Mikhail Mukasei
Encyclopedia
Mikhail Isaakovich Mukasei (August 13, 1907, Zamosc, Slutsky district, Minsk Province, Russian Empire (now Slutsky District, Belarus) – August 19, 2008) was a Soviet
spy
codenamed Zephyr.
to study at the Intelligence School of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army.
In 1939 Mukasei, his wife Elizaveta Ivanovna Mukasei
(née Emelianov, 1912–2009) and two children, moved to Los Angeles (USA) and began gathering military intelligence. His parents and other members of his family along with other Jews in the village of Zamosc were shot by Germans at the beginning of World War II. In 1943 Mukasei, his wife and children returned to Moscow and he was appointed deputy head of the Intelligence School.
From the 1940s through the 1970s, Mukasei, along with his wife Elizaveta (codenamed Elza), took part in a number of undercover operations in Western Europe and the United States.
Assigned to the Soviet diplomatic staff in the United States
during the Second World War
as vice consul in Los Angeles
, Mukasei made use of his position to gather information on any threats to the Soviet Union posed by Imperial Japan. He continued his work in an undisclosed country in Western Europe
from the 1950s to the late 1970s.
In 1977 Mukasei and his family returned to Moscow and began training spies. He wrote training manuals for reconnaissance work and was a professor at the Russian Academy of Security, Defense and Law Enforcement. In December, 2004, Mukasei published a book of their memoirs called Zephyr and Elsa in which they wrote about their thirty years of work and life abroad.
In the post-Soviet period, Mukasei was honored for his "outstanding contribution to ensuring the security of the Russian Federation."
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....
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...
codenamed Zephyr.
Biography
Mikhai Mukasei was born to a family of Jewish blacksmiths. When he was 18, he started studying at the Institute of Oriental Languages in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg, Russia) specializing in Bengali and English. In 1937 he was ordered by the Communist Party of the Soviet UnionCommunist Party of the Soviet Union
The Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the only legal, ruling political party in the Soviet Union and one of the largest communist organizations in the world...
to study at the Intelligence School of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army.
In 1939 Mukasei, his wife Elizaveta Ivanovna Mukasei
Elizaveta Mukasei
Lt. Col. Elizaveta Mukasei was a Soviet spy codenamed Elza. Along with her husband Mikhail Mukasei , she took part in a number of undercover operations in Western Europe and the United States from the 1940s through to the 1970s. She died on September 19, 2009 in Moscow...
(née Emelianov, 1912–2009) and two children, moved to Los Angeles (USA) and began gathering military intelligence. His parents and other members of his family along with other Jews in the village of Zamosc were shot by Germans at the beginning of World War II. In 1943 Mukasei, his wife and children returned to Moscow and he was appointed deputy head of the Intelligence School.
From the 1940s through the 1970s, Mukasei, along with his wife Elizaveta (codenamed Elza), took part in a number of undercover operations in Western Europe and the United States.
Assigned to the Soviet diplomatic staff in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
during the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
as vice consul in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, Mukasei made use of his position to gather information on any threats to the Soviet Union posed by Imperial Japan. He continued his work in an undisclosed country in Western Europe
Western Europe
Western Europe is a loose term for the collection of countries in the western most region of the European continents, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a geographic entity—the region lying in the...
from the 1950s to the late 1970s.
In 1977 Mukasei and his family returned to Moscow and began training spies. He wrote training manuals for reconnaissance work and was a professor at the Russian Academy of Security, Defense and Law Enforcement. In December, 2004, Mukasei published a book of their memoirs called Zephyr and Elsa in which they wrote about their thirty years of work and life abroad.
In the post-Soviet period, Mukasei was honored for his "outstanding contribution to ensuring the security of the Russian Federation."