People's Commissariat for State Security

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Chronology of Soviet
security agencies
1917–22 Cheka under Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR
(All-Russian Extraordinary Commission)
1922–23 GPU under NKVD of the RSFSR
(State Political Directorate)
1920–91 PGU KGB or
USSR

(First Chief Directorate)
1923–34 OGPU under SNK of the USSR
(Joint State Political Directorate)
1934–46 NKVD of the USSR
(People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs)
1934–41 GUGB of the NKVD of the USSR
(Main Directorate of State Security of
People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs)
1941 NKGB of the USSR
(People's Commissariat of State Security)
1943–46 NKGB of the USSR
(People's Commissariat for State Security)
1946–53 MGB of the USSR
(Ministry of State Security)
1946–54 MVD of the USSR
(Ministry of Internal Affairs)
1947–51

KI MID of the USSR
(Committee of Information under Ministry
of Foreign Affairs)

1954–78 KGB under the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union
(Committee for State Security)
1978–91 KGB of the USSR
(Committee for State Security)
1991 MSB of the USSR
(Interrepublican Security Service)
1991 TsSB of the USSR
(Central Intelligence Service)
1991 KOGG of the USSR
(Committee for the Protection of
the State Border)

The People's Commissariat for State Security (

MGB
).

Separate administration

Changes in Soviet apparatus began in February 1941 with the

GUGB within the NKVD security service responsible for the Red Army
military counter-intelligence, consisting of 12 Sections and one Investigation Unit, was separated from the GUGB NKVD. The official liquidation of the OO GUGB and GUGB as organized units within the NKVD was announced on 12 February 1941 by a joint order № 00151/003 of the NKVD and NKGB USSR.
The rest of the GUGB was abolished and staff were moved to the newly created People's Commissariat for State Security (NKGB). Departments of the former GUGB were renamed Directorates. For example, the former Foreign Department (INO) became the Foreign Directorate (INU); political police represented by the Secret Political Department (SPO) became the Secret Political Directorate (SPU), and so on.

NKGB tasking

Based on NKVD and NKGB directive number 782/B265M, from 1 March 1941, the NKGB tasks were:

  • Conducting intelligence activities abroad;
  • Battling espionage (on both fronts: counter and offensive);
  • Battling sabotage and terrorist acts organized by foreign Special Services on USSR territory;
  • The penetration, and liquidation, of anti-Soviet parties and counter-revolutionary organizations;
  • Overseeing ideology in Soviet society;
  • The protection of high party and government officials.

February 1941 organization

The first head of NKGB was

Vsevolod Nikolayevich Merkulov who became People's Commissar of State Security. His first deputy was Ivan Serov, a former Commissar 3rd rank of State Security, and two deputies, Bogdan Kobulov and Mikhail Gribov
.

People's Commissar of State Security
Vsevolod Merkulov
First Deputy:
Ivan Serov		Deputy:
Bogdan Kobulov
NKGB Office:
V. Golovanov		Deputy:
Mikhail Gribov
First Directorate
(Foreign Intelligence – INU)
Pavel Fitin		Department One
(Government Protection)
Nikolai Vlasik
Second Directorate
(Counter-Intelligence – KRU)
Pyotr Fedotov		Department Two
(Statistics and Archives – USO)
Leonid Bashtakov
Third Directorate
(Secret Political – SPU)
Solomon Milshtein		Department Three
(Operative)
Dmitry Shadrin
Investigative Service
Lev Vlodymyrsky		Department Four
(Technical and Operational)
Evgeny Lapishin
Directorate of Kremlin Commander
Nikolai Spyrydonov		Department Five
(Codes and Ciphers)
Department of Staff
Mikhail Gribov
Department for Administration
Economy and Finance (AChFO)

Changes 1941/1943

The Soviet security organizations were merged in July 1941, after the German invasion, with the NKGB Directorates returned to NKVD as separate units. During 1943 changes NKGB was created again as separate Commissariat. Please look at organization changes below)

These organizational changes were never explained. According to historian John Dziak they may have had something to do with the Soviet occupations of Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, eastern Poland, part of Romania (Bessarabia and northern Bukovina). Also, the numbers of apprehensions, deportations, executions and establishments of Gulags had quickly grown, which required a reorganization of structures and a boost of manpower in the security administration. Other reasons Dziak states are: the shock caused by the German aggression and the fast progress of their army; and when the Soviet victory in Stalingrad had made prospects of the recovery of previous war losses more likely.[1]

1943 organization

People's Commissar of State Security and his deputies
Vsevolod Merkulov
NKGB Office:
Avram Kossoy
First Directorate
(Foreign Intelligence – INU)
Pavel Fitin		Sixth Directorate
(Government Protection)
Nikolai Vlasik
Second Directorate
(Counter-Intelligence – KRU)
Pyotr Fedotov		Directorate of Kremlin Commander
Nikolai Spyrydonov
Third Directorate
(Transport)
Solomon Milshtein		Investigative Service
Lev Vlodymyrsky
Fourth Directorate
(Sabotage Behind Enemy Lines)
Pavel Sudoplatov		Department for Administration
Economy and Finance (AChFO)
Fifth Department
(Codes and Ciphers)
Ivan Shevyelev		Department of Staff
Department A
(Statistics and Archive)
Arkady Gercovsky		Department B
(Technical and Operational)
Evgeny Lapishin		Department W (Censure)

From commissariats to ministries

In 1946, other changes followed. Existing

Ministry for State Security
(Ministerstvo Gosudarstvennoi Bezopasnosti) or MGB.

See also

Notes

  1. ISBN 0669-10258-X
    .

References
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