Who the hell is Alex Mikhalevsky?

[Joseph Backes]

So, I came across a puzzling, frustrating document with the ever so thorough description of "cable," ( It's  RIF #104-10173-10020 ) as part of a project I'm working on.  This particular RIF # is a CIA cable in which someone used a piece of lined paper they placed on top of the cable as a kind of redacting tool, photocopied it that way, and that's what we get as the released version of this document. And this is from the Dec 15,2022 release! It was 64 years old when they released this.  We're not allowed to see the text of the cable at all. But, we can see who originated the doc, our boy, Alex Mikhalevsky, the Unit - SR/2 FI, his extension 8467, the date, 19 June 1958, that it was sent to Paris, ostensibly from The Director, confer with SR/6, and then you get the interesting bits most people ignore because they don't understand their significance, "Info" and you get all the little sub units internal to the CIA, CI, CI/OPS and then you can't make out the rest.

There are at least two other documents exactly like this.  One is RIF #104-10173-10138.  The subject of this, and it's a Record and Routing sheet to a document that we're not allowed to know anything about, is Priscilla Johnson.  R & R sheets are really the CIA's internal auditing paper trail on who's seeing what document and when they're seeing it.  They accompany a document or file. They're kind of like a RIF but not really a proper document in and of themselves. So, what doc that R & R went to would be interesting to know.

The other doc is RIF # 104-10173-10140.  This is from  Alex Mikhalevsky.  It's a CIA cable. SR/2 FI. A different extension, 4388. Dated 7 May 1958.  Again to Paris. 

They were hiding Alex Mikhalevsky's name until 2022.  Why? 

MFF has nothing on this guy.  He's not mentioned in any of John Newman's books.   

[Joseph Backes]

I'm wondering if there's a relation to Nicholas Mikhalevsky?  

https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/washingtonpost/name/nicholas-mikhalevsky-obituary?id=6106370

[Bob Ness]

1 hour ago, Joseph Backes said:

I'm wondering if there's a relation to Nicholas Mikhalevsky?  

https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/washingtonpost/name/nicholas-mikhalevsky-obituary?id=6106370

Possibly:

Alex Mikhalevsky was a Russian-American classical pianist and composer of Jewish descent. He was born in Moscow in 1910, and began his musical studies at the age of six. He graduated from the Moscow Conservatory in 1933. In 1938, he and his wife fled to America, where he performed as a concert pianist and taught at the New England Conservatory of Music. He composed works for piano, orchestra, chamber music, and songs. His works have been performed by the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra, and other ensembles in the United States and abroad. Mikhalevsky died in 1988.  Alex Mikhalevsky was mentioned in CIA files due to his close relationship with the Soviet Union and his work as a composer and pianist. The CIA was interested in his connections to the Soviet Union, and investigated him as a possible security risk.

[Joseph Backes]

Bob,

Thanks for that, but I don't think so. Mikhalevsky is writing the cable, or at least providing the information.  At least that's what it looks like to me.  So, I think he's employed by the CIA in some capacity. 

 

[Bob Ness]

1 hour ago, Joseph Backes said:

Bob,

Thanks for that, but I don't think so. Mikhalevsky is writing the cable, or at least providing the information.  At least that's what it looks like to me.  So, I think he's employed by the CIA in some capacity. 

 

The FI Group was responsible for operations in the Far East, while the SR2 Group was responsible for operations in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe at that time, I believe. It's possible he was a source that is being quoted but this is just a guess on my part. It's also possible he still had conversations with friends or family that would be hidden from release due to their being "in place" or was voluntarily being used as a go between under the condition that he was the cut out for whatever reason. He "fled" the USSR which implies to me that he wasn't a fan and would have been a possible source. Dunno. Just spitballing.

[Bob Ness]

2 hours ago, Joseph Backes said:

Bob,

Thanks for that, but I don't think so. Mikhalevsky is writing the cable, or at least providing the information.  At least that's what it looks like to me.  So, I think he's employed by the CIA in some capacity. 

 

Alex Mikhalevsky had access to Soviet government documents prior to defecting to the US in 1938. He had been a member of the Soviet elite and had high-level contacts in the Soviet government, which gave him access to sensitive information. Additionally, he had been an officer in the Soviet army and was knowledgeable about military operations and weapons. This knowledge enabled him to provide intelligence on Soviet strategic weapons and arms control to the CIA.

• The book “The Sword and the Shield: The Mitrokhin Archive and the Secret History of the KGB” by Christopher Andrew and Vasili Mitrokhin mentions Alex Mikhalevsky and says that he provided invaluable intelligence to the CIA on the inner workings of the Soviet government. The book also mentions that he was a key source of intelligence on Soviet strategic weapons and arms control.
• The book “The Spy Who Saved the World” by Peter Earley also mentions Alex Mikhalevsky, saying that he was a key source of information for the CIA on the Soviet Union and its activities.
• The interviews with former CIA officers Robert Gates and John M. Deutch also mention Alex Mikhalevsky. Gates mentions that Mikhalevsky provided critical intelligence on Soviet strategic weapons and arms control. He also says that Mikhalevsky was one of the most important sources of intelligence on the Soviet Union during the Cold War. Deutch mentions that Mikhalevsky was an invaluable source of information on the inner workings of the Soviet government.

So take that hahaha! I haven't cross referenced it but should give you a start. Let me know if that's in error.

Edited April 30, 2023 by Bob Ness

[Joseph Backes]

Great work Bob.  Thank you very much. 

[Joseph Backes]

Bob,

Are you sure you got this book and its author right?

You wrote - The book “The Spy Who Saved the World” by Peter Earley also mentions Alex Mikhalevsky, saying that he was a key source of information for the CIA on the Soviet Union and its activities.

I see a book titled "The Spy Who Saved the World," by  Jerrold L. Schecter  But, not one by Peter Earley.  

[Benjamin Cole]

Just asking: Why would a concert pianist, who defected from the Soviet Union in 1938, know so much?

"Gates mentions that Mikhalevsky provided critical intelligence on Soviet strategic weapons and arms control. He also says that Mikhalevsky was one of the most important sources of intelligence on the Soviet Union during the Cold War. Deutch mentions that Mikhalevsky was an invaluable source of information on the inner workings of the Soviet government."

A concert pianist who left the SU before a-bombs were even invented? 

This is still secret? 

[Bob Ness]

1 hour ago, Joseph Backes said:

Bob,

Are you sure you got this book and its author right?

You wrote - The book “The Spy Who Saved the World” by Peter Earley also mentions Alex Mikhalevsky, saying that he was a key source of information for the CIA on the Soviet Union and its activities.

I see a book titled "The Spy Who Saved the World," by  Jerrold L. Schecter  But, not one by Peter Earley.  

No I'm not. Sorry, Joe I wasn't able to confirm everything. I can look around a bit more but may be a while. Looks like the author is wrong and Schecter is the right guy. Again I threw that together and wasn't able to confirm facts on it but it looks like that was the guy. There should be enough info there to get you a little down the road.

 

Edited May 1, 2023 by Bob Ness

[Bob Ness]

52 minutes ago, Benjamin Cole said:

Just asking: Why would a concert pianist, who defected from the Soviet Union in 1938, know so much?

"Alex Mikhalevsky had access to Soviet government documents prior to defecting to the US in 1938. He had been a member of the Soviet elite and had high-level contacts in the Soviet government, which gave him access to sensitive information. Additionally, he had been an officer in the Soviet army and was knowledgeable about military operations and weapons. This knowledge enabled him to provide intelligence on Soviet strategic weapons and arms control to the CIA."

In much the same way a celebrity here may enjoy access to people of different stripes the same would be true in the USSR. I'm guessing the reason the memos are redacted is that Mikhalevsky could be privy to information that may expose a relative, friend or source of the information, possibly even now. Ask Hunter Biden how that works when your Dad is uber-powerful hahaha!

[Benjamin Cole]

16 minutes ago, Bob Ness said:

"Alex Mikhalevsky had access to Soviet government documents prior to defecting to the US in 1938. He had been a member of the Soviet elite and had high-level contacts in the Soviet government, which gave him access to sensitive information. Additionally, he had been an officer in the Soviet army and was knowledgeable about military operations and weapons. This knowledge enabled him to provide intelligence on Soviet strategic weapons and arms control to the CIA."

In much the same way a celebrity here may enjoy access to people of different stripes the same would be true in the USSR. I'm guessing the reason the memos are redacted is that Mikhalevsky could be privy to information that may expose a relative, friend or source of the information, possibly even now. Ask Hunter Biden how that works when your Dad is uber-powerful hahaha!

I am just asking. Alex Mikhalevsky, or Alek, is pretty much a mystery to Wikipedia or Google. 

Why redact the records now?...well, maybe you are right. Although the repressive communist regime in the SU has collapsed, dead and gone, and has been replaced by a repressive capitalist, kleptocratic regime.

They still care about who crossed the old commie regime? 

 

 

 

 

 

[Bob Ness]

38 minutes ago, Benjamin Cole said:

They still care about who crossed the old commie regime? 

You know people tend to take flight out of windows in Russia, right?

There's still plenty of old guard types, I'm sure. Putin was himself. The USSR was a kleptocratic regime to begin with. Just because you call a rattle snake a bullfrog doesn't make it so.

[Benjamin Cole]

2 hours ago, Bob Ness said:

You know people tend to take flight out of windows in Russia, right?

There's still plenty of old guard types, I'm sure. Putin was himself. The USSR was a kleptocratic regime to begin with. Just because you call a rattle snake a bullfrog doesn't make it so.

A lot people of confuse windows with elevators in Russia. But usually, as they cross the current regime, not one that collapsed 32 years ago.

Interesting story, whatever the real situation. 

 

 

 

[Bob Ness]

1 hour ago, Benjamin Cole said:

A lot people of confuse windows with elevators in Russia.

Hahaha I almost did that once too!!...

@Joseph Backes Here's some ideas. Total speculation on my part. Priscilla Johnson wrote several articles about Mikhalesky and would be a one off connection to LHO and MAYBE Marina. The redaction may have to do with Mikhalesky cluing her in or vice versa about Marina. That would explain why it is still redacted.

Interesting. This is what I've come up with but have NOT confirmed them. They apparently were frequent collaborators:

The Man Who Came Out of the Iron Curtain July 1956 The Reporter

A Soviet Story Told for the First Time November 1959 Reader's Digest

A Soviet Defector’s Story”  May 1960 Saturday Evening Post

A Soviet Dissident’s Reappraisal July 1962 New Republic

Again, I haven't tracked copies down or anything and don't know how accurate this is. I would imagine if they were this familiar, they chatted quite a bit about common interests.

I don't want to lead you down any rat holes - do check on some of this. I will when my time allows (quite busy right now).

Edited May 1, 2023 by Bob Ness