The KGB doesn't exist anymore.

People always blame the KGB for Russian involvement, however the apparent fact of the matter is the KGB has not existed since 1991 when they fell apart.

Here is some history I have found while digging for answers.

KGB 1953-1991

en.wikipedia.org...

Moreover, expecting to succeed Stalin as leader of the USSR, the ambitious head of the MVD (Ministry of Internal Affairs), Lavrentiy Beria merged the MGB and the MVD on Stalin's death in 1953. Anticipating a coup d'etat, the Presidium swiftly eliminated Beria with treasonous charges of "criminal anti-Party and anti-state activities" and executed him. In the event, the MGB was renamed KGB and detached from the MVD.

MGB = (Ministry for State Security)

So when the Ministry of State Security was removed from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, it was renamed the KGB.

But in 1991, the KGB ceased to exist.

In the 1980s, the glasnost liberalisation of Soviet society provoked KGB Chairman Vladimir Kryuchkov (1988–91) to lead the August 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt to depose President Mikhail Gorbachev. By then, however, Soviet society's disrespect for the KGB had (among other reasons) exhausted popular support for the régime of the CPSU. The thwarted coup d'état ended the KGB on 6 November 1991. The KGB's successors are the secret police agency FSB (Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation) and the espionage agency SVR (Foreign Intelligence Service).

So the KGB dissolved. And it became two new agencies essentially.

The FSB and the SVR.

The FSB is involved in counter-intelligence, internal and border security, counter-terrorism, and surveillance. Its headquarters are on Lubyanka Square, downtown Moscow, the same location as the former headquarters of the KGB.

In late 1991 the domestic security functions of the KGB were reconstituted as the Federal Counterintelligence Service (FSK), which was placed under the control of the president. The FSK had been known initially for some time as the Ministry of Security. In 1995, the FSK was renamed and reorganized into the FSB by the Federal Law of April 3, 1995, "On the Organs of the Federal Security Service in the Russian Federation", granting it additional powers, enabling it to enter private homes and to conduct intelligence activities in Russia as well as abroad in cooperation with the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR)

en.wikipedia.org...(Russia)

The Foreign Intelligence Service (Russian: Служба Внешней Разведки Sluzhba Vneshney Razvedki or SVR) is Russia's primary external intelligence agency. The SVR is the successor of First Chief Directorate (FCD) of the KGB since December 1991

In 1996, the SVR issued a CD-ROM in 1996 entitled Russian Foreign Intelligence: VChK-KGB-SVR, which claims to provide "a professional view on the history and development of one of the most powerful secret services in the world" where all these services are presented as a single evolving organization.

I added emphasis to some quotes.

Now with this information at hand, isn't it funny how uninformed and ignorant even we here at ATS are? Most of us here talk like the KGB still officially exists.

I suppose now we will have to change it for technicality, and call them the SVR or the FSB.

Also, for anyone reading this, I would like to also share information about the GRU because it is very important. GRU Stands for "Main Intelligence Directorate". It's

en.wikipedia.org...

The GRU is Russia's largest foreign intelligence agency [1]. It deploys six times as many agents in foreign countries as the SVR, which is the KGB intelligence successor. It also commanded 25,000 Spetsnaz troops in 1997.

Here is a thread I wrote about the GRU last year that wasn't too popular.

www.abovetopsecret.com...

This is important stuff people!
We need to learn our facts so we can better understand the world of secret agents.

A rose, by any other name, is still a rose.

Maybe the KGB does not exist, but still terrorism, torture and war exist.

It does not matter what they are called.

I like this thread. Nice researching you're facts OP!

nice work muzzle
S&F for the work

Hello,

I found this earlier today during a search not related to this topic...

www.bing.com...

Another Russian alphabet agency?

Originally posted by loveguy
Hello,

I found this earlier today during a search not related to this topic...

www.bing.com...

Another Russian alphabet agency?

Nice link about Alfa group there! Very interesting read.

This stuff is all true and is totally related to the topic. Thanks for sharing! I am going to go finish this article now. The research looks totally legit. Good stuff

Edit to add : Check this out from your link.

According to some Russian military sources, the unit was "degraded" and demoralized by the political manipulation it suffered in the political battles surrounding the collapse of the Soviet Union, with the KGB seeking to use it in the hardline 1991 plot against Mikhail Gorbachev, and the Russian president Boris Yeltsin also using it as an instrument of power when attacking the Russian White House during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis.[4] Following the 1993 crisis, Alfa and Vympel were briefly transferred to the MVD (Interior Ministry)

Also here is another tidbit describing some of the recent high-profile incidents that Alfa group has been assigned to.

The unit continued to exist after the collapse of the Soviet Union and has been used in a variety of crisis situations such as their highly controversial actions ending the Moscow theater hostage crisis in 2002 (called by the Alfa men "our first successful operation for years"[6]) and the Beslan school hostage crisis in 2004 in which the group suffered its highest official losses in history. The Alpha unit is also being used in a variety of roles in the Russia's fight against the separatists in Chechnya and North Caucasus since 1995.

[edit on 14-6-2010 by muzzleflash]

I know it's not the exact same KGB, but there is another 'company' using that name now..

And they are based in the USA, they are related to communications, mostly call centres and texting services. Known as the Knowledge Generation Bureau, it would seem from the experiences of some, that they are more enclined to collect data about anyone and anything.

Their UK based 118 call centres have recently come under fire for a few reasons. One such reason, although not proven as of yet, was that they were apparently believed to be using female prisoners in the USA as call centre staff and paying 25 cents an hour. This was just the rumour mill grinding and no evidence has arisen for such a claim, yet.

Knowledge Generation Bureau (kgb_), is a privately held, New York-based company that provides directory assistance and enhanced information services across Europe and North America. It describes itself as "the world’s largest independent provider of directory assistance and enhanced information services."[2] Founded in 1992 by Robert Pines under the name INFONXX, the company rebranded in 2008.[1]

In December 2008, kgb_ acquired Texperts, a United Kingdom-based firm, in order to benefit from their "innovative software platform and industry experience." Shortly afterwards, in January 2009, kgb launched a new suite of products in the United States, providing answers to customers’ questions through multiple platforms. The first is through a mobile search service known as 542542 (kgbkgb). It launched January 5, 2009, following the launch of the similar 118118 "Ask Us Anything" service in the United Kingdom.

en.wikipedia.org...

Recently. they have closed their Plymouth based call centre after transferring most of the calls from the UK to their call centre in Manila, Philippines.
Apparently, by law, any call centre that claims to be UK based must have a minimum of 50 operators actually based in the UK.. .the other several hundred operators can be based anywhere in the world.

In the Plymouth call centre, workers are 'clocked in' to their working shift by placing their hand in a scanner which has their hand 'shape' recorded on a computer. This tells the system what time you log in and out of work. It replaces the old style 'clocking in' cards. Many are suspiscious as to the real reason they need to have your hand scanned.

I begin to wonder if we can trust anyone or anything that labels itself as the KGB
www.kgbusa.com...
superbowl.kgb.com...

This raises the question of why a company would go out of their way to get the initials KGB. I mean knowledge generation bureau doesn't seem to flow right to me, like they chose those words just for the initials.

answers.yahoo.com...

There is also a thread on ATS about them too
www.abovetopsecret.com...

the KGB lives

maybe KGB doesn't exist as an institution but it still exists through its people

This is something that happened across all ex communist countries and i know since i live in one

The ex secret services were disolved just like KGB but the people working there were put in charge of the new agencies that were born , in Russia's case FSB

The most notorious persons were either given key position in the new agencies or put directly on pension benefits after a short period of time in the new born agencies

The KGB school and all other schools of ex communists secret services will be alive , will exist and will have a word to say in our world , that is until generations will change and the new generations will not be aware of their teachings

If you would be to live in such a country you will read in investigation newspapers ,a month ,at least that, a new name of an important person in an agency and how that person has a past in the communist agency of the given country

20 years time it is to short in countries with struggling democracies and high level of corruption for the old teaching to evaporate ...

So , KGB is still out there under a different name same as all other ex-communist agencies are still out there under different names

Did you know the Russians have the equivalent of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) with the same insignia. The "Russia in Global Affairs" monthly publication is published by the CFR's publishing wing..


eng.globalaffairs.ru...

reply to post by zzombie



We should expect that after all who sponsored and organized the russian revolution...