Markin joined Soviet Military Intelligence (GRU) and was stationed in Berlin in the 1920s, where he married an 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 "Arthur Walter."[1] He also is known to have used the aliases Oskar, Hermann, 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."[2]
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.[3]
Death and legacyedit
In August 1934, "Arthur Walter" (Markin) was found at the Luxor Baths of the Luxor Hotel (New York City) on 46th Street in New York City suffering from a serious head wound. Whittaker Chambers wrote that Markin was initially believed to have been attacked during a mugging while intoxicated.[2] Markin subsequently died in the hospital after having contracted pneumonia following surgery.[1] According to Hede Massing, a Soviet intelligence operative who worked with Markin, he was murdered by NKVD agents due to suspected sympathies toward Leon Trotsky.[4]
^Massing, Hede (1987). This deception. Ivy Books. pp. 136–137. ISBN0-8041-0102-7. OCLC 16918946.
Further readingedit
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.
October 28, 2023
valentin, markin, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, december,. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Valentin Markin news newspapers books scholar JSTOR December 2012 Learn how and when to remove this template message Valentin Markin aka Arthur Walter 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 Contents 1 Biography 1 1 Early years 1 2 Career 1 3 Death and legacy 2 Footnotes 3 Further readingBiography editEarly years edit Valentin Borisovich Markin was born in the city of Groznyi part of the Russian empire in 1903 1 He studied at a business school as a young man 1 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 1 Career edit Markin joined Soviet Military Intelligence GRU and was stationed in Berlin in the 1920s where he married an 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 Arthur Walter 1 He also is known to have used the aliases Oskar Hermann 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 2 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 3 Death and legacy edit In August 1934 Arthur Walter Markin was found at the Luxor Baths of the Luxor Hotel New York City on 46th Street in New York City suffering from a serious head wound Whittaker Chambers wrote that Markin was initially believed to have been attacked during a mugging while intoxicated 2 Markin subsequently died in the hospital after having contracted pneumonia following surgery 1 According to Hede Massing a Soviet intelligence operative who worked with Markin he was murdered by NKVD agents due to suspected sympathies toward Leon Trotsky 4 Markin was replaced as chief illegal rezident by Boris Iakovlevich Bazarov Footnotes edit a b c d e Svetlana Chervonnaya Valentin Borisovich Markin 1903 1934 DocumentsTalk website Retrieved August 19 2010 a b Chambers Whittaker 1952 Witness New York Random House pp 313 318 passim Svetlana Chervonnaya Ludwig Lore 1875 1942 DocumentsTalk website Retrieved August 18 2010 Massing Hede 1987 This deception Ivy Books pp 136 137 ISBN 0 8041 0102 7 OCLC 16918946 Further reading editWhittaker 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 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Valentin Markin amp oldid 1169143296, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
