(404-10132-10017| 7 Office Memorandum * UNITED STATEs GOVERNMENT : : TO° Z Bruce Le Solia, ¢/RB/SRS/0S | | DATE:17 December 1959 . ee ; _ RETURN TO cia , es (2 FROM:Cl. My De ‘Background Use Only oe oe, oo Me De Stevens, RB/SRS/0S ee. “Do Not Reproduce - os a ~~.) SUBJECT?” KAMETN, Victor Pétrovick 7 | ; . dn the United States where subscriptions could be bought for ¢, va bd pee, apf AI~-2752 = SSD-90097 | Hs A review of Subject's file has been mde in connection with a request from the C officers Fi6 Desk, with reference to  4nformation from the Chief of ion, Payig, that Subject's Washington - _. .pook store, as of the summer of 1959, was one of the four book atores = the bulletin edited by the Repatriation Condttee of East Berline .  - * ARODINA®) (LA PATRIE), which is distributed in various languages = a and is pailed in sealed envelopes, has been forbidden distribution in France. (See attached thermofaxe) =i a Ce Security files reflect that in April 1957 the FBI advised that Victor Petrovich KAMKIN, Elena Andreevna and Ning SAPELKIN- had been the subjects of an Internal Security - R type investigation as of 1951 and thatr “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 ntact of him - . '. ~‘Burean and, accordingly, it is requested that any co . an behalf of the Central Intelligence Agency be handled by this oe Bureau. It wes advised orally thet the Bureau was using KAMKIN gg a gourcee According to an undated plind memorandun (possib ster and as of oe, a .SareiGn memorandum), Nina SAPELKIN is Elena KAMKIN's si 6. Nina SAPELKIN was KaAentconts int Fau.s 1951 was living with the KAMKINs in Tennesse qubch VA.FA WasaGias3whee born in Russia 18 August 19123 SEEN he CW Neate webRAT eee TT - wy C. wi. accompanied by her hugband Semen I. > ge came to the United States in 19 and was evacuated from Shanghai to , Samar, Philippine Islands under IRO auspices in April hI, nr N and their two childrens — , S1 and lived in Tennessee for . a time with the KAMKINs, The Ns reportedly renounced Soviet citizenship in Shanghal in Septexber or October 19h8. ‘The KAMKINS also were born in Russia and KAMKIN attended — . high school and university in Harbin, Manchuria. Thereafter until: 195 he was in the printing end publishing business jn Chinas and during 19)6-L7 says he was with "Special Services, Section IIly = Amph., Marine Corps", working on its newspapers ce ine", In 197 he was co~publisher of “Free Word” which he says ‘was an anti-Soviet newspaper closed by pressure of the Soviet: = 4 é
74-90000 *, the United States in 199 arriving in San Francisco in Marche the CIA library asa publications procurement channel. It is, of | | | “Desk were the well known Communist "Four Continents Book Store", .. “Universal Distributors Company" (#91916). ‘These organizations ere _o pegistered under the Foreign Agents Registration Act. The Four sic. Continents Book Store is flagrantly Gonmurist¢ needs no definings . °°.” 7. and the "Imported Publications and Products" is reported to be - ee - one of the four principal outlets for Communist political prop= ‘aganda in the United States. "Universal Distributors Company® is wo _ were born in Mentsin, ons in 1? "been a member of the Russian Residents Association Sat act a as < . at , : , oe a ss  Gonsulate. From 197 to 19h9 he stated that he was the owner of \ “i the “Anchor Printing Shop" in which the "North China Marine" : . gontimed publicetion in Tsingtao, Chinas The KAMKINs came to e ab Ne ons . As of 1957 KAMKIN was being ysed on an unclassified basis by A oo course, possible that Subject's interest in "RODINA" is on behalf 3. The other book stores dnvolved in the report to the French mew miree Ret a RID OT Ore (M3-2000), "Imported Publications and Products" (MS-2001-I) and |. oe een eee ae hem Rede described as "an official distributor of Communist Party Literature” eS and as "Communist controlled". It is the distributing agency for... . the Four Continents Book Store. oS Information from a reliable confidential informant reflects. an ~ that during the summer of 1959 KAMKIN indicated he planned to “i Qpen a branch book store in San Francisco to be operated by Se SAPEIKIN. The store was to be called Znanie, Russian Book Store, PX and located at 5237 Geary Streets San Fxanelseco. This S. SAPELKIN, — “jm all probability, is Mrs. KAMKIN's brother-in-law SemenTe = SAPELKIN, MS-5000, who with his wife Nina, nee DAVIDOVA, aka DAVIDOF, was the subject of an FBI Record Check Request in May 1955. (The wife Nina, per the check sheet, resided at Route Dotan 1, Van Leer, Tennessee from 1951 to 1952, which was the KAMKIN's 5 gddress during this periode) The 1955 FBI Record Check Request on SAPELKIN indicated that - he wae formerly a painter; that hie wife Nina was a dentist; that — » poth were born in Russia; that he arrived in the United States — _ from France around the end of 158), was stateless and had his first - paper; and that she arrived in San Francisco 5 June 1951. They were residing at 1405 Harverd Street, Nels, Washington, De Co (which was the address of Subject's book store); and had formerly resided in Tientsin and ieee ee Both ao. children and one in 9L9- : An RI check requested in 1957 for USIA indicated that the name Ce Semen 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 : robably Russian en on, ao .. or
14-00000 . i f ’ asta Rabe ger ) + es ARE Tele w2s | 2 Hee « insdidy AS : - Bmigrants Association) and of the Soviet Glub in Shanghade . rn : r Lo An ONI name check on KAMKIN, in November 195h, reflected the i eross-referencing of his name to "Foreign Service Dispatch, Hong Kong #02, 22: August 1952", the subject of which was "Contact of Mre é Venton VASILIEVITCH SAPELWIN with the Hong Kong Consulate General"; t  "Yhile nédults of. a 1957 °K" check based on this. same ‘Foreign oo... 7 . Servi patch, Hong Kong #402, 22 August 1952, Secret", = © 0S : reads es follows: "Mr. SAPELKIN reported that he had recently. a received various commmnications from a White Russian friend of his, — oe Mr. Victor P. KAMKIN who was formerly head of the Russian Emigranta :-. 00 Association in Tsingtao, China. Mr. KAMKIN left China early in | 1949 and has resided in the United States since that time. Both SAPELKIN and KAMKIN reportedly had certain contacts with a Eugene GORDENEV, Ruseian-speaking officer attached to the G«2 Section of : ra eae (OH SOE the Mirst Marine Division in Tientein following the Japanese Surrender | in 19h5- Mre KAMKIN has now written to Hong Kong asking Mre ae - ' SAPELKIN to supply certein economic information on North China and .- '. Manchuria for the use oan 8 can ermmont®. Mire KAMKIN | indicates that he 4s involved in certain intelligence activities” . _ ma letter of 13 July 1950, offering his services. to ONI, Subject” Samed GORDENEV as one who could "substantiate ny work in China. .--).. ONI advised CIA that their records contained no derogatory infor= mation regarding Subject, but that ONI did not contemplate utiliz- ing hia services. oo TT Subject's friend "Mre SAPELKIN® may well be Mr. Vert anin et ais Vasilieviteh SAPELKIN, the Subject of Hong Kong Dispatch, #02, hoe et oletain cA sho in all probability is related to Mrse KAMKIN's brother-in~law, . Semen I. SAPELKIN. _. Recording to a 1955 RI check conducted on one Alexander Se RIOFF for G-2, a report of 17 May 1950 advised that ORLOFF (who. |. with Veniamin Vasilievitch SAPELKIN, an alleged Soviet agent at the IRO Camp at Samar, P. Ie As reported above, Mrs, KAMKIN's sister Nina and her husband Semen SAPELKIN were evacuated to Samar, *. P. I., from Shanghai under IRO auspices in April 1919. oy Ventamin 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 mumber of other pro-Soviet interness in the camp to Govietize the Russian refugees a4nterned there. According to 4 report dated 5 May 1950, ORLOFF allegedly was believed to bea Soviet agent. (The report noted that this information originated . oe oe had been described as an "Old Soviet worker") was closely associated  - - > dn the IRO Camp in Samar; that much information originating there had proven voreliables and that the reliability of this particuler | information hed not been determined) = a es cae eee cae UME GORE EE AT FREE TL NPWS T leae o
14-00000 ‘ ee ake balan ae oot wo —— rag oF a red on | [.- maga bee! aa pies ro AM ae Oe eae) Te tdig tee tae td : oan 3 Cees Raat Aneee * 4 . coe re a ee, om Be ee | However thie may bes 44 appears that there could be much truth - a in the allegations. Information in Security files reflects that , it ORLOFF very possibly is jdentioal with a "Count er, of the mo 2 Russian Committees" s (apparently 4 committed of J;7uno assisted — i the Commercial Counselor for the Bulgarian Legation in securing - 7 rn TRO employment for ens Bogdana OTTAL, & possible Soviet agent in... : es é Serie who was living with and was engaged to marry Kiril VASSIIEV, 2 0 4 who was believed to be an agent of the Bulgarian Military Intelligence y Service. "Count ORLOFF" also helped arrange OTTAL's entrance into ae the United States. Alexander S. ORLOFF and "Count ORIOFF" may well - a | pe identical with Alexander ORLOFT pi~2881, a highly suspect os sndividual of Russian pirth, and a former AMTORG employee who was 7 ; security disapproved by OSS in 1943. This latter jndividual, per 7 a 1943 OSS investigation, was known as "Ihe Count’. oo moe . S ~-° , pecember 195) Staff C memorgndum regarding KAMKIN, reported - © ‘that une¥ - uated information dated 1 June 198 indicated that ons © Victor N./KAMKIN was {nvolved in a money printing transaction with = the Jap 63; in which he used the machinery of the Chihli Press - in Tentsin to facilitate the counterfitting. The source of this 4nformation had pointed out the possibility that Victor Ne . might be jdentified in some way with a Ve Pe KAMKIN who Was nemed . as a character reference by one Viadimir Vasily IVASHKOFF. (IVASHKOFF ~~ — was not identified.) The memorandum advised that according to® = | report dated 1 June 198 from a Ue. Sp Naval Attache, Nanking, to... the American Ambassadors Nanking, Ve Ne KAMKIN was 4 printer and re publisher in Shanghel and Jater was in charge of the Russians. He was closely associated: : with Bernard 5.) associated wi ' ‘Publishing Houge/ known 8s Nashe ZNANIE. ” saan of the Chihli Press, who in turn was \alleged Soviet esplonsgs agent Olga NAKVASIN. | / 7 . According to the Staff C memorandum , a report from the FBI. . gated 1, August 1953 indicated that a source of unknown reliability . atated that one Victor KAMKIN, who operated & book store as & possible cover in Tientsin, China, acted as 4 paid informer of the Japanese during World War IT; and was a paid 4nformer of Ue Se Army Intelligence after the Ware With the assistance of the American Military Government in fgingtao, China, he became Chairman of the Russian Tmaigrant Society in Fsingtao in 19,8, There seems gmall doubt that this Victor KAMKIN is identical with Victor Ne KAMKIN, and with Subject, Victor Pp. KAMKIN who was formerly head of the Russian Inoni. grant Association in fsingtao, China, accord= ing to his friend SAPELKIN, as reported in Hong Kong Dispatch #402. Note that Victor N- KAMKIN was in charge of a Russian — Publishing House in China kmown as Nashe Znenie; and that the branch store Subject intended to open in ‘San Francisco (and may _ have opened) was also to be called Znarie (this work in Russian means *Knowledge" )e [Bernard Se ROGARD of the Chihli Press, referred to
14-00000 1 Ee cal Blt” Mas game BS pet g TF oe + ee above as a close associate of Subject and also of alleged ~ of SSD file #35095. ROGARD is a former U. S. Marine whose. . moe ae Pe ae +p, tg &. Pees tele - ot Re Rae ‘ Seviet espionage agent Olga NAKVASIN, is the Subject parents were Polish-born and who lived in China for ". twenty years prior to returning to the United States in cay - 1950. He allegedly was pro-Soviet, is: yidiculed White oe oe, ' Russians who did not avail themselves of Soviet citizen~ re wT ship made available to thems hired as Editor of his : Mrentein Evening Journal, following its resumption after - . ‘the War, one. Is onoff wno was an employee of TASS; : . followed a Communist inspired line in his newspaper3 — and published without comment in his Tientsin Evening Journal a letter discrediting American M ary Police | in Tientsin, comparing them unfavorably with Soviet Military Police in Harbin who were praised in glowing -termsg etc. ROGARD, "if used" by Project PILLAR, was to be limited to Category Ils but his wife, Rauza, — Ibragimoff ROGARD, #79069, had{elearance for a "verylh — sensitive use on another Project _— _— Mrs. ROGARD appears to have had OS:SRS:MDSthle hee 1953. Her association | ted in _ May 1959, with the; termination 6f Project but she gave a\thard time" for months and refused to sign her secrecy 6 eement |until 30 November 195990 arious relatives of s have in the past been a associated with th Mrs. ROGARD appears to © - have had much the saiie history as Subject. She was born in Russia of Russien-born parents, of Turko~Zarter ~ nationality; left Russia in 1919 for Harbiny was educated in Mukden and Tientsins and was employed in Mentain in various import-export firms, etc. (No thorough study haa been made of the ROGARDS! files.)/7 . NM. D. Stevens nT oe 5 akira oe aes i ee enemas ee ce