Foreign intelligence of Russia today is represented by the foreign intelligence service of the Russian Federation. This is one of the key forces that ensure the safety of citizens of the Russian Federation and the country as a whole from threats posed by other states, organizations and individuals. The abbreviated name of the organization is SVR of Russia.
Office Description
The work of the service is to search and report to the President of the Russian Federation, providing complete and accurate information about the military, economic and other foreign political positions and moods. Based on all the data received, decisions are made to ensure the safety of citizens and the whole country.
The received data is processed, information is reported directly to the President of the Russian Federation, to whom the Russian Federal Foreign Intelligence Service reports. The President of the country has the right to remove and appoint a director of the service, who is responsible for the timeliness of the information provided, as well as their reliability.
The basic law governing the work of the special services was adopted in 1996. After the adoption of the law "On Foreign Intelligence" from time to time, various amendments and changes were made to it. The end of 1920 can be considered the date of foundation of service in Russia.
Foreign Intelligence History
Today, the exact date of the appearance of intelligence activities in Russia cannot be called. Intelligence has been modified, renamed, but has always been. The history of Russia's foreign intelligence (in a more or less modern form) dates back to around 1918.
It was then, after the victory in the October Revolution, that there was a need to protect the country's interests in foreign policy at the proper level. For the then leadership of the country, the vital necessity was the ability to have complete and reliable information about the situation in the world and the balance of forces (opponents and allies).
It is clear that no negotiations would have made it possible to find out such data, therefore the task was set: to create a foreign intelligence unit under the leadership of the Cheka’s chairman F. E. Dzerzhinsky. The head of the unit was Jacob Davydov. The primary task of the head was the development of a staff work plan and a scheme of departments. Subsequently, the name and structure of the unit changed several times, but all the main functions of the special services were preserved.
November 1991 was the starting point for intelligence as an independent entity. After the procedure for reconnaissance from the KGB structure, the structure was renamed and reorganized. At the end of the winter of 1991, by decree of the President of the RSFSR, an independent organization was formed - an external intelligence service. At the same time, the old division did not undergo any significant changes, except for a name change.
Soon, the service was renamed again, intelligence became known as the SVR of Russia. Yevgeny Primakov, who previously held a similar position in the Soviet Union, came to the post of director of the special services. Primakov was tasked with developing a view, staff and a system of work for the new organization in a week. In early 1992, the President of the Russian Federation added to the staff of posts, appointed deputy directors of special services.
In fact, all the posts held by the USSR Central Development Center simply moved into the new structure. Only Lieutenant General Ivan Gorelovsky, who took over the tasks of the administrative area, became a newcomer.
For all the time the management has changed over 20 chapters and many titles. In 1991, Yevgeny Primakov took the post, in the 96th he was replaced by V.I. Trubnikov, in 2000 the head of Russia's foreign intelligence appointed Sergey Lebedev as director of the SVR. In 2007, Mikhail Fradkov took over as director. Since October 5, 2016, the post has been occupied by Sergey Naryshkin.
Legislation
The Foreign Intelligence Service of Russia is governed by several laws and amendments to them. The first and so far the main law “On Foreign Intelligence” appeared after the collapse of the USSR, in the summer of 1992. Today, a new document from 1996 is in force, as amended in 2000, 2003, 2004 and 2007.
In addition, the activity of the service is regulated by laws and amendments to them: “On defense”, “On the status of military personnel”, “On state secret”, “On operational search activity” and some others. Also, the intelligence service is guided and operates in accordance with the Constitution of the Russian Federation.
Tasks and Tools
The main functionality that Russian foreign intelligence performs today is:
- Creating an environment that will support the successful implementation of the political plans of the Russian Federation.
- Support and creation of favorable conditions for economic, military, scientific and other plans of the Russian Federation.
- Search, structuring and processing of information on issues related to the country's security, development plans, intentions of other countries and individual organizations regarding the Russian Federation.
- Support for the implementation of national security measures.
- Report to the president of the country with the most accurate information on the situation and intentions of countries in relation to Russia. This report is personally transmitted by the Director of Foreign Intelligence of Russia or his deputy.
- Eliminating the threat of terrorism and taking counter-measures.
General management is carried out by the president, and all departments are subordinate to the director of foreign intelligence.
Service credentials
The law gives the intelligence service the right to:
- establish contacts with persons to obtain the necessary information, including classified information;
- classify data and staff;
- use any means that will not harm the life and health of people, the country's reputation and environmental situation.
Operational work and its quality are ensured by the structure of the special services.
Special Services Structure
At present, Russia's foreign intelligence has in its composition various services and departments that perform the functions of rapid response, analytics and information collection. Only the structure of the central office of the service is relatively widely known. The remaining units, including regional and in other countries, have a place to be, but are strictly classified. The management of the special service is represented by the director, board, deputies, as well as various departments and services providing all the functionality of the work.
The head of foreign intelligence of Russia reports to the President of the country, and manages all divisions of the service. The College of Foreign Intelligence is another important link in the work of the special services. The board is going to solve basic problems and develop plans for intelligence activities, focusing on the current situation. The meeting includes all the deputy directors, as well as the heads of each of the special services.
For communication with the public, a department was created in the service structure - the Bureau of JI and the media.
Famous operations
History has many vivid operations of our scouts. Surely not all projects were widely publicized in the media because the service is secret. But those operations that have received wide publicity represent highly productive projects:
- "Syndicate-2" - operation of the 20s. according to the conclusion from abroad of the active enemy of the USSR B. Sannikov.
- The operation to decrypt the secret messages of the Japanese Foreign Ministry in 1923.
- Operation Tarantella 1930-1934, which was carried out with the aim of monitoring the activities of British intelligence in relation to the USSR.
- Development and creation of the country's nuclear shield.
Thanks to successful operations, most employees have personalized awards from the government.
Additional Information
Today there is a misconception that the two important structures that ensure the safety of citizens and the country — the FSB and Russia's foreign intelligence — quite clearly share their responsibilities. According to the majority, the SVR works only with external information, and the FSB deals only with internal information.
In reality, everything is a bit wrong. Both services operate both domestically and abroad. The difference between them is not where, but in how the services work . The FSB protects the country from terrorist attacks and spies, and the SVR, if not completely, then for the most part, is itself a spy organization.
Today, the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service is considered one of the best special services in the world. A rich history, rigorous selection of specialists and many successfully completed tasks confirm this fact.