KGB

The Committee for State Security, known as the KGB, was the primary security agency of the Soviet Union. It operated from 1954 until 1991.

The agency was a military service. It was governed by army laws and regulations, much like the Soviet Army. The KGB was attached to the Council of Ministers. It functioned as a chief government agency with "union-republican jurisdiction." This meant it had authority across the various republics of the Soviet Union. While the KGB was headquartered in the Russian SFSR, similar agencies existed in other republics. The agency focused on several major tasks. These included foreign intelligence, counter-intelligence, and internal security. It also served as a secret police force to protect the state.

To carry out its mission, the KGB performed many specific functions. It guarded the state borders of the USSR and protected Soviet leadership. The agency worked to preserve the security of government communications. It also engaged in operative-investigative activities. A major part of its work involved combating dissent and separatism within Soviet society. This meant finding and stopping people who disagreed with the government or wanted to break away. In the Soviet Bloc, the KGB extensively monitored both public and private opinions. They looked for "harmful attitudes" or "hostile acts" that might threaten Communist rule.

The history of the KGB is tied to shifts in Soviet leadership. It was formed in March 1954 under Ivan Serov. This happened after restructuring in the MVD following the fall of Lavrentiy Beria in 1953. The KGB was the direct successor to older agencies like the Cheka, OGPU, and NKVD.

Later, Leonid Brezhnev became a powerful figure in the agency's history. Brezhnev took power in 1964 after a coup d'état. He was concerned about the power of ambitious spy chiefs. Because of this, he removed leaders like Vladimir Semichastny from their positions. In the 1980s, the policy of glasnost led to tension. KGB Chairman Vladimir Kryuchkov led a failed coup in August 1991. This attempt to depose President Mikhail Gorbachev helped lead to the collapse of the USSR. The KGB was officially dissolved on December 3, 1991.

During the Cold War, the KGB focused heavily on foreign intelligence. In the United States, they sought scientific and technological secrets. They were interested in advances in radar, jet propulsion, and encryption. During the Second World War, they even targeted atomic secrets. For example, physicist Klaus Fuchs was a main agent in a spy ring. In 1944, a 19-year-old Harvard physicist named Theodore Hall helped the New York City residency.

Later, the KGB used "walk-in" recruits. In 1967, US Navy Chief Warrant Officer John Anthony Walker began helping the KGB. Over eighteen years, he provided about one million US Navy messages. Other notable successes included the recruitment of FBI agent Robert Hanssen and CIA officer Aldrich Ames.

The KGB also used its power to influence politics in other countries. In 1956, the KGB helped crush the Hungarian Revolution. In 1968, it played a major role in stopping the Prague Spring in Czechoslovakia. To stop the Prague Spring, the KGB used illegal residents disguised as Western tourists. These spies gathered information on supporters of Alexander Dubček's government. They also planted evidence to justify a Soviet invasion.

In Poland, the KGB tried to stop the Solidarity movement in the 1980s. They predicted instability after Karol Wojtyla became Pope John Paul II. Although they infiltrated the movement, the Polish approach prevented total KGB success. In Bangladesh, the KGB tried to influence elections in the 1970s. They increased their presence there from 90 to 200 members by 1979.

The agency used various "active measures" to achieve its goals. One method was disinformation, which involves spreading false information to discredit enemies. They also used sabotage operations and recruited former German intelligence officers. In the 1970s, the KGB tried to buy three banks in northern California. They wanted to use these banks to access high-technology secrets. The banks were Peninsula National Bank, First National Bank of Fresno, and Tahoe National Bank. They used the Moscow Narodny Bank and a businessman named Amos Dawe to try this. However, the CIA eventually thwarted these efforts.

Today, the KGB no longer exists, but its legacy continues through new agencies. In Russia, the KGB was succeeded by the Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) and the Federal Security Service (FSB).

Other nations kept the name for their own services. The Republic of South Ossetia established its own KGB after the 1991–1992 war. Belarus also established the Belarusian KGB in 1991. These modern groups carry on the traditions of intelligence and security in their respective regions.