What did the First Chief Directorate do?

The First Chief Directorate was responsible for all international Soviet clandestine activities, apart from military intelligence collection by the GRU and political initiatives of the Communist Party itself.

How was KGB created?

The KGB was created in 1954 to serve as the “sword and shield of the Communist Party.” The new security service, which played a major role in the purge of Beria’s supporters, was designed to be carefully controlled by senior Communist Party officials.

What is Directorate s in the KGB?

Directorate S Directorate S is the department of the KGB that is responsible for the gathering, studying and dissemination of specifically illegally obtained intelligence. The Directorate S illegals program form the main basis for the story behind The Americans.

What did the KGB do in the Soviet Union?

As such, illegal intelligence accounted for the bulk of the Soviet’s intelligence, making Directorate S the most vital part of the KGB’s network. The most famous activity of Directorate S are the illegals – a program run by the KGB that trains, equips, and plants agents under cover in foreign countries.

How many Russian spies did the KGB have?

What we do know comes from the Cold War, when Western counter-intelligence took the Russian threat more seriously. In the mid-1980s, researchers estimated that the KGB’s First Chief Directorate unit operated 200 “illegal” agents, and the GRU, separately, another 150.

How effective was the KGB as an information gathering organization?

A Time magazine article in 1983 reported that the KGB was the world’s most effective information-gathering organization. It operated legal and illegal espionage residencies in target countries where a legal resident gathered intelligence while based at the Soviet embassy or consulate, and, if caught,…