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.