104 10326 10101
430000 104-10326-10101 2025 RELEASE UNDER THE PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY ASSASSINATION RECORDS ACT OF 1992
MHFNO: 92-7827323 SENSIND: PAGE: 1
STAFF
INFO: C/ORMO, CICEDC, CIDORECORD, DOCHRONO, DOOPS, CONF: CIC/CEX-3 MDSX, ODPD, ORMS/CI, FILE, C/CIC, CE/RBI, CED/CIC, CETF/W-5, CETF/W/BAL, CIC/CEG, CIC/CEI, CIC/CLFL, CIC/EOB, CIC/ISB, CIC/OG-4, CIC/PRB, CIC/TA, DC/CE, DC/CIC, DDO-2 (28/P) 92 7827323 ASR PAGE 001 DIRECTOR 324829 TOT: 041754Z APR 92
STAFF 0417542 DIRECTOR 324829 TO: * VILNIUS.
FROM: CIC/CEX INFO CIC/PRB, CETF/W/BAL.
SLUGS: WNINTEL TAZZACEX LWOPUS
SUBJECT: WASHINGTON TIMES ARTICLE RE KGB OFFER TO HOLLYWOOD REF: A. DIRECTOR 283424 (92 7575137) B. VILNIUS 10599 (92 7801082) C. VILNIUS 10578 (92 7735236) TEXT:
-
FYI.
-
ACTION REQUIRED: FOLLOWING ARTICLE APPEARED IN THE 27 MARCH EDITION OF THE "WASHINGTON TIMES:" "THE KGB SPIES WHO CAME IN FOR THE GOLD "MOSCOW: ON THE 'STREET OF TRUTH,' RETIRED KGB SECRET AGENTS CAME TO TELL ALL.
"WITH NO HINT OF SHAME, THE COLD WAR SPY MASTERS
SAID THEIR MEMOIRS CAN BE HAD FOR CASH-ON EVERYTHING
FROM
"'THE IDEA THAT ALL PEOPLE WHO ENGAGE IN ESPIONAGE ARE VERY RICH IS SIMPLY NOT TRUE, SAID ANATOLY PRIVALOV, VICE CHAIRMAN OF THE ASSOCIATION OF KGB VETERANS OF FOREIGN ESPIONAGE, OR FIVA, AS THE RUSSIANS CALL IT.
"MR. PRIVALOV AND THREE COLLEAGUES FROM THE ELITE OF KGB ESPIONAGE CAME NOT OUT OF THE COLD BUT OUT OF THE RAIN WEDNESDAY TO THE OFFICES OF KOMSOMOLSKAYA PRAVDA ON ULITSA PRAVDA (TRUTH STREET).
"THEY TOLD REPORTS OF THEIR PLANS TO ENTER THE CAPITALIST WORLD THAT THEY TRIED TO VERY HARD TO
13-00000
MHFNO 92-7827323 SENSIND
PAGE: 2 UNDERMINE DURING THEIR CLOAK-AND-DAGGER DAYS.
"FEAR OF POVERTY HAD SPURRED THE RETIRED SPIES TO SIGN UP WITH THE HOLLYWOOD FIRM ENTERTAINMENT AND COMMUNICATIONS HOLDINGS ASSOCIATION TO PEDDLE THEIR INSIDE HISTORY OF THE COLD WAR FOR FILMS, MINISERIES AND DOCUDRAMAS.
"'DUE TO THE PRESENT CONFUSION IN OUR COUNTRY, MANY OF THE VETERANS ARE IN A VERY DIFFICULT (FINANCIAL) SITUATION, MR. PRIVALOV SAID.
"OLEG NECHIPERENKO, A 25-YEAR KGB VETERAN, SAID HIS
FORTHCOMING BOOK WILL GIVE DETAILS OF HIS TWO MEETINGS
WITH LEE HARVEY OSWALD>IN MEXICO CITY TWO MONTHS BEFORE
OSWALD SHOT
"THE OSWALD MEETINGS TOOK PLACE SEPT. 27-28, 1963, ON THE INITIATIVE OF OSWALD, SAID MR. NECHIPERENKO, THEN KGB STATION CHIEF IN MEXICO CITY.
"'HIS MOOD WAS BAD, SAID MR. NECHIPERENKO.
"BUT, HE TEASED, THE OSWALD HE MET IN MEXICO CITY WAS THE SAME ONE WHO WAS IN DALLAS.
"ANOTHER NECHIPERENKO TIDBIT: TWO OTHER KGB MEN WERE PRESENT AT THE INTERVIEW AND AN OPERATIVE IN MOSCOW WAS KEPT ABREAST OF THE DISCUSSIONS.
"EXHIBITING FAMILIARITY WITH OLIVER STONE'S MOVIE <'JFK, '>MR. NECHIPERENKO SAID HE WOULD AGREE WITH SOME OF THE CONCLUSIONS OF JAMES GARRISON, BUT ONLY BASED ON THE FORMER NEW ORLEANS DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S BOOK, NOT ON ANY EVIDENCE.
"IF HE HAD THE DOCUMENTS, MR. NECHIPERENKO SAID, HE COULD GIVE A BETTER VERDICT. OF COURSE, NO TALK OF SUCH AN ASSASSINATION>TOOK PLACE IN MEXICO CITY AND THERE WAS NO ENCOURAGEMENT OF SUCH A DEED, HE SAID.
"MR. NECHIPERENKO HAS BEEN TROTTED OUT BEFORE BY THE KGB ALONG WITH YURI MODIN, THE HANDLER OF KIM PHILBY, THE BRITISH MASTER SPY WHO WORKED FOR THE SOVIETS. PHILBY DIED IN MOSCOW IN 1988.
"THE NEW FACE SHOWN WEDNESDAY WAS ANATOLY YAZKOV, CODE-NAMED 'YAKOVLEV' IN HIS WORLD WAR II YEARS IN AMERICA WHEN HE HELPED RUN THE SPY RING THAT GAVE JOSEF STALIN THE ATOM BOMB. IT WAS ONE OF THE MOST SUCCESSFUL ESPIONAGE PENETRATIONS IN HISTORY.
"BUT MR. YAZKOV, BEYOND ADMITTING THAT HE WORKED OUT OF THE RUSSIAN CONSULATE AT 7 E. 61ST ST. IN NEW YORK CITY, ACROSS FROM THE HOTEL PIERRE, WAS SINGULARLY
13-00000
MHFNO 92-7827323 SENSIND PAGE: 3 RETICENT.
"ASKED IF JULIUS AND ETHEL ROSENBERG, WHO WERE EXECUTED IN 1953 FOR PASSING ATOMIC SECRETS, WERE INDEED GUILTY, MR. YAZKOV SAID HE PREFERRED 'NOT TO TALK ABOUT PEOPLE WHO TOOK PART IN THIS OR MIGHT HAVE TAKEN PART IN THIS.
"IT WAS NOT THE BEST ADVERTISEMENT FOR HIS FORTHCOMING WORK.
"WHEN ASKED IF HE MISSED THE COLD WAR, MR. YAZKOV REPLIED, THANK GOD THAT IT IS OVER.'
"UNCONTRITE, HE INSISTED HE WAS 'NOT SPYING AGAINST AMERICA, BUT IN SUPPORT OF THE SOVIET UNION IN ORDER TO BALANCE THE TWO POWERS.'
"ABOUT 5,000 FORMER KGB OPERATIVES ARE MEMBERS OF THE ASSOCIATION.
"'WHEN A PERSON LEAVES HIS POST, HE IS LEFT ALL ALONE, SAID MR. PRIVALOV, A 42-YEAR KGB VETERAN. 'SO IN ORDER THAT PEOPLE WILL NOT FEEL THEMSELVES ABANDONED, WE DECIDED TO UNITE AND TO ORGANIZE A CLUB WHERE VETERANS COULD COME TO RELAX, TO DRINK A BEER OR A WHISKEY, AS THE ASSOCIATION OF THE CIA DOES.
"INSTEAD OF FEELING SORRY FOR THEMSELVES, THE FORMER CLOAK-AND-DAGGER MEN WILL WORK ON A FILM ABOUT THE ATOM BOMB SPY RING; A TV MINISERIES ABOUT U.S. NAVY EMPLOYEE GLENN MICHAEL SOUTHER, A SOVIET SPY WHO COMMITTED SUICIDE IN MOSCOW IN 1989; AND A DOCUMENTARY ON OSWALD'S BIZARRE RELATIONSHIP WITH THE KGB.
"DOCUDRAMAS ON THE ASSASSINATION OF LEON TROTSKY AND THE CASE OF NATO OFFICIAL ROBERT LEE JOHNSON, KNOWN AS 'THE AMERICAN KIM PHILBY, ARE ALSO PLANNED." B. FOR THE RECORD, WE HAVE NOTED THAT SOME SIMILAR THREADS RUN THROUGH BOTH THIS ARTICLE AND THE LWOPUS CASE. A. THE TIMING OF THE OFFER BY THE FIVA GROUP ON WEDNESDAY, 25 MARCH, FALLS DIRECTLY INTO THE MIDDLE OF THE WINDOW ESTABLISHED BY LWOPUS (24-26 MARCH). ALSO, LWOPUS NOTED THAT IF THERE WERE ANY DOUBTS ABOUT GETTING THE MANUSCRIPT-ACROSS THE LITHUANIAN BORDER, HE WOULD RESORT TO A RESERVE VARIANT BUT WITH THE PARTICIPATION OF OTHER PARTIES, I.E., HE WOULD APPROACH SOMEONE ELSE.
B. LWOPUS SENT A SAMPLE OF HIS WORK TO US NOT FOR PUBLICATION BUT FOR A CRITICAL READING. HE STATED THAT IF A PUBLISHING HOUSE SHOWED INTEREST IN HIS MANUSCRIPT AGREEMENT
13-00000-
MHFNO 92-7827323 SENSIND PAGE: 4 COULD BE REACHED REGARDING JOINT ACTIONS AND MUTUAL LEGAL COMMITMENTS - ALTHOUGH MONETARY-COMPENSATION_IS_IMPLIED.- LWOPUS DOES NOT MENTION ANY SPECIFIC SUM, RATHER HE SUGGESTS THAT HE IS WILLING TO ENTER INTO SOME SORT OF CONTRACTUAL AGREEMENT. THIS IS COMPATIBLE WITH WHAT THE FIVA GROUP APPEARS TO BE ATTEMPTING. THE FIVA GROUP STATES IN NO UNCERTAIN TERMS THAT THEY NEED MONEY. C. IN EACH CASE THERE APPEARS TO BE A LARGE VOLUME OF MATERIAL. LWOPUS STATED THAT UP TO NOW HE HAS PREPARED SEVEN FOLDERS ON FOURTEEN COUNTRIES AND FORESEES WRITING 22- 25 SMALL BOOKS OR EPISODES ON DIFFERENT COUNTRIES. THE FIVA GROUP ALSO IMPLIES THAT A LARGE VOLUME OF MATERIAL EXISTS. LWOPUS CLAIMS THAT HIS WRITINGS WERE BASED ONLY ON DOCUMENTARY SOURCES. THE FIVA GROUP MAKES NO SUCH CLAIM, BUT IMPLIES THAT THEIR MATERIAL IS FROM PERSONAL KNOWLEDGE. D. BASED UPON THE GEOGRAPHIC DIVERSITY OF THE MATERIAL AND THE TIME SPAN IT ENCOMPASSES, WE SUSPECT THE LWOPUS MANUSCRIPT MIGHT BE A JOINT EFFORT. IF IT IS NOT A JOINT EFFORT, COLLECTION MUST HAVE BEEN GOING ON FOR A LONG TIME BY SOMEONE WITH EXCELLENT ACCESS TO ARCHIVAL MATERIAL. THE FIVA GROUP IS A COMMON EFFORT OF AT LEAST FOUR (AND PROBABLY MORE) RETIRED KGB OFFICERS. Ε. LWOPUS NOTED THAT HE IS CONCERNED FOR HIS SAFETY AND THAT OF HIS FAMILY. HIS FAILURE TO SHOW AT THE EMBASSY IN VILNIUS DURING THE WINDOW MIGHT BE THE RESULT OF HIS CONCERN. AMBASSADOR JOHNSON STATED THAT HE HAD ALREADY ALERTED THE EMBASSY, INCLUDING THE LITHUANIAN FSN IN HIS OFFICE, THAT THEY SHOULD BE ALERT FOR THE RETURN OF THE LWOPUS MESSENGER. IF LWOPUS BECAME AWARE THAT THE LITHUANIAN EMPLOYEE HAD BEEN TOLD TO WATCH FOR THE MESSENGER, HE MAY HAVE ELECTED NOT TO RETURN. IN SUCH CASE, ASSUMING THAT YURASOV IS CONNECTED WITH THE FIVA GROUP, THEIR OFFER TO THE HOLLYWOOD FIRM MAY BE AN ALTERNATE PLAN. F. IN EACH CASE, THE MATERIAL PRESENTED WOULD HAVE APPEAL FOR THE GROUP TO WHICH IT IS OFFERED, I.E. THE OFFER TO US OF INTELLIGENCE RELATED SNIPPETS REGARDING IN-PLACE AGENTS VS THE OFFER TO THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY OF THE MORE SPECTACULAR CASES THAT WOULD APPEAL TO A MASS AUDIENCE. G. THE NAME OF YAZKOV (TRUE ΝΑΜΕ ΑΝΑΤTOLIY YAKOVLEV) IS SIMILAR TO YURASOV. ALTHOUGH IT IS CERTAINLY NOT TRUE IN EVERY CASE, THE FORMER SOVIETS FREQUENTLY USED COVER NAMES SIMILAR TO OR WHICH HAD THE SAME FIRST LETTER AS THEIR OWN NAME. HLWOPUS IS OBVIOUSLY HEDGING HIS BETS. HE ALSO- MENTIONED THAT HE HAD MADE TWO PREVIOUS_UNSUCCESSFUL ATTEMPTS
13-00000.
MHFNO 92-7827323 SENSIND PAGE: 5 TO CONTACT US. ALTHOUGH WE HAVE BEEN UNABLE TO CONFIRM EITHER OF THESE-ATTEMPTS, IT-FS-NOTEWORTHY-THAT-THE-MANUSCRIPT-HE- PROVIDED TO US WAS A CARBON. BASED ON THE QUALITY, WE BELIEVE THAT IT WAS NOT CARBON NUMBER ONE.
- WE ARE CURRENTLY CHECKING THE FILES OF THE FOUR FIVA OFFICERS TO ASCERTAIN WHETHER THEIR BACKGROUNDS MIGHT OFFER THEM ACCESS TO THE SAME INFORMATION THAT LWOPUS PROVIDED. WE ALSO PLAN TO COMPARE THE MATERIAL WE RECEIVED FROM LWOPUS TO SEE IF THE FILES OF THESE FOUR OFFICERS INDICATE THAT THEY HAD CONTACTS SIMILAR TO ANY OF THOSE MENTIONED IN THE LWOPUS MATERIAL.
- WE WILL ADVISE YOU OF THE RESULTS OF OUR RESEARCH.
WELCOME VILNIUS COMMENTS.
- FILE: 201-1478016. DECL OADR DRV HUM 4-82.> ORIG CIC/CEX (BORGRINK); COORD: C/CIC/CEG (ROBINSON), C/CIC/PRB (BANNERMAN), CETF/W/BAL (MILLER) ; AUTH: C/CIC/CEX (SANDERS); REL: C/CETF/W (MORRIS). END OF MESSAGE CL BY 0710601.