Amtorg Trading Corporation

Amtorg Trading Corporation, also known simply as Amtorg, was the first Soviet trade representation in the United States when Armand Hammer established it in New York in 1924 through the amalgamation of the American firms Products Exchange Corporation (1919) and Arcos-America Inc (1923). The latter was the US office of All Russian Co-operative Society (ARCOS). Amtorg served Soviet import and export firms seeking to conduct foreign trade in the US throughout the Communist era. It also served as a front for GRU and OGPU (Soviet intelligence) operations in the US.[1][2] This was especially important in the early years, before Franklin D. Roosevelt recognized the Soviets in 1933, allowing them a permanent embassy in Washington, D.C.[3] [4] It continued to handle most Soviet-America trade until 1935. As of 1999 it still exists.[5]

As an arm of the Soviet state, Amtorg was targeted by civil rights activists.[6]

References

  1. ^ Verdon, Rachel (2007). Murder By Madness 9/11. Rachel Verdon. p. 85. ISBN 9781419680229. http://books.google.com/books?id=BHUeMoIuApAC&pg=PA85&lpg=PA85&dq=amtorg+armand+hammer&source=bl&ots=QHQCpS3Xgf&sig=8F-nvfOzk0dum_P8RDgxOOcvPFY&hl=en&ei=-TX6ScPuIqS0NYCcscAE&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5. Retrieved 2009-04-30. 
  2. ^ Shannon, Elaine; Ann Blackman (2002). The spy next door (illustrated ed.). Little, Brown and Company. p. 81. ISBN 9780316718219. http://books.google.com/books?id=3bE-KWMHZrAC&pg=PA81&lpg=PA81&dq=amtorg+(kgb+OR+nkvd+OR+gru)&source=bl&ots=0CLaU8sylp&sig=YCIMIzYGtp-LMkruwQl3gVJrPxE&hl=en&ei=8TL6SZWLIJT0Mo7j_NEE&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3. Retrieved 2009-04-30. 
  3. ^ Ropes, E. C., American-Soviet Trade Relations, Russian Review, Vol. 3, No. 1 (Autumn 1943), p. 91
  4. ^ Rafalko, Frank J., A Counterintelligence Reader, Vol. III, Chapter 1, pp. 21-22
  5. ^ http://www.pbs.org/redfiles/kgb/deep/kgb_deep_ref_detail.htm
  6. ^ http://www.adl.org/extremism/jdl_chron.asp

External links