In 1991, the USSR collapsed. The State Security Committee disappeared along with this country. However, the memory of him is still alive not only in the post-Soviet space, but also far beyond its borders.
On account of the KGB - countless special operations that have had a serious impact on the development of the political situation in the world. Many memories of one of the most effective intelligence agencies in the world have survived to this day through folklore. Hundreds of anecdotes, myths, common nouns and more.
Create structure
Immediately after the victory of the revolution, the new people's government created special purpose bodies in the USSR. The State Security Committee de jure appeared only in 1954. At this time, after the death of Stalin, there were quite large-scale reforms. Security agencies have also undergone changes. The KGB, in fact, existed long before that, it just had other names. The department was fairly autonomous, and its leaders played a significant role in the party's political system. Especially sincecalled Khrushchev's "thaw", when the party began to slowly move away from its former ideals and become more and more mired in the quagmire of bureaucracy and nomenklatura.
In post-war times, until 1954, a large-scale counter-espionage program continued in the USSR. The State Security Committee was directly involved in it. There were a huge number of spies, intelligence officers, informants and so on. However, during the Khrushchev reforms, the personnel were significantly reduced. As it became known from documents published in Russia, almost half of the people were laid off.
KGB hierarchy
Soviet intelligence officers controlled all processes in the country and abroad that could threaten the security of the people. The central administration was located in Moscow. Also, each republic had its own central committees. Thus, the order from Moscow was given to the republican departments, of which there were 14, and then to the places.
There were also departments in every city, region, autonomy. Chekists, as the people called the employees of this service, were engaged in investigating especially important or resonant crimes, counterintelligence, searching for spies, political dissidents. One branch was responsible for this. There were others as well.
Departments
This is the border security department that protected the state cordon and prevented the entry of potentially dangerous persons and the exit of unreliable elements. The counterintelligence department, which de alt withanti-spyware activities. Department of Foreign Intelligence. He arranged special operations abroad, including power ones. There was also a department that de alt with ideological issues abroad and in the USSR. The State Security Committee paid special attention to this direction. Employees were directly involved in the control and creation of products of artistic activity. Agents recruited foreign cultural figures to promote communist ideals.
Known covert ops
One of the most famous operations of the KGB was carried out in 1945. The Soviet Union was rebuilding after the destruction of the war. In early February, a children's he alth camp "Artek" was opened in Crimea. The ambassadors of the United States and Great Britain were invited to the solemn opening ceremony. At the end of the celebration, the pioneers sang the original anthem of the United States of America as a tribute to the military alliance. Next, the flattered Harriman was given a handmade wooden coat of arms. The unsuspecting ambassador hung it over his desk. In the coat of arms there was a beetle "Chrysostom", which had no analogues at that time. It could work autonomously without power sources. He allowed the secret services to bug the ambassador's office for 8 years. After discovering the listening device, the Americans tried to copy it, but to no avail.
Military operations
The State Security Committee under the Council of Ministers of the USSR was often involved in various military operations. One of the very first was Operation Whirlwind. In 1956, an uprising broke out in Hungary.against the ruling party, which was loyal to the USSR. The State Security Committee immediately developed a plan to eliminate the leaders of the rebels.
At the end of November, bloody battles unfolded in Budapest between supporters of the nationalist counter-revolution (many of whom supported the Third Reich in World War II) on the one hand, and the Hungarian security services, along with Soviet troops, on the other. The USSR State Security Committee did not take part in them, but developed a plan to capture one of the rebel leaders, Imre Nagy. He was hiding in the Yugoslav embassy, from where he was deceived and handed over to the Romanian side, where he was arrested.
The invaluable experience gained helped the KGB in the next similar operation in Czechoslovakia, where the counter-revolutionary rebellion also had to be suppressed with the help of Soviet troops due to the inability of the communist regime in Czechoslovakia to do it on its own.
The State Security Committee of the USSR was formed in 1954 and existed until 1991. The memory of one of the most successful intelligence agencies in the world has survived to this day.
