Alfred Tilton
Encyclopedia
Alfred Tilton was a Latvian who was head of Soviet Military Intelligence
(GRU) in the United States
in the late 1920s. He is best remembered for having recruited Latvian-American communist Nicholas Dozenberg
to work for the GRU late in 1927.
, Latvia
, then part of the Russian empire
. Tilton was the son of peasants of ethnic Latvian descent.
A well educated individual, Tilton eventually learned German, French, and English as well as Latvian and Russian.
Tilton graduated from the Alexseev Military College in 1916 and went to the front as a company commander in the Latvian 3rd Infantry Regiment, attaining the rank of Lieutenant. He also underwent machine gun
training in 1917.
Tilton joined the Russian Communist Party in 1918 and was a Brigade Commander in the Red Army
during the Russian Civil War
. Tilton was captured by the Poles during the 1920 invasion of Poland
and held as a prisoner of war
, eventually gaining his repatriation to Soviet Russia
in a February 1921 prisoner exchange. Upon his return, Tilton was enrolled in the Military Academy of the Red Army, where he studied until 1922.
operations abroad. Tilton acted as the GRU's
underground rezident (station head) in Paris
from 1922 to 1926. During this interval Tilton also took courses at the Polytechnic Institute of Air and Motors in Paris.
Tilton worked for military intelligence in Germany
during 1926 and 1927 before being transferred to New York City
, where he became the GRU's rezident. While in New York, Tilton and his wife, Maria, made use of a cover story that they were Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Paquett, from Canada
. The pair also used the name Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Martin during this time. As part of his job in America, late in 1927 Tilton made the acquaintance of Workers (Communist) Party
functionary Nicholas Dozenberg
, convincing him to drop out from organized party activity and to go to work for the GRU.
Tilton was recalled to the USSR in the summer of 1930. He served as the Assistant Commander of a mechanized brigade from July 1930 to March 1931 and was the head of Belorussian
mechanized troops from March 1931 to March 1932. From March 1932 to June 1936, Tilton served as the Commander and Commissar
of the 5th Detached Mechanized Brigade in the town of Borisov
. From June 1936 to November 1937, Tilton served in the Spanish Civil War
fighting in the defense of the Spanish Republic.
. He did not immediately plead guilty to alleged crimes, however, only being sentenced on December 15, 1940, well after the fall of Secret Police
head Nikolai Ezhov.
Tilton was sentenced to a term of 15 years imprisonment in a labor camp of the Gulag
, a sentence which ultimately proved fatal due to the starvation-level of provisions allowed prisoners during World War II
. Tilton died on February 11, 1942.
He was posthumously rehabilitated by the Khrushchev
government on March 26, 1957.
Tilton was recipient of the Order of the Red Banner
on three separate occasions (1920, 1922, and 1928) and the Order of Lenin
in 1936.
GRU
GRU or Glavnoye Razvedyvatel'noye Upravleniye is the foreign military intelligence directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation...
(GRU) in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in the late 1920s. He is best remembered for having recruited Latvian-American communist Nicholas Dozenberg
Nicholas Dozenberg
Nicholas "Nick" Dozenberg was an American political functionary with the Communist Party USA in the 1920s. Late in 1927 Dozenberg was recruited into the underground Soviet military intelligence network, for which he worked for more than a decade under the pseudonym "Nicholas Ludwig Dallant."...
to work for the GRU late in 1927.
Early years
Alfred Matisovich Tilton was born March 4, 1897, in BauskaBauska
Bauska is a town in Bauska municipality, in the Zemgale region of southern Latvia. The town is situated at the confluence of the rivers Mūsa and Mēmele where they form the Lielupe River...
, Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
, then part of the Russian empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
. Tilton was the son of peasants of ethnic Latvian descent.
A well educated individual, Tilton eventually learned German, French, and English as well as Latvian and Russian.
Tilton graduated from the Alexseev Military College in 1916 and went to the front as a company commander in the Latvian 3rd Infantry Regiment, attaining the rank of Lieutenant. He also underwent machine gun
Machine gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire rounds in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute....
training in 1917.
Tilton joined the Russian Communist Party in 1918 and was a Brigade Commander in the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
during the Russian Civil War
Russian Civil War
The Russian Civil War was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed to the Soviets, under the domination of the Bolshevik party. Soviet forces first assumed power in Petrograd The Russian Civil War (1917–1923) was a...
. Tilton was captured by the Poles during the 1920 invasion of Poland
Polish-Soviet War
The Polish–Soviet War was an armed conflict between Soviet Russia and Soviet Ukraine and the Second Polish Republic and the Ukrainian People's Republic—four states in post–World War I Europe...
and held as a prisoner of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
, eventually gaining his repatriation to Soviet Russia
Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic
The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic , commonly referred to as Soviet Russia, Bolshevik Russia, or simply Russia, was the largest, most populous and economically developed republic in the former Soviet Union....
in a February 1921 prisoner exchange. Upon his return, Tilton was enrolled in the Military Academy of the Red Army, where he studied until 1922.
Career
Leaving the Military Academy in 1922, Tilton became an active participant in Soviet military intelligenceMilitary intelligence
Military intelligence is a military discipline that exploits a number of information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to commanders in support of their decisions....
operations abroad. Tilton acted as the GRU's
GRU
GRU or Glavnoye Razvedyvatel'noye Upravleniye is the foreign military intelligence directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation...
underground rezident (station head) 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...
from 1922 to 1926. During this interval Tilton also took courses at the Polytechnic Institute of Air and Motors in Paris.
Tilton worked for military intelligence in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
during 1926 and 1927 before being transferred to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, where he became the GRU's rezident. While in New York, Tilton and his wife, Maria, made use of a cover story that they were Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Paquett, from Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. The pair also used the name Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Martin during this time. As part of his job in America, late in 1927 Tilton made the acquaintance of Workers (Communist) Party
Communist Party USA
The Communist Party USA is a Marxist political party in the United States, established in 1919. It has a long, complex history that is closely related to the histories of similar communist parties worldwide and the U.S. labor movement....
functionary Nicholas Dozenberg
Nicholas Dozenberg
Nicholas "Nick" Dozenberg was an American political functionary with the Communist Party USA in the 1920s. Late in 1927 Dozenberg was recruited into the underground Soviet military intelligence network, for which he worked for more than a decade under the pseudonym "Nicholas Ludwig Dallant."...
, convincing him to drop out from organized party activity and to go to work for the GRU.
Tilton was recalled to the USSR in the summer of 1930. He served as the Assistant Commander of a mechanized brigade from July 1930 to March 1931 and was the head of Belorussian
Belarus
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 ,...
mechanized troops from March 1931 to March 1932. From March 1932 to June 1936, Tilton served as the Commander and Commissar
Political commissar
The political commissar is the supervisory political officer responsible for the political education and organisation, and loyalty to the government of the military...
of the 5th Detached Mechanized Brigade in the town of Borisov
Borisov
Borisov , or Borisova is a common Russian and Bulgarian last name and may refer to:-Borisov:*Alexander Alexeyevich Borisov , Russian painter*Alexander Fyodorovich Borisov , Soviet actor...
. From June 1936 to November 1937, Tilton served in the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
fighting in the defense of the Spanish Republic.
Arrest, death, and legacy
Tilton was arrested on November 27, 1937, during the height of the Great TerrorGreat Terror
Great Terror may refer to:* Reign of Terror , a period of extreme violence during the French Revolution, last weeks of which are sometimes referred to as the Red Terror or Great Terror...
. He did not immediately plead guilty to alleged crimes, however, only being sentenced on December 15, 1940, well after the fall of Secret Police
NKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs was the public and secret police organization of the Soviet Union that directly executed the rule of power of the Soviets, including political repression, during the era of Joseph Stalin....
head Nikolai Ezhov.
Tilton was sentenced to a term of 15 years imprisonment in a labor camp of the Gulag
Gulag
The Gulag was the government agency that administered the main Soviet forced labor camp systems. While the camps housed a wide range of convicts, from petty criminals to political prisoners, large numbers were convicted by simplified procedures, such as NKVD troikas and other instruments of...
, a sentence which ultimately proved fatal due to the starvation-level of provisions allowed prisoners during World War II
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...
. Tilton died on February 11, 1942.
He was posthumously rehabilitated by the Khrushchev
Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev led the Soviet Union during part of the Cold War. He served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964, and as Chairman of the Council of Ministers, or Premier, from 1958 to 1964...
government on March 26, 1957.
Tilton was recipient of the Order of the Red Banner
Order of the Red Banner
The Soviet government of Russia established the Order of the Red Banner , a military decoration, on September 16, 1918 during the Russian Civil War...
on three separate occasions (1920, 1922, and 1928) and the Order of Lenin
Order of Lenin
The Order of Lenin , named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was the highest decoration bestowed by the Soviet Union...
in 1936.
Further reading
- John Earl Haynes and Harvey Klehr, Venona: Decoding Soviet Espionage in America. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1999.