Soudakoff, Stephen (39550783)

Record status: unconfirmed. Class-roster match confidence is medium-high. Correct the infobox if you have a source, and note it on talk.

Stephen Petrovich Soudakoff
Personal details
Birth name	Stepan Petrovich Soudakoff Steve Soudakoff Sudakov Sudykoff
Born	25 March 1922 Beijing, China
Died	28 November 2015 Washington, D.C.
Nativity	China
Religion	Greek Orthodox
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch	United States Army
ASN	39550783
Rank	First Lieutenant
Rank at Ritchie	Private
Camp Ritchie	Class 6 (13 March – 11 May 1943)
Section	10
Enlisted	Los Angeles, California

Research notes on this page are compiled from the source file and later edits. They may be unverified, incomplete, or incorrect, and should not be treated as established fact. Please correct the article or add sources on the talk page. For class-roster terms, see About the data.

Sources & confidence: Treat Research notes as leads, not settled fact. Prefer NARA, the class roster, newspapers, Find a Grave, or published histories for contested claims. Mark unsourced claims with {{Needs source}}, or explain disagreements on talk. Baseline import notes: About the data.

Stephen Petrovich Soudakoff (25 March 1922–28 November 2015) was a Beijing-born Russian linguist and Camp Ritchie trainee (Class 6) who served as a U.S. Army first lieutenant in the China-Burma-India Theater and later taught Russian at Indiana University.

Biography

Stephen Petrovich Soudakoff (also Stepan Petrovich; variants Sudakov / Sudykoff) was born on 25 March 1922 in Peking (Beijing), China, to a Russian émigré family. His father was an ophthalmologist who also served as physician at the Russian embassy in Beijing; his mother came from a Russian upper-class family with diplomatic relatives. The family later lived in California. He filed a declaration of intention toward U.S. Citizenship in 1939 (Fold3 gallery).

Soudakoff enlisted in the U.S. Army at Los Angeles on 30 December 1942. He trained at Camp Ritchie, Maryland, in Class 6. A declassified VENONA New York–Moscow cable of 26 May 1943 describes the Military Intelligence Training Center at Ritchie; NSA comments on that release identify cover name SUDAKOV as also known as Stephen Sudykoff and place him in Section 9, Class 6 at Camp Ritchie (analyst identification consistent with this roster page). In a Veterans History Project interview he recalled Fort Ritchie / Hagerstown training about March 1943, cryptographic training at Camp Crowder, Missouri, after Camp Roberts, and assignment to China. In the China-Burma-India Theater he served with the 24th Signal Service Detachment and Headquarters China Theater as a Russian and Chinese linguist—shift chief and trainer of Chinese personnel—attached at times with a U.S. Army intelligence detachment supporting the 3rd Marine Amphibious Force in North China. He left active service as a first lieutenant (1942–1946) and later said he remained in the reserves until 1955.

After the war he taught Russian at Indiana University (Bloomington) in the 1960s Summer Language Workshop / Slavic program and led student and teacher language tours in the Soviet Union. In April 1968 U.S. Newspapers reported that Komsomolskaya Pravda had accused him of spying during a 1967 IU tour; Soudakoff denied the charges, denied being expelled, said he had been questioned at Pyatigorsk, and stated he had had no intelligence-agency contact since leaving the reserves. He later worked at language programs in Texas and Monterey and retired from the Defense Language Institute in the Washington, D.C., area. In November 1983 he appears as interpreter (“INT.”) for the U.S. Side in a START post-plenary discussion in Geneva (CIA FOIA release). In 2001 he published a short ACTR note on advanced Russian reading and translation skills for presidential needs connected with the Direct Communications Link. He died on 28 November 2015; burial is recorded in Washington, D.C.

Research notes

• 3/25/1922-A
• Skip: Fold3 USMC hospital-apprentice muster (Jan 1946) OCR-tagged to Soudakoff while the typed name is another sailor — likely a mis-index; not used as service evidence.
• Portrait: UCB 1948 crop is labeled for Soudakoff on the Fold3 memorial; treat as probable likeness pending a clearer yearbook caption match.

Gallery

• 
  Yearbook-style portrait crop labeled for Stephen Soudakoff (UCB 1948; Fold3 gallery).
• 
  The Star Press, 18 April 1968 — “I.U. Lecturer Denies Spy Charges…” (AP; Fold3).
• 
  The Daily Oklahoman, 18 April 1968 — mentions IU tour leader Stephen P. Soudakoff (Fold3).
• 
  AP-style index card summarizing 1968 spy-accusation coverage of Stephen P. Soudakoff (Fold3).
• 
  CIA FOIA CIA-RDP91B00135R000701210004-8 — START memcon, Geneva, 29 Nov 1983; Mr. Stephen Soudakoff, INT. (Fold3 gallery copy).
• 
  VENONA comments (NSA 26 May 1943 Military Intelligence Training release): SUDAKOV also known as Stephen SUDYKOFF, Section 9, Class 6 at Camp Ritchie. Official PDF: https://www.nsa.gov/portals/75/documents/news-features/declassified-documents/venona/dated/1943/26may_military_intel_tng.pdf
• 
  VENONA decrypt extract on Camp Ritchie Russian section (NSA 26 May 1943 release; Fold3). Official PDF: https://www.nsa.gov/portals/75/documents/news-features/declassified-documents/venona/dated/1943/26may_military_intel_tng.pdf

Technical record

Field	Imported value
Nara ASN	39550783
Nara Name	SOUDAKOFF STEPHEN
Nara State	91
Nara County	37
Nara POE	9141
Nara DOE	301242
Nara Grade Alpha	PV0
Nara Grade Code	8
Nara Branch Alpha	BI
Nara Branch Code	0
Branch	Branch Immaterial - Warrant Officers, USA
Nara Term or Enlistment	5
Term of enlistment	Enlistment for the duration of the War or other emergency, plus six months, subject to the discretion of the President or otherwise according to law
Defer. Date	0
Nara Source	0
Nara Nativity	P8
Nara Year of Birth	22
Nara Race	3
Nara Race Description	Chinese citizen
Nara Education	5
Nara Civilian Occupation	125
Nara Marital Status	1
Nara Height (inches)	69
Nara Weight (lbs)	164
Class_ASN	39550703
Class_Name	SOUDAKOFF, Stephen
match_method	asn_near_name_exact
row_source	both

Timeline

• 25 March 1922 — Born in Peking (Beijing), China (Russian parents).
• 1939 — Declaration of intention toward U.S. citizenship (Fold3 gallery).
• 30 December 1942 — Enlists, Los Angeles (ASN 39550783).
• 1943 — Camp Ritchie Class 6; NSA VENONA comments on 26 May 1943 “Military Intelligence Training” cable identify SUDAKOV / Stephen Sudykoff with Section 9, Class 6 (analyst ID; consistent with roster).
• 1943–1946 — CBI: 24th Signal Service Detachment / HQ China Theater; Russian/Chinese linguist; first lieutenant.
• Through 1955 — U.S. military reserves (per 1968 statement).
• 1960s — Indiana University Slavic lecturer; leads USSR language tours.
• Summer 1967 — IU tour in USSR; questioned at Pyatigorsk (his account).
• 18 April 1968 — U.S. press: denies Komsomolskaya Pravda spy charges.
• 29 November 1983 — Interpreter (INT.) at START post-plenary, Geneva (CIA FOIA memcon).
• 2001 — ACTR note on presidential Russian reading/translation (DCL).
• 28 November 2015 — Died; burial recorded in Washington, D.C.

Sources

• CIA FOIA START memcon, Geneva 1983 (interpreter)
• Daily Oklahoman, 18 April 1968
• Star Press, 18 April 1968 — denies spy charges
• VENONA decrypt — Camp Ritchie Russian section extract
• VENONA comments — SUDAKOV / Stephen Sudykoff, Class 6
• NSA — VENONA: New York to Moscow Nos. 777–781, 26 May 1943, “Military Intelligence Training” (Camp Ritchie); comments identify SUDAKOV / Stephen Sudykoff with Section 9, Class 6
• NARA WWII Army enlistment (ASN 39550783; Los Angeles, 30 December 1942)
• CIA FOIA reading-room PDF CIA-RDP91B00135R000701210004-8 (1983; linked from Fold3)
• Stephen Soudakoff, “Developing 3+/4 reading and translation skills for presidential needs” (ACTR Letter, 2001; ResearchGate)
• “Russians in Bloomington in the 1960s” (IU / HathiTrust) — Stepan Petrovich Soudakoff biography notes
• VHP interview transcript excerpt (Fort Ritchie; Camp Crowder; 24th Signal in China)
• Library of Congress Veterans History Project — Stephen Soudakoff Collection (AFC/2001/001/186; CBI; 24th Signal Service Detachment; first lieutenant)
• Fold3 memorial — Stephen Petrovich Soudakoff (1922)
• Camp Ritchie Museum, Inc. (The Ritchie History Museum), Classes 1–31 roster data
• Dan Gross research spreadsheets, including original Excel timeline/roster work, combined with other research and records
• NARA World War II Army enlistment records (where a NARA ASN is present)
• 1940 U.S. Census (where a census match is present)