361.1121 Kudrasheff, Alexander
The Secretary of State to the Chargé in Norway (Gads)
Sir: There are enclosed, for your information, three memoranda1 summarizing the data in the Department’s possession with respect to three American nationals who have been imprisoned by the Soviet authorities—Alexander Kudrasheff, Julius Chevalier, and Aaron Kopman.
You will observe that all of these individuals are reported to be in most straitened circumstances. Mr. Kudrasheff, according to most recent information, is detained [dependent?] for his subsistence upon the charity of the pastor of a local German church, while Mr. Chevalier is confined, and probably Mr. Kopman also, under conditions of extreme hardship in a prison camp in the White Sea.
With respect to the cause of the arrest and imprisonment of the individuals in question, it will be noted that Mr. Kudrasheff was arrested in Tiflis by the Cheka, on the charge of economic espionage, and confined there without trial; that Mr. Chevalier was arrested and imprisoned in Tiflis on the charge of smuggling letters out of Russia and subsequently transferred, apparently without trial, to serve a three years’ imprisonment in a prison camp in the White Sea; and that Mr. Kopman was arrested by the G.P.U., apparently on the charge of violating the Soviet monopoly of foreign trade, and sentenced without trial to three years’ imprisonment on Solovetsky Island.
You are requested to bring informally to the attention of the Norwegian Foreign Office the plight of these three American citizens and express the hope that the Norwegian Government may be willing to use its good offices in their behalf. You may deem it advisable to point out that the Soviets have probably not been apprised of the painful impression which has been created by the harsh treatment accorded to these American citizens, especially in view of the protection of person and property enjoyed by Soviet citizens visiting the United States. The experience of the above-mentioned [Page 649] American citizens would appear to indicate the continued absence in Russia under the Soviet régime of a system of law and administration conforming to the standards of justice accepted by civilized countries.
I am [etc.]
- Not printed.↩