Beril Kirson (a.k.a. Boris; Barnett)
Born: 1872, Mogilev, Russia (present-day Belarus)
Nationality: Russian
Ethnicity: Jewish
Occupation: Sailor; carpenter
Migration: Immigrated to US 1917
Affiliation: Union of Russian Workers; Workers’ International Industrial Union
Migrated to England in 1914; then to Canada and back to England in 1916. Jumped ship in the United States in 1917. Joined the Union of Russian Workers in Buffalo in July 1919 and was also a member of the Workers’ International Industrial Union. Arrested during the first Palmer Raids in November 1919 and deported to Russia aboard the Buford on December 21, 1919. At the time of his deportation, his wife and four children remained in Russia.
Sources: INS file 54709/144; FBI file OG 8000-378509.
Joseph Kish
Born: 1889, Aranyosgyéres, Hungary (present-day Câmpia Turzii, Romania)
Nationality: Hungarian
Ethnicity: Hungarian
Occupation: Laborer
Migration: Immigrated to US 1911
Affiliation: Socialist Party of America; IWW
Joined the Hungarian Federation of the Socialist Party of America around 1912 and became a member of the IWW in 1919. Arrested in Cleveland during the May Day disturbances of 1919 and sentenced to thirty days in the workhouse for disturbing the peace. Arrested again in July 1919, he spent nearly nine months confined in the overcrowded and unsanitary Cuyahoga County Jail while awaiting deportation. Deported on March 21, 1920. At the time, his three children were living in Hungary with his mother.
Sources: INS file 54616/236.
Nikolai Kizer (a.k.a. Nick; Nicholas)
Born: 1896, Grodno, Russia (present-day Belarus)
Nationality: Russian
Ethnicity:
Occupation: Laborer
Migration: Immigrated to US 1915
Affiliation: Union of Russian Workers
Alleged to be the secretary of the Hartford, Connecticut branch of the Union of Russian Workers. Arrested during the first Palmer Raids in November 1919, along with his cousin Peter Kizer. Due to an administrative error, Peter was mistakenly sent to Ellis Island while Nikolai remained in the Hartford city jail, but the mistake was later corrected. Nikolai was deported to Russia on January 22, 1921.
Sources: INS files 54709/160 and 54709/265; Bruce B. Sherbert, “The Palmer Raids in Connecticut, 1919–1920,” Connecticut Review 5, no. 1 (1971).
Nikolai Klemiatov (or Nicholas Klemiatoff; Kleminatoff)
Born: 1891, Vilna, Russia (present-day Lithuania)
Nationality: Russian
Ethnicity: Not specified
Occupation: Laborer
Migration: Immigrated to the US 1912
Affiliation: Socialist Party of America; Communist Party of America
Joined the Socialist Party of America in Pittsburgh and transferred to the Communist Party of America in 1919. Arrested in October 1920 and deported to Russia on February 1, 1921.
Sources: INS file 54885/48.
Efim Kochovetz (a.k.a. M. Berisoff)
Born: 1888, Minsk, Russia (present-day Belarus)
Nationality: Russian
Ethnicity: Belarusian
Occupation: Laborer; organizer
Migration: Immigrated to US 1907
Affiliation: Union of Russian Workers
Joined the Union of Russian Workers in New York in 1914 and later became secretary of the New London, Connecticut branch, where he also taught arithmetic classes in its school. Arrested in Hartford during the first Palmer Raids in November 1919 and deported aboard the Buford on December 21, 1919.
Sources: INS file 54709/161.
Efim Kolesnikov (a.k.a. John Kolesnikoff; Joachim)
Born: 1880, Kursk, Russia
Nationality: Russian
Ethnicity:
Occupation: Ship reamer
Migration: Immigrated to US 1912
Affiliation: Union of Russian Workers
A widower, Kolesnikov joined the Union of Russian Workers in New York in 1919. He was arrested and beaten during the first Palmer Raids on November 7, 1919, during the raid on the Russian People’s House in New York. Deported aboard the Buford on December 21, 1919.
Sources: INS file 54709/454.
Jim Komar (or Jonar)
Born: 1879, Chernihiv, Russia (present-day Ukraine)
Nationality: Russian
Ethnicity: Ukrainian
Occupation: Laborer
Migration: Immigrated to US 1913
Affiliation: Union of Russian Workers
Joined the Union of Russian Workers in 1919. He was arrested in Youngstown, Ohio during the first Palmer Raids in November 1919 and deported aboard the Buford on December 21, 1919. His wife and two children remained in Russia.
Sources: INS file 54709/544; FBI file OG 378979.
Pavel Konavalchuk (a.k.a. Paul)
Born: 1894, Russia
Nationality: Russian
Ethnicity:
Occupation: Machinist
Migration: Immigrated to US 1911
Affiliation: Union of Russian Workers
A member of the Union of Russian Workers in Newark until the organization was broken up in November 1919. Arrested in Newark on January 3, 1920, he openly identified as an anarchist but stated his opposition to violence. Despite having a wife and American-born child in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, he was deported to Russia on February 26, 1921.
Sources: INS file 54860/164.
