Serghei Nicolau
Serghei Nicolau (born Sergey Nikonov; 1905–1999) was a Romanian communist espionage chief and a Securitate general.
Biography
An ethnic Russian, Nicolau was born in Cacica, Suceava County in to an ethnic Russian family. He also called himself at various times Serghei Nicanov, or Sergiu Nicolau, or Victor Nicolau-Cacica.[1]
Like his boss Emil Bodnăraș, he was recruited by the NKVD. This occurred in the late 1930s after he was expelled from the Chemistry faculty of the University of Iași, for attending meetings of the banned Romanian Communist Party (PCR). His studies abroad, in Brussels and Marseille, were paid for, and in the latter city, he was part of the local French Communist Party leadership. At some point, he deserted from the Romanian Army and left for the Soviet Union.[2]
At the beginning of World War II, Nicolau was assigned to return to Romania in order to set up a spy network, but he was captured at sent to prison, where he spent part of his sentence alongside another NKVD agent, Gheorghe Pintilie.[3] While at Doftana prison, the two belonged to a group of Soviet agents around future PCR leader Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej.[4] Following the 1949 arrest of N. D. Stănescu, he was made head of the External Intelligence Service (SSI). Guided by Bodnăraș, he worked to recruit loyal agents, both within the agency and in the Romanian Army.[3] In consultation with the local Soviet espionage bureau, the pair reorganized the SSI into four bureaus: foreign information, supervision of diplomatic missions in Bucharest, domestic information and counterespionage activities.[5]
The Soviet handlers were not content with only training and assisting Securitate officers, but they actively started recruiting some of them. Nicolau protested this practice to Gheorghiu-Dej, who refused to intervene, since he was seeking at the time the support of the Soviets in his campaign against the Ana Pauker faction of the PCR. As a result, Nicolau was removed as head of the SSI on January 6, 1953, and replaced by Vasile Vâlcu .[2] On April 1 of that year, Nicolau transferred to the information services of the Ministry of Defense.[6] From 1954 until his retirement in 1960, Nicolau, who held the rank of lieutenant general, led the military espionage bureau of the Romanian General Staff.[3][4]
In the early 1950s, his wife Nina was Gheorgiu-Dej's personal secretary.[4]
Notes
- ^ Silivestru, Octavian (March 10, 2016) [2002]. "Din dosarele Securității: "1960 – Rețeaua KGB!"" (in Romanian). Radio România. Retrieved April 20, 2020. (Transcript of an interview with Neagu Cosma from March 7, 2002.)
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: postscript (link) - ^ a b Iancu, Mariana (January 4, 2018). "Spioni sovietici la conducerea serviciilor secrete din România. Printre ei, oameni arestați de Siguranță în perioada interbelică". Adevărul (in Romanian). Retrieved April 20, 2020.
- ^ a b c Oprea, p.31
- ^ a b c (in Romanian) Biografiile nomenklaturii Archived 2012-03-05 at the Wayback Machine, at the Institute for the Investigation of Communist Crimes in Romania site
- ^ Oprea, p.31-2
- ^ Ioniță, Nicolae, "Șefii unităților centrale și teritoriale de Securitate 1948–1989" [The Leaders of the Central and Regional Divisions of the Securitate] (PDF), cnsas.ro (in Romanian), retrieved April 20, 2020
Bibliography
- Oprea, Marius (2012). Bastionul cruzimii. O istorie a Securității (1948–1964). Editura Polirom. ISBN 9789734624980.
- 1905 births
- 1999 deaths
- Romanian communists
- Directors of the Foreign Intelligence Service (Romania)
- Soviet spies
- Securitate generals
- People convicted of spying for the Soviet Union
- Prisoners and detainees of Romania
- Romanian prisoners and detainees
- People from Suceava County
- Incarcerated spies
- Collaborators with the Soviet Union
- Romanian spies for the Soviet Union