Reino Gikman
Encyclopedia
Reino Gikman was the alias used by an undercover agent for the Soviet KGB
who operated in Western Europe. Gikman used a Finnish passport
and spent several years in Finland
developing his illegal residence cover by posing as a Finn. The KGB
was able to create fake Finnish citizenships by inserting fake births into the church records with the help of a priest of the Finnish Orthodox Church
. Gikman's fake personality was however the result of the theft in 1952 of four registry books of church records from the Othodox repository in Kuopio
. He received his first Finnish passport at a Finnish embassy, before ever entering Finland. He moved to Finland in 1966, and held various jobs in Helsinki
in the 1960s, working among others in the Suomalainen Kirjakauppa bookstore. In 1968 he married a Martta Nieminen, a holder of a Finnish passport and also a suspected Soviet spy. Their son was born in Düsseldorf
in 1969.
From 1979 until his disappearance in June 1989 he was living in Vienna
, Austria
, and reportedly working for the United Nations
in Paris
A wiretapped telephone conversation on April 27, 1989, between Gikman and Felix Bloch
, a U.S. State Department official stationed in Vienna from 1980 to 1987, was the original cause of espionage suspicions on Bloch.
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 operated in Western Europe. Gikman used a Finnish passport
Passport
A passport is a document, issued by a national government, which certifies, for the purpose of international travel, the identity and nationality of its holder. The elements of identity are name, date of birth, sex, and place of birth....
and spent several years in Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
developing his illegal residence cover by posing as a Finn. 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...
was able to create fake Finnish citizenships by inserting fake births into the church records with the help of a priest of the Finnish Orthodox Church
Finnish Orthodox Church
The Finnish Orthodox Church is an autonomous Orthodox archdiocese of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. The Church has a legal position as a national church in the country, along with the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland....
. Gikman's fake personality was however the result of the theft in 1952 of four registry books of church records from the Othodox repository in Kuopio
Kuopio
Kuopio is a city and a municipality located in the region of Northern Savonia, Finland. A population of makes it the ninth biggest city in the country. The city has a total area of , of which is water and half forest...
. He received his first Finnish passport at a Finnish embassy, before ever entering Finland. He moved to Finland in 1966, and held various jobs in Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
in the 1960s, working among others in the Suomalainen Kirjakauppa bookstore. In 1968 he married a Martta Nieminen, a holder of a Finnish passport and also a suspected Soviet spy. Their son was born in Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...
in 1969.
From 1979 until his disappearance in June 1989 he was living in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, 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...
, and reportedly working for the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
A wiretapped telephone conversation on April 27, 1989, between Gikman and Felix Bloch
Felix Bloch (diplomatic officer)
Felix Bloch is a former director of European and Canadian Affairs in the US Department of State. He is known in connection with Robert Hanssen espionage case. Hanssen was a Soviet spy who reported to his KGB handlers about the ongoing FBI investigations of Felix Bloch and Reino Gikman to save both...
, a U.S. State Department official stationed in Vienna from 1980 to 1987, was the original cause of espionage suspicions on Bloch.
Trivia
- The choice of the surname Gikman in the planted fake birth certificate is peculiar. He is the only Finn ever to have the surname Gikman, and maybe the only person in the world with the surname. The web site ancestry.com reports one Gikman family living in the US in 1920, in the state of IndianaIndianaIndiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...