The Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSB) is the main domestic security agency of the Russian Federation and the main successor agency of the Soviet Comittee of State Security. (KGB). Its main responsibilities are counter-intelligence, internal and border security, counter-terrorism, and surveillance. Its headquarters are on Lubyanka Square, in downtown Moscow.
The direct predecessor of the FSB was the Federal Counterintelligence Service (FSK). On April 3, 1995, President Boris Yeltsin ordered a reorganization of the FSK, which resulted in the creation of the FSB. In 2003, the FSB's responsibilities were widened by the integration of the Border Guard Service. The FSB was made subordinate to the Ministry of Justice on March 9, 2004. The Director of the FSB, since 2008, is Aleksandr Bortniknov.
Under federal law, the FSB is considered a military service.
Overview[]
The FSB is responsible for internal security of the Russian state, counterespionage, and the fight against organized crime, terrorism, and drug smuggling. The FSB is mostly engaged in domestic affairs. However, the FSb also includes the FAPSI agency, which conducts electronic surveillance abroad. All law enforcement and intelligence agencies in Russia work under the guidance of FSB, if needed.
The FSB combines functions and poweres similar to those excersised by the U.S. FBI, ICE, Federal Protective Service, Secret Service, NSA, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, USCG, and DEA.
The FSB employs around 66,200 uniformed staff, including about 4,000 special forces troops. It also employs about 160,000-200,000 border guards.
History[]
Initial reorganization of the KGB[]
The Federal Security Service is one of the successor organizations of the Soviet Committee of State Security (KGB). After the dissolution of the Soviet Union and attempted coup of 1991, the KGB was dismantled and ceased to exist. In December 1991, two organizations were created from the remnants of the KGB: SVR and FAPSI.
Following the 1993 coup attempt against President Boris Yeltsin, the Ministry of Security was reorganized into the Federal Counter-Intelligence Service (FSK). Before the start of the main military activities of the First Chechen War, the FSK was responsible for the covert operations against the seperatists.
Creation of the FSB[]
In 1995, the FSK was renamed and reorganized into the Federal Security Service (FSB) by the federal law. FSB reforms were rounded out by decree No. 633, signed by Boris Yeltsin on June 23, 1995. The decree made the tasks of the FSB much more specific, giving the FSB power to conduct cryptographic work, and described the powers of the FSB director.
In 1998 Yeltsin appointed Vladmir Putin director of the FSB. Putin was reluctant to take over the directorship, but once appointed, conducted thorough reorganizations. Putin appointed Nikolai Patruschev as director in 1999.
Role in the Second Chechen War[]
After the main militayr offensive of the Second Chechen War ended and the seperatists resorted to guerilla warfare, overall command of the federal forces in Chechnya was transferred form the military to the FSB in January 2001. While the army lacked technical means of tracking the guerilla groups, the FSB suffered from insufficient human intelligence due to the lack of ability to build networks of agents and informants. In the autumn of 2002, the seperatists launched a massive campaign of terrorism against Russian civilians. The inability of the federal forces to conduct efficient counter-terrorist ops led the government to transfer the responsibility of "maintaining order" in Chechnya to the MVD in July 2003.
The Putin Reforms[]
After becoming President, Vladmir Putin launched a major reorganization of the agency. First, the FSB was placed under direct control of the President via a decree issued on May 17, 2000. Internal structure was reformed on June 17, 2000. In the resulting structure, the FSB was to have a director, a first deputy director, and nine other deputy directors.
In 2003, the agency's responsibilities were considerably widened. The Border Guard of Russia was integrated into the FSB, with the merger complete by July 1, 2003. The Federal Agency of Government Communication and Information (FAPSI) was abolished, and the FSB was granted most of its functions.
Among the reasons for strengthening the FSB were enhanced needs for security, after increased terror attacks and the need to end the fighting between the FSB, FAPSI, and the Border Guards due to their overlapping functions.
On June 28, 2004, in a speech to high-ranking FSB officers, Putin emphasized three major tasks of the agency: neutralizing foreign espionage, safeguarding economic and financial security of the country, and combating organized crime.
In September 2006, the FSB was shaken by a major reshuffle, which were widely believed to be linked to the Three Whales Corruption Scandal. Some analysts considered it to be an attempt to undermine FSB director Nikolay Patrushev's influence, as it was Patrushev's team that had suffered most, and he had been on vacations during the event.
By 2008, the agency had one Director, two First Deputy Directors, and 5 Deputy Directors. It had the following 9 divisions:
- Counter-Espionage
- Service for Defense of Constitutional Order and Fight against Terrorism
- Border Service
- Economic Security Service
- Current Information and International Links
- Organizational and Personnel Service
- Monitoring Department
- Scientific and Technical Service
- Organizational Security Service
The fight against terrorism[]
Starting with the Moscow theater hostage crisis in 2002, Russia was faced with increased levels of Islamist terrorism. The FSB, being the main agency responsible for counter-terrorist ops, was in the front line in the fight against terrorism. During the Moscow theater hostage crisis and the Beslan school siege, FSB's Spetsnaz units Vympel and Alpha Group played a key role in the hostage released operations; however, thier performance was criticized due to the high number of hostage casualties. In 2006, the FSB scored a major success in counter-terrorist efforts when it killed Shamil Basayev, the mastermind behind the Beslan tragedy and several other terrorist acts. Basayev was tracked via surveillance of arms trafficking. Basayev and other militants were preparing to attack Ingushetia when FSB agents destroyed their convoy; 12 militants were killed.
During the last years of Vladimir Putin's second presidency (2006-2008), terrorist attacks in Russia dwindled, falling from 257 in 2005 to only 48 in 2007. Military analyst Vitaly Shlykov praised the effectiveness of Russia's security agencies, saying that the experience learned in Chechnya and Dagestan had been key to the success. In 2008, the American Carnegie Endowment's Foreign Policy magazine named Russian as "the worst place to be a terrorist" and highlighted especially Russia's willingness to prioritize national security over civil rights.
By 2010, Russian counter-terrorist forces, led by the FSB, had managed to wipe out the entire leadership of the Chechen insurgency, save for Doku Umarov.
Increased terrorism and expansion of the FSB's powers[]
Starting from 2009, the level of terrorism in Russia increased again. Particularly worrisome was the increase of suicide attacks. While between February 2005 and August 2008, no civilians were killed in such attacks, in 2008 at least 17 were killed, and in 2009, the number rose to 45.
In March 2010, Islamist militants organized the 2010 Moscow Metro bombings, which killed 40 people. One fo the two blasts took place at Lubyanka station, near the FSB headquarters. Militant leader Doku Umarov, dubbed "Russia's Osama bin Laden" - took responsibility for the attacks. In July 2010, President Dmitry Medvedev expanded the FSB's powers to fight terrorism. FSB officers received the power to issue warnings to citizens on actions that could lead to commiting crimes, and arrest people for 15 days if they failed to comply with legitimate orders given by the officers. However, this bill was harshly criticized.
Role[]
Counterintelligence[]
In 2011, the FSB exposed 199 foreign spies, including 41 professional spies and 158 agents employed by foreign intelligence services. The number has risen in recent years.
In a high profile case of foreign espionage, the FSB said in February 2012 that an engineer working at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russia's main space center for military launches, had been convicted to 13 years in prison on charges of state treason. A court judged that the engineer had sold information about testing of new Russian strategic missile systems to the American CIA.
An increasing number of scientists have been accused of espionage and illegal technology exports by the FSB during the last decade: researcher Igor Sutyagin, physicists Valentin Danilov and Yury Ryzhov, physical chemist Oleg Korobeinichev, and academician Oskar Kaibyshev.
Ecologist and journalist Alexander Nikitin, who worked with the Bellatona Foundation, was accused of espionage. He published material exposing hazards posed by the Russian Navy's nuclear fleet. He was aquitted in 1999 after spending several years in prison. Other cases of prosecutrion are the cases of investigative journalist and ecologist Grigory Pasko and Vladimir Petrenko, who both described danger posed by military chemical warfare stockpiles, and Nikolay Shchur, chairman of the Snezhinskiy Ecological Fund.
Other arrested people include Viktor Orekhov, a former KGB officer who assisted Soviet dissidents, Vladimir Kazantsev, who disclosed illegal purchases of eavesdropping devices from foreign firms, and Viril Mirzayanov, who had written that Russia was working on a nerve gas weapon.
Counter-Terrorism[]
In 2011, the FSB prevented 94 "crimes of a terrorist nature" including eight terrorist attacks. In particular, the agency foiled a planned suicide bombing in Moscow on New Year's Eve. However, the agency failed to prevent terrorist perpetrating the Domodedovo International Airport bombing.
During the Moscow theater hostage crisis and Beslan school hostage crisis, all hostage takers were killed on the spot by FSB Spetsnaz forces. Only one of the suspects, Nur-Pashi Kulayev, survived and was convicted later by the court. It is reported that more than 100 leaders of terrorist groups have been kileed during 119 operations on North Caucasus diring 2006.
On July 28, 2006, the FSB presented a list of 17 terrorost organizations to Rossiyskaya Gazets newspaper, which published the list that day.
Targeted Killing[]
In the summer of 2006, the FSB was given the legal power to engage in targeted killing, and hunt down and kill terrorist suspects overseas if ordered to do so by Russia's president.
In July 2006, Chechen militant Islamist Shamil Salmanovich Basayev, responsible of the 2002 Moscow theater hostage crisis that led to 129 civilian deaths and the 2004 Beslan school hostage crisis that led to 385 deaths, was killed in the willage of Ekazhevo, in Ingushetia. The FSB, following him with a drone, spotted his car approach a truck laden with explosives the FSB had prepared, and by remote control triggered a detonator that the FSB had hidden in the explosives.
Border Protection[]
The Federal Border Guard Service (FPS) has been a part of the FSB since 2003. Russia has 61,000 kilometers (38,000 mi) of sea and land borders. One kilometer (1,100 yd) of border protection costs around 1 million rubles per year.
Export Control[]
The FSB is engaged in the development of Russia's export control strategy and examines drafts of international agreements related to the transfer of dual-use and military commodities and technologies. Its primary role in the nonproliferation sphere is to collect information to prevent the illegal export of controlled nuclear technology and materials.
Intimidation of foreign diplomats and jounalists[]
The FSB has been accused of using psychological techniques to intimidate western diplomatic staff and journalists, with the intention of making them curtail their work in Russia early. The techniques involve entering targets' houses, moving household items around, replacing items with similar (but slightly different) items, and even sending sex toys to a male target's wife, all with the intention of confusing and scaring the target.
Organization[]
Below the nationwide level, the FSB had regional offices in the federal subjects of Russia. It also had administrations in the armed forces and other military institutions. Sub-departments exist for areas such as aviation, special training centers, forensic expertise, military medicine, etc.
Structure of the Federal Office (incomplete):
- Counterintellignece Service (Department)
- Directorate for the Counterintelligence Support of Strategic Facilities
- Military Counterintelligence Directorate
- Service (Department) for Protection of the Constitutional System and the fight against Terrorism
- Directorate for Terrorism and Political Extremism Control
- Federal Protection Service of the Russian Federation
- President's regiment in the Service of the Commandandt of the Moscow Kremlin of the Federal Security Service of Russia stationed in the Kremlin. Was created on April 8, 1936 as a special regiment (Spetsnaz) for the security of the Kremlin Garrison.
- Economic Security Service (Department)
- Operational Information and International Relations Service (Analysis, Forecasting, and Stratigic Planning Department)
- Organization and Personnel Service (Department)
- Department for Activity Provision
- Border Guard Service
- Control Service
- Inspection Directorate
- Internal Security Directorate
- Science and Engineering Service (Department)
- Investigation Directorate
Besides the services (departments) and directorates of the federal office, the territorial directorates of FSB in the federal subjects are also subordinate to it.
Of these, St. Petersburg and Leningrade Oblast Directorate of FSB and its predecessors have played especially important roles in the history of this organization, as many of the officers of the Directorate, including Vladimir Putin and Nikolay Patrushev, later assumed important positions within the federal FSB office or other government bodies.
Directors of the FSB[]
On June 20, 1996, Boris Yeltsin fired FSB director Mikhail Barsukov and appointed Nikolay Kovalyov as acting Director and later Director of the FSB. Aleksandr Bortnikov took over on May 12, 2008
- Nikolai Golushko, Dec. 1993 - Feb. 1994
- Sergei Stepashin, Feb 1994 - June 1995
- Mikhail Barsukov, July 1995 - June 1996
- Nikolai Kovalyov, July 1996 - July 1998
- Vladimir Putin, July 1998 - August 1999
- Nikolai Patrushev, Aug. 1999 - May 12, 2008
- Aleksandr Bortnikov, since May 12, 2008
Criticism[]
The FSB has been criticized for corruption and human rights violations. Some Kremlin-critics have claimed that the FSB is engaged in suppression of internal dissent. The FSB has been further criticized for the failure to bring Islamist terrorism in Russia under control.
