10d-10439-10043] oS TO FROM : SUBJECT: KAMHKIN, Victor Petrovich Auso Lived wi Ja lhe Rankings fet FALLS ChuRth VA- From pAS Be 1PSA wher AkL pseu S he whey SE . wae Wd Rare Metye Pit he ORs. BS 3 can oe ‘; . fe ra sed Jat . r % ‘Memordndugm + UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT | Bruce Le Solie, G/RB/SRS/OS DATE:17 December 1959 M. D. Stevens, RB/SRS/OS AT~2752 - SSD-90097 A review of Subject's file has been made in connection with a requsst from the CI Officer, French Desk, with reference to information from the(Chief of Station, Paris,) that Subject's Washington book store, as of the summer of 1959, was one of the four book stores | in the United States where subscriptions could be bought for "RODINA", the bulletin edited by the Repatriation Committee of East Berlins "RODINA"!(LA PATRIE), which is distributed in various languages and is yiatlled in sealed envelopes, has been forbidden distribution - jn France. (See attached thernofax.) . . Security files raflect that in April 1957 the FRI advised that Victor Petrovich KAMKIN, Elena Anéreevna KAMKIN and Nina SAPELKIN : had been the subjects of an Internal Security ~ R type investigation as of 1951 and thate "There is no derogatory data of a subversive nature in the files of this Bureau concerning the subject of your inquiry (KAMKIN). It should be noted, however, that Victor Petrovich KAMKIN is currently of investigative interest to this Bureeu and, accordingly, it is requested that any contact of hin in behalf of the Central Intelligence Agency be handled by this Bureau.” It was advised orally that the Bureau was uging KAMION QS a BUUrcee _o* Lccording to an undated blind memorandum (possibly a Staff ¢ memoraniom), Nina SAPELKIN is Elena KAMKIN's sister and as of 1951 was living with the KAMKINs in Tenness#s. Nina SAPELKIN was born in Russia 13 August 1912; and was evacuated from Shanghai to Samer, Philippine Islands under IRO auspices in April 1995 accompanied by her husband Semen I. SAPELKIN and their two children. She came to the United States in 1951 and lived in Tennessee for a time with the KAMKINs. The SAPELKINs reportedly renounced Soviet citizenship in Shanghai in September or Octobor 19h8. The KAMKINs also were born in Russia and KAMKIN attended high school and university in Harbin, Manchuria. Thereafter until . 1945 he was in the printing and publishing businese in China; and during 196-7 says he was with "Special Services, Section il, Amph., Marine Corps", working on its newspaper, "North China Marines", In 1947 he was co-publisher of "Free Word” which he says was an anti-Soviet newspaper closed by pressure of the Soviet a ee
13-00000 eg get te oe ' wee Pty oe Consulate. From 19)7 to 199 he stated that, he was the owner of the "Anchor Printing Shop" in which the "North China Marine" contimed publication in Tsingtao, China. The KAMKINs came to the United States in 199 arriving in San Francisco in Marche As of 1957 KAMKIN was being used on an unclassified basis by the CIA Idbrary asa publications procurement channel. It is, of n course, possible that Subjects interest in "RODINA" is on behalf | fae of this Agency. oe fhe other book stores involved in the report to the French Desk were the well known Communist "Four Continents Book Store", (MS-2000), "Imported Publications and Products" (MS-2001-I) and "Universal Distributors Company" (#91916). These organizations are registered under the Foreign Agents Registration Act. The Four  . a 2 Continents Book Store ie flagrantly Communist needs no defining; SO sy and the "Imported Publications and Products" is reported to be ns ee one of the four principal outlets for Communist political prop- & agenda in the United States. "Universal Distributors Company" is i described as "an official distributor of Communist Party Literature” _ kK and as "Commnist controlled". It is the distributing agency for : the Four Continents Book Store. . fe Information from a reliable confidential informant reflects that during the summer of 1959 KAMKIN indicated he plannad to open a branch book store in San Francisco to be operated by S. SAPKIEIN. The store was to be called Znanie, Russian Book Store, a and located at 5237 Geary Street, San Francisco. Thie S. SAPELKIN, oe in all prebability, is Mrs. KAMKIN's brother-in-law Semen I. . Vi SAPELKIN, MS-5000, who with his wife Mina, nee DAVIDOVA, aka CaS DAVIDOF, was the subject of an FBI Record Check Request in May 1955. (The wife Nina, per the check sh:et, resided at Routs me 1, Van Leer, Tennessse from 1951 to 1952, which was the KAMKIN's a address during this period.) . EL he was formerly a painter; that hie wife Nina was a dentist; that both were born in Russia; that he arrived in the United States from France around the end of 195), was stateless and had his first in papers and that she arrived in San Francisco 5 June 1951. They . ge were residing at 1)05 Harvard Street, NoWe, Washington, D. Co. (te (which was the address of Subject's book store); and had formerly Be resided in Tientsin and Shanghai, China. Both their children “te were born in Tientsin, one in i9h6 and one in 1919. The 1955 FBI Record Check Request on SAPELKIN indicated that  —__ aR An RI check requested in 1957 for USIA indicated that the name Semon I. SAPELKIN appeared in a report from a reliable source in May 1950, which dealt with refugees in an IRO camp at Guinan, Samar, Philippine Islands; and, according to the report, he had been a member of the Russian Residents Association (probably Russian ~ 2 . ae
13-00000 i i 8 a CORRS ERLE RR BUN Sai tien cot WOT Ie Cees vera mee ee = . ‘fe . 7 * ee . om . . ° . ° fo ao bets 4 ” a . ee ng ye , : tee . oe . . . ree woe le eh Pe ro toe “et ° . a ce s : ~~ Fnigrants Association) and of the Soviet Club in Shanghai. An ONI name check on KAMKIN, in November 1954, reflected the cross-referencing of his name to "Foreign Service Dispatch, Hong Kong . . #L02, 22: August 1952", the subject of which was "Contact of Mr. She VertiemlnyVASILIEVITCH SAPELKIN with the Hong Kong Consulate General"; ots while nédults of a 1957 "K" check based on this same "Foreign ; Service Dispatch, Hong Kong #02, 22 August 1952, Secret", reads as follows: "Mr. SAPELKIN reported that he had recontly ‘received various communications from a White Russian friend of his, Mr. Victor P. KAMKIN who was formerly head of the Russian Emigrants Association in Teingtao, China. Mr. KAMKIN left China early in 1Sh9 and has resided in the United States since that time. Both SAFELKIN and KAMKIN reportedly had certain contacts with a Eugens GORDENEV, Russian-speaking officer attached to the G-2 Section of the Mirst Marines Division in Tientsin following the Japansss Surrender in 1945. Mr. KAMKIN has now written to Hong Kong asking Mr. SAPELKIN to supply certsin economic information on North China and Manchuria for the use of the "American Goverrment'. Mr. KAMKIN indicates that he ie involved in certain intelligence ectivities.™ . fin a letter of 13 July 1950, offering his services to ONI, Subject - named GORDENEV as one who could "substantiate my work in China". ONI advised CIA that their records contained no derogatory infor- mation regarding Subject, but that ONI did not contemplate utiliz- ing his services./ Aeoes. & Tals Subject's friend "Mr. SAPHLKIN" may well be Mr. Veniamin distaSch bts Vasilievitch SAPELKIN, the Subject of Hong Kong Dispatchy #02, bear obtained y who in all probability is related to Mrse KAMKIN's brother-in-law, + arengmen’. Semen I. SAPZLKIN. Aue: q inidwidu as: MS According to a 1955 RI check conducted on one Alexander Se 44 wo AQRIOFF for G-2, a report of 17 May 1950 advised that ORLOFF (who . ‘ had’ been described as an "Old Soviet worker") was closely associated —-< with Venismin Vasilievitch SAPELKIN, an alleged Soviet agent at the IRO Camp at Samar, P. Ie As reported above, Mrse KAMKIN's — sister Nina and her husband Semen SAPELKIN were evacuated to Samar, P. I., from Shanghai under IRO auspices in April 1919. Veniamin Vasilievitch SAPELKIN's friend ORLOFF, according to a report of 8 April 1950, was alleged to have influenced a district leader of the IRO Camp at Samar with pro-Soviet propaganda, and to have worked with a number of other pro-Soviet internees in the camp . to Sovietize the Russian refugees interned there. According to a report dated 5 May 1950, ORLOFF allegedly was believed to be a | Soviet agent. (The report noted that this information originated in the IRO Camp in Samar; that much information originating thers had proven unreliable; and that the reliability of this particular information had not been determined.)
13-00000 soe : a . : . : oo. . ; " bee rine : 3 : aes However this. msy be, it appears that there could be much truth in the allegations. Information in Security files reflects that ‘ORLOFF very possibly is identical with a "Count ORLOFF of the Russian Committee", (apparently a committee of “TRO);“uno assisted the Commercial Counselor for the Bulgarian Legation in securing IRO employment for one Bogdana OTTAI, a possible Soviet agent in Paria who was living with and was engaged to marry Kiril VASSILEV, who was believed to be an agent of the Bulgarian Military Intelligence Service. "Gount ORLOFF" also helped arrange OTTAI's entrance into | the United States. Alexander S. ORLOFF and "Count ORJOFF" may well be identical with Alexander ORLOFF, DL-2881, a highly suspect — individual of Russian birth, and a former AMIORG employee who was security disapproved by OSS in 193. This latter individual, per a 1943 OSS investigation, was known as "The Count", : A PDacember 195), Staff C-memorandum regarding KAMKIN, reported that unevaluated information dated 1 June 1948 indicated that ons Victor N./KAMKIN was involved in a money printing transaction with tha Japaridse, in which he used the machinery of the Chihli Press in Tientsin to facilitate the counterfitting. The source of this information had pointed out the possibility that Victor N. KAMKIN might be identified in some way with a V. P. KAMKIN who was named as a character reference by one Vladimir Vasily IVASHKOFF. (IVASHKOFF © was not identified.) The memorandum advised that according to a report dated 1 June 1918 from a U. S. Naval. Attache, Nanking, to the American Ambassador, Nanking, V. N. KAMKIN was a printer and. publisher in Shanghai and later was in charge of the Russian Publishing House; known as Nashe ZNANIE. He was closely associated with Bernard S.;ROGARD of the Chihli Press, who.in turn was associated wit} |alleged Soviet esplonage agent Olga NAKVASIN. According to the Staff C memorandum , a report from ths FBI dated ll August 1953 indicated that a source of unknown reliability stated that one Victor KAMKIN, who operated a book store as a possible cover in Tientsin, China, acted as a paid informer of -the Japanese during World War II; and was a paid informer of U. Se Army Intelligence after the War. With the assistance of the American Military Goverment in Tsingtao, China, he became Chairman of the Russian Immigrant Society in Tsingtao in 1918, There seems small doubt that this Victor KAMKIN is identical with Victor Ne KAMKIN, and with Subject, Victor P. KAMKIN who was formerly head of the Russian Immigrant Association in Tsingtao, China, accord~ ing to his friend SAPELKIN, as. reported in Hong Kong Dispatch #402. Note that Victor N. KAMKIN wes in charge of a Russian Publishing House in China known as Nashe Znanie; and that the branch store Subject intended to open in San Francisco (and may have opened) was also to be called Znanie (this work in Russian means "Knowledge" )« - {Bernard S. ROGARD of the Chihli Press, referred to fa - 5 oe an ra Dan Le ae wt
13-00000 above as a close associate of Subject and also of alleged Soviet espionage agent Olga NAKVASIN, is the Subject (of SSD file #35095. ROGARD is a former U. S. Marine whose parents were Polish-born and who lived in China for twenty years prior to returning to the United States in 1950. He allegedly was pro-Soviet, iet ridiculed White Russians who did not avail themselves of Soviet citizen= ship made available to them; hired as Editor of his Tientsin Evening Journal, following its resumption after the Wer, one Leonoff who was an employee of TASS; followed a Communist inspired line in his newspaper} and published without comment in his Tientsin Everin Journal a letter discrediting American Mi tary Police in iTentsin, comparing them unfavorably with Soviet Military Police in Harbin who were praised in glowing termez etc. RCGARD, "if used" by Project PILLAR, was to be limited to Category Ils but his wife, Rauza ibragimoff ROGARD., #79069. had : er association with; was terminated in Moy 1959, with the termination of Project( ABUNA,) but she gave a "hard time” for months and refused to sign her secrecy agreement until 30 November 1959. Various relatives of hers have in. the past been associated with th \ Mra. ROGARD appears to have had mich the same history «es Subject. She was bora in Russia of Russian-born parents, ot Turko-Tartar nationality; left Russia in 1919 for Harbin; was educated in Mukden and Tlentsin; and was. employed in Tientsin in various import-export firms, etc. (No thorougn study has been made of the ROGARNS! files.)7 NS need Le SO: Dug M. D. Stevens © OS:S5a&S:MDosn1e