First Chief Directorate

The First Chief Directorate (Russian: Первое Главное Управление) [or-PGU] of the Committee for State Security (KGB), was the organization responsible for foreign operations and intelligence collection activities by the training and management of covert agents, intelligence collection management, and the collection of political, scientific and technical intelligence. Formed with in KGB structures in 1954, and after the collapse of the Soviet Union changed in Central Intelligence Service, and latter renamed Foreign Intelligence Service or SVR.

KGB

History of foreign intelligence in USSR

From beginning foreign intelligence played important role in Soviet Union foreign policy. In USSR foreign intelligence was formally formed in 1920, as a foreign department of Cheka (Inostrannyj Otdiel - INO). But soviet intelligence services were formed during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1920. December 19 1918, Central Committee Bureau of the RKP(b) had decide to combine front formations of Cheka and the Military Control Units, with were control by the Military Revolutionary Committee, and responsible for counter-intelligence activates, in to one organ with was named Special Section (department) of Cheka. The head of Special Section (department) was Mikhail Sergeyevich Kiedrov. The task of Special Section was to run human intelligence: to gather political and military intelligence behind enemy lines, and expose and neutralize counter-revolutionary elements in Red Army. In the beginning of 1920, in Cheka's Special Section there was under section named War Information Bureau (WIB) it conduct political, military, scientific and technical intelligence in surrounding countries. WIB headquarters was located in Kharkiv and was divided in two sections: Western and Southern. Each Section had 6 groups - 1st - registration, 2nd - personal, 3rd - technical, 4th - finance, 5th - law and 6th - organization. WIB had it own internal stations, one in Kiev and one in Odessa. The first one had so called national section - Polish, Jewish, German and Czech Republic.

INO organization

The soviet defeat in the Polish-Bolshevik War, was the main reason for the formation of large independent intelligence department in Cheka structures. December 20 1920, Felix Edmundovich Dzerzhinsky, created Foreign Department (Innostranny Otdel - INO), made up of - Management office (INO chief and two deputies), chancellery, agents department, visas bureau and foreign sections. In 1922 after creation of State Political Directorate (GPU) and connecting it with People's Commisariat for Internal Affairs of the RSFSR, foreign intelligence was conduct by GPU Foreign Department, and between December 1923 and July 1934 by Foreign Department of Joint State Political Administration or OGPU. In July 1934, OGPU was reincorporated into NKVD of the USSR, and renamed The Main Directorate of State Security or GUGB. Till October 9 1936 INO was operated in side GUGB organization as a one of its departments. Then for conspiracy purposes People's Commissar of Internal Affairs Nikolai Yezhov, in his order #00362 had introduce numeration of department in GUGB organization, so Foreign Department or INO of the GUGB become GUGB's Department 7, and later Department 5. By 1941 foreign intelligence was given highest status and from department was enlarge to directorate, and the name had change from INO - Innostranny Otdiel, to INU - Inostrannoye Upravleniye, Foreign Directorate. During next years soviet security and intelligence organs when thru frequent organizational changes. From February to July 1941 foreign intelligence was the responsibility of recently created new administration The People's Commissariat of State Security (NKGB) and was working in its structure as a 1st Directorat, and after July 1941 organizational changes, as a 1st Directorate of the People's Commisariat for Internal Affairs (NKVD).

It return to former state already in April 1943, NKGB dealt with foreign intelligence as a 1st Directorat of NKGB, that state remain to 1946, when all People's Commissariats were renamed Ministries, NKVD was renamed Ministry of Internal Affairs or MVD, and the NKGB was was renamed in to Ministry of State Security, or MGB. From 1946 do 1947 1st Directorat of the MGB, was conducting foreign intelligence. In 1947 the GRU (military intelligence) and MGB's 1st Directorat was moved to recently created foreign intelligence agency by the name of Committee of Information, or KI. In the summer of 1948 the military personnel in KI were returned to the Soviet military to reconstitute a foreign military intelligence arm of the GRU. KI sections dealing with the new East Bloc and Soviet emigres were returned to the MGB in late 1948. In 1951 the KI returned to the MGB, as a First Chief Directorate of the Ministry of State Security.

After the death of long time Soviet leader Joseph Stalin in March 1953, Lavrenty Beria to take-over of all-out control over security and intelligence organs, it had disband the MGB and its existing tasks were given to the Ministry of Internal Affiars (MVD), with he was in control. In MVD the foreign intelligence was conduct by the Second Chief Directorate, and after the creation of KGB foreign intelligence was conduct by the First Chief Directorate of the Committee for State Security or KGB.

Chiefs of foreign intelligence

File:Solomon Mogylevsky.jpg

Solomon Mogilevsky

First chief of soviet foreign intelligence service, Cheka foreign department (Inostranny Otdel -INO), was born in 1888 Yakov Davydov. He was the head of foreign department to 1921, when he was replaced by long time revolutionary Solomon Mogilevsky. He led INO only for few months, as in 1925 he died in a plane crash.

He was replaced by Mikhail Trilisser, also a revolutionary. Trilisser specialized in tracing secret enemy informers and political spies in side Bolshevik party. Before becoming INO chief, he led it Section of Western and Eastern Europe. Under Trilisser management foreign intelligence, has become big professional and respected by opponents service, this period characterizes enlisting of foreign agents, wide use of emigrants for intelligence tasks, organization of network of independent agents. Trilisser himself was very active, he personally travel to Berlin and Paris for meetings with important agents.

Trilisser left his position in 1930, and was replaced by Artur Artuzov, the former chief of department of counter-intelligence (or - KRO) and main initiator of Operation Trust. In 1936 Artuzov was replace by then Commissar 2nd rank of State Security Abram Slutsky. Slutsky was active participant of October Revolution and war, he has started work in security organs in 1920, by joining Cheka and later worket in OGPU Economic Department. Then in 1931 he went to serve in OGPU's Foreign Department (INO), and often left the country for Germany, France and Spain, where he participated in the Spanish Civil War. In February 1938 Slutsky was invited to the office of GUGB head komkor Mikhail Frinovsky, where he was poisoned and died.

Slutsky was replaced by Zelman Passov, but soon he was arrested and murdered, his successor Sergey Spiegelglas had met with same fate, by the end of 1938 he was arrested and murdered. Next chief (acting) of Foreign Department for only 3 weeks was the experienced NKVD officer Pavel Sudoplatov. Before he become INO head in May, 1938, on Stalin's direct order, he personally assassinated the Ukrainian nationalist leader Yavhen Konovalets.

Later in June, 1941, Sudoplatov was placed in charge of the NKVD's Administration for Special Tasks, the principal task of which was to carry out sabotage operations behind enemy lines in wartime (both it and the Foreign Department had also been used to carry out assassinations abroad). During World War II, his unit helped organize guerrilla bands, and other secret behind-the-lines units for sabotage and assassinations, to fight the Nazis. In February, 1944, Lavrenty Beria (head of NKVD) named Pavel Sudoplatov to also head the newly-formed Department S, which united both GRU and NKVD intelligence work on the atomic bomb; he was also given a management role in the Soviet atomic effort, to help with coordination.

After Sudoplatov left his post, he was replace by Vladimir Dekanozov, before becoming INO head, Dekanozov was Deputy Chairman of Georgian Council of People's Commissars and after he left his post in 1939 he become the USSR ambassador in Berlin. For the next seven years, from 1939 to 1946, the chief foreign intelligence department (then 5,th Department of the GUGB/NKVD), was very young NKVD officer and graduate of first official intelligence school (SHON), major of State Security Pavel Fitin. Fitin graduated from a program in engineering studies at the Timiryazev Agricultural Academy in 1932 after which he served in the Red Army, then became an editor for the State Publishing House of Agricultural Literature. The Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) selected him for a special course in foreign intelligence.

Fitin became deputy chief of the NKVD's foreign intelligence in 1938, then a year later at the age of thirty-one became chief. The Russian Foreign Intelligence Service credits Fitin with rebuilding the depleted foreign intelligence department after Stalin's Great Terror. Fitin also is credited with providing ample warning of the German Invasion of 22 June 1941 that began the Great Patriotic War. Only the actual invasion saved Fitin from execution for providing the head of the NKVD, Lavrenty Beria, with information General Secretary of the CPSU, Josef Stalin did not want to believe. Beria retained Fitin as chief of foreign intelligence until the war ended but demoted him.

From June to September 1946, the head of foreign intelligence (MGB 1st directorate), was born in 1907 Lieutenant General Peter Kubatkin, when he was replace by a born in 1900 then Lieutenant General Peter Fyodotov, before he become head of foreign intelligence he was working in OGPU/GUGB counter-intelligence and Secret Political department's, then he headed the NKVD's counter-intelligence department. From 1949 to 1951 the head of intelligence in Committee of Information was Sergey Savchenko. Savchenko was born in 1904, first he was working as a security guard. He joint soviet security organs in 1922, in 1940's was a top NKVD man in Ukrainian SSR. When Andrey Vyshinsky become Minister for Foreign Affairs and the haed of Committee of Information, Savhenko was his deputy and head of foreign intelligence. In 1951 he was replace by Lt. Gen. Yevgeny Petrovich Pitovranov, long time secret service worker. Between 1950 and 1951 he was the deputy of MGB head Viktor Abakumov.

When March 5, 1953 MVD and MGB are merged into the MVD by Lavrenty Beria, his people took over all high positions, the foreign intelligence (2nd Chief Directorat of the MVD), was given to Vassilii Rasnoy. After Lavrenty Beria was arrested along with his people in MVD, Aleksandr Paniushkin become the head of foreign intelligence.

First residentura and operations

In the first years of existence soviet russia did not have many foreign missions that could provide official camouflage for legal outpost of intelligence called residentura, so, foreign department (INO) relied mainly on illegals, officers assigned to foreign countries under false identities. Later when official soviet embassies, diplomatic offices and foreign missions have been created in major cities around the world, they were used to built legal intelligence post called residentura. It was led by resident his real identity was known only to the ambassador.

First operations of soviet intelligence concentrated mainly on russian military and political emigration organizations. According to Lenin directions foreign intelligence department has choose as his main target the White Guard people (White movement), which the largest groups were in Berlin, Paris and Warsaw. Intelligence and counter-intelligence department led long so called intelligence games, against russian emigration, as a result of those games main representatives of russian emigration likie Boris Savinkov were arrested and send for many years to prisons. Another well known action against russian emigration conducted in 1920's was Operation Trust (Trust Operation). "Trest" was an operation to set up a fake anti-Bolshevik underground organization, "Monarchist Union of Central Russia", MUCR (Монархическое объединение Центральной России, МОЦР). The "head" of the MUCR was Alexander Yakushev (Александр Александрович Якушев), a former bureaucrat of Ministry of Communications of Imperial Russia, who after the Russian Revolution joined the Narkomat of External Trade (Наркомат внешней торговли), when the Soviets had to allow the former specialists (called "specs", "спецы") to take positions of their expertise. This position allowed him to travel abroad and contact Russian emigrants. MUCR kept the monarchist general Alexander Kutepov (Александр Кутепов), head of a major emigrant force, Russian All-Military Union ( Русский общевоинский союз), from active actions, who was convinced to wait for the development of the internal anti-Bolshevik forces.

Among the successes of "Trest" was the luring of Boris Savinkov and Sidney Reilly into the Soviet Union to be arrested. In soviet intelligence history 1930's have proceeded as a so called Era of the Great Illegals. Among others Arnold Deutch and Yuri Modin, were officers leading Cambridge Five case.

One of the biggest success of soviet foreign intelligence was the penetration of american Manhattan Project, it was the code name for the effort during World War II to develop the first nuclear weapons of the United States with assistance from the United Kingdom and Canada. Information gather in United States, Great Britain and Canada, especially in USA, by NKVD and NKGB agents then supply to soviet physicist, allowed them to carry out first nuclear explosion already in 1949.

First Chief Directorate

FCD organization