Wikipedia

KGB

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The KGB (Komitet Gosudarstvennoi Bezopasnosti, or The Committee for State Security) was the name of the main Soviet external security and intelligence agency from March 13, 1954 to November 6, 1991.

In March 1953 Lavrentii Beria united the MVD and MGB into one body, the MVD. Within a year Beria's execution caused the MVD to be split up. The reformed MVD retained its internal security functions while the new KGB took on state security functions. The KGB was subordinated to the Council of Ministers. On July 5, 1978 the KGB was renamed the "KGB of the USSR" with the KGB Chairman given a seat on the council.

The KGB was dissolved due to the participation of its chief, Colonel General Vladimir Kryuchkov, in the August 1991 coup attempt. He used many of the KGB's resources to aid the coup attempt. Kryuchkov was arrested after the conclusion of the coup attempt and General Vadim Bakatin was appointed Chairman on August 23, 1991 with a mandate to dismantle it. On November 6, 1991 the KGB officially ceased to exist.

Tasks and Organization

Its tasks were external espionage, counter-espionage, liquidation of anti-Soviet and counter-revolutionary formations in the USSR and guarding the leaders of the party and state. The KGB was organized into directorates, some of the main directorates were:

  • First Chief Directorate (Foreign Operations) was responsible for foreign operations and intelligence-gathering activities.
  • The Second Chief Directorate was responsible for internal political control of citizens and foreigners within the Soviet Union.
  • Third Chief Directorate (Armed Forces) controlled military counterintelligence and political surveillance of the armed forces.
  • Fifth Chief Directorate also dealt with internal security. Created to combat political dissent, it took up some of the tasks previously handled by the Second Chief Directorate.
  • Seventh Directorate (Surveillance) handled surveillance, providing equipment to follow and monitor the activities of both foreigners and Soviet citizens.
  • Eighth Chief Directorate was responsible for communications. It dealt with monitoring foreign communications and was also responsible for the cryptological systems used by KGB divisions, transmission to KGB stations overseas, and the development of communication equipment
  • Ninth Directorate (Guards Directorate) provided guards for principal Party leaders and their families, and major government facilities in the Soviet Union.

Heads of the KGB or equivalent

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