Browder, Earl Russell

(1891–1973)

   A leader of the American communist movement in the 1930s through World War II, Browder also played an important role in Soviet espionage. Browder, whose NKVD code names were “Helmsman” and “Father,” was an important link between the Soviet’s intelligence apparatus and communist sympathizers within the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration. In decoded Soviet intelligence messages from the 1940s, Browder is mentioned 26 times as Moscow’s agent. One of his most influential contacts was Jacob Golos, who ran an important espionage ring in Washington. Browder also had extensive experience as an intelligence agent. In the 1920s he traveled to China on a Comintern mission with his lover, Kitty Harris, who became an NKVD illegal.

   Browder often acted as a talent scout, passing on potential candidates to NKVD case officers. Despite his activities as party leader and intelligence agent, however, Browder was considered too soft by Moscow. In 1946 he was relieved of his position and expelled from the party. In less than a year, he went from helmsman to pariah, and he retired to Princeton, New Jersey. Browder’s role as a Soviet agent was only revealed after his death.