Isaac Folkoff
American communist (1881–1975)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Isaac "Pop" Folkoff (also known as "Volkov",[1] "Folconoff",[2] and "Uncle";[3] 1881 – March 27, 1975), was a senior founding member of the Communist Party of California and West Coast liaison between Soviet intelligence and the Communist Party USA (CPUSA).[4]
1881
Isaac Folkoff | |
|---|---|
 Folkoff in 1950 | |
| Born | Izak Falkov 1881 Ludza, Vitebsk Governorate, Russian Empire |
| Died | March 27, 1975 (aged 93–94) |
| Spouse(s) | Minnie, Annie |
| Children | Minnie Folkoff |
| Parent(s) | Falk Falkov, Leah Rappaport |
| Espionage activity | |
| Allegiance | Soviet Union |
| Codename | Uncle |
| Codename | Pop |
| Other work | Helped found the Communist Party of California |
Biography
Folkoff was born in 1881, in Ludza. In 1904, he arrived San Francisco, where he ran an embroidery business.[5]
He helped found the California Communist Party and had gone as a delegate for the founding of the Communist International ("Comintern") in Moscow in 1919.[5]
He was in charge of West Coast operations. He worked as a courier passing information to and from Soviet sources, and as a talent spotter and vetter of potential espionage recruits. He also worked as a Case Officer. His code name in Soviet intelligence and in the Venona files was "Uncle".[citation needed]
Notes taken in 1939 by Adolph Berle show that Whittaker Chambers told him:
West Coast-Head : "The Old Man"-Volkov is his real name - daughter a Comintern courier. He knows the West Coast underground-Residence: San Francisco or Oakland[1]
When Grigory Markovich Kheifitz, formerly personal secretary to Lenin's wife Nadezhda Krupskaya, came to San Francisco in 1941, he began meeting with Folkoff to develop information and recruit intelligence workers among American Communists.[5]
Venona
According to the National Security Agency, Folkoff appears in several Venona descripts as "Uncle":