Venona Special Studies doc

 
- 174 - 
     4.   The first message.  New York-Moscow 1251 [700] of 
2 September 1944: 
 
     To VIKTOR [Victor]. 
 
         In accordance with your telegram no. 403 we are 
     communicating the following new covernames: 
 
KAVALERIST [Cavalry Man] -- (?BEY?), 
 
DO--?--SEND -- AH--?-- [??AHMET?? ??AHILL?? 
(Achilles)], 
 
KLEMENS [Clemens] -- LI [Lee], 
 
(?ABRAM?) -- (?CHEH?) [Czech], 
 
TIUL'PAN [Tulip] -- (??KANTSLER??) [Chancellor], 
 
AIDA [Aida] -- KLO [Chloe?] 
 
(?RUIB?)OLOV -- BL--?-- [or BO or GE (G?)], 
 
GRO--?--E [GROBE? GROZE?] -- (??SERB??) [Serb], 
 
ANTENNA -- LIBERAL, 
 
GNOM [Gnome] -- YAKOV [James, Jacob] 
 
SKAUT [Scout] -- METR [Meter[ [possibly METRO], 
 
(??TUMAN??) [Mist] -- NIL [Nile, or Nil, or Neal], 
 
FOGEL' [Vogel] -- PERS [just possib;e: PERSIYA (Persia)], 
 
--IF--IT-- (?ROST?) [Growth]. 
 
     All these covernames are [have been?] collected [or 
selected] for you --1F-- equivalent --1F--.  Among the  
new covernames introduced by you there are impossible 
ones, which we are preliminarily replacing inasmuch 
as [sic]: 
 
    STEllA -- EM(?ILIYA?)  [Emily], 
 
    DONAL'D [Donald] -- (?PILOT?), 
 
 
 
 
 
                         3 

---

 
- 175 - 
LOBZA(?TEL'?) [Kisser] -- (?RICHARD?), 
 
DUGLE -- (??IKS??) [German name of "X"?], 
 
SHERVUD [Sherwood] -- (??KNIAZ'??) [Prince] 
[or ??KNUT??], 
 
MIRANDA -- (??ARTEL'??) [Artel] [or ??ARTEMIDA?? 
(Artemis)], 
 
SENYOR [Señor] -- BERG. 
    
     All these cover names are equivalent from the point of  
     view of their --1F--.  Please confirm. 
 
         700 
 
                                   MAY 
 
                                             2 September 
 
                          O
a  
--1U-- 
 
 
 
     a.   This letter O, if correct, is most unusual.  The  
     next group might be a grable for "Conclusion follows" 
     or an unusual type of null. 
 
 
     5.  The second message.  New York-Moscow 1403 [798] of 
5 October 1944: 
 
     To VIKTOR [Victor]. 
 
         Supplementing our telegram no. 700.  We give changes 
in covernames: 
 
GUS' [Goose] -- (??ARN??), 
 
ELL [L?] -- BIRKU--?-- 
 
OSTROV
a
 [Island] -- (?EKSPERT?) [Expert] [or 
        ?EXPLOATOR? (Exploiter)] 
 
IRI [Erie]-- --1F--, 
 
GURON [Huron]-- --1F--, 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                     4 

---

 
- 176 - 
CHIORNOY [Black or Blackie] -- PETER, 
 
EMUL'SIYA [Emulsion] -- SIGNAL, 
 
BRAT [Brother] -- TOMAS [Thomas], 
 
(?KID?) -- --1F--, 
 
NUL' [Null, Zero] -- (?ERIK?) [Eric], 
 
SHPONKA
b
 [Crosspiece joining two planks] -- --1F--, 
 
(?SHTAMP?) [Stamp, Punch] -- (??GAD??) [Gus]. 
 
MAKOV -- (?NEMETS?) [German], 
 
REST -- CHARL'Z [Charles], 
 
(??SOLIDARN??)OY [Solidary] -- RODSTVENNIK [Relation, 
Relative], 
 
GONETS [Express Messenger (obsolete term) --  
ZHAN [Jean], 
 
YUNOY [Young (One)] -- (?KURYER?) [Courier], 
 
VERA
c
 [Faith] -- NADEZHDAc [Hope], 
 
(?RUIB?)OLOV -- KIN [Keen?] [or ?NAR?], 
 
YUPITER [Jupiter] -- (?ORIGINAL?) [Odd Fellow], 
 
GUDZON [Hudson] -- DZHON [John], 
 
FAKIR -- (??ART??), 
 
SKAT [Scott?? the German card game Skat?] -- KARL, 
 
ZHANNET [Jeannet(te?)] -- (??AMUR??) [Amour, Cupid] 
[or ??AMPHIBIYA?? (Amphibian) or the like], 
 
DLINNOY [Long (One)] -- (??DE??) [D?] [or ??DYAVOL?? 
(Devil) or ??DUIM?? (Smoke)], 
 
TAM [Tom?] -- (?GENRIH?) [Henry], 
 
OLA -- ZHANNA [Jeanne]. 
 
     Please confirm.  Continuation later
d
. 
 
         798 
 
                                         MAY 
 
                         5 

---

 
- 177 - 
a.   OSTROV was the covername for Great Britain. 
 
b.   SHPONKA is the name of a character in a short story  
of Gogol's. 
 
c.   A common Christian name for women. 
 
d.   No such continuation has been traced. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                            6 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

---

 
- 178 - 
 
 
 
 
Special Study 
 
THE COVERNAME "KARAS" IN. . . TRAFFIC 
 
 

---

 
- 179 - 
          THE COVERNAME "KARAS" IN NNNNNNNN TRAFFIC 
 
 
 
 
     1.  Purpose of the report.  It seems desirable to report 
as the occasion may arise on newly determined covernames, and 
to translate the messages in which they occur.  The present  
report deals with two messages involving the covername KARAS'. 
These are of interest, because they illustrate arrangements 
for a rendezvous made with parties in two different countries. 
 
     2.  The name.  KARAS' means Crucian (Carp) or Prussian 
Carp (Carassius Vulgaris, syn. carassius).  Compare the cover- 
name OKUN' (Perch) in New York-Moscow 823 of 7 June 1944 (not 
reported on). 
 
         It is true that a Yugoslav name KARAS (not KARASJ!) 
is on file at CSGAS-95 -- no connection with our man being 
probable -- but in the view of the technicians working on  
the problem, but the assumption that KARAS' is .here a covername 
is somewhat more probable than the supposition that it is a  
real surname. 
 
3.   The first message.  New York-Moscow message 699 [378] 
of 17 May 1944: 
 
        KARAS' [Crucian (Carp)] (?the elected?) president of  
    the Union of Yugoslav (?Merchant Seamen?) in --1U-- will 
    go to Sidon [London] where he will enter --2F--.  --1F--  
    ...ing in Yugoslav(?ia?) --1F-- with which his --2F--  
    we --3F-- arrived on --1U--.  KARAS' got from (?her? or 
    ?CHIORNOY?
a
 [Black(ie)]) information through (?BAB?)IN's 
    wife that --2F-- --1F--ELA SVECIC working with TITO's 
    staff.  Telegraph the password agreed upon for liaison  
    with KARAS' in Sidon. 
 
    378 
 
                                  MAY 
                                       17 May 
 
 
a.  Covername; see New York-Moscow message 1403 (798)of 
    5 October 1944 (Report, "Revised Translation of Two  
     nnnnnnnn Messages on Changes in Covernames"). 
 
This message opens without an address. 

---

 
- 180 - 
4.   The second message.  New York-Moscow message 847 
[463 and 457] of 14 June 1944: 
 
 To VIKTOR [Victor]. 
 
     --8F-- IPATOV (?of the ?) cover line etc. what 
 --1F--. 
 
     463 
 
                    [Message break] 
 
 KARAS' [Crucian] is leaving for Sidon [London] --43F--
a
 
 
 GATE LONDON S.W.)
b
 Password:  Our man in English -- Your  
 friend VLADO
c
 sends you best regards.  KARAS' replies -- 
 Thank you very much!  We have not seen each other for a 
 long time.  --10F-- (?any task not --1F-- security.?) 
 --30F-- --1U-- counsels (?as?) (?duties?). 
 
     457 
 
                                    MAY 
                                         14 June 
 
 
a.   On a depth of one. 
b.   The letter preceding the space preceding "GATE" is possibly 
     an S. 
c.   Serbo-Croatian name. 
 
      The task of devising a password evidently devolved upon  
New York. 
 
 

---

 
- 181 - 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Special Study  
 
THE COVERNAMES "TÉNOR", "BAS", AND "CHETÁ" (? 
IN . . . TRAFFIC 

---

 
- 182 - 
TO     FROM   DATE    SUBJECT 
Chief, 
AS-90  AS-93 9 July 48    Study of nnnnnnnn Messages  
 
      Attached is a study of nnnnnnnn messages involving the  
 covernames "TENOR", "BAS", and "CHETA". 
 
                                     Hugh S. Erskine 
Incl                                 HUGH S. ERSKINE 
                                     Chief, CSGAS-93 
 
 
 
 
                        Col Hayes 
 
                           Another! 
 
                              BL AS-90 
 
                                 9 July 48 
 

---

 
- 183 - 
 
                                                    AS9x – 944761 
 
                                                      8 July 1948 
                                                 10 
 
 
Chief, 
AS-90 AS-93 9 July 48    Study of nnnnnnlnnMessages  
 
     Attached is a study of nnnnnnnn messages involving the  
covernames "TENOR", "BAS", and "CHETA". 
 
 
Incl                                HUGH S. ERSKINE 
                                    Chief, CSGAS-93 
 
 
 
 
 

---

 
- 184 - 
                                                       8 July 48 
 
 
 
 
         THE COVERNAMES "TÉNOR", "BAS", AND "CHETÁ" (?) 
                  IN nnnnnnnn TRAFFIC 
 
 
 
                                   DEREVNIA 
     1. General.  a. The covername Derevnia.  Messages from New York 
                                   ^ 
to Moscow encrypted by the systemn;nnnnnnn occasionally make reference  
 
to a place known as DERÉVNIA.  This word (derived from DÉREVO 'tree; 
 
wood' and cognate with English TREE) means 'the country' (as opposed  
 
to town, Latin RUS), 'a country estate', or 'a village (without a 
 
church)'.  In translations hereafter, to distinguish Country in the 
 
sense of Latin RUS (whence RURAL) from Country in the sense of Latin 
 
TERRA, REGIO (Russian STRANÁ, the covername for the United States), 
 
the word Countryside will be used for the former; hence, Countryside 
 
will refer to Mexico and Country to the U.S.A.  
 
     It is known that DEREVNIA is Mexico because of a series of 
 
messages (not reported on) involving HENRI (Henry).  Thus, on 26 May 
 
1944 we read "HENRI during his stay in DERÉVNIA..."  Then on 14 June there 
 
is a painstaking arrangement for rendezvous between HÉNRI and 
 
"our man" (not New York's man, who is HÉNRI, but presumably some 
 
MGB man or other) at the entrance of the movie house TERESA, AVENIDA 
 
Keep these 
à
  JUAN DE LETRÁN; this was evidently the movie house of that name 
two accents     
at least.      (Cine "Teresa")owned by Exhibidores Metropolitanos, S.A., at  
 
               Avenida San Juan de Letr
ā
n 109 in Mexico, Federal District.  Finally, 
 
on 10 August 1944, we read, "HENRI has returned to Tyre [New York] 
 
from DEREVNIA" and "HÉNRI (?in?) DEREVNIA and --1F-- their organ 
 
'LA VOZ'."  ("LA Voz" is a Communist newspaper of Mexico, Fed. Dist.) 
 
     On HÉNRI see further section 4. 
 

---

 
- 185 - 
                                2 
 
 
 
                                            first 
The adjective DEREVÉNSKOY occurring in the message being reported 
                                               ^ 
on (literally 'country ..., rural; village ...') must therefore amount  
 
to 'Mexican'.  It will be here translated Rural. 
 
     b. The covername CHETÁ (?).  In order to extricate the text of 
 
the translation as much as possible from a tangle of parentheses and 
 
question marks, it may be well to dispose of the name CHETÁ in the  
 
preliminaries.  CHETÁ means 'pair' or 'couple'.  It is not certain 
 
that the name involved is CHETÁ, but it is certain that it begins with 
 
CHE followed by a consonant no earlier in the Russian alphabet than S, 
 
and ends in A. 
 
     c. The real names.  John Keating (Russian: DZHON KITING) is 
 
presumably John F. Keating, a lawyer of Manhattan Borough. 
                              v 
     David Niles (Russian: D-EWID NAYLS, with the "hard" E) is 
 
identified as an adviser of "KAPITÁN" (Captain), who is known on other  
 
evidence to be Franklin D. Roosevelt.*  Accordingly, he is David K. 
 
Niles, Administrative Assistant to the President. 
 
     The question arises, why Roosevelt is mentioned by covername and 
 
Niles not.  A survey of the traffic as a whole suggests that a covername 
 
like KAPITÁN serves a different purpose from covernames assigned to  
 
agents. The latter are presumably designed to protect the person of  
 
the agent directly; the KAPITÁN type and names like DERÉVNIA merely 
 
obscure the sense and thereby afford indirect protection to the agents 
 
and sources, or baffle foreign intelligence organs concerning just 
 
what intelligence is being transmitted. 
 
     This protection often wears little thin.  Thus, the State 
 
 
     *See "I.D. Special Analysis Report #2.  Additional Covernames  
and Related Information in Diplomatic Trafficnnkknnnnnn," 18 September 1947. 

---

 
- 186 - 
                               3 
 
 
 
 
Department is covered by the name BANK, and quite likely the Secretary  
 
of State has a covername, too, but Robert Daniel Murphy has no 
 
covername.  Hence we read in a message of 19 [18] October 1944: 
 
"MURPHY in telegrams to the BANK of 26 and 27 August --2F-- Rumanian 
 
king Michael concerning the presence in Rumania of troops of the 
 
Island [Great Britain] and the Country [U.S.A.] 'for moral support...'" 
 
etc. 
 
     2. The first message.  New York-Moscow message 786 of 1 June 1944: 
 
To VIKTOR [Victor]. 
 
     In reply to your telegram no. 2066. 
 
     There
a
 are three (?possibilities of getting?) (?a transit 
visa?) for CHETA: 
 
     1. The normal way--when "TENOR" will do [or "make"] everything 
himself.  It will take --3F-- will --1U--. 
 
     2. Through the lawyer JOHN KEATING--somewhat quicker will cost 
300-400 dollars.  Both manners are lengthy because they will be 
connected with checking-up [or "verification"]. 
 
     3. Through "KAPITAN's" adviser DAVID NILES--will take 3-4 
days --1F-- 500 dollars.  Around NILES there is a group of his 
friends that arrange any business for a bribe.  Through them 
TENOR gets --4F-- and has already paid them up to 6000 dollars. 
Whether NILES himself takes the bribe is not precisely known. 
T. (has) discussed with them (?payment?) --13F-- 
 
in/to the Countryside [DERÉVNIA = Mexico].  --9F-- Rural [= Mexican] 
visa and a ticket to the Countryside.  T. declares that success 
in the last-mentioned way is 100-percent and there is no checking-up. 
I recommend the third method. 
 
     Before we begin to act for CHETÁ it is indispensable to get  
a Rural visa and to communicate (?immediately?) for --!U--T. the 
amount of the deposit [or "bond"] paid in in the Countryside. 
Immediately upon receipt of the Rural visa and sanction to --2U-- 
T. will buy a through ticket from --9F-- (?protection of?) the 
covername Henry [GÉNRIH] --1U-- Rural visa.  T. --1F-- meet CHETÁ 
in --3F-- later in the Countryside --20F-- 
 
 
at end of         a 
   translation         No identifications indicated in the original.  Paragraphed by translator 
as here    for clarity. 
 
 
 
3 xxxces 
à
 

---

 
- 187 - 
                          4 
 
 
 
 
     3. The second message.  New York-Moscow message 1509 (in part) 
 
[internal no. 851] of 23 October 1944.  (The ostensible message 1509 
 
is really a string of three short ones.  The second one reads as 
 
follows:) 
 
          (?Not received?) by us --7F-- (?arrangements?) of BAS 
concerning CHETÁ's arrival --3F-- I am carrying to the point 
that I have gotten in touch --2U-- plant (henceforth "SI") 
--1F-- Ephraim [YEFRÉM], who personally (?presented?) --1F-- 
SI. 
 
     851 
 
                                   MAY 
 
                                               23 October 
 
     This message is in a very unsatisfactory shape, but it does show that 
 
almost five months after the previous message there was still talk  
 
of CHETÁ's arrival (PRIYÉZD, hence arrival by conveyance, presumably 
 
from abroad).  OF course, this might be a different arrival, perhaps 
 
even back from Mexico. 
 
     TENOR is not mentioned, but a certain BAS (meaning 'bass') is. 
 
It will be observed that TÉNOR and BAS are closely related in meaning, 
 
and it is not impossible that BAS is a new name for TÉNOR, though on 
 
the other hand, this relation, if significant, may simply mean that 
 
TÉNOR and BAS have similar positions in the ring.  The code group  
 
identified as "BAS" does also occur in a message of 26 May 1944 that 
 
also mentions HENRI (see section 4 below), but it is not certain 
 
that it belongs there (error in decryption?) or, if it does, what it 
 
means there. 
 
     The covername SI may be a spelling for the English name of the 
 
Latin letter C.  It does not occur elsewhere. 

---

 
- 188 - 
                                5 
 
 
 
 
     The word translated "planet," ZAVÓD, is possibly a covername for 
 
some organization or agency. 
      
     The covername YEFRÉM does not occur elsewhere. 
 
     4.  The names GÉNRIH and HÉNRI.  In the first message (section 2) 
                                                              r 
occurs the phrase "the covername GÉNRIH".  The only other occurence 
 
of GÉNRIH is in the message on changes in covernames (798 of 5 October 
 
1944, previously reported on), where TAM is changed to GÉNRIH.  Since 
 
the message here being reported on is dated 1 June 1944, it is problematic  
 
whether the same naming is involved in each instance. 
 
     It should be pointed out, however, that there is a covername 
 
HENRI.  GÉNRIH is the form usually given bestowed on Russians when 
 
they are named "Henry"; HÉNRI (and also GÉNRI) are forms representing 
 
a foreign name.  Now, HÉNRI went to Mexico and later returned to New  
 
York (see section 1a).  The range of dates for occurrence of the 
 
covername HÉNRI is from 26 May to 10 August 1944. 
 
     HÉNRI will be made the subject of a separate report.