Michael Goleniewski
Encyclopedia
Michael Goleniewski a.k.a. 'SNIPER', 'LAVINIA', (16 August 1922 - 12 July 1993), was a Polish
officer in the People's Republic of Poland
's Ministry Of Public Security, the deputy head of military counterintelligence GZI WP, later head of the technical and scientific section of the Polish intelligence,
and a spy
for the Soviet government
during the 1950s. In 1959, he became a triple-agent, giving Polish and Soviet secrets to the Central Intelligence Agency
, which directly caused the exposure of George Blake
and Harry Houghton
. Goleniewski defected to the US in 1961. He later claimed to be Tsarevich Alexei Nikolaevich of Russia
.
. He enlisted in the Polish Army in 1945 and was commissioned a lieutenant colonel in the Polish Army in 1955. He studied law at the University of Poznan and received a master's degree in political science from the University of Warsaw
in 1956. He said he was head of the Technical and Scientific Department of the Polish Secret Service from 1957 to 1960. At the same time, he was spying on Polish intelligence operations for the Soviet Union
.
In early 1959, Goleniewski became a triple-agent, anonymously providing the Central Intelligence Agency
with Polish and Soviet secrets, by letter. The CIA gave him the code-name 'SNIPER', MI5
gave him 'LAVINIA'. In April 1959, the CIA informed MI5
that SNIPER (his real name was still unknown) had said the Urząd Bezpieczeństwa had a British informant inside the Royal Navy
. This person was later found to be Harry Houghton
. The CIA also told MI5 that SNIPER / Goleniewski had received top secret documents originating from a Soviet mole inside MI6. The mole himself (who later turned out to be George Blake
) heard the news that the CIA had a top-level informant in Poland, and sent word back to the KGB
, who passed it to the UB. Goleniewski heard the news from the KGB, and immediately escaped. He also provided information that led to the arrests of American diplomat Irvin C. Scarbeck
, Swedish Air Force
officer Stig Wennerström, and KGB penetrations of the BND
, Heinz Felfe
and Hans Clemens
.
He defected to the United States
in January 1961, which led to the imprisonment of Soviet agents in Britain including the Portland Spy Ring
and George Blake
. Goleniewski went to work for the CIA, and the Polish government sentenced him to death in absentia. A private bill
, H.R. 5507, was introduced in the U.S. Congress in July 1963 to make Goleniewski a US citizen. The legislation was passed by both the United States House of Representatives
and the United States Senate
.
, one of the assassins, saved the family and helped them to escape. The whole family supposedly traveled to Poland via Turkey
, Greece
, and Austria
. According to his story, the family lived in hiding in Poland. As author Guy Richards (one of Goleniewski's supporters) has pointed out, he was not the first Tsarevich Alexei claimant to emerge from Poland; several decades earlier, in 1927, a pretender named Eugene Nicolaievich Ivanoff
had appeared from the same part of that country and generated a brief flurry of publicity in Europe and North America.
Tsarevich Alexei, who was born in August 1904, was a haemophiliac. Goleniewski, whose identity card gave his date of birth as 1922, making him eighteen years younger than the Tsarevich, claimed that the haemophilia made him appear younger than he really was and he had been "twice a child." He claimed that his haemophilia had been confirmed by Dr. Alexander S. Wiener
, who had co-discovered the Rh factor
in human blood. This claim was never confirmed.
He met one of the Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia
claimants, Eugenia Smith
, in 1963. The meeting was covered by Life magazine. Goleniewski claimed that Smith was his sister Anastasia. Smith also recognized Goleniewski as her brother Alexei, even though she had claimed in her book that she had been the sole survivor at Ekaterinburg.
Goleniewski's claim was an embarrassment to the CIA. He was put on a pension and his employment with the agency was ended in 1964.
In 1942 Wehrmacht
soldiers transiting through Lemberg
were told that near the town of Radom
an old Polish landowner named Goleniewski lived on a large estate guarded by the SS and that he was in fact Tsar Nicholas II.
for mistreating him. Few believed his claim.
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
officer in the People's Republic of Poland
People's Republic of Poland
The People's Republic of Poland was the official name of Poland from 1952 to 1990. Although the Soviet Union took control of the country immediately after the liberation from Nazi Germany in 1944, the name of the state was not changed until eight years later...
's Ministry Of Public Security, the deputy head of military counterintelligence GZI WP, later head of the technical and scientific section of the Polish intelligence,
and a spy
SPY
SPY is a three-letter acronym that may refer to:* SPY , ticker symbol for Standard & Poor's Depositary Receipts* SPY , a satirical monthly, trademarked all-caps* SPY , airport code for San Pédro, Côte d'Ivoire...
for the Soviet government
Government of the Soviet Union
The Council of Ministers of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was the de jure government comprising the highest executive and administrative body of the Soviet Union from 1946 until 1991....
during the 1950s. In 1959, he became a triple-agent, giving Polish and Soviet secrets to the Central Intelligence Agency
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
, which directly caused the exposure of George Blake
George Blake
George Blake is a former British spy known for having been a double agent in the service of the Soviet Union. Discovered in 1961 and sentenced to 42 years in prison, he escaped from Wormwood Scrubs prison in 1966 and fled to the USSR...
and Harry Houghton
Harry Houghton
Harry Houghton was a spy for the People's Republic of Poland and the USSR during the Cold War. He was a member of the Portland Spy Ring.-Early life:...
. Goleniewski defected to the US in 1961. He later claimed to be Tsarevich Alexei Nikolaevich of Russia
Tsarevich Alexei Nikolaevich of Russia
Alexei Nikolaevich of the House of Romanov, was the Tsesarevich and heir apparent to the throne of the Russian Empire. In English, his title is usually given as Tsarevich, a title that has a separate meaning in Russia. Alexei was the youngest child and only son of Emperor Nicholas II and Empress...
.
Early life and espionage career
Goleniewski was born in 1922 in Nieswiez, then in Poland, now BelarusBelarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
. He enlisted in the Polish Army in 1945 and was commissioned a lieutenant colonel in the Polish Army in 1955. He studied law at the University of Poznan and received a master's degree in political science from the University of Warsaw
University of Warsaw
The University of Warsaw is the largest university in Poland and one of the most prestigious, ranked as best Polish university in 2010 and 2011...
in 1956. He said he was head of the Technical and Scientific Department of the Polish Secret Service from 1957 to 1960. At the same time, he was spying on Polish intelligence operations for the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
.
In early 1959, Goleniewski became a triple-agent, anonymously providing the Central Intelligence Agency
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
with Polish and Soviet secrets, by letter. The CIA gave him the code-name 'SNIPER', MI5
MI5
The Security Service, commonly known as MI5 , is the United Kingdom's internal counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its core intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service focused on foreign threats, Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence...
gave him 'LAVINIA'. In April 1959, the CIA informed MI5
MI5
The Security Service, commonly known as MI5 , is the United Kingdom's internal counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its core intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service focused on foreign threats, Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence...
that SNIPER (his real name was still unknown) had said the Urząd Bezpieczeństwa had a British informant inside the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
. This person was later found to be Harry Houghton
Harry Houghton
Harry Houghton was a spy for the People's Republic of Poland and the USSR during the Cold War. He was a member of the Portland Spy Ring.-Early life:...
. The CIA also told MI5 that SNIPER / Goleniewski had received top secret documents originating from a Soviet mole inside MI6. The mole himself (who later turned out to be George Blake
George Blake
George Blake is a former British spy known for having been a double agent in the service of the Soviet Union. Discovered in 1961 and sentenced to 42 years in prison, he escaped from Wormwood Scrubs prison in 1966 and fled to the USSR...
) heard the news that the CIA had a top-level informant in Poland, and sent word back to the KGB
KGB
The KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...
, who passed it to the UB. Goleniewski heard the news from the KGB, and immediately escaped. He also provided information that led to the arrests of American diplomat Irvin C. Scarbeck
Irvin C. Scarbeck
Irving C. Scarbeck was a U.S. State Department official who was convicted of giving information to Polish UB during the Cold War, after he became involved in a romantic affair with a Polish woman and was blackmailed by Polish intelligence agents. His case was the first prosecution under Title 50...
, Swedish Air Force
Swedish Air Force
The Swedish Air Force is the air force branch of the Swedish Armed Forces.-History:The Swedish Air Force was created on July 1, 1926 when the aircraft units of the Army and Navy were merged. Because of the escalating international tension during the 1930s the Air Force was reorganized and expanded...
officer Stig Wennerström, and KGB penetrations of the BND
Bundesnachrichtendienst
The Bundesnachrichtendienst [ˌbʊndəsˈnaːχʁɪçtnˌdiːnst] is the foreign intelligence agency of Germany, directly subordinated to the Chancellor's Office. Its headquarters are in Pullach near Munich, and Berlin . The BND has 300 locations in Germany and foreign countries...
, Heinz Felfe
Heinz Felfe
Heinz Paul Johann Felfe was a German national who was a former SS Obersturmführer , who worked for the Bundesnachrichtendienst , after the Second World...
and Hans Clemens
Hans Clemens
Johannes Max Clemens was a German functionary of respectively the SS, Sicherheitsdienst was primarily the intelligence service of the SS and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany...
.
He defected to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in January 1961, which led to the imprisonment of Soviet agents in Britain including the Portland Spy Ring
Portland Spy Ring
The Portland Spy Ring was a Soviet spy ring that operated in England from the late 1950s till 1961 when the core of the network was arrested by the British security services. It is one of the most famous examples of the use of illegal residents — spies who operate in a foreign country but...
and George Blake
George Blake
George Blake is a former British spy known for having been a double agent in the service of the Soviet Union. Discovered in 1961 and sentenced to 42 years in prison, he escaped from Wormwood Scrubs prison in 1966 and fled to the USSR...
. Goleniewski went to work for the CIA, and the Polish government sentenced him to death in absentia. A private bill
Private bill
A private bill is a proposal for a law that would apply to a particular individual or group of individuals, or corporate entity. If enacted, it becomes a private Act . This is unlike public bills which apply to everyone within their jurisdiction...
, H.R. 5507, was introduced in the U.S. Congress in July 1963 to make Goleniewski a US citizen. The legislation was passed by both the United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
and the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
.
Claim made that he was Tsarevich Alexei
Goleniewski later made the claim that he was Tsarevich Alexei Nikolaevich, who, by most accounts, was killed with his family by Bolsheviks at Ekaterinburg, Russia on 17 July 1918. Goleniewski claimed that Yakov YurovskyYakov Yurovsky
Yakov Mikhaylovich Yurovsky was an Old Bolshevik best known as the chief executioner of Russia's last Tsar, Nicholas II and his family in 1918, during the Russian Civil War.- Early life :...
, one of the assassins, saved the family and helped them to escape. The whole family supposedly traveled to Poland via Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
, and Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
. According to his story, the family lived in hiding in Poland. As author Guy Richards (one of Goleniewski's supporters) has pointed out, he was not the first Tsarevich Alexei claimant to emerge from Poland; several decades earlier, in 1927, a pretender named Eugene Nicolaievich Ivanoff
Eugene Nicolaievich Ivanoff
Eugene Nicolaievich Ivanoff of Poland, who claimed to be Tsarevich Alexei Romanov in the mid-1920s, was one of the first in a long line of Romanov impostors to emerge from various parts of the world following the execution of Tsar Nicholas II and his family at Yekaterinburg on July 17, 1918...
had appeared from the same part of that country and generated a brief flurry of publicity in Europe and North America.
Tsarevich Alexei, who was born in August 1904, was a haemophiliac. Goleniewski, whose identity card gave his date of birth as 1922, making him eighteen years younger than the Tsarevich, claimed that the haemophilia made him appear younger than he really was and he had been "twice a child." He claimed that his haemophilia had been confirmed by Dr. Alexander S. Wiener
Alexander S. Wiener
Alexander Solomon Wiener , a lifelong resident of New York City, was recognized internationally for his contributions to medicine. He was an outstanding leader in the fields of forensic medicine, serology, and immunogenetics. His pioneer work led to discovery of the Rh factor in 1937, along with Dr...
, who had co-discovered the Rh factor
Rhesus blood group system
The Rh blood group system is one of thirty current human blood group systems. Clinically, it is the most important blood group system after ABO. At Present, the Rh blood group system consists of 50 defined blood-group antigens, among which the 5 antigens D, C, c, E, and e are the most important...
in human blood. This claim was never confirmed.
He met one of the Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia
Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia
Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia was the youngest daughter of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, the last sovereign of Imperial Russia, and his wife Alexandra Fyodorovna....
claimants, Eugenia Smith
Eugenia Smith
Eugenia Smith, of Chicago, also known as Eugenia Drabek Smetisko, was one of several impostors who claimed to be Grand Duchess Anastasia of Russia. She is the author of the Autobiography of HIH Anastasia Nicholaevna of Russia , in which she claimed to be Anastasia...
, in 1963. The meeting was covered by Life magazine. Goleniewski claimed that Smith was his sister Anastasia. Smith also recognized Goleniewski as her brother Alexei, even though she had claimed in her book that she had been the sole survivor at Ekaterinburg.
Goleniewski's claim was an embarrassment to the CIA. He was put on a pension and his employment with the agency was ended in 1964.
In 1942 Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
soldiers transiting through Lemberg
Lviv
Lviv is a city in western Ukraine. The city is regarded as one of the main cultural centres of today's Ukraine and historically has also been a major Polish and Jewish cultural center, as Poles and Jews were the two main ethnicities of the city until the outbreak of World War II and the following...
were told that near the town of Radom
Radom
Radom is a city in central Poland with 223,397 inhabitants . It is located on the Mleczna River in the Masovian Voivodeship , having previously been the capital of Radom Voivodeship ; 100 km south of Poland's capital, Warsaw.It is home to the biennial Radom Air Show, the largest and...
an old Polish landowner named Goleniewski lived on a large estate guarded by the SS and that he was in fact Tsar Nicholas II.
Claim to the Romanov fortune
Goleniewski had such detailed information about alleged Tsarist money that detailed investigations were done. It is not known how he obtained the information or how much of it is accurate. His claims are detailed in the books "Lost Fortune of the Tsars" by William Clarke, and "Hunt for the Czar" by Guy Richards. Richards writes in a way that seems to advance Goleniewski's claim.Marriage
Goleniewski married his pregnant girlfriend, Ingrid Kampf, on 30 September 1964, using the name Alexei Romanov. Their daughter Tatiana was born a few hours later. The marriage later broke up.Later life
Goleniewski lived the remainder of his life in Queens, New York, still claiming that he was Tsarevich Alexei. He leveled accusations against the government and the Russian Orthodox ChurchRussian Orthodox Church
The Russian Orthodox Church or, alternatively, the Moscow Patriarchate The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide—about half of the 300 million...
for mistreating him. Few believed his claim.
See also
- Ryszard KuklinskiRyszard KuklinskiRyszard Jerzy Kukliński was a Polish colonel, Cold War spy and whistleblower. He passed top secret Warsaw Pact documents to the CIA between 1971 and 1981...
- Romuald SpasowskiRomuald SpasowskiF. Romuald Spasowski , once an ardent Communist and Poland's ambassador to the United States, is best known for having defected at the height of the Solidarity crisis in 1981.-Early life:...
- Józef Światło
- Romanov impostors
- List of Eastern Bloc defectors
- Goleniewski vs Anatoli Golitsyn at: http://ernie1241.googlepages.com/golitsyn