concluded that Russian President Vladimir Putin had likely authorized his killing. While

it is unclear whether these claims are true, the silencing of dissent is not out of character

for the former Soviet security agency, the KGB. So, what exactly was the KGB, and why

was it so feared in its time?

Well, the KGB or the “Komitet gosudarstvennoy bezopasnosti” was the Soviet Union’s security

and foreign intelligence agency. It operated from 1954 to 1991. When the Soviet Union collapsed

it was replaced by the FSK and then the FSB, in the new Russian Federation. Both have served

similar security functions to the KGB.

During its existence, unlike other country’s security agencies, the KGB was effectively

an independent government body, with little oversight by Russian leaders. The organization

performed a combination of duties, including intelligence gathering, border security, and

propaganda enforcement. However, most controversially it operated as Russia’s secret police and

domestic surveillance unit. More than half a million people were employed by the KGB,

with thousands of international spies. At the time it was the single largest institution

of it’s kind.

Around the world, the KGB gathered information by using “legal resident spies”, which

were Soviet citizens given permission to be in other countries by way of working in embassies

or similar international grounds. They would be able to claim diplomatic immunity if caught.

Russia also had illegal spies, with no immunity, and although it was riskier, they were able

to more easily integrate without immediate suspicion.

Domestically, the KGB was feared as the country’s secret police. They would seek out those suspected

of being anti-communist, or anti-government, and frequently search their homes, and arrest

dissidents. They established individual departments for controlling religious activity, subversive

nationalism, foreign influence, unauthorized media, and specifically the Jewish population.

The KGB even worked against heads of state who threatened the stability of Soviet ideology.

In 1964, former and acting KGB officers staged what has been considered a nonviolent coup

d’état of the Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, replacing him with Leonid Brezhnev. However,

the next attempted coup by the KGB was not as successful. In 1991, as Russian president

Mikhail Gorbachev began implementing reforms, he was arrested by the KGB, who feared a loss

of power. Although the coup failed after two days, it has been pointed to as a major contributor

to the rapid destabilization of the Soviet Union and its collapse that same year.

The KGB was a long feared organization, and a huge source of tension for the United States

during the Cold War. Although it was dissolved alongside the Soviet Union, the current Russian

President Vladimir Putin was himself a KGB officer from 1975 to 1991. Which may be why,

many question whether the influence and methods of the KGB are truly gone from Russian government

is a contentious issue in the political sphere.

The death of Alexander Litvinenko was certainly suspicious. To see a timeline of his alleged

poisoning, check out our video at the top. For a more in depth look at Russia’s problems

with corruption, see the video down below. Thanks for watching Test Tube News, don’t

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