Documents / FOIA release
This Central Intelligence Agency personality file on Soviet official Nikolay Sergeyevich Leonov (201-132139), with material dated 1953 to 1963, compiles cables, FBI documents, surveillance reports, press photos and passport copies. It records his Soviet Embassy service in Mexico City, the finding of his calling card in Fidel Castro's address book in 1956, and his role as Castro's interpreter in the USSR in 1963. A source identified him as a KGB officer, and a DIA item alleged he was planning Latin American insurgency.
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Approved for Release: 2026/02/13 C00559488 S-E-C-R-E-T COUNTRY Mexico/USSR REPORT NO. CS-LT-10962 SUBJECT Photographs of Soviet Diplomatic Personnel DATE DISTR. 2 November 1956 NO. PAGES 1 REQUIREMENT NO. RD DATE OF INFO. 1 October 1956 REFERENCES PLACE & DATE ACQ. Mexico, Mexico City1 October 1956 SOURCE: Person with good contacts in diplomatic circles (B). Appraisal of Content: Documentary. Available from CIA Graphics Register are photographs of the following former members of the Soviet Embassy in Mexico City, who left Mexico on 17 October 1956: a. Mikhail Frolovich Cherkasov, Counselor of Embassy, born on 16 September 1909 at Moscow. Cherkasov arrived in Mexico with his wife, Aleksandra Cherkasova, and their minor son on 27 September 1952. His wife and son left Mexico on 24 July 1956. b. Nikolai Dementyevich Larin, chauffeur, born on 15 January 1922 at Riazan; and his wife Praskovia Artemovna Larina, born on 30 November 1923 at Riazan; and their minor children, Aleksandr and Irina. The Larins arrived in Mexico on 11 September 1953. c. Nikolai Sergeyevich Leonov, administrative employee, born on 22 August 1923 at Ryazan; and his wife, Valeriya Ivanovna Leonova, born on 30 April 1928 at Moscow. The Leonovs arrived in Mexico on 11 July 1953. STATE X ARMY X NAVY X AIR X FBI X AEC I&NS X (Note: Washington distribution indicated by“X”; Field distribution by“#”.) EE SR x CI x WH/CP x HMMA-5440;5439;5438NONE PE WE CI/ICD x WH/PW x NE WH x (IE-Brit,Pr) WH/3/Mexi 4 SE IO SR/CE/Redcap
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FOIA release, from the cia-readingroom collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is above. The text was read from the page images by GLM-OCR; expect the odd misread word. 165 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.