Wikipedia / Main Directorate of State Security
Wikipedia / Main Directorate of State Security
The Main Directorate of State Security (, Главное управление государственной безопасности, ГУГБ, GUGB) was the name of the Soviet Union's most important security body within the People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs NKVD USSR. At the time of its existence, which was from July 10, 1934 to February 3, 1941, the GUGB reflected exactly the Secret Operational Directorate within OGPU under the Council of People's Commissars, which operated within OGPU structure from 1923 to 1931/32. An intelligence service and secret police from July 1934 to February 1941, it was run under the auspices of the Peoples Commissariat of Internal Affairs (NKVD). Its first head was first deputy of People's Commissar of Internal Affairs (then Genrikh Yagoda), Commissioner 1st rank of State Security Yakov Agranov.
History
The Main Directorate of State Security evolved from the Joint State Political Directorate (or OGPU). On February 3, 1941, the Special Sections (00) of the GUGB-NKVD (responsible for counter-intelligence in the military) became part of the Army and Navy (RKKA and RKKF, respectively). The GUGB was disbanded as an organization within NKVD USSR. The units that operated in GUGB were reorganized and made the core of the newly made People's Commissariat of State Security or NKGB.
Following the outbreak of World War II, the NKVD and NKGB were reunited, not as GUGB but as totally separate directorates. On July 20, 1941, Army and Airforce counter-intelligence was returned to the NKVD as Directorate of Special Departments under Viktor Abakumov; in January 1942, Navy CI followed. In April 1943, it was again transferred to the Narkomat of Defence and Narkomat of the Navy, becoming SMERSH (from Smert' Shpionam or "Death to Spies"); at the same time, the GUGB was again separated from the NKVD as NKGB.
GUGB heads
Genrikh Yagoda 10 July 1934 - 26 September 1936
Yakov Agranov 29 December 1936 - 15 April 1937
Mikhail Frinovsky 15 April 1937 - 28 March 1938
Lavrentiy Beria 29 September 1938 - 17 December 1938
Vsevolod Merkulov 17 December 1938 - 3 February 1941
Vsevolod Merkulov 20 July 1941 - 14 April 1943
Organization
Between 1934 and 1941, the Main Directorate of State Security went through several organizational changes. In January 1935, there were nine departments in the GUGB structure:
(head of GUGB)Commissioner 1st rank of State Security Yakov Agranov
Operational Department (headed by)Karl Pauker
Special DepartmentGleb Bokii
Department of Economics – (ЭКО/EKO)Lev Mironov
Secret Political Department – (СПО/SPO)Georgy Molchanov
Foreign Department – (ИНО/INO)Artur Artuzov
Department of Transport – (ТО)Vladimir Kichkin
Department of Information and Statistic – (УСО/USO)Yakov Genkin
Staff Department – (OK)Yakov Weynschtok
By the end of 1937 the People's Commissar of Internal Affairs Nikolai Yezhov, in his order #00362 had changed the number of departments from five to twelve.
(head of GUGB)komkor Mikhail Frinovsky
Department 1 [Protection of Government]Israel Dagin
Department 2 [Operative]Ans Zalpeter
Department 3 [counter-intelligence] (КРО/KRO)Aleksandr Minayev-Cikanovich
Department 4 [Secret Political] (СПО/SPO)Mikhail Litvin
Department 5 [Special] (OO)Nikolai Nikolaev-Zhuryd
Department 6 [Transport] (TO)Mikhail Volkov
Department 7 [Foreign (Intelligence)] (ИНО/INO) – Abram Slutsky
Department 8 [Records and Statistic] (УСО/USO)Vladimir Cesarsky
Department 9 [Special (codes)] (OO)Isaak Shapiro
Department 10 [Prison]Yakov Weynschtok
Department 11 [Maritime Transportation] (ВО/WO)Victor Yrcev
Department 12 [Technical and Operational] (OOT)Semyen Zhukovsky
After Lavrenty Beria took over Frinovsky place as a GUGB head, in 29 of September 1938, GUGB underwent another organizational change -
(head of GUGB)Commissioner 1st rank of State Security Lavrenty Beria
Department 1 – [Protection of Government]Israel Dagin
Department 2 – [Secret Political]Bogdan Kobulov
Department 3 – [counter-intelligence]Nikolai Nikolaev-Zhuryd
Department 5 – [Foreign (Intelligence)]Zelman Passov
Department 6 – [Codes]Alexander Balamutov
GUGB Investigating Section
(head of GUGB)Commissioner 3rd rank of State Security Vsevolod Merkulov
Department 1 – [Protection of Party and Soviet officials]
included Political department, 24 office divisions, a school, commandant's offices of the CC VKP(b) and NKVD of USSR
Department 2 – [Secret Political]
Division 1 [Trotskyists, Zinovievists, leftists, rightists, miasnikovtsi, shlyapnikovtsi, banned from the party, foreign missions]
Division 2 [Mensheviks, anarchists, members of the Socialist Revolutionary Party, Bundists, Zionists, clerics, provocateurs, gendarmes, counterintelligence agents, punishers, White Cossacks, monarchists]
Division 3 [combating Ukrainian, Belarusian, and Ugro-Finnish national ]
Division 4 [agent studies on political parties, dashnaks, Turkic-Tatar-Mongolian national , gruzmeks, mussavatists, nationalists]
Division 5 [literati, press, publishing, theatres, cinema, art]
Division 6 [academies of sciences, science and research institutes, scientific societies]
Division 7 [discovery and study of formations among studying youth, system of the People's Commissariat of Enlightenment and children of repressed]
Division 8 [People's Commissariat of Healthcare of USSR and RSFSR and its education institutions]
Division 9 [People's Commissariat of Justice, Supreme Court, Prosecutor's Office, People's Commissariat of Social Security and their educational institutions]
Division 10 [combating church and sect ]
Division 11 [physical culture organizations, volunteer societies, clubs, sports publishers]
Division 12 [Special council, militsiya, fire guard, military commissariats, leadership of the reserves]
Department 3 – [counter-intelligence]
Division 1 [Germany, Hungary]
Division 2 [Japan, China]
Division 3 [Great Britain]
Division 4 [France, Italy, Belgium, Switzerland, Spain]
Division 5 [Romania, Greece, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia]
Division 6 [Poland]
Division 7 [Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark]
Division 8 [United States and countries of South America]
Division 9 [Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan]
Division 10 [ White movement elements]
Division 11 [Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania]
Division 12 [People's Commissariat of Foreign Affairs, embassies and consulates]
Division 14 Foreign Trade, trade offices]
Diplomat security section
Diplomat security political department
Divisions 16, 17, 18, 19 Diplomat security
Division 1 [headquarters]
Division 2 [intelligence directorates]
Division 3 [aviation]
Division 4 [technical troops]
Division 5 [motorized detachments]
Division 6 [artillery, cavalry and artillery detachments]
Division 7 [infantry, cavalry and artillery detachments]
Division 8 politruk
Division 9 [medical service]
Division 10 [Navy]
Division 11 [NKVD troops]
Division 12 [organizational and mobilizing]
investigative section
Department 5 – [Foreign (Intelligence)]
Division 1 [Germany, Hungary, Denmark]
Division 2 [Poland]
Division 3 [France, Belgium, Switzerland, Netherlands]
Division 4 [Great Britain]
Division 5 [Italy]
Division 6 [Spain]
Division 7 [Romania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Greece]
Division 8 [Finland, Sweden, Norway, Spitzbergen]
Division 9 [Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania]
Division 10 [United States, Canada, South America, Mexico]
Division 11 [Japan, Manchuria]
Division 12 [China, Xinjiang]
Division 12 [Mongolia, Tuva]
Division 12 [Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan]
Division 12 [technical intelligence]
Division 12 [operational equipment]
Division 12 [visas]
Department 6 – [Ciphering, safeguard of state secrecy]
Division 1, 2, 3 [safeguard of state secrecy, verification and recordkeeping of those admitted to secret work and documents]
Division 4 [deciphering]
Division 5 [research, development and recordkeeping of ciphers, drafting NKVD ciphers, preparation of ciphering specialists]
Division 6 [NKVD encrypting process]
Division 7 [organizational management of peripherals, development of instructions and regulations on secret ciphering and agent missions]
Division 8 [ciphering]
GUGB Investigating Section —
GUGB Ranks
The GUGB had a unique system of ranks, a blend of the position-rank system used in the Red Army and personal ranks used in the Militsiya; the rank insignia was also very distinct. Even though insignia introduced in 1937 followed the Red Army collar patch patterns, it assigned them to very different ranks for GUGB and Internal Troops/political/specialist branches, with GUGB rank placed at least one grade higher than a similar army equivalent.
When GUGB and Militsiya ranks were replaced with military ranks and insignia in February 1943, Major to Sergeant ranks were aligned with Colonel to Junior Lieutenant, and Senior Major and up were replaced with various degrees of Commissioner. In 1945, General Commissioner Lavrentiy Beria received the rank of the Marshal of the Soviet Union, and other GUGB Commissioners received ranks from Major general to Army General.
Ranks of GUGB 1935–1943
генеральный комиссар ГБCommissioner General of State Security
комиссар ГБ 1-го рангаCommissioner 1st rank of State Security
комиссар ГБ 2-го рангаCommissioner 2nd rank of State Security
комиссар ГБ 3-го рангаCommissioner 3rd rank of State Security
старший майор ГБSenior Major of State Security
майор ГБMajor of State Security
капитан ГБCaptain of State Security
старший лейтенант ГБSenior Lieutenant of State Security
лейтенант ГБLieutenant of State Security
младший лейтенант ГБJunior Lieutenant of State Security
сержант ГБ Sergeant of State Security
Rank insignia 1935-1937
Rank insignia 1937-1943
See also
References
Piotr Kołakowski - NKWD i GRU na ziemiach Polskich 1939-1945 - (Kulisy wywiadu i kontrwywiadu) - Dom Wydawniczy Bellona Warszawa 2002 - (NKVD and GRU on Polish soil 1939-1945 [Intelligence counter-intelligence series] Warsaw, 2002)