The Miernik Dossier

37. DISPATCH FROM THE AMERICAN STATION IN VIENNA.

1. In accordance with your instructions, we placed S. Kirnov under twenty-four-hour surveillance during his presence in Vienna 9-13 June.

2. Kirnov registered at the Hotel Ambassador in Kaertner Strasse, Room 816. At 2100 hours on 9 June a transmitter was planted in this room, and audio surveillance of the room telephone was maintained throughout Kirnov’s stay at the hotel. Results were negative. Kirnov, as might be expected, used his telephone only for normal calls to room service, valet, et cetera. He entertained no visitors in his room and therefore conducted no conversations. (When alone Kirnov has a habit of singing; the songs are generally in Polish.)

3. At 1320 hours on 10 June Kirnov made a brief call from a public coin telephone in the Café Sacher, Philharmoniker Strasse. Surveillance was unable to overhear the substance of the conversation.

4. At 0127 hours on 11 June Kirnov met Heinz Tanner, a known agent of the Soviet intelligence service, on the Reichsbrucke bridge. Surveillance was unable to approach close enough to overhear the conversation between Kirnov and Tanner, although photographs taken with a telephoto lens and extra-fast film provided positive identification. Kirnov handed an envelope to Tanner at the conclusion of the conversation.

5. At 1750 hours on 13 June Kirnov departed Vienna for Prague aboard Austrian Airlines flight 312. Surveillance was broken off at Vienna airport after the departure of this flight.

COMMENT: Kirnov’s behavior throughout the surveillance was consistent with the supposition that he is a trained agent. The choice of meeting time with Tanner (0127 hours) is consistent with the Soviet practice of meeting not on the hour, half hour, or quarter hour, but at an odd-numbered time. The site of the meeting with Tanner, in the middle of the largest bridge in Vienna at a time when pedestrian traffic is minimal, demonstrates good professional judgment. Kirnov used public transportation exclusively while in Vienna; he made no effort to shake surveillance until the night of his meeting with Tanner, when he changed buses, trains, and taxis several times in following an indirect route to his destination. We have no reason to believe that Kirnov was aware of our surveillance. His eluding tactic is interpreted as a routine precaution on his part.