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By Colin Mixson
Brooklyn Daily
The name’s Kagan, Ari Kagan.
Russian-speaking Democrats living in 48th Council District have recently been receiving disturbing automated phone calls, in which a woman speaking Russian accuses Kagan of having links to the long-abolished spy service of the former Soviet Union — the notorious KGB.
“There were two maybe, three robocalls, with a female voice, saying ‘Kagan was with the KGB,’ ” explained Kagan, a council candidate and former journalist.
Kagan, who categorically denied that he was ever involved with the same Soviet spy ring that antagonized America and Russians alike during the Cold War, said his campaign is about providing answers to problems facing the residents of his district, not funneling information back to the old country. He dismissed the robocalls as just an underhanded dirty trick from his opponents.
“My campaign is about helping people and solving community problems,” he said. “Somebody doesn’t want me winning this race and they’re using every tactic to oppose me.”
Kagan was stirred, not shaken by the bizarre smear campaign, and remained confident that the voters will turn out in his favor in the democratic primary next month.
“People who have volunteered and donated to my campaign have expressed their outrage,” he said. “But I believe the people in this district are smart, hard working, and they’ll vote for me on Sept. 10, no matter what.”
Bela Gubernko, a Russian-speaking Midwood resident, said she was at work when her husband Lazar, who does not speak English, got the Kagan KGB call.
“Somebody speaking Russian said that Ari is ‘agent of KGB,’ ” she said. “He told me that it was a woman in the recording.”
Despite the allegations of espionage, Gubernko said she know’s Kagan as an upstanding community activist and never doubted his allegiance to the United States.
“I knew him for many years, he’s helped the community, he’s a good journalist,” she said. “He doesn’t strike me as a spy.”
Furthermore, the fact that these accusations are being pushed during the campaign season is not lost on Gubernko or her husband.
“It’s election time,” Gubernko said. “It’s pretty obvious what’s going on.”
These automated messages aren’t the first time Kagan’s been accused of spying for the Soviets.
When Kagan first announced his intention to replace term-limited Councilman Mike Nelson in March, heckler Zev Yourman emerged from the crowd and alleged that Kagan’s journalistic career was predicated on subduing rebellious Russians.
“The purpose of a journalist in the Soviet Union was to disturb the people and to harass them. They were the foot soldiers of the KGB,” Yourman shouted, according to a Sheepshead Bites report. “Journalists conducted surveillance on the population to harass Jews and spread propaganda.”
Kagan is open about his early career as a military journalist in waning years of the Soviet Union, but he points out that under Mikhail Gorbachev’s policy of glasnost (“openness”) he was encouraged to report critically on the military, rather than serve the party line.
After working for anti-communist papers in post-Soviet Latvia, Kagan immigrated to America in 1993. When he went to work for Rep. Michael McMahon, Kagan was subjected to an additional security screening, which turned up nothing untoward.
“My biography was known by the immigration agents when I immigrated,” said Kagan. “I had nothing to do with the KGB, and it’s ridiculous say that after living in America for over 20 years and working for a United States congressman. People are far too sophisticated to believe this nonsense.”
Despite the absurdity and inherent insult to intelligence, Kagan’s campaign advisor Jake Oliver said that whoever is behind the smear is likely a skilled operative.
“We haven’t heard of anyone who’s gotten this message who wasn’t a Russian, or a democrat,” said Oliver. “That shows there’s a disturbing amount of sophistication involved in these attacks.”
Reach reporter Colin Mixson at cmixson@cnglocal.com or by calling (718) 260-4514.