Russian MiniLessons: Органы = Security Forces (FSB and Spies)

The following bilingual Russian MiniLesson is meant to build your vocabulary by providing Russian phrases within English text. Hover over the bold Russian to reveal its English translation.

Органыsecurity services were very powerful in the Soviet Union. They conducted activities both in Russia and abroad. Previously, the КГБKGB; Committee of State Security (Комитет государственной безопасности) had several управленийdepartments, and Первое управлениеThe First Department was in charge of внешняя разведкаforeign intelligence. Later this department was reorganized as Служба внешней разведкиForeign Intelligence Service.

Spying generally worked something like this: an aгентagent or штатный сотрудник органовstaff member of the security services would recruit some осведомителейinformers to collect necessary information. The agent would often работает под прикрытиемwork under the cover of some organization such as a diplomatic mission or company. If he был раскрытwas discovered by the enemy’s контрразведкаcounterintelligence service, this meant that the agent провалился or терпел провалhad failed. Sometimes the agent then switched sides and работал под контролем'worked under control' to дезинформироватьmisinform his former bosses and spy for the former enemy. Sometimes he or she would become a двойной агентdouble agent and work for both sides. This could be lucrative position, but with the risk that either side might discover the arrangement and punish the agent for being a предательtraitor.

There were агенты-женщиныfemale agents in the KGB. However, the special services are reluctant to uncover the names of these ladies even nowadays. For example, there are no photos of female agents in the special services museum located in Lubyanka, the former KGB building. Female agent were often referred to as “ласточки”swallows and their operations were often called “медовые ловушки”'honey traps'. The agent became a mistress of a prominent person (either Soviet or a foreign man) and extracted secrets from him. Similar tactics were used by male agents who would seduce and even marry female secretaries working in government offices in order to obtain sensitive information.

Spies are perhaps most famous for their ликвидационные операцииliquidating operations abroad. It is officially recognized that Soviet security services arranged the murder of Leo Trotsky, and Russian Special Services claim that the last liquidating operation abroad was conducted on October 15, 1959, when the leader of radical Ukrainian nationalists Stepan Bandera was killed by an agent in Munich. However, there is now much debate in the West over the recent death of Alexander Litvinenko and whether he too may have been “liquidated.”

Find more information (in Russian) at: http://svr.gov.ru/history/history.htm