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FSB is engaged mostly in domestic affairs, while the espionage duties were taken over by the Russian ] (former ] of the ]). However FSB also includes the ] agency, which is involved in electronic surveillance abroad. In addition, FSB operates freely at the territories of the former ], and it can conduct anti-terrorist military operations anywhere in the World if ordered by the President, according to the recently adopted terrorism law. All law enforcement and intelligence agencies in Russia work under guidance of FSB if needed. For example, ], ] and ] detachments of ] work together with FSB in ]. FSB is engaged mostly in domestic affairs, while the espionage duties were taken over by the Russian ] (former ] of the ]). However FSB also includes the ] agency, which is involved in electronic surveillance abroad. In addition, FSB operates freely at the territories of the former ], and it can conduct anti-terrorist military operations anywhere in the World if ordered by the President, according to the recently adopted terrorism law. All law enforcement and intelligence agencies in Russia work under guidance of FSB if needed. For example, ], ] and ] detachments of ] work together with FSB in ].


FSB is responsible for internal security of the Russian state, ], and the fight against ], ], and ]. However, critics claim that it is actually more engaged in suppression of internal dissent, bringing the entire population of Russia under total control, and influencing important political events, just as the ] did in the past. To achieve these goals, FSB implements ] and a variety of ], including ], ] through the state-controlled ], ]s, and ] of opposition politicians, ]s, and ]s. FSB is responsible for internal security of the Russian state, ], and the fight against ], ], and ].


FSB is a very large organization that combines functions and powers like those exercised by the ] ] (FBI), the ], the ], the ] (NSA), ], ], and ]. FSB also commands a contingent of ], ], and an extensive network of civilian informants <ref name="Yuri"/>. The number of FSB personnel and the budget remain state secret, although the budget was reported to jump nearly 40% in ]<ref name="Finn"/>. The number of Chekists in Russia in ] was estimated as approximately 500,000 <ref name="Albats"/>. FSB is a very large organization that combines functions and powers like those exercised by the ] ] (FBI), the ], the ], the ] (NSA), ], ], and ]. FSB also commands a contingent of ], ], and an extensive network of civilian informants <ref name="Yuri"/>. The number of FSB personnel and the budget remain state secret, although the budget was reported to jump nearly 40% in ]<ref name="Finn"/>. The number of Chekists in Russia in ] was estimated as approximately 500,000 <ref name="Albats"/>.


Some observers note that FSB is more powerful than KGB was, because it does not operate under the control of the ] as KGB did in the past. <ref name="Resurrection"> , interview with ], ], and ], ], April 30, 2004. </ref> Moreover, the FSB leadership and their partners own most important economic assets in the country and control Russian government and ]. According to ], "In the Soviet Union, the KGB was a state within a state. Now former KGB officers are running the state. They have custody of the country’s 6,000 nuclear weapons, entrusted to the KGB in the 1950s, and they now also manage the strategic oil industry renationalized by Putin. The KGB successor, rechristened FSB, still has the right to electronically monitor the population, control political groups, search homes and businesses, infiltrate the federal government, create its own front enterprises, investigate cases, and run its own prison system. The Soviet Union had one KGB officer for every 428 citizens. Putin’s Russia has one FSB-ist for every 297 citizens." <ref name="front1"> , interview with ], ], ], and Lt. Gen. Tom McInerney, ], June 23, 2006. </ref> Some observers note that FSB is more powerful than KGB was, because it does not operate under the control of the ] as KGB did in the past. <ref name="Resurrection"> , interview with ], ], and ], ], April 30, 2004. </ref> Moreover, the FSB leadership and their partners own most important economic assets in the country and control Russian government and ]. According to ], "In the Soviet Union, the KGB was a state within a state. Now former KGB officers are running the state. They have custody of the country’s 6,000 nuclear weapons, entrusted to the KGB in the 1950s, and they now also manage the strategic oil industry renationalized by Putin. The KGB successor, rechristened FSB, still has the right to electronically monitor the population, control political groups, search homes and businesses, infiltrate the federal government, create its own front enterprises, investigate cases, and run its own prison system. The Soviet Union had one KGB officer for every 428 citizens. Putin’s Russia has one FSB-ist for every 297 citizens." <ref name="front1"> , interview with ], ], ], and Lt. Gen. Tom McInerney, ], June 23, 2006. </ref>

Some critics argue that FSB is now the leading political force in Russia, which simply replaced the ]. <ref name="Finn"> - by P. Finn - Washington Post, 2006 </ref> Others claim that FSB became an international ] organization that actually promotes and perpetrates the ] and ] in order to achieve its political and financial goals, instead of fighting the terrorism and crime. <ref name="Litvinenko1> A. Litvinenko and A. Goldfarb. ''Gang from Lubyanka'' (Russian) GRANI, New York, 2002. ISBN 0-9723878-0-3. </ref> <ref name="Litvinenko2> Yuri Felshtinsky, Alexander Litvinenko, and Geoffrey Andrews. ''Blowing up Russia : Terror from within.'' New York 2002. ISBN 1-56171-938-2. </ref> <ref name="Satter"/>


==Official FSB activities== ==Official FSB activities==
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In September ] almost out of sight of the public eye FSB was shaken by a major reshuffle, which, combined with some earlier resignments (most remarkably, those of FSB Deputy Directors ] and ] in 2004 and 2005, respectively), were widely believed to be linked to the ] that had slowly unfolded since 2000. Some analysts considered it to be an attempt to undermine FSB Director ]'s influence, as it was Patrushev's team from the ]n KGB Directorate of the late 1980s – early 1990s that had suffered most and he had been on vacations during the event. , , In September ] almost out of sight of the public eye FSB was shaken by a major reshuffle, which, combined with some earlier resignments (most remarkably, those of FSB Deputy Directors ] and ] in 2004 and 2005, respectively), were widely believed to be linked to the ] that had slowly unfolded since 2000. Some analysts considered it to be an attempt to undermine FSB Director ]'s influence, as it was Patrushev's team from the ]n KGB Directorate of the late 1980s – early 1990s that had suffered most and he had been on vacations during the event. , ,

==Criticism of FSB actions==
===Alleged coup organized by FSB===
{{main|Russian apartment bombings}}
Starting from ], people from state security services came to power as Prime Ministers of Russia: a ] veteran ]; former FSB Director ]; and finally former FSB Director ] who was appointed in ] ].

In ], ] began ] which was regarded by ] as a provocation intitiated from Moscow to start war in Chechnya, because Russian forces provided safe passage for Islamic fighters back to Chechnya <ref name="Anna"> </ref>. It was reported that Aleksander Voloshin from Yeltsin administration paid money to ] to stage this military operation <ref name="Dunlop1"> - by John B. Dunlop, ACPC, October 17, 2001 </ref> <ref name="Klebnikov"> Paul Klebnikov: Godfather of the Kremlin: The Decline of Russia in the Age of Gangster Capitalism, ISBN 0-15-601330-4 </ref> <ref name="Pribylovsky"> by Vladimir Pribylovsky and Yuriy Felshtinsky (in Russian).</ref> (Basaev reportedly worked for Russian ] at this time and earlier <ref name="Glucksmann"> - by Andre Glucksmann. Prima-News, March 11, 2005 </ref>
<ref name="Basaev"> The Jamestown Foundation, September 08, 2006 </ref> <ref name="Fuller">
- by Liz Fuller, RFE/RL, March 1, 2005 </ref>).

In ] a series of four ] began. Three FSB agents were caught while planting a large bomb at the basement of an apartment complex in the town of Ryazan in ]. That was last of the bombings. Russian Minister of ] Rushailo congratulated police with preventing the terrorist act, but FSB Director ] had declared that the incident was a training exercise just an hour later, when he had learned that the FSB agents are caught.

Next day, ] received a demand from 24 Russian governors to transfer all state powers to Prime Minister ], according to ] <ref name="Alex"> .</ref> ] began in ]. This war made Prime Minister ] very popular, although he was previously unknown to the public, and helped him to win a landslide victory in the presidential elections in ] ].

That was a successful ] organized by the FSB to bring ] to power, according to former FSB officer ], lawmaker ], and journalist ], a ] and ] scholar <ref name="Litvinenko1"> Yuri Felshtinsky, Alexander Litvinenko, and Geoffrey Andrews. Blowing up Russia : Terror from within. New York 2002. ISBN 1-56171-938-2.</ref> <ref name="Alex"> .</ref> <ref name="Satter">David Satter. ''Darkness at Dawn: The Rise of the Russian Criminal State.'' Yale University Press. 2003. ISBN 0-300-09892-8. </ref>. All attempts to independently investigate the ] were unsuccessful. Journalist ] died in a suspicious plane crash. Vice-chairman of ] commission created to investigate the bombings ] was assassinated. Another member of this commission ] died presumably from poisoning by thallium. Investigator ] hired by relatives of victims was arrested and convicted by Russian authorities for allegedly disclosing state secrets.

===FSB as ruling political elite===
According to former Russian ] member Konstantin Borovoi, "Putin's appointment is the culmination of the KGB's crusade for power. This is its finale. Now the KGB runs the country." <ref name="Paddock"/> Olga Kryshtanovskaya, director of the Moscow-based Center for the Study of Elites, has found that up to 78% of 1,016 leading political figures in Russia have served previously in organizations affiliated with KGB or FSB <ref name="Finn"/>. She said: "If in the Soviet period and the first post-Soviet period, the KGB and FSB people were mainly involved in security issues, now half are still involved in security but the other half are involved in ], ], ]s, regional governments, even culture... They started to use all political institutions."<ref name="Finn"/>
"Like cockroaches spreading from a squalid apartment to the rest of the building, they have eventually gained a firm foothold everywhere," said Sergei Grigoryants, a Soviet dissident. <ref name="Paddock"/>

This situation is very similar to that of the former ] where all key positions in the government were occupied by members of the Communist Party.
The KGB or FSB members usually remain in the "acting reserve" even if they formally leave the organization ("acting reserve" members receive second FSB salary, follow FSB instructions, and remain "above the law" being protected by the organization, according to Kryshtanovskaya <ref name="Kryshtan"> "]s in power: fears or reality?" by Evgenia Albats, ], 4 February 2006 </ref>). As ] said, ''"There is no such thing as a former KGB man"'' <ref name="matthews"> </ref>. ] defector and writer ] explained that members of Russian security services can leave such organizations only in a coffin, because they know too much. Soon after becoming prime minister of Russia, Putin also claimed that ''"A group of FSB colleagues dispatched to work undercover in the government has successfully completed its first mission."'' <ref name="Paddock"> </ref>.

The idea about ] as a political force rather than a security organization has been discussed by journalist ], historian ], retired KGB Major General ] <ref name="Kalugin"> The Centre for Counterintelligence and Security Studies </ref>, and Evgenia Albats, a ] graduate and writer on KGB subjects, who was assigned to examine the KGB archives after the failed ]. According to Albats, most KGB leaders, including ], ], and ], have always struggled for the power with the Communist Party and manipulated the communist leaders. Moreover, FSB has formal membership, military ], an extensive network of civilian informants
<ref name="Yuri"> , by ] Moscow, 1999. </ref>, hardcore ], and support of population (60% of Russians trust FSB <ref name="Trust"> by Maksim Artemiev, grani.ru, December 22, 2006</ref>), which makes it a perfect ] political party <ref name="Albats"> Yevgenia Albats and Catherine A. Fitzpatrick. The State Within a State: The KGB and Its Hold on Russia--Past, Present, and Future. 1994. ISBN 0-374-52738-5.</ref> However the FSB party does not advertise its leading role because the secrecy is an important advantage.

With regard to death of ], the highest-ranking Soviet Bloc intelligence defector, Lt. Gen. ] stated that there is "a band of over 6,000 former officers of the KGB — one of the most criminal organizations in history — who grabbed the most important positions in the federal and local governments, and who are perpetuating Stalin’s, Khrushchev’s, and Brezhnev’s practice of secretly assassinating people who stand in their way." <ref name="Pacepa0"> - by Ion Mihai Pacepa, National Review Online, November 28, 2006 </ref>

===Suppression of internal dissent===
Many Russian opposition lawmakers and investigative journalists have been assassinated while investigating corruption and alleged crimes conducted by ] and state authorities: ], ‎], ], ], ], ], ], ], and many others <ref name="Anna"/>
<ref name="Galina"> </ref> <ref name="Sergei"> </ref>, <ref name="Yuri"/>. Former KGB officer ] believes that murders of writers ] (author of ''"Slaves of KGB"'' ), ], and ] show that ] has returned to the practice of political assassinations which were conducted in the past by Thirteenth ] Department.<ref name="Andrew"> *] and ], ''The ]: The KGB in Europe and the West'', Gardners Books (2000), ISBN 0-14-028487-7 </ref> Just before his death, ] accused ] of personally ordering the assassination of ].

An increasing number of scientists have been accused of espionage and illegal technology exports by ] during the last decade: researcher ]<ref name="Sytyagin"></ref>, physicist ]<ref name="Danilov"></ref> , physical chemist Oleg Korobeinichev <ref name="Korob"></ref>, academician Oskar Kaibyshev <ref name="Kaibyshev"> </ref>, and physicist Yury Ryzhov <ref name="Ryzov"></ref>. Some other widely covered cases of political prosecution include investigator ] <ref name="Trepashkin"> </ref> and journalist Vladimir Rakhmankov <ref name="Vladimir"> </ref>. All these people are either under arrest or serve long jail sentences. Human rights groups also identified ] as a ].

Ecologist and journalist ], who worked with ], was accused of espionage. He published material exposing hazards posed by the Russian Navy's nuclear fleet. He was acquitted in 1999 after spending several years in prison (his case was sent for re-investigation 13 times while he remained in prison). Other cases of prosecution are the cases of investigative journalist and ecologist Grigory Pasko <ref name="Pasko1">
</ref>
<ref name="Pasko"></ref>, Vladimir Petrenko who described danger posed by military chemical warfare stockpiles, and Nikolay Shchur, chairman of the Snezhinskiy Ecological Fund <ref name="Counter"> - by GlobalSecurity.org </ref>

Other arrested people include Viktor Orekhov, a former ] officer who assisted Soviet dissidents, Vladimir Kazantsev who disclosed illegal purchases of eavesdropping devices from foreign firms, and Vil Mirzayanov who
had written that Russia was working on a nerve gas weapon <ref name="Counter"/>

Political dissidents from the former Soviet republics, such as ] and ], are often arrested by ] and extradited to these countries for prosecution, despite to protests from international human rights organizations.
<ref name="Rakhmonov> </ref> <ref name="Podrabinek"> </ref> Special services of ], ], ] and ] also kidnap people at the Russian territory, with the implicit approval of FSB <ref name="Soldatov"> </ref>

There are credible reports that ] use drugs to erase memory of people who had access to secret information <ref name="erase"> </ref>

===Criticism of anti-terrorist operations===
Use of excessive force by FSB ] was criticized with regard to resolving ] and ]. According to ], Russian government kills its citizens without any hesitation. He provided the following examples: murdering of hostages by the poison gas during ]; burning school children alive by ] soldiers who used ]s during ]; crimes committed by ] in ]<ref name="hrw1"> </ref>; and assassination of ] <ref name="Kovalev"> </ref>. ] and ], who conducted unofficial negotiations with terrorists, stated that the hostage takers were not going to use their bombs to kill the people and destroy the building during ] . This was supported by the subsequent events when the Chechens did not use their bombs.

It is also possible that FSB has returned to the old ] practice of creating puppet rebel forces, as during the ], ], or operations against the ] <ref name="Bodansk">
] ''The Secret History of the Iraq War'' (Notes: The historical record). Regan Books, 2005, ISBN 0-060-73680-1 </ref> Former FSB officer ] stated in a ] interview, with the ]n ] television programme '']'', that two of the Chechen terrorists involved in the 2002 ] &mdash; whom he named as "Abdul the Bloody" and "Abu Bakar" &mdash; were working for the FSB, and that the agency manipulated the rebels into staging the attack.<ref>{{cite web
| last = Lazaredes
| first = Nick
| title = Terrorism takes front stage &mdash; Russia’s theatre siege
| work =
| publisher = SBS
| date = ] ]
| url = http://news.sbs.com.au/dateline/index.php?page=archive&daysum=2003-06-04#
| accessdate = 2006-11-28 }}</ref> Litvinenko said: "hen they tried to find among the dead terrorists, they weren't there. The FSB got its agents out. So the FSB agents among Chechens organised the whole thing on FSB orders, and those agents were released." The story about FSB connections with the hostage takers was confirmed by ]. <ref name="cp1-12">{{ru icon}}{{cite web
| title = М. Трепашкин: «Создана очень серьезная группа»
| publisher = Chechen Press State News Agency
| date = ], ]
| url = http://www.chechenpress.info/events/2006/12/01/03.shtml
| accessdate = 2006-12-01 }}</ref> ] and other journalists also accused FSB of staging many smaller ] acts, such as market place bombing in the city of ], bus stops bombings in the city of ], and the blowing up the ]-] train <ref name="Latyn"> - by ], ], 03 April, 2006. </ref> <ref name="astrakhan"> by Vjacheslav Izmailov, ], 07 November, 2005. </ref>, whereas innocent people were convicted or killed. Journalist ] claimed that bombing in Moscow metro in 2004
<ref name="metro1"> - by Roman Kupchinsky, RFE/RL Reports, 12 March, 2004 </ref>
was probably organized by FSB agents rather than by the unknown man who called to ] and claimed his responsibility <ref name="Boris"> - by Boris Stomakhin </ref>. Stomakin was arrested and imprisoned for writing this and other articles. <ref name="a19"> , 23 November 2006 </ref>

Many ] and workers of international ]s are reported to be kidnapped by FSB-affiliated forces in ] who pretended to be Chechen terrorists: ] from ], ] and Kenneth Glack from ], and others <ref name="delivery"> - by Vyacheslav Ismailov, ] 27 January, 2005 </ref>

According to ], most of the "Islamic terrorism cases" were fabricated by the government, and the confessions have been obtained through the torture of innocent suspects. "The plight of those sentenced for Islamic terrorism today is the same as that of the political prisoners of the ]... Russia continues to be infected by ]", she said. <ref name="Stalin"> </ref>.

===Alleged involvement in organized crime===
Former FSB officer ] accused FSB personnel of involvement in organized crime, such as ] and ]s. <ref name="Litvinenko"> A. Litvinenko and ]. ''Gang from Lubyanka'' {{ru icon}} GRANI, New York, 2002. ISBN 0-9723878-0-3.
</ref> It was noted that FSB, far from being a reliable instrument in the fight against organized crime, is institutionally a part of the problem, due not only to its co-optation and penetration by criminal elements, but to its own absence of a legal bureaucratic culture and use of crime as an instrument of state policy
<ref name="crime"> - by J. M. Waller and V. J. Yasmann, Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, Vol. 11, No. 4, December 1995.</ref>

===International affairs===
FSB collaborates very closely with ] services from some former ], especially ], ], and ] <ref name="Soldatov1"> - by Andrei Soldatov and Irina Dorogan, ], 27 February, 2006. </ref> <ref name="Soldatov2"> - by Andrei Soldatov and Irina Dorogan, ], 27 March, 2006. </ref>
The FSB is accused of working to undermine governments of ]<ref name="Soldatov2"/> and ] <ref name="Giorgadze"> - by Olga Allenova and Vladimir Novikov, Kommersant, Sep. 07, 2006. </ref>. During ] several Russian ] officers were accused by Georgian authorities of preparations to commit ] and ] acts. Historian J. R. Nyquist believes that "The KGB president of Russia wants to reestablish the USSR. Whether America likes it or not, this very fact leads us to a new Cold War." <ref name="Cold"> by J. R. Nyquist, Geopolitical Global Analysis, April 29, 2005 </ref>

Chairman of the ] ] found than many Russian state-controlled companies are involved in the ]-related fraud. As a part of this affair, former FSB Director ] had received large kickbacks from ] according to Butler . KGB, FSB and Russian government had very close relationships with ] and ] Mukhabarat according to ], the Director of Research of the ].


==History== ==History==

Revision as of 05:36, 18 May 2007

This May 2007 may be unbalanced toward certain viewpoints. Please improve the article by adding information on neglected viewpoints, or discuss the issue on the talk page.
For other uses, see FSB.
FSB

The FSB (Federal Security Service) (Russian: ФСБ, Федера́льная слу́жба безопа́сности; Federalnaya Sluzhba Bezopasnosti) is a domestic state security agency of the Russian Federation and the main successor of the Soviet Cheka, NKVD, and KGB. Its headquarters are in Lubyanka Square, Moscow.

Overview

Lubyanka Headquarters

FSB is engaged mostly in domestic affairs, while the espionage duties were taken over by the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (former First Chief Directorate of the KGB). However FSB also includes the FAPSI agency, which is involved in electronic surveillance abroad. In addition, FSB operates freely at the territories of the former Soviet republics, and it can conduct anti-terrorist military operations anywhere in the World if ordered by the President, according to the recently adopted terrorism law. All law enforcement and intelligence agencies in Russia work under guidance of FSB if needed. For example, GRU, spetsnaz and Internal Troops detachments of Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs work together with FSB in Chechnya.

FSB is responsible for internal security of the Russian state, counterespionage, and the fight against organized crime, terrorism, and drug smuggling.

FSB is a very large organization that combines functions and powers like those exercised by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Federal Protective Service, the Secret Service, the National Security Agency (NSA), U.S. Customs and Border Protection, United States Coast Guard, and Drug Enforcement Administration. FSB also commands a contingent of Internal Troops, spetsnaz, and an extensive network of civilian informants . The number of FSB personnel and the budget remain state secret, although the budget was reported to jump nearly 40% in 2006. The number of Chekists in Russia in 1992 was estimated as approximately 500,000 .

Some observers note that FSB is more powerful than KGB was, because it does not operate under the control of the Communist Party as KGB did in the past. Moreover, the FSB leadership and their partners own most important economic assets in the country and control Russian government and State Duma. According to Ion Mihai Pacepa, "In the Soviet Union, the KGB was a state within a state. Now former KGB officers are running the state. They have custody of the country’s 6,000 nuclear weapons, entrusted to the KGB in the 1950s, and they now also manage the strategic oil industry renationalized by Putin. The KGB successor, rechristened FSB, still has the right to electronically monitor the population, control political groups, search homes and businesses, infiltrate the federal government, create its own front enterprises, investigate cases, and run its own prison system. The Soviet Union had one KGB officer for every 428 citizens. Putin’s Russia has one FSB-ist for every 297 citizens."

Official FSB activities

Counterintelligence

FSB Director Nikolay Kovalev said in 1996: "There has never been such a number of spies arrested by us since the time when German agents were sent in during the years of World War II." FSB reported that around 400 foreign intelligence agents were uncovered in 1995 and 1996. In 2006 FSB reported about 27 foreign intelligence officers and 89 foreign agents whose activities were stopped.

Federal Border Guard Service

Federal Border Guard Service (FPS) has been part of the FSB since 2003. Russia has 61,000 kilometers of sea and land borders, 7,500 kilometers of which is with Kazakhstan, and 4,000 kilometers with China. One kilometer of border protection costs around 1 million rubles per year. Vladimir Putin called on the FPS to increase the fight against international terrorism and "destroy terrorists like rats".

Anti-terrorist operations

Over the years, FSB and affiliated state security organizations have killed all elected and appointed presidents of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria including Dzhokhar Dudaev, Zelimkhan Yandarbiev, Aslan Maskhadov, and Abdul-Khalim Saidullaev. Just before his death, Saidullaev claimed that Russian government "treacherously" killed Maskhadov, after inviting him to "talks" and promising his security "at the highest level."

A few dozen people have been convicted in courts for alleged terrorist activities or for "promoting national hatred". Islamist guerrilla leader Shamil Basaev was reportedly killed by FSB forces. During the Moscow theater hostage crisis and Beslan school hostage crisis, all hostage takers were executed on the spot by FSB spetsnaz forces. Only one of the suspects, Nur-Pashi Kulayev, survived and was convicted later by the court. It is reported that more than 100 leaders of terrorist groups have been killed during 119 operations on North Caucasus during 2006.

On July 28, 2006 the FSB presented a list of 17 organizations recognized as terrorist by the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, to Rossiyskaya Gazeta newspaper, which published the list that day. The list had been available previously, but only through individual request. Commenting on the list, Yuri Sapunov, head of anti-terrorism at the FSB, named three main criteria necessary for organizations to be listed.

Fight with corruption and organized crime

FSB cooperates with Interpol and other national and international law-enforcement agencies. It has provided information on many Russian criminal groups operating in Europe. FSB has also been involved in preparation of requests for extradition of high-profile suspects who escaped abroad, such as Aleksander Litvinenko, Oleg Kalugin, Akhmed Zakayev, Leonid Nevzlin, and Boris Berezovsky. However, these requests have been denied by UK, US, and Israeli courts.

Heads of the FSB and its predecessors

On June 20, 1996, Yeltsin fired FSB Director Mikhail Barsukov and appointed Nikolay Kovalyov acting Director and later Director of the FSB. Russian president Vladimir Putin was head of the FSB from July 1998 to August 1999.

Structure

Structure of the Federal Office (incomplete):

Military Counterintelligence Directorate - chiefs: Alexander Bezverkhny (at least since 2002), Vladimir Petrishchev (since January 1996)
Directorate for Terrorism and Political Extremism Control – chiefs: Mikhail Belousov, before him Grafov, before the latter Boris Mylnikov (since 2000)
Inspection Directorate – chiefs: Vladimir Anisimov (2004-May 2005), Rashid Nurgaliyev (July 12 2000 - 2002),
Internal Security Directorate – chiefs: Alexander Kupryazhkin (until September 2006), Sergei Shishin (before Kupryazhkin since December 2002), Sergei Smirnov (April 1999 – December 2002), Viktor Ivanov (1998 – Aril 1999), Nikolay Patrushev (1994-1998)

Besides the services (departments) and directorates of the federal office, the territorial directorates of FSB in Federal subjects of Russia are also subordinate to it.

Of these, St. Petersburg and Leningrad Oblast Directorate of FSB and its predecessors (historically covering both Leningrad/Saint Petersburg and Leningrad Oblast) have played especially important role in the history of this organization, as many of the officers of the Directorate, including Vladimir Putin and Nikolay Patrushev, later assumed important positions within the federal FSB office or other government bodies. After the last Chief of the Soviet time, Anatoly Kurkov, the St. Petersburg and Leningrad Oblast Directorate has been led by Sergei Stepashin (November 29, 1991 - 1992), Viktor Cherkesov (1992 –1998), Alexander Grigoryev (October 1, 1998 – January 5, 2001), Sergei Smirnov (January 5, 2001 – June 2003), Alexander Bortnikov (June 2003 – March 2004) and Yury Ignashchenkov (since March 2004).

Recent Developments

In September 2006 almost out of sight of the public eye FSB was shaken by a major reshuffle, which, combined with some earlier resignments (most remarkably, those of FSB Deputy Directors Yury Zaostrovtsev and Vladimir Anisimov in 2004 and 2005, respectively), were widely believed to be linked to the Three Whales Corruption Scandal that had slowly unfolded since 2000. Some analysts considered it to be an attempt to undermine FSB Director Nikolay Patrushev's influence, as it was Patrushev's team from the Karelian KGB Directorate of the late 1980s – early 1990s that had suffered most and he had been on vacations during the event. , ,

History

Initial reorganization of KGB

Following the attempted coup of 1991 against Mikhail Gorbachev, the KGB was dismantled and formally ceased to exist after November 1991. Its successor, the FSK (Federalnaya Sluzhba Kontrrazvedki (Федера́льная Слу́жба Контрразве́дки), Federal Counterintelligence Service, which had been known for some time as the Security Ministry of Russia) was reorganized into the FSB by the Federal Law of April 3, 1995, "On the Organs of the Federal Security Service in the Russian Federation", making the new FSB a more powerful organization.

This law described the FSB role in the regions:

  • Clarified the FSB role in the Armed Forces
  • Gave the FSB director ministerial status and the rank of army general
  • Allowed it to conduct intelligence work and to protect Russian citizens and enterprises abroad
  • Obliged the FSB to inform the president and the prime minister about national threats
  • Gave the FSB powers of detention and the right to enter any premises or property "if there is sufficient evidence to suppose that a crime is being been perpetrated there" without a warrant
  • Permitted the FSB to set up special units, carrying firearms, and to train security personnel in private companies
  • Established the control structures over the FSB.

The FSB reforms were rounded out by No. 633, signed by Boris Yeltsin on June 23, 1995. The made the tasks of the FSB more specific, giving the FSB substantial rights to conduct cryptographic work, and described the powers of the FSB director. The number of deputy directors was increased to 8: 2 first deputies, 5 deputies responsible for departments and directorates and 1 deputy director heading the Moscow City and Moscow regional directorate. Yeltsin appointed Colonel-General Mikhail Ivanovich Barsukov as the new director of the FSB.

1997

In May 1997, the FSB was reorganized again following a political power struggle. The FSB structure was changed into five departments and six directorates:

  • Counterintelligence Department
  • Anti terrorist Department
  • Analysis, Forecasts and Strategic Planning Department
  • Personnel and Management Department
  • Operational Support Department
  • Directorate of Analysis and Suppression of the Activity of Criminal Organizations
  • Investigation Directorate
  • Operational-Search Directorate
  • Operational-Technical Measures Directorate
  • Internal Security Directorate
  • Administration Directorate
  • Prison
  • Scientific-Technical centre

The FSB was not to recruit civilian personnel and the number of places offered by the FSB Academy was cut back.

2000-2004

FSB has a complex and somewhat shady structure, which has been reorganized several times.

On June 172000, President Vladimir Putin signed a decree, according to which FSB was supposed to have a director, a first deputy director and eight other deputy directors, including one stats-secretary and the chiefs of six departments (Economic Security Department, Counterintelligence Department, Organizational and Personnel Service, Department of activity provision, Department for Analysis, Forecasting and Strategic Planning, Department for Protection of the Constitutional System and the Fight against Terrorism). On June 112001, the President introduced one more deputy director position.

According to a decree signed by Putin on March 112003, by July 1 Border Guard Service of Russia had been transferred to FSB while FAPSI, agency of government telecommunications, had been abolished, granting FSB with a major part of its functions.

On August 122003 Putin allowed FSB to have three first deputy directors, including the Chief of the Border Guard Service (Vladimir Pronichev), and specified that a deputy director position must be assumed by the Chief of the Inspection Directorate. On July 112004, the President reorganized FSB again. It was prescribed to have a director, two first deputy directors (Sergei Smirnov and Vladimir Pronichev), one of whom should be the Chief of the Border Guard Service (Pronichev), and two other deputy directors (Vladimir Anisimov and Vyacheslav Ushakov) including one stats-secretary (Ushakov). Seven other deputy director positions ceased to exist. By the same decree the departments were renamed to services (and the Department for Analysis, Forecasting and Strategic Planning to Operational Information and International Relations Service). The previously independent Military Counterintelligence Directorate was subordinated to the Counterintelligence Directorate, and the Control Service was created out of the Inspection Directorate, Internal Security Directorate as well as some other subdivisions that had previously been subordinate directly to the FSB Chief.

On December 22005, Putin authorized FSB to have one more deputy director. This position was assumed by Vladimir Bulavin on March 32006.

Trivia

In the beginning of 2006 the Italian news agency ANSA reported the publication on the FSB website of an offer, open to Russian citizens working as spies for a foreign country, to work as double agents.

See also

References

  1. Cite error: The named reference Yuri was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. Cite error: The named reference Finn was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. Cite error: The named reference Albats was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. Symposium: KGB Resurrection, interview with Vladimir Bukovsky, Ion Mihai Pacepa, and R. James Woolsey, Jr., FrontPageMagazine.com, April 30, 2004.
  5. Symposium: When an Evil Empire Returns, interview with Ion Mihai Pacepa, R. James Woolsey, Jr., Yuri Yarim-Agaev, and Lt. Gen. Tom McInerney, FrontPageMagazine.com, June 23, 2006.
  6. Counterintelligence Cases- by GlobalSecurity.org
  7. ^ Story to the Day of Checkist - by Vladimir Voronov, for grani.ru, December 2006.
  8. Putin Calls On FSB To Modernize Border Guards by Victor Yasmann for Radio Free Europe, December 2005.
  9. Russia Used 'Deception' To Kill Maskhadov, March 8, 2006 (RFE/RL)
  10. "17 particularly dangerous" (in Russian). Rossiyskaya Gazeta. July 28, 2006. Retrieved 2006-08-13.
  11. "'Terror' list out; Russia tags two Kuwaiti groups". Arab Times. August 13, 2006. Retrieved 2006-08-13.
  12. "Russia names 'terrorist' groups". BBC News. July 28, 2006. Retrieved 2006-08-13.
  13. But see N. Gevorkian, The KGB: "They still need us", 49 Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists 36 (1993)).

Further reading

External links

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