Thread by @jerusalemofiron

Last weekend, during a discussion about Israel’s contributions to the US, the topic of Khrushchev’s Speech came up @SeanDurns. Long thread incoming.

(You don't have anything else to do while waiting for Israeli election results, right?) 1/

In Feb 1956, Nikita Khrushchev, then Secretary General of the Communist Party of the USSR, delivered a secret speech to Soviet delegates at the Kremlin, lasting about 4 hrs and no bathroom breaks. 2/

In this speech Khrushchev described Stalin’s crimes in gory detail. Murder, massacre, mayhem. Delegates were stunned. They wept. Stalin was a hero, right? He *punched Nazis* bigtime. 3/

The speech was top secret, but rumors leaked. Western spy agencies were dying to get hold of a copy. This was the Cold War, & the speech was intelligence GOLD. The CIA offered $1 million reward to whoever gave them a copy, and in 1956 that was serious coin. 4/

In the fevered imaginations of the Intel Community, publishing the speech would not only discredit Stalin, it would destroy the faith of communists round the world. It would create conflict within the Soviet Bloc. It might even (dare we dream?) cause the collapse of the USSR. 5/

Enter Our Hero, Victor Grayevsky, then senior editor of the Polish News Agency, communist party member in good standing, & Jewish. His family fled to Russia during WW2 & immigrated to Israel in '49. A Stalin fanboy, Vic returned to Poland. Workers of the world unite, amirite? 6/

Victor had a girlfriend. We’ll call her Lucia, because that was apparently her real name. She was in love (and not with her husband, who was deputy Prime Minister of Poland). 7/

More importantly, Lucia was secretary to the SecGen of the Polish Communist party, and her coworkers were used to seeing Vic tossing the office. (Okay maybe not tossing, but he visited a lot and they recognized him.) 8/

One fine day in April Victor popped over to the Polish Communist Party office to visit his gf & spotted a document with a red cover (naturally) lying on her desk, marked TOP SECRET. 9/

He asked what it was and she told him: It’s Khrushchev’s speech. Loose lips sink dictatorships of the proletariat, people. 10/

Victor asked if he could take it home so he could read in peace and quiet. Love-struck Lucia says, Sure, no prob, just have it back by 4 or we turn into pumpkins. (The kind of pumpkins that get stabbed, mutilated, and disemboweled at Halloween.) 11/

Victor read the whole 26k word, 4 hr speech (and you thought #SOTU speeches went on forever). It revealed Stalin’s purges & campaigns of mass murder. Khrushchev revealed the Doctors’ Plot: false accusations against several Jewish doctors Stalin claimed tried to murder him. 12/

To say Grayevsky was disillusioned would be an understatement. Wool torn from eyes, fibers and corneas everywhere. Communism not looking so good anymore. Victor knew this was a bombshell and if he was caught with it, the pumpkin scenario would be best case. 13/

Grayevsky decided to return the document post haste but, on impulse, went to the Israeli Embassy instead, paying no mind to the Polish police and military circling like sharks. He handed it to a senior embassy officer who (surprise!) turns out to be from the Shin Bet. 14/

Realizing what he’s got, the Shin Bet officer tells Vic he’s going to take a powder and goes off to copy the thing. 1.5 hrs later, Victor takes the original back to lovely Lucia. All is well. (You’ll note that security & tradecraft have improved somewhat since 1956.) 15/

By April 15 the photocopy was on Ben Gurion’s desk, by April 17 it was on Eisenhower's. After authentication, CIA leaked it to the New York Times (which, if they’d known it came through Israel probably wouldn’t have printed it.) 16/

@nytimes published the speech: nytimes.com/1956/06/05/arc… which “caused an earthquake in the Communist world, and prompted millions to turn their backs on the Soviet Union.” (Bar-Zohar/Mishal) 17/

The 1956 Hungarian uprising may well have been due, at least in part, to the publication of the speech.

But wait, there’s more.
18/

Grayevsky immigrated to Israel in 1957 and received a job in the Israel Broadcasting Service and East European Dept of the Foreign Ministry because, Damn! 19/

Like 100s of thousands of Israeli immigrants (olim) after him, Victor studied intensive Hebrew at an ulpan. By sheer chance (and if you believe that I have a bridge I’d like to sell you), several Soviet diplomats were in the same class. 20/

The Soviets were very interested in this pro-communist ex-Pole who worked in the Israeli Foreign ministry. Some time later, again by sheer chance, Victor encountered one of the diplomats. And they asked him to work for the KGB. 21/

After consulting with the Shin Bet (which is responsible for counter-intelligence), Victor agreed. He worked as a double agent for 14 yrs, feeding the Soviets false intelligence provided by Israel. 22/

The Soviets never suspected. In fact, they awarded him the Order of Lenin for his work (which he never went to Moscow to claim.) Everyone lived happily ever after.

But wait, there's still more!
23/

During the Waiting Period leading to the Six Day War, Israeli PM Eshkol wanted to convey to the Soviets and Egypt that he was absolutely serious about going to war if Nasser did not reopen the Straits of Tiran. But how to convince them this was not some diplomatic bluster? 24/

Re-enter Victor Grayevsky. For the 1st time he sent an ‘emergency’ signal to his Soviet handlers and told them Israel was serious, that he heard this in a briefing by a senior IDF officer. 25/

It's unclear whether this info reached the Kremlin or Nasser; certainly the Soviets did nothing to restrain Egypt, & the Six Day War ensued.

Victor Grayevsky died in 2007 at the age of 82.

Sources: Mossad, Bar-Zohar/ Mishal; Spies Against Armageddon, Raviv/Melman.

/26 & End