KGB is a fairly well-known letter for Russian, and not only, citizens. Even now, in the speech of ordinary people, these three letters slip through, denoting the presence or involvement of any existing special service on the territory of the Russian Federation in this or that case. But what was the KGB as a state organization?
Foundation, goals and functions of the KGB as a department under the USSR
The so-called State Security Committee of the USSR was founded in 1954 by decree of the head of the Supreme Council within the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics to maintain order, intelligence, both internal and external, and to protect borders throughout the USSR, as well as to protect leaders of the CPSU (which was later abolished and removed from the main functions of the KGB).
KGB leadership
It is also interesting that the State Security Committee itself had nothing to do with state administration bodies, but was rather like a kind of department under the existingGovernment of the USSR. The reason for this, according to the stories of some historians, was the desire of the "top" to manage the security agencies, take away their independence and completely subordinate them to themselves. The only strange thing is that all decrees and orders were issued to the State Security Committee, as well as to all other committees and government bodies. Therefore, the question of what were the relations between these two structures remains open.
Also no less secret was such a structure as the NKVD. It was a structure that preceded the KGB. The ID photo is shown above.
Service ID of the KGB of the USSR: what it looked like and a full description
A full description of this document can be made if you see it with your own eyes. Of course, representatives of the State Security Committee did not always unfold their IDs, so many saw them only externally, and not from within. What were the distinguishing features of the ID?
Document Appearance
Outwardly, the USSR KGB ID card looked like a red ticket with the symbol of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on it. Usually, only its appearance was enough for the owner of the document to go where he wanted, or even gain access to secret archives, if his position allowed him. Usually only the most meticulous citizens demanded to show the certificate in full, and this "disposed" to them the employees of the USSR State Security Committee. Why, you ask?
Because one of the main functions of the KGB was to fight just those fellow citizens who did not like or even despised the laws of the Soviet Union, carried out dissenting activities against the Soviet system and violated the foundations introduced by members of the Central Committee of the CPSU, as the basic laws on the state level.
"The insides" of the USSR KGB certificate (sample)
On the left in the corner you can see a 3 x 4 photo card, confirmed by printing. It was this seal that confirmed that the certificate belonged to this person and no one else. There is a part of the seal on the photo itself, so that it would not be possible to forge an ID by finding it on the street (and this really often happened when during the chase, IDs of the KGB of the USSR fell out of the pockets of employees).
There was also a sign of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics with a hammer and sickle - the main symbols of the state at that time. The sign of the state department, in which the symbol of the USSR was located, was somewhat larger so that it was clearly visible to which structure the employee belonged. Below is a photo of the USSR KGB ID.
The document number meant which person on the account received this certificate, usually also meant the “level of access” in conjunction with the series of this document. On the left side, a series of KGB certificates is written (shown in the photo), under which there was a document (it usually indicated when it was issued, from which batch of printed documents it was taken). For example, the RS series (as in the photo) was issued for executiveemployees.
The initials of the owner of the document were written in beautiful handwriting, by a special machine, and not by hand, in order to emphasize the “eliteness” of this certificate. In the certificate of the KGB of the USSR, the form was also filled in with a typewriter. Under the full name was the position of a KGB officer (for example, Yuri Vladimirovich Andropov "KGB officer under the Council of Ministers of the USSR"), as well as the signature and seal of the chairman of the State Security Committee in order to confirm the authenticity of the certificate.
KGB activities after its formation
Needless to say, the KGB allowed itself too much, as it was completely subordinate to the Party, and as you know, "the Party is one, like the Motherland", and could do what it wanted.
In the 50s, with the help of the KGB, she regulated the uprising in Hungary with the help of the KGB and arrested almost five thousand Hungarian protesters - ordinary activists who only wanted to draw attention to the fact that a person was in power who was completely incapable of governing the country, but but pleasing to the Soviet Union. The rally was suppressed very peacefully, but the consequences were quite bloody: according to the latest facts, restored from the KGB archives, it became known that at least 350 people, some of the most radical activists, were executed. They just raised the people to these rallies, forcing people to take to the streets.
In the 60s, the KGB claimed that its employees participated in the operation to eliminate strikes at the Novocherkassk Electric Locomotive Plant no more than observers and regulators. There are no witnesses to this assertion, butexecution of the strikers, according to official documents, the KGB did not take any part. According to the KGB representative, they were simply watching for the "instigators of the riots" and also for their arrest.
In the 80s, there was a "fight against dissidents" who undermined the foundations of the Soviet Union. Everything was used - from physical reprisals to pressure on a person through threats to the family, as well as undermining a career and deportation from the USSR. Over time, this has become more covert and covert.
Followed mainly cultural and scientific figures: writers, artists, as well as various scientists. As an example, Andrei Dmitrievich Sakharov, a physicist, was sent into exile in the city of Nizhny Novgorod (formerly Gorky) for "anti-Soviet activities" for almost 7 years and was under the strict control of the KGB.
