A look at Russia’s foreign intelligence and domestic security agencies

A look at Russia’s intelligence agencies

A look at Russia’s top intelligence agencies:

— The Foreign Intelligence Service, known under its Russian acronym SVR, oversees foreign intelligence. It was founded just before the collapse of the Soviet Union when the KGB was split into several successor agencies. The SVR inherited the personnel and structures of the KGB’s First Main Directorate, in charge of spying abroad.

— The Federal Security Service, or FSB, is another KGB successor. While the SVR’s tasks are comparable with the CIA, FSB’s main mission of catching foreign spies and combatting organized crime can be compared with that of the FBI. The FSB’s unwritten tasks include shadowing the opposition to the Kremlin.

— The GRU, the Russian acronym for the Main Intelligence Directorate, is Russia’s military intelligence. Its name and mission have remained unchanged since Soviet times. The agency’s main task is spying abroad for military secrets, particularly information on weapons and military industries. It also controls highly trained teams of commandos.