According to secret files made public for the first time by British intelligence agency MI5, one of the greatest comedians ever, Charlie Chaplin, probably could have Russian origin.

      British intelligence officers have been through the archives looking for Chaplin’s birth certificate, and checked for his supposed alias, Israel Thornstein. Moreover, there are no records that Chaplin was actually born in London, as it was officially said in his biographies. Previous claims that the creator of The Great Dictator originally hailed from France have been dismissed.

      The new debatable version is Chaplin's Russian background. This theory is supported by the legendary actor's words that he was "going back to Russia" – to this day, it's not clear what exactly he meant.

      "This might refer to paying another visit, or it might denote his origin as Russian. Towards the end of the last century large numbers of Jews fled westward from Russian pogroms. If Chaplin is a Jew, he might thus have been a member of a refugee family," the Economic Times daily quotes British officials. (quote form Russia Today)

      The FBI was reportedly looking for evidence that Chaplin was a member of the communist party. Back in 1952, after Chaplin arrived in the UK, he was banned from returning to America, which feared his alleged communist connections with the USSR. With the US plunged into McCarthyism, one of the greatest comedians of all time was labeled a communist sympathizer.

      For example, in the beginning of 1940s Charlie Chaplin said that "there are a lot of good things in communism". It was also found out that he had some links with Ivor Montagu - cinema-critic and Soviet spy. But Chaplin himself always denied any involvement into communist clandestine organization.

      However, Chaplin's real name and birthplace still a mystery for investigators. Being a broadbrow by nature, he certainly could hide some of his secrets.

Sources: Lenta.ru Newsru Russia Today Image: facilisimo