Valentin Markin
Encyclopedia
Valentin Markin (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 intelligence
and that of the Soviet secret police
during this period.
, in 1903. He studied at a business school as a young man.
In 1920, Markin joined the Komsomol
, the youth section of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
and he worked on Komsomol activities for the next two years in the region of the Caucuses.
In the United States, Markin lived under the pseudonym
"Arthur Walter." He also is known to have used the aliases Oskar, Herman, and Davis.
The novice GRU agent Whittaker Chambers
met with Markin, posing as Hermann , in New York City
in 1933. He was, Chambers wrote, "a short, sturdy figure confined in a tight-fitting, rumpled suit and elevated on high-heeled German shoes." His brush like mop of hair looked like it had been cut with a sickle. "I felt," Chambers continued, " that I had met what is much more unusual in life than a thoroughly good man-a thoroughly bad one."
The Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR
) provided the authors Allen Weinstein
and Alexander Vassiliev
an unprecedented peek into their archives for the preparation of The Haunted Wood (1999). One of the startling revelations in the text was that Valentin Markin had a source inside the U.S. State Department, codenamed "Willi," who had access to "numerous ambassadorial, consular, and military attache reports from Europe and the Far East," and could "filch transcripts of recorded conversations Secretary of State Cordell Hull
and his assistants had with foreign ambassadors."
The Soviets paid "Willi" the extraordinary sum of $15,000 per year for the documents, which he passed to Markin through an intermediary codenamed "Leo," subsequently identified as New York Post
journalist Ludwig Lore
.
following surgery.
Markin was replaced as chief illegal rezident by Boris Iakovlevich Bazarov
.
Espionage
Espionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Espionage is inherently clandestine, lest the legitimate holder of the information change plans or take other countermeasures once it...
operations 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....
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
from 1933 to 1934. Markin headed the activities of both Soviet military intelligence
GRU
GRU or Glavnoye Razvedyvatel'noye Upravleniye is the foreign military intelligence directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation...
and that of the Soviet secret police
NKVD
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....
during this period.
Early years
Valentin Borisovich Markin was born in the city of Groznyi, part of the Russian empireRussian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
, in 1903. He studied at a business school as a young man.
In 1920, Markin joined the Komsomol
Komsomol
The Communist Union of Youth , usually known as Komsomol , was the youth division of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. The Komsomol in its earliest form was established in urban centers in 1918. During the early years, it was a Russian organization, known as the Russian Communist Union of...
, the youth section of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
Communist Party of the Soviet Union
The Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the only legal, ruling political party in the Soviet Union and one of the largest communist organizations in the world...
and he worked on Komsomol activities for the next two years in the region of the Caucuses.
Career
Markin joined Soviet Military Intelligence (GRU) and was stationed in Berlin in the 1920s, where he married a nice Armenian girl who worked for the Soviet trade mission. His superior in Berlin was Ignace Reiss. At some point, Markin left the GRU and secured a position with the Foreign Department (INO) of the NKVD.In the United States, Markin lived under the pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
"Arthur Walter." He also is known to have used the aliases Oskar, Herman, and Davis.
The novice GRU agent Whittaker Chambers
Whittaker Chambers
Whittaker Chambers was born Jay Vivian Chambers and also known as David Whittaker Chambers , was an American writer and editor. After being a Communist Party USA member and Soviet spy, he later renounced communism and became an outspoken opponent later testifying in the perjury and espionage trial...
met with Markin, posing as Hermann , in 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...
in 1933. He was, Chambers wrote, "a short, sturdy figure confined in a tight-fitting, rumpled suit and elevated on high-heeled German shoes." His brush like mop of hair looked like it had been cut with a sickle. "I felt," Chambers continued, " that I had met what is much more unusual in life than a thoroughly good man-a thoroughly bad one."
The Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR
Foreign Intelligence Service (Russia)
The Russian Foreign Intelligence Service is Russia's primary external intelligence agency. The SVR is the successor of the First Chief Directorate of the KGB since December 1991...
) provided the authors Allen Weinstein
Allen Weinstein
Allen Weinstein is an American historian, educator, and federal official who has served in several different offices. He served as the Archivist of the United States from February 16, 2005 until his resignation on December 19, 2008...
and Alexander Vassiliev
Alexander Vassiliev
Alexander Vassiliev is a Russian journalist, writer, and espionage historian living in London. A former officer in the Soviet Committee for State Security , Vassiliev is known for his two books based upon KGB archival documents: Spies: The Rise and Fall of the KGB in America, co-authored with John...
an unprecedented peek into their archives for the preparation of The Haunted Wood (1999). One of the startling revelations in the text was that Valentin Markin had a source inside the U.S. State Department, codenamed "Willi," who had access to "numerous ambassadorial, consular, and military attache reports from Europe and the Far East," and could "filch transcripts of recorded conversations Secretary of State Cordell Hull
Cordell Hull
Cordell Hull was an American politician from the U.S. state of Tennessee. He is best known as the longest-serving Secretary of State, holding the position for 11 years in the administration of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt during much of World War II...
and his assistants had with foreign ambassadors."
The Soviets paid "Willi" the extraordinary sum of $15,000 per year for the documents, which he passed to Markin through an intermediary codenamed "Leo," subsequently identified as New York Post
New York Post
The New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and is generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continuously as a daily, although – as is the case with most other papers – its publication has been periodically interrupted by labor actions...
journalist Ludwig Lore
Ludwig Lore
Ludwig Lore was an American socialist newspaper editor and politician, best remembered for his tenure as editor of the New Yorker Volkszeitung and role as a factional leader in the early American communist movement...
.
Death and legacy
In August 1934, "Arthur Walter" (Markin) was found at the Luxor Baths on 46th Street in New York City suffering from a serious head wound. He subsequently died in the hospital after having contracted pneumoniaPneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
following surgery.
Markin was replaced as chief illegal rezident by Boris Iakovlevich Bazarov
Boris Bazarov
Boris Bazarov was a Soviet secret police officer who served as the chief illegal rezident in New York City from 1935 until 1937.-Early years:...
.
Further reading
- Whittaker Chambers, Witness. New York: Random House, 1952.
- Walter Krivitsky, In Stalin's Secret Service. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1939
- Hede Massing, This Deception. New York: Duell, Sloan, and Pearce, 1951
- Elisabeth K. Poretsky, Our Own People: A Memoir of 'Ignace Reiss' and his Friends. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1969.
- Allen Weinstein and Alexander Vassiliev, The Haunted Wood: Soviet Espionage in America—The Stalin Era. New York: Random House, 1999.