Freedom Of Information FBI, Fedosimov, An Australian Link

 

Page:FBI-FOIA-VENONAa.pdf/45

This document released under FOI, tells us more about Pavel Ivanovich Fedosimov. Followers of the blog will know that Pavel was put forward here as a likely candidate for being the Somerton Man, the claim stumbled somewhat when, although I could show Fedosimov could have reached Australia after being recalled to Moscow under what might be described as stressful circumstances, the final evidence just was not uncovered, that is still the case. 

You will read that far from being a smaller wheel in the big cog that was Soviet infiltration of the Manhattan Project, he sat at the top in terms of decision-making and importance.

Furthermore, another most interesting name appears, Makarov another MGB man known to have been a Soviet 'Rezident' in Australia. Read more at the base of the FOI document that follows:

MGB Soviet Officials

It it not possible in a memorandum of this length to detail the information available from.....regarding MGB officials attached to official and semi-official Soviet establishments in the United States.

  We have almost conclusively established that the individual who was operating the New York network is identical with Pavel Fedosimov. He undoubtedly was the legal resident agent for the MGB at the Soviet Consulate in New York. He also directed activities ⟨which⟩ were outside the New York area, reaching to the West Coast.

Under Fedosimov there were a number of individuals ⟨in⟩ official or semi-official Soviet positions who were designated as "cadre-men." 

These individuals apparently headed various individual networks which were being operated by the MGB in ⟨the⟩ United States. 

We have not identified all of these ⟨individuals⟩ but some of the important ones were Vladimir S. Pravdin, the ⟨head⟩ of Tass News Agency who had been mentioned previously; Semen ⟨M.⟩ Semenov, who headed an espionage network which included ⟨Abraham⟩ Brothman, Thomas L. Black, and Harry Gold; Anatoli A. ⟨Yakovlev⟩ who has been mentioned previously and who was in charge of ⟨the⟩ Rosenberg network and took over the activities of Theodore A. Hall and Saville Sax, who have been mentioned previously. ⟨An⟩ individual who had helped in the recruitment of Judith Coplon ⟨and⟩ Flora Don Wovschin was Stepan N. Choundenko. He was a clerk attached to the Soviet Consulate in New York City.

The legal resident agent at the Soviet Embassy in Washington, D. C., following his arrival in the United States ⟨in⟩ September 1944, mas Anatoli Gromov, whom we identified in connection with the Silvermaster case. We are attempting to ⟨determine⟩ to the fullest possible extent the activities of these Soviet officials, none of whom are in the United States at the ⟨present⟩ time. We do have one individual here now by the name of ⟨Semen⟩ Makarov, whom we know from information from operations in Australia as an MGB agent. His activities are closely followed in as much as he undoubtedly is still active ⟨as an⟩ MGB agent. (Records show that the MGB came into being in 1946 previously known as the NKVD.)

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TOP SECRET

Makarov in Australia

In 1943, Herbert 'Doc' Evatt pushed through with his commitment to allow the Soviets to open an embassy in Australia much to the alarm of our US and UK Allies,

A team of 35 Soviet 'diplomats duly arrived and set up their embassy, Semeyon Makarov headed up the team. 

It was not long before he was contacted by Wally Clayton, code name KLOD. And in 1943 Klod delivered to Makarov a set of documents from the Australian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He had received them personally from a contact who held a senior position in the Ministry. Makarov immediately photographed the images and also requested Moscow to allow him to send the information contained in them by wireless. In those early days, all Embassy communications would normally have gone by undersea cable courtesy of the Australian Post Office. 

(The documents related to a 'PHP' or Post Hostilities Plan and it was these same documents that led to the Americans banning Australia from access to any form of secret information. That final decision to impose the ban came after the Australians had requested information on equipment used to set up Rocket Ranges, which would have been in 1946/47 coinciding with early preparations for the building of Woomera.)

It wasn't the nature of these documents that caused the upset, in real terms the documents themselves were fairly low on the scale of importance, but important nonetheless. They referred to defence planning in the event of an outbreak of hostilities with either the Soviets or a re-armed Germany. What caused the greatest concern was the fact that documents were leaked in the first place.

The Americans received information from the Venona project and swiftly shared it with the British prompting the British Prime Minister to call Chifley to London. 

In March 1948, Sir Percy Sillitoe, head of MI5 arrived in Australia and got to work assisting the Australian Intelligence community setting up an Australian Version of MI5 which came to be known as ASIO. And that is another interesting story.

More on MGB here: 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ministry_of_State_Security_(Soviet_Union)

More on Makarov/Clayton here:

 https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/clayton-walter-seddon-wally-31299