What is the Russian KGB?

The Russian KGB (Komitet Gosudarstvennoi Bezopasnosti) or the Commitee for state security, was the agency that was charged with protecting the security of the Soviet Union. The duration of the KGB was from 1954 to 1991. They were the most feared opposition in the cold war. The KGB was responsible for external espionage(the practice of spying), internal counter-intelligence, and internal ‘crimes against the state’. The KGB is similar to the CIA, only the CIA gone wrong. It was established by Nikita Khrushchev.

How did the KGB start?

The KGB was formed in 1954, taking up the duties of the state security agencies that grew out of the Russian Revolution. Its mission was clear: to defend the Soviet government from its enemies at home and in foreign countries. In Russia, the KGB kept an eye on the Soviet people using spy technology and secret informants. They questiond, tried and jailed those they suspected of being traitors. All spent time in Soviet prisons and labor camps. Outside of Russia, the KGB worked to improve the international influence of the Soviet Union via espionage, counterespionage, covert operations and propaganda campaigns. In short, the KGB as a single Soviet agency was to Russia, what the CIA, the FBI and the National Security Agency was for the United States.

History of the KGB

The KGB worked to undermine U.S. authority and policy in foreign lands. For example, it gave money to groups protesting the deployment of U.S. nuclear weapons in Western Europe during the 1980s, and tried to discredit President Jimmy Carter's Middle East peace talks in the late 1970s by leaking phony U.S. State Department dispatches, including one with plans to overthrow Egyptian President Anwar Sadat. The KGB also took advantage to build Soviet authority and discredit the United States in its own backyard: Latin America. The KGB also began developing ties with the Nicaraguan Marxist group the Sandinistas almost two decades before they took power in 1979. KGB efforts to discredit the United States in the region included the "baby parts" rumor, which stated that supposedly rich Americans were buying Latin Amrican children, then killing them and using their organs for transplants. The KGB was known for their lies and deception.

The End of the KGB/ Why i chose this topic

The end of the KGB came very abrupt and quietly. In August 1991, KGB Chairman Vladimir Kryuchkov led a failed effort to overthrow President Mikhail Gorbachev. Two months later, the agency was dismantled, its duties distributed among several branches of government including the FSB secret police agency and the SVR espionage agency. Needless to say, the KGB's long rule of terror and espionage ended quietly. No fight was put up to save the counter-intellegence group.

I chose this topic because the russian people have always interested me. They always seemed so scary and mysterious. The KGB was a huge part of the cold war. Of course it captured my interest.

Nikita Khrushchev: Leader of the KGB

Nikita Khrushchev was born on April 15, 1894 in Kalinovka, Russia. He led the Soviet Union durin the cold war. Khrushchev’s rise to power came during Stalin’s bloody purges of the 1930s. During World War II Khrushchev served as a political commissar in the army, taking care of the resistance of civilians while coordinating with Stalin and top party members, and acting as political advisor during the crucial defence of Stalingrad (now Volgograd) that marked the turning point of the war. He went on to work in Ukraine, but was soon recalled to Moscow, and after Stalin’s death in 1953 he won a power struggle among the would-be successors. Khrushchev also gave the world the KGB. Established on March 13, 1954, a year after Stalin’s death, the State Security Committee known for its Russian abbreviation KGB, became one of the USSR’s most vital agencies and an internationally-known brand name.

Clark, By J. "The History of the KGB | EHow.com." EHow | How To Do Just About Everything! | How To Videos & Articles. Web. 13 May 2010. .

"Espionage | Define Espionage at Dictionary.com." Dictionary.com | Find the Meanings and Definitions of Words at Dictionary.com. Web. 13 May 2010. .

"KGB." A Dictionary of World History. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 12 May. 2010 .

"Liaison Synonyms | Synonyms of Liaison and Antonyms of Liaison at Thesaurus.com." Thesaurus.com | Find Synonyms and Antonyms of Words at Thesaurus.com. Web. 14 May 2010. .

"Nikita Khrushchev | Those Russians | Russia Now - RT." RT – Latest News. Web. 14 May 2010. .