Stukach ["Whistler"]

An NKGB foreign intelligence cover name which appears in 17 cables (from July 2, 1942 to July 30, 1944) partially decrypted in the course of the Venona operation. “Stukach” was identified by Venona translators as Joseph Katz, who was later called “Iks.” When the Venona cables were released in 1995 and 1996, “Stukach” – which is pre-revolutionary Russian prison slang for someone who is a police informer – was translated by Venona translators as “Informer.” “Stukach,” which derives from the Russian verb “stuchat’” (to knock), is also sometimes translated literally as “Knocker.” However, it is more accurate to translate this slang word into its American equivalent, “Whistler.”