RUSSIAN SPETSNAZ During the 1970s, when the Cold War was at its height, the West became aware of the existence of Soviet Spetsnaz troops, which were grouped into what were known as “diversionary brigades.” Today, although the Cold War is long since ended, Spetsnaz units are still part of the Russian order-of-battle, although their missions have changed. Spetsnaz (Troops of special purpose) were raised as the troops of the Main razvedyvatel’noe department – GRU and in the 1980s numbered some …

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The basic organizational structure of the KGB was created in 1954, when the reorganization of the police apparatus was carried out. In the late 1980s, the KGB remained a highly centralized institution, with controls implemented by the Politburo through the KGB headquarters in Moscow. Structure of the KGB The KGB organization was originally designated as a “state committee attached to the Council of Ministers.” On July 5, 1978, a new law on the Council of Ministers changed the status of the …

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FSB Structure after reform (2004) : Director – Nikolay Patrushev First deputy – Viktor Pronichev First deputy – Sergei Smirnov Deputy – Vyacheslav Ushakov Deputy – Vladimir Anisimov Services: Counterintelligence service – Oleg Syromolotov Service for the Protection of the Constitutional System and the Fight against Terrorism – Aleksandr Bragin Economic Security Service – Aleksandr Bortnikov Border Service – Viktor Pronichev Organizational and Personnel Service – Yevgeny Lovyrev The Analysis, Forecasting, and Strategic Planning Service – Viktor Komogorov Control Service …

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Federal Protective Service (FSO) The 20,000 members of the Federal Protective Service (FSO) is one of the successors of the KGB, assuming functions of the Ninth Directorate which guarded the Kremlin and key offices of the CPSU. The FSO, headquartered in Block 14 in the Kremlin, supervises top-level government communications, operates and protects underground command centers, maintains the special underground train system that connects key government facilities in the Moscow area, and protects other strategic facilities, and executive aircraft and …

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1917 – The first Soviet state security organization, the Vecheka, was created on 20 December 1917. The Vecheka (All-Russian Extraordinary Commission for Combating Counter-revolution and Sabotage) is more commonly known as the Cheka. 1918 - The NKVD  (People’s Commissariat of Internal Affairs) had been formed to control the militia (police), criminal investigation departments, fire brigades, internal troops, and prison guards. 1922 – With the end of the civil war and the resulting period of stabilization, the Cheka was transformed, on 8 February …

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