Biography
Demian Vlasov was born 1893 in Kyiv, Russia (present-day Ukraine). Immigrated to the United States in 1912.
Born 1893, Kyiv, Russia (present-day Ukraine). Ukrainian. Migrated to US 1912. Machinist. Member of the International Association of Machinists. Organizer and “the moving spirit” of the Newark branch of the Union of Russian Workers, which he had joined in 1915. 1919 appointed to editorial board of the URW newspaper Rabochy i Krestyanin. Arrested during the first Palmer Raids, November 8, 1919. J. Edgar Hoover described him as “beyond a doubt one of the most hostile, arrogant and pernicious members of the Union of Russian Workers.” He was supposed to have been deported on the Buford, but was not, due to an error. Deported to Russia, January 22, 1921. No further information found.
INS file 54709/104; FBI file OG 369065
Adapted from Kenyon Zimmer, Red Scare Deportees (kenyonzimmer.com), compiled from INS deportation case files.
1920s custody-date review: Vlasov was not deported aboard the Buford in December 1919. His cited biography expressly distinguishes that missed sailing from his actual deportation on January 22, 1921. Deportation and the custody-exit endpoint are corrected accordingly. The initial November 8, 1919 arrest remains, but uninterrupted detention until deportation is not assumed.
Source: Kenyon Zimmer, Demian Vlasov biography, citing INS file 54709/104 and FBI file OG 369065. No identifiable photograph appears in this biography.
