Historical Dictionary of Russian and Soviet Intelligence

Venona Code Name Real Name

Leslie Leona Cohen

Liberal/Antenna Julius Rosenberg

Lira Anna Louise Strong

Madchen (Maiden) Guy Burgess

Maksim Vasily Zarubin

Moliere John Carincross

Mlad (Youth) Ted Hall

Son Rudy Baker

Star (Old) Saville Sax

Probationers Agents

Polecats Zionists

Raymond Harry Gold

Rats Trotskyites

Richard Harry Dexter White

Rest Klaus Fuchs

Robert/Pal Nathan Silvermaster

Sohlchen (Little Son) Kim Philby

Tyre New York City

Vardo Elizaveta Zarubina

Volunteer Morris Cohen

Wasp Ruth Greenglass

The Soviet System of Encription

During the late 1930s, the Soviet Union had designed a sophisticated

method of securing its diplomatic communications. Messages were sent

by diplomatic pouch, shortwave radio, and international cable. While

longer messages and scientific samples could be sent by pouch, it often

took three months for them to reach Moscow from the United States.

Shortwave radio was seen as having limited viability; messages could

be intercepted and the discovery of a station alerted the host country’s

counterintelligence service that the Soviet services were active. Learn-

ing from the mistakes of the British and French, the NKVD used a com-

plex system to protect intelligence and diplomatic messages sent by in-

ternational cable.

For example, the NKVD rezidenturain New York had to send a mes-

sage to Moscow that Harry Gold (Gus) was traveling to New Mexico to

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