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Nicholas Daniloff | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Daniloff in 1986 | |
| Born | (1934-12-30)December 30, 1934 |
| Died | October 17, 2024(2024-10-17) (aged 89) Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Harvard University |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Detainment | |
| Country |  Soviet Union |
| Detained | September 2, 1986 |
| Accusation | Espionage |
| Charge | None |
| Released | September 23, 1986 |
| Time held | 15 days |
Nicholas S. Daniloff (December 30, 1934 – October 17, 2024) was an American journalist known for his reporting on theSoviet Union. In 1986, he was briefly detained by Soviet security services on espionage charges, sparking a diplomatic crisis.
Daniloff was born in Paris, the son of an American mother and a Russian father. His grandfather, generalYuri Danilov, was a chief of operations ofRussian Imperial Armygeneral-headquarters duringWorld War I.[1] He grew up in the United States, France, and Argentina, before moving to the United States to attendHarvard University.[1] He worked forUnited Press International in the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and the Soviet Union, from 1959 to 1980, when he joinedU.S. News & World Report.[1]
Being a Moscow correspondent for aU.S. News & World Report, Daniloff came to wider international attention on September 2, 1986, after he was arrested in Moscow by theKGB and accused ofespionage. On September 7, 1986, Daniloff was notified of a charge and had a proceeding scheduled for 2 pm atLefortovo Prison in Moscow. No other information was known at the time about what happened during the proceedings.[2]
TheReagan administration took the position that the Soviets had arrested Daniloff without cause, in retaliation for the arrest three days earlier ofGennadi Zakharov, an employee of the Soviet UN Mission.[3] The Soviets initially contended that Daniloff had confidential government documents on him when he was arrested.[1]
After intense discussion between the governments, on September 23 Daniloff was allowed to leave the Soviet Union without charges, Zakharov was allowed to leave the U.S. after pleadingnolo contendere, and Soviet dissidentYuri Orlov was released to the West.[1]
However, the diplomatic crisis did not end there. Expulsions of diplomats and suspected spies escalated to the point that by the end of October 1986, 100 Soviets, including a further 80 suspected Soviet intelligence agents, were expelled by the U.S. The Soviets expelled ten U.S. diplomats and withdrew all 260 of the Russian support staff working for the U.S. embassy in Moscow.[1]
Daniloff later contended in his autobiography,Two Lives, One Russia, that he had never held classified documents, and that the KGB had created false information.[4] Daniloff became an instructor atNortheastern University's School of Journalism, and in 1992 he was named director of the school.[5] He was also one of the co-authors of the bookThe Oath, a biography ofKhassan Baiev. Daniloff published another memoir in 2008.[1]
Daniloff was married to Ruth Dunn from 1961 until her death in January 2024; they had two children.[1] Daniloff died nine months later, at a care home inCambridge, Massachusetts, on October 17, 2024. He was 89.[1]
