KGB

Also known as Committee for State Security, Committee for State Security of the USSR, Committee for State Security of the Soviet Union, CSS of the USSR, State Security Committee of the USSR, State Security Committee of the Soviet Union, SSC of the USSR

The Committee for State Security (, ), abbreviated as KGB (, ; ) was the main security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 to 1991. It was the direct successor of preceding Soviet secret police agencies including the Cheka, OGPU, and NKVD. Attached to the Council of Ministers, it was the chief government agency of "union-republican jurisdiction", carrying out internal security, foreign intelligence, counter-intelligence and secret police functions. Similar agencies operated in each of the republics of the Soviet Union aside from the Russian SFSR, where the KGB was headquartered, with many ass

AI overview

The KGB was the Soviet Union's main security and intelligence agency from 1954 to 1991, responsible for internal security, foreign intelligence, and secret police operations. It matters historically because it was a central instrument of Soviet state control and successor to earlier Soviet secret police forces, wielding significant power over the country's population and activities abroad.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Key facts

Government agency.agency_name: KGB
Government agency.seal: Emblema KGB.svg
Government agency.seal_width: 150
Government agency.preceding1: Cheka (1917–1922)
Government agency.preceding2: GPU (1922–1923)
Government agency.preceding3: OGPU (1923–1934)
Government agency.preceding5: NKGB (February–July 1941/1943–1946)
Government agency.superseding1: MSB (1991)
Government agency.superseding2: TsSR (1991)
Government agency.superseding3: AFB (1991)
Government agency.superseding4: KOGG (1991)
Government agency.headquarters: Lubyanka Building, 2 Bolshaya Lubyanka Street, Moscow, Soviet Union
Government agency.chief1_name: Chairman
Government agency.agency_type: State committee of union-republican jurisdiction
Government agency.child1_agency: Foreign intelligence: First Chief Directorate
Government agency.child2_agency: Counter-Intelligence: Second Chief Directorate
Government agency.child3_agency: Political police: Fifth Chief Directorate
Government agency.child4_agency: Cryptography: Eighth Chief Directorate

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Employees: 480000
Image: RIAN archive 142949 Lubyanka Square in Moscow.jpg

Show 5 more facts

Commons category: KGB
inception: 1954-03-13
dissolved, abolished or demolished date: 1991-12-03
short name: КГБ
native label: Комитет государственной безопасности СССР

Sources (13)

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~34 min read

Article

22 sections

Contents

History
In the US
Between the World Wars
During the Cold War
In the Soviet Bloc
Notable operations
Bangladesh
Afghanistan
August 1991 and dissolution
Organisation
Republican affiliations
Leadership
Directorates
Other units
Mode of operation
List of chairmen
Commemorative and award badges
See also
References
Sources
Further reading
External links

The agency was a military service governed by army laws and regulations, in the same fashion as the Soviet Army or the MVD Internal Troops. While most of the KGB archives remain classified, two online documentary sources are available. Its main functions were foreign intelligence, counter-intelligence, operative-investigative activities, guarding the state border of the USSR, guarding the Soviet leadership, preserving the security of government communications as well as combating dissent and separatism within Soviet society.