George Koval - Recruitment and Espionage

Recruitment and Espionage

Later, Koval was recruited by the Soviet Main Intelligence Directorate (Главное Разведывательное Управление), or GRU. By the time he received his degree he had left Moscow under orders as part of a subterfuge. He was drafted into the Soviet army in 1939 to explain his sudden disappearance from the city. Though his parents had relinquished their US family passport, Koval returned to the US in 1940, replacing a spy recalled during Stalin's purges. Arriving in San Francisco, he traveled to New York City. According to Arnold Kramish, an American colleague he befriended and with whom he re-established contact in 2000, it was there that Koval assumed deputy command of the local GRU cell. This outpost operated under the cover of the Raven Electric Company, a supplier to firms such as General Electric. Koval told coworkers he was a native New Yorker and an only child. He ingratiated himself with everyone he met. While Koval originally worked under a pseudonym, gathering information on toxins for use in chemical weapons, his handlers decided to have him work under his real name.

During the beginning of World War II, President Franklin D. Roosevelt had re-introduced the draft (conscription) in September 1940, and Koval registered for it on January 2, 1941. Raven Electric Company secured him a year's deferment from service until February 1942. According to historian Vladimir Lota, Koval's handlers wanted him to steal information about chemical weapons, and felt that he would not be able to do so while drafted. When the deferment expired, Koval was inducted into the United States Army. He received basic training at Fort Dix in New Jersey before being sent to the Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina. There, Koval served as a private in the 3410th Specialized Training and Reassignment Unit. On August 11, 1943, he was transferred to the Army Specialized Training Program, a unit established in December 1942 to provide talented enlistees with an education and technical training. Koval attended the City College of New York (CCNY) and studied electrical engineering. His CCNY classmates looked up to the older Koval as a role model and father figure who never did homework and was a noted ladies' man, never knowing about his Soviet education and wife. Colleagues recalled that he never discussed politics or the Soviet Union.