944; 1076 KGB New York to Moscow, 29 July 1944; 202 KGB New York to Moscow, 10 February 1945; 116 KGB Moscow to New York, 9 February 1945; 143 KGB Moscow to New York, 15 February 1945.
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, of Ukrainian
Ukrainians
Ukrainians are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine, which is the sixth-largest nation in Europe. The Constitution of Ukraine applies the term 'Ukrainians' to all its citizens...
parents, and arrived in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
at New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
on November 25, 1909, under the name Michal Tkacz. Tkach's wife, Yeroslava, was born in Slatchev, Poland, and entered the U.S. in 1913. The Tkachs lived in New York City from 1922 onwards. Tkach became a naturalized U. S. citizen in New York City on December 8, 1936.
Tkach had long been active in the Communist Party of the United States (CPUSA) and was editor of the Ukrainian Daily News, the leading Ukrainian Communist newspaper in the U.S. As early as 1923, under the name M. Nastivsky, Tkach was an organization member of the Society for Technical Aid to Soviet Russia. Elizabeth Bentley
Elizabeth Bentley
Elizabeth Terrill Bentley was an American spy for the Soviet Union from 1938 until 1945. In 1945 she defected from the Communist Party and Soviet intelligence and became an informer for the U.S. She exposed two networks of spies, ultimately naming over 80 Americans who had engaged in espionage for...
told the FBI that in 1941 and 1942 Tkach had provided Jacob Golos
Jacob Golos
Jacob Golos, , was a Ukrainian-born Bolshevik revolutionary of ethnic Jewish heritage who became a secret police operative on behalf of the USSR in the United States...
with considerable information concerning the Ukrainian nationalism movement in the United States which Golos considered of great importance. Golos told Bentley much of the information was secured by Tkach from one W. J. Stepankowski, who for a time worked as an investigator for Golos. In July 1944 Tkach was elected president of the Ukrainian Section of the International Workers Order
International Workers Order
The International Workers Order was a Communist Party-affiliated insurance, mutual benefit and fraternal organization founded in 1930 and disbanded in 1954 as the result of legal action undertaken by the state of New York in 1951...
, a communist-affiliated insurance and fraternal order. The Ukraniain Daily News was by that time published by the Ukrainian Section of the IWO.
Tkach supervised a small network of American communists working as agents of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. Tkach's daughter, Ann Sidorovich, and her husband, Michael Sidorovich, were part of Julius Rosenberg's espionage network. Tkach's agent handler was SELIM KHAN, or KHAN, thought to be Avram Landy who also had contact with Albert Kahn
Albert E. Kahn
Albert Eugene Kahn was an American journalist, photographer, author and nephew of modernist industrial architect Albert Kahn. Albert E. Kahn's father, Moritz Kahn, was senior engineer in the firm who set up the Kahn brothers Soviet Union operation in conjunction with Gosproekstroi...
, Eufrosina Dvoichenko-Markov
Eufrosina Dvoichenko-Markov
Eufrosina Dvoichenko-Markov was an American citizen and spy for the New York KGB Rezidentura from 1943 to 1945. Her son Sgt. Demetrius Dvoichenko-Markov of the United States Army, also worked for Soviet intelligence. Eufrosina provided Soviet intelligence with information on Romanians,...
, Walter Bernstein
Walter Bernstein
Walter Bernstein is an American screenwriter and film producer who was blacklisted by the Hollywood movie studios in the 1950s.-Early life:...
, and Bolesław Gebert. Tkach was investigated under the Internal Security Act by the FBI New York Field Division, which considered him to be a key figure in Communist subversion .
Venona
Tkach's cover name as assigned by Soviet intelligenceNKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs was the public and secret police organization of the Soviet Union that directly executed the rule of power of the Soviets, including political repression, during the era of Joseph Stalin....
and deciphered in Venona project
Venona project
The VENONA project was a long-running secret collaboration of the United States and United Kingdom intelligence agencies involving cryptanalysis of messages sent by intelligence agencies of the Soviet Union, the majority during World War II...
transcripts is PERCH. Tkach is referenced in the following Venona decrypts:
Venona 1056 KGB New York to Moscow, 3 July 1943; 823 KGB New York to Moscow, 7 June 1944; 881 KGB New York to Moscow, 20 June 1944; 1076 KGB New York to Moscow, 29 July 1944; 202 KGB New York to Moscow, 10 February 1945; 116 KGB Moscow to New York, 9 February 1945; 143 KGB Moscow to New York, 15 February 1945.