Mikhail Koltsov

May 31] 1898[1] – February 2, 1940), born Moisey Haimovich Fridlyand (Russian: Моисей Хаимович Фридлянд), was a Soviet journalist, revolutionary and NKVD agent.

Koltsov edited and founded popular journals such as Krokodil, Chudak, Sovetskoe Foto and Ogoniok and was a member of the editorial board of Pravda.

Koltsov is widely regarded as having been Joseph Stalin's chief reporter in the war, with speculation suggesting that he had a direct line from his hotel to the Kremlin.

[2] George Orwell, in Homage to Catalonia (1938), accused Cockburn of co-operating with Koltsov to produce false stories, which favoured Soviet objectives in Spain.

[3] He was arrested on 14 December 1938, four weeks after Yezhova had committed suicide and nine days after Yezhov had been removed from the chairmanship of the NKVD and replaced by Lavrentiy Beria.