KGB

The Committee for State Security, known as the KGB, was the main security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 to 1991. It took over from earlier Soviet secret police groups like the Cheka, OGPU, and NKVD. The KGB was connected to the Council of Ministers and worked on many important tasks inside and outside the country.

It was organized like a military service, following army rules, similar to the Soviet Army or the MVD Internal Troops. The KGB’s jobs included collecting information from other countries, stopping spies, protecting the Soviet borders, and keeping leaders safe. It also worked to stop people who disagreed with the government or tried to split the country apart.

In December 1991, the KGB was officially closed down. In Russia, it was replaced by the Foreign Intelligence Service and later the Federal Security Service. Even after this, some places like South Ossetia and Belarus kept using the name KGB for their own security groups.

History

Further information: Chronology of Soviet secret police agencies

See also: Cheka, OGPU, NKGB, and Ministry of State Security (Soviet Union)

The KGB was created in March 1954 after changes in the security system following the fall of a leader in 1953. It became the main spy and security group for the Soviet Union.

In 1964, a new leader took control and made changes in the KGB to prevent powerful leaders from taking over. Later, in 1991, an attempt to change the government's leader failed, which led to the end of the KGB later that year. Today, its roles are handled by new groups in Russia.

In the US

Between the World Wars

The GRU (the foreign military intelligence service of the Soviet Union) recruited an ideological agent named Julian Wadleigh, who became a diplomat in the US State Department in 1936. The NKVD began its first operations in the US in 1934 by establishing the legal residency of Boris Bazarov and the illegal residency of Iskhak Akhmerov. The Communist Party USA and its leader, Earl Browder, helped the NKVD recruit Americans working in government, business, and industry.

Other important agents included diplomats Laurence Duggan and Michael Whitney Straight in the State Department, the statistician Harry Dexter White in the Treasury Department, and economist Lauchlin Currie, an advisor to President Franklin D. Roosevelt. There was also a group led by Greg Silvermaster in government agencies. When Whittaker Chambers, who had worked with another government official, tried to warn the US government about these spies during World War II, his warnings were ignored. As a result, Soviet leader Joseph Stalin knew more about the war plans of his allies, the United States and the United Kingdom, than they knew about his.

Soviet espionage focused on gathering scientific and technological information, especially about jet propulsion, radar, and encryption. The most famous success was stealing secrets about the atomic bomb. A British physicist named Klaus Fuchs worked for the Soviet Union, and in 1944, a young American physicist named Theodore Hall joined a secret US science laboratory to pass on information.

During the Cold War

After World War II, the KGB struggled to rebuild its spy networks in the United States. The CPUSA faced difficulties, and the last major illegal spy, Rudolf Abel, was uncovered in 1957.

The KGB then focused on recruiting people who worked for money, especially in scientific and technical fields where security was weak. In 1967, a US Navy officer named John Anthony Walker began working for the KGB. Over many years, he helped the Soviet Union understand millions of Navy messages and track Navy movements.

Later, the KGB had more successes with people who offered their services, including an FBI agent named Robert Hanssen and a CIA officer named Aldrich Ames.

In the Soviet Bloc

The KGB and the secret services of nearby countries worked closely together during the Cold War. Their main job was to watch people and groups that might cause problems for the governments in these countries.

The KGB helped stop big changes in Hungary in 1956 and in Czechoslovakia in 1968. In Czechoslovakia, the KGB sent people into the country to spy on leaders and prepare for actions by the Soviet army.

In Poland during the 1980s, the KGB tried to stop a workers' movement called Solidarity, but faced challenges in doing so because of decisions made by Polish leaders. The KGB also was concerned about China, believing it posed a threat to the Soviet Union and wanted to place spies in Chinese security services.

Notable operations

The KGB used clever tricks to mislead enemies. For example, they spread false information to make others look bad. During wartime, they kept special supplies ready in different countries.

After World War II, the KGB recruited former German spies to help them learn more about Western intelligence services.

In the 1970s, the KGB tried to secretly buy banks in California to access secret technology information, but the CIA stopped them. They also worked to influence politics in Bangladesh, supporting certain leaders and spreading stories about their opponents.

In Afghanistan, the KGB helped plan the overthrow of a leader and later supported another leader after the first one became too powerful. They were involved in many secret operations during this time.

August 1991 and dissolution

Main article: 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt

The KGB stopped working on December 3, 1991. After that, new groups took over its jobs, like the Federal Security Agency of the RSFSR, the Inter-Republican Security Service, the Central Intelligence Service, and the Committee for the Protection of the State Border. Later, in 1993, these jobs were mostly handled by the Federal Counterintelligence Service of Russia, which was then replaced by the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation.

Organisation

The Committee for State Security, known as the KGB, was a well-organized group that followed strict rules, much like the military. Its members had special ranks, and it had two main parts: offices that handled its key tasks and troops that were separate military units. These troops included border guards and special forces teams.

The KGB had many different departments, each with its own job. Some focused on gathering information from other countries, while others worked on keeping security within the Soviet Union. There were also units for protecting important leaders, handling communications, and supporting the military during wartime. Each of the Soviet republics also had its own version of the KGB, mirroring the structure of the main organization.

List of chairmen

Main article: List of chairmen of the KGB

Commemorative and award badges

The KGB and its earlier agencies awarded special badges to people who served for many years. These badges recognized service of 5, 15, 50, 60, and 70 years. There were also badges for special roles, like border troops, and for being an honoured worker in state security. Some of these badges were given out in different years, such as 1923, 1932, 1940, 1957, 1967, 1969, 1977, 1987, and 1988.