They almost always remain in the shadows, but they are doing tremendous work. And the further fate of the state depends directly on this work. The Russian special services are an instrument of power, along with the prosecutor's office, court, army, reflecting the policies of their state and acting in the interests of this state. It has always been so and absolutely in all states.
The history of special services goes, perhaps, in ancient centuries, in those times when Russia hired spies for itself. Then the first detective organs appeared, military intelligence. By the way, the bat was the emblem of these organs . Reports were actively used to make decisions about raids on neighbors by Old Russian princes, for waging war of conquest.
Officially, the Russian special services were recorded during the reign of Tsar Alexei in 1649. Caring for security, he began to identify the artifacts to serve in his personal office. In 1654 it was called the Secret Order, whose servants had special powers. After the death of the king was disbanded, affairs were transferred to the Ambassadorial order. The order now obeyed only the tsar, monitored the activities of the governor, ambassadors, state institutions, was engaged in intelligence and political affairs. The Russian special services were then still very weak, but the first steps of the state in their development were taken.
Under the reforms of Peter I, the regular police appeared , the Ministry of Internal Affairs (in whose submission all police structures withdrew with time), and by the beginning of the twentieth century. the police were divided into gendarme, county, city and operational-search.
The plots were in the capital and large cities, and, in turn, were divided into small sections, where they served the city. There were camps in the counties, with bailiffs. In the villages, the functions of a policeman were carried out by rural guards. In 1903 In order to strengthen the county police, a police guard was created, which was based on horse-drawn police units.
Security departments along with detective offices carried the functions of operational-search.
The gendarmerie was the most powerful. The gendarme corps (separate, created in 1827) had a military organization in all respects (combatant, economic, administrative) and was directly subordinate to the Ministry of War, and in 1880 it was part of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Fast forward to the nineteenth century. After the October Revolution, Russia needs to have information about the enemy and his secret plans in order to protect his interests.
It was decided to create an independent service of the Cheka - OGPU, with units of the KGB and military, with the possibility of independent solutions to intelligence and counterintelligence tasks, but the main goal was to combat the counterrevolutionary movement. Then the Russian special services repeatedly changed their name. 1920 - The Cheka at the NKVD of the RSFSR.
1941, February - reorganization again in the power departments: the NKVD is divided into people's commissariats. One of them is internal affairs, the second is state. security. Russian special services are gaining independence.
1941, July - the NKGB and the NKVD are united into a single, integral NKVD.
1943 - the Smersh counterintelligence GU is created and goes under the jurisdiction of the People’s Commissariat.
After the war, another reorganization takes place.
1946, March - the Ministry of State Security of the USSR was created, its task is intelligence and counterintelligence. Both domestically and abroad, around the world.
1954, March - the creation of a new body - the KGB (intelligence, counterintelligence), which existed until the collapse of the USSR.
1991 - another reorganization. The KGB is divided into separate services: border guard, state guard, government communications, counterintelligence, intelligence.
The year before the reorganization of the USSR joins Interpol. And in September 1993, Russia, as the assignee, enters the ranks of ICPO-Interpol.
For several months, the NCB accumulates experience, evaluates it, and creates special services of Russia, which exist to this day.