Irving Milman: An Unlikely Radio Diplomat

Irving Milman, one of seven children of Zisi Milman and Chaia-Liba “Lillian” Fischman, was born on 1 January 1899 in Mogilev-Podolsky, Russia (now Ukraine).

A Transatlantic Leap
He, his mother, and some of his younger siblings sailed to Halifax, Canada, in September 1924 and crossed into the United States on 6 October 1924. In New York City, Irving found work as a radio operator, spending long nights sweeping the short-wave bands.

“Comrade Milman”
While tuning across the airwaves, Irving intercepted Soviet telegram traffic and started corresponding with Moscow engineers, offering detailed critiques and signal-boosting tips. To them, he became “Isaac” or “Comrade Milman,” the helpful immigrant in New York who relayed German and Italian broadcasts rarely heard inside the USSR during the tense pre-war years.

Family and a Promise Kept
Irving married Esther Weinig in Brooklyn on 18 December 1926, and their son Aaron was born two years later, on 18 October 1928. Determined to meet his Soviet colleagues face-to-face, he sailed with Esther and Aaron under the name Isaac Milman in June 1936, traveling from New York to Southampton and on to Moscow. Photographs of all three now reside in Russian state archives—a silent testament to that remarkable detour.

Return and Legacy
Esther’s later fate remains unclear, but Irving eventually resurfaced in Brooklyn and died there on 15 June 1991. Who could have predicted that this young immigrant from Podolia, Russia, would one day be toasted in Moscow as “Comrade Milman,” a trusted adviser to Soviet radio?