Chronology of Soviet secret police agencies

There were a succession of Soviet secret police agencies over time. The first secret police after the October Revolution, created by Vladimir Lenin's decree on December 20, 1917, was called "Cheka" (ЧК). Officers were referred to as "chekists", a name that is still informally applied to people under the Federal Security Service of Russia, the KGB's successor in Russia after the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

Chronology of Soviet
security agencies

1917–22

Cheka under Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR
(All-Russian Extraordinary Commission)

1922–23

GPU under NKVD of the RSFSR
(State Political Directorate)

1920–91

PGU KGB or INO under Cheka (later KGB) of the USSR
(First Chief Directorate)

1923–34

OGPU under SNK of the USSR
(Joint State Political Directorate)

1934–46

NKVD of the USSR
(People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs)

1934–41

GUGB of the NKVD of the USSR
(Main Directorate of State Security of
People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs)

1941

NKGB of the USSR
(People's Commissariat of State Security)

1943–46

NKGB of the USSR
(People's Commissariat for State Security)

1946–53

MGB of the USSR
(Ministry of State Security)

1946–54

MVD of the USSR
(Ministry of Internal Affairs)

1947–51

KI MID of the USSR
(Committee of Information under Ministry
of Foreign Affairs)

1954–78

KGB under the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union
(Committee for State Security)

1978–91

KGB of the USSR
(Committee for State Security)

1991

MSB of the USSR
(Interrepublican Security Service)

1991

TsSB of the USSR
(Central Intelligence Service)

1991

KOGG of the USSR
(Committee for the Protection of
the State Border)

For most agencies listed here secret policing operations were only part of their function; for instance, the KGB was both the secret police and the intelligence agency.

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