Misplaced Pages

#105894

130-590: The HVA was an integral part of the Stasi, responsible for operations outside of East Germany such as espionage , active measures , foreign intelligence gathering, and counterintelligence against NATO -aligned countries and their intelligence agencies. The Stasi was disbanded in January 1990 and the HVA's mode of operation was revealed to the public, including its internal structure, methods, and employees. The HVA became

260-553: A 1st Directorate of NKGB. That state remained until 1946, when all People's Commissariats were renamed Ministries; NKVD was renamed Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD), and the NKGB was renamed into Ministry of State Security (MGB). From 1946 to 1947, the 1st Directorate of the MGB was conducting foreign intelligence. In 1947, the GRU (military intelligence) and MGB's 1st Directorate was moved to

390-511: A Bundestag committee investigating the activities of the Division of Commercial Coordination ( Bereich Kommerzielle Koordinierung or KoKo ) that at the end of his tenure (1986) the yearly financial resources of the HVA for operational purposes stood at 17 million East German mark and 13.5 million Deutsche Mark . It was not possible to conclusively refute or verify this statement. In individual HVA sections, there existed "black cash boxes" under

520-543: A Russian emigration conducted in the 1920s was Operation Trust (Trust Operation). "Trust" was an operation to set up a fake anti- Bolshevik underground organization , "Monarchist Union of Central Russia", MUCR (Монархическое объединение Центральной России, МОЦР). The "head" of the MUCR was Alexander Yakushev (Александр Александрович Якушев), a former bureaucrat of the Ministry of Communications of Imperial Russia , who after

650-717: A career KGB officer who had risen steadily through the ranks as a loyal protégé of Sakharovsky. Mortin was on top the FCD only for two years, when, in 1974, he was succeeded by the 50-year-old Vladimir Kryuchkov , who was almost to equal Sakharovsky's record term as head of the FCD. After 14 years in FCD Hq, he was to become chairman of the KGB in 1988. Kryuchkov joined the Soviet diplomatic service, stationed in Hungary until 1959. He then worked for

780-634: A combination of the two." However, espionage and intelligence can be linked. According to the MI5 website, "foreign intelligence officers acting in the UK under diplomatic cover may enjoy immunity from prosecution. Such persons can only be tried for spying (or, indeed, any criminal offence) if diplomatic immunity is waived beforehand. Those officers operating without diplomatic cover have no such immunity from prosecution". There are also laws surrounding government and organisational intelligence and surveillance. Generally,

910-661: A disguised spy and a disguised escaper. It is permissible for these groups to wear enemy uniforms or civilian clothes in order to facilitate their escape back to friendly lines so long as they do not attack enemy forces, collect military intelligence, or engage in similar military operations while so disguised. Soldiers who are wearing enemy uniforms or civilian clothes simply for the sake of warmth along with other purposes rather than engaging in espionage or similar military operations while so attired are also excluded from being treated as unlawful combatants. Saboteurs are treated as spies as they too wear disguises behind enemy lines for

1040-411: A foreign country under diplomatic cover (e.g., from his country's embassy). He is an official member of the consular staff, such as a commercial, cultural, or military attaché. Thus, he has diplomatic immunity from prosecution and cannot be arrested by the host country if suspected of espionage . The most the host country can do is send him back to his home country. He is in charge of the residency and

1170-711: A foreign department of Cheka ( Inostrannyj Otdiel —INO), during the Russian Civil War of 1918–1920. On December 19, 1918, the Russian Communist Party (Bolshevik) Central Committee Bureau decided to combine Cheka front formations and the Military Control Units, which were controlled by the Military Revolutionary Committee , and responsible for counter-intelligence activities, into one organ that

1300-484: A form of political warfare conducted by the Soviet security services to influence the course of world events, "in addition to collecting intelligence and producing politically correct assessment of it". Active measures ranged "from media manipulations to special actions involving various degree of violence". They included disinformation , propaganda , and forgery of official documents. The preparation of forged "CIA" documents which were then shown to third-world leaders

1430-579: A game of disinformation. But Washington Resident Stanislav Androsov wished to demonstrate his office's effectiveness to his superiors and ordered the immediate arrest of all who helped the CIA and FBI. After those incidents, the security of residencies was increased and the Line KR was assigned more security officers, especially in countries like the United States and Great Britain. The KGB's FCD residency

SECTION 10

#1732772133106

1560-494: A high financial and personnel cost, with the goal of placing them in high positions in the state and the economy, through which they gained access to secret information. A famous example of such a recruitment operation was Gabriele Gast , who committed herself in 1968 as a student and rose to the rank of Regierungsdirektorin (Government Director) in the Bundesnachrichtendienst (Federal Intelligence Service),

1690-413: A legal tool of law enforcement and in others, it may be illegal and punishable by law. Espionage is often part of an institutional effort by a government or commercial concern. However, the term tends to be associated with state spying on potential or actual enemies for military purposes. Spying involving corporations is known as industrial espionage . One way to gather data and information about

1820-619: A number of people, including Major General Dmitri Polyakov , a high-ranking military intelligence officer ( GRU ). He was cooperating with the CIA and FBI. Ames reported that Colonel Oleg Gordievsky , London resident, had spied for the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS or MI6). Line KR officers arrested many others, whom they sent to Moscow. There they were passed into the hands of the KGB Second Chief Directorate (counterintelligence). After

1950-467: A plane crash. He was replaced by Mikhail Trilisser , also a revolutionary. Trilisser specialized in tracing secret enemy informers and political spies inside the Bolshevik party. Before becoming INO chief, he led its Section of Western and Eastern Europe. Under Trilisser's management, foreign intelligence had become big professionally and respected by their opponent's services. This period characterized

2080-611: A prison sentence until his death in 2023. Espionage laws are also used to prosecute non-spies. In the United States, the Espionage Act of 1917 was used against socialist politician Eugene V. Debs (at that time the Act had much stricter guidelines and amongst other things banned speech against military recruiting). The law was later used to suppress publication of periodicals, for example of Father Coughlin in World War II . In

2210-483: A prisoner of war. This provision does not apply to citizens who committed treason against their own country or co-belligerents of that country and may be captured and prosecuted at any place or any time regardless whether he rejoined the military to which he belongs or not or during or after the war. The ones that are excluded from being treated as spies while behind enemy lines are escaping prisoners of war and downed airmen as international law distinguishes between

2340-563: A quick and secret process, they were sentenced to death. The death sentences were carried out in the Lubyanka Prison. They were buried face down in unmarked graves. Only Oleg Gordievsky was able to escape from the USSR, with SIS help. Line KR officers did not want to immediately arrest all the KGB personnel identified by Ames and Hanssen because they did not want to draw the attention of the CIA and FBI (which it did). They wanted to run

2470-538: A special course in foreign intelligence. Fitin became deputy chief of the NKVD's foreign intelligence in 1938, then a year later at the age of thirty-one became chief. The Russian Foreign Intelligence Service credits Fitin with rebuilding the depleted foreign intelligence department after Stalin's Great Terror . Fitin also is credited with providing ample warning of the German Invasion of 22 June 1941 that began

2600-569: A targeted organization is by infiltrating its ranks. Spies can then return information such as the size and strength of enemy forces . They can also find dissidents within the organization and influence them to provide further information or to defect. In times of crisis, spies steal technology and sabotage the enemy in various ways. Counterintelligence is the practice of thwarting enemy espionage and intelligence-gathering. Almost all sovereign states have strict laws concerning espionage, including those who practice espionage in other countries, and

2730-604: A theory of espionage foreshadowing modern police-state methods. During the American Revolution , Nathan Hale and Benedict Arnold achieved their fame as spies, and there was considerable use of spies on both sides during the American Civil War . Though not a spy himself, George Washington was America's first spymaster, utilizing espionage tactics against the British. In the 20th century, at

SECTION 20

#1732772133106

2860-511: A vocational training school. From 1968 on, it was called "Fachrichtung für Aufklärung der JHS" ("College of Reconnaissance of the JHS"), and was later renamed to "Sektion A" ("Section A"). The "Fremdsprachenschule des MfS" ("College of Foreign Languages of the Ministry for State Security"), also referred to as "Educational Department F", was attached to it. In 1988, the HVA College, including

2990-440: Is also employed for an individual who is not an illegal agent, but is an ordinary citizen who is "relocated", for example, a "protected witness". Nevertheless, such a non-agent very likely will also have a case officer who will act as a controller. As in most, if not all synthetic identity schemes, for whatever purpose (illegal or legal), the assistance of a controller is required. Spies may also be used to spread disinformation in

3120-410: Is always directed at the most secret operations of a target country. National and terrorist organizations and other groups are also targeted. This is because governments want to retrieve information that they can use to be proactive in protecting their nation from potential terrorist attacks. Communications both are necessary to espionage and clandestine operations , and also a great vulnerability when

3250-443: Is considered espionage. Many HUMINT activities, such as prisoner interrogation , reports from military reconnaissance patrols and from diplomats, etc., are not considered espionage. Espionage is the disclosure of sensitive information (classified) to people who are not cleared for that information or access to that sensitive information. Unlike other forms of intelligence collection disciplines , espionage usually involves accessing

3380-548: Is considered permissible as many nations recognize the inevitability of opposing sides seeking intelligence each about the dispositions of the other. To make the mission easier and successful, combatants wear disguises to conceal their true identity from the enemy while penetrating enemy lines for intelligence gathering. However, if they are caught behind enemy lines in disguises, they are not entitled to prisoner-of-war status and subject to prosecution and punishment—including execution . The Hague Convention of 1907 addresses

3510-399: Is more common usage. A case officer or Special Agent , who may have diplomatic status (i.e., official cover or non-official cover ), supports and directs the human collector. Cut-outs are couriers who do not know the agent or case officer but transfer messages. A safe house is a refuge for spies. Spies often seek to obtain secret information from another source. In larger networks,

3640-426: Is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information ( intelligence ). A person who commits espionage is called an espionage agent or spy . Any individual or spy ring (a cooperating group of spies), in the service of a government , company , criminal organization , or independent operation, can commit espionage. The practice is clandestine , as it is by definition unwelcome. In some circumstances, it may be

3770-534: Is the person who does the spying. They may be a citizen of a country recruited by that country to spy on another; a citizen of a country recruited by that country to carry out false flag assignments disrupting his own country; a citizen of one country who is recruited by a second country to spy on or work against his own country or a third country, and more. In popular usage, this term is sometimes confused with an intelligence officer , intelligence operative , or case officer who recruits and handles agents. Among

3900-696: Is very much distinct from espionage, and is not illegal in the UK, providing that the organisations of individuals are registered, often with the ICO, and are acting within the restrictions of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA). 'Intelligence' is considered legally as "information of all sorts gathered by a government or organisation to guide its decisions. It includes information that may be both public and private, obtained from much different public or secret sources. It could consist entirely of information from either publicly available or secret sources, or be

4030-620: The American Zone of occupied Germany . The U.S. codification of enemy spies is Article 106 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice . This provides a mandatory death sentence if a person captured in the act is proven to be "lurking as a spy or acting as a spy in or about any place, vessel, or aircraft, within the control or jurisdiction of any of the armed forces, or in or about any shipyard, any manufacturing or industrial plant, or any other place or institution engaged in work in aid of

Main Directorate for Reconnaissance - Misplaced Pages Continue

4160-975: The Bible , and the Amarna letters . Espionage was also prevalent in the Greco-Roman world , when spies employed illiterate subjects in civil services . The thesis that espionage and intelligence has a central role in war as well as peace was first advanced in The Art of War and in the Arthashastra . In the Middle Ages European states excelled at what has later been termed counter- subversion when Catholic inquisitions were staged to annihilate heresy . Inquisitions were marked by centrally organised mass interrogations and detailed record keeping. Western espionage changed fundamentally during

4290-520: The Great Patriotic War . Only the actual invasion saved Fitin from execution for providing the head of the NKVD, Lavrenty Beria , with information General Secretary of the CPSU, Joseph Stalin did not want to believe. Beria retained Fitin as chief of foreign intelligence until the war ended but demoted him. From June to September 1946, the head of foreign intelligence (MGB 1st directorate),

4420-672: The KGB or the Directorate of Operations within the CIA . The HVA had its own budget and its own enterprises, which not only provided cover employment for its operatives, but also contributed finances from their business activities to the upkeep of the service. The Main Directorate also handled its own counterintelligence . This was an exclusive prerogative of the Stasi within the German Democratic Republic, but while

4550-776: The Office of Strategic Services was founded by Gen. William J. Donovan . However, the British system was the keystone of Allied intelligence. Numerous resistance groups such as the Austrian Maier -Messner Group, the French Resistance , the Witte Brigade , Milorg and the Polish Home Army worked against Nazi Germany and provided the Allied secret services with information that was very important for

4680-654: The Russian Revolution joined the Narkomat of External Trade (Наркомат внешней торговли), when the Soviets had to allow the former specialists (called "specs", "спецы") to take positions of their expertise. This position allowed him to travel abroad and contact Russian emigrants. MUCR kept the monarchist general Alexander Kutepov (Александр Кутепов), head of a major emigrant force, Russian All-Military Union (Русский общевоинский союз), from active actions and who

4810-483: The Spanish Civil War . In February 1938, Slutsky was invited to the office of GUGB head komkor Mikhail Frinovsky , where he was poisoned and died. Slutsky was replaced by Zelman Passov , but soon he was arrested and murdered, his successor Sergey Spigelglas had met with the same fate, and by the end of 1938, he was arrested and murdered. The next chief (acting) of Foreign Department for only three weeks

4940-649: The Trust Operation . In 1936, Artuzov was replaced by then State Security Commissar 2nd rank Abram Slutsky . Slutsky was an active participant of the October Revolution and Russian Civil War . He had started work in security organs in 1920 by joining Cheka and later working in OGPU, Economic Department. Then in 1931, he went to serve in OGPU's Foreign Department (INO), and often left the country for Germany , France and Spain , where he participated in

5070-594: The Uniform Code of Military Justice . The United States, like most nations, conducts espionage against other nations, under the control of the National Clandestine Service . Britain's espionage activities are controlled by the Secret Intelligence Service . Source: A spy is a person employed to seek out top secret information from a source. Within the United States Intelligence Community , " asset "

5200-720: The United Kingdom , also contributed to the HVA's significance. In the United States , on the contrary, the HVA was never able to break any ground, as the KGB operated there almost exclusively (the significant inroads in the GDR's reconnaissance on, for example, the NSA originated from personnel stationed in West Berlin). In 1989 the HVA had 21 sections ( Abteilungen ) and five task forces ( Arbeitsgruppen ). In addition, there

5330-659: The Vietnam War . Some Islamic countries, including Libya , Iran and Syria , have highly developed operations as well. SAVAK , the secret police of the Pahlavi dynasty , was particularly feared by Iranian dissidents before the 1979 Iranian Revolution . Today, spy agencies target the illegal drug trade and terrorists as well as state actors. Intelligence services value certain intelligence collection techniques over others. The former Soviet Union, for example, preferred human sources over research in open sources , while

Main Directorate for Reconnaissance - Misplaced Pages Continue

5460-521: The White Guard people ( White movement ), of which the largest groups were in Berlin, Paris and Warsaw . The intelligence and counter-intelligence department led long so called intelligence games against Russian emigration. As a result of those games, the main representatives of Russian emigration like Boris Savinkov were arrested and sent for many years to prison. Another well known action against

5590-535: The atomic bomb ; he was also given a management role in the Soviet atomic effort, to help with coordination. After Sudoplatov left his post, he was replaced by Vladimir Dekanozov , before becoming INO head, Dekanozov was Deputy Chairman of the Georgian Council of People's Commissars and after he left his post in 1939 and became the Soviet ambassador in Berlin . For the next seven years, from 1939 to 1946,

5720-441: The death penalty . Venice became obsessed with espionage because successful international trade demanded that the city-state could protect its trade secrets . Under Queen Elizabeth I of England ( r.  1558–1603 ), Francis Walsingham ( c.  1532–1590) was appointed foreign secretary and intelligence chief. The novelist and journalist Daniel Defoe (died 1731) not only spied for the British government, but also developed

5850-760: The "HVA College", disguised as the Zentralschule der Gesellschaft für Sport und Technik Edkar André ("Edkar André Main College of the Society for Sports and Vocational Training"), was headquartered in Belzig . Starting in 1965, it was incrementally absorbed into the Juristische Hochschule des MfS (JHS) ("Graduate Law School of the Ministry of State Security"), located in Golm (Potsdam) , initially as

5980-565: The 1947 National Security Act created the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to coordinate intelligence and the National Security Agency for research into codes and electronic communication. In addition to these, the United States has 13 other intelligence gathering agencies; most of the U.S. expenditures for intelligence gathering are budgeted to various Defense Dept. agencies and their programs. Under

6110-646: The APN ( Außenpolitischer Nachrichtendienst : Foreign Intelligence Service) resided in the early 1950s first in Pankow , then at the Rolandufer in Mitte , both in Berlin. The headquarters of the HVA was situated since the mid- to late 1950s in the building complex of the Stasi's headquarters in the Berlin borough of Lichtenberg . After completion of the new office buildings at the corner of Ruschestraße and Frankfurter Allee,

6240-601: The CIA. In 1951, the Außenpolitischer Nachrichtendienst (Foreign Intelligence Service) (APN) was founded, under the leadership of Anton Ackermann , disguised as the Institut für wirtschaftswissenschaftliche Forschung (IPW) (Institute for Economic Research). According to Markus Wolf , eight Germans and four Soviet "advisers" were present at the founding on 1 September 1951 in Bohnsdorf in

6370-558: The College of Foreign Languages, previously located in Dammsmühle bei Mühlenbeck , moved to Lake Seddin in Gosen near the Berlin city limits, approximately 4.5 kilometres (3 miles) south of the city of Erkner . The backup bunker for the headquarters of the HVA was also located there. In 1989 the college had approximately 300 employees and was headed by Lieutenant Bernd Kaufmann. It worked in close cooperation with "Dept. A XIX" , and

6500-721: The Communist Party headquarters in Ukraine for eight years before joining the KGB in 1967. In 1988 he was promoted to General of the Army rank and became KGB Chairman. In 1989–1990, he was a member of Politburo. The next and last head of FCD was born on March 24, 1935, in Moscow Leonid Shebarshin . According to published sources, the KGB included the following directorates and departments in 1980s: " Active measures " ( Russian : Активные мероприятия ) were

6630-410: The Foreign Department had also been used to carry out assassinations abroad). During World War II , his unit helped organize guerrilla bands, and other secret behind-the-lines units for sabotage and assassinations, to fight the Nazis . In February, 1944, Lavrenty Beria (head of NKVD) named Pavel Sudoplatov to also head the newly formed Department S, which united both GRU and NKVD intelligence work on

SECTION 50

#1732772133106

6760-425: The GUGB became GUGB's Department 7, and later Department 5. By 1941, foreign intelligence was given the highest status and it was enlarged to directorate. The name was changed from INO (Innostranny Otdiel) to INU— Inostrannoye Upravleniye , Foreign Directorate. During the following years, Soviet security and intelligence organs went through frequent organizational changes. From February to July 1941, foreign intelligence

6890-439: The HVA (since 1983), Generalmajor (since 1984) Heinrich Tauchert – Deputy Chief of the HVA (since 1987), Generalmajor (since 1989) Ralf-Peter Devaux – Deputy Chief of the HVA (since 1987), Oberst (since 1987) Horst Felber – First Secretary of the Socialist Unity Party organs in the Stasi (since 1979), Generalmajor (since 1979) Sections VII, IX, X and task force S were directly subordinated to

7020-406: The HVA established its base of operations there. (After 1990 an employment agency moved into a building on the site. The building on the Frankfurter Allee is used by Deutsche Bahn . A Deutsche Bahn company logo has been affixed and is easily noticeable.) The Operativ-Technische Sektor (OTS) was located in the Roedernstraße in Hohenschönhausen. Former HVA director Markus Wolf asserted in front of

7150-574: The HVA, in light of the rising tensions between the two Cold War superpowers. Optimal conditions allowed the HVA to provide its eastern "sister services", especially the KGB , the greatest amount of intelligence flowing out of the Federal Republic of Germany. The KGB was headquartered in Berlin-Karlshorst , the Soviet Union's secret service was located in Potsdam-Babelsberg , and in addition, liaisons were present to each district administration. Successful operations against NATO headquarters in Brussels , as well as some other Western European states, such as

7280-488: The Hague Convention of 1907, these Germans were classified as spies and tried by a military tribunal in Washington D.C. On August 3, 1942, all eight were found guilty and sentenced to death. Five days later, six were executed by electric chair at the District of Columbia jail. Two who had given evidence against the others had their sentences reduced by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to prison terms. In 1948, they were released by President Harry S. Truman and deported to

7410-414: The KGB largely stopped assassinations abroad after Stashynsky's defection, although they continued assisting the Eastern European sister services in doing so. The KGB First Chief Directorate residency was the equivalent of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) station. The chief of residency (Resident) was the equivalent of the CIA's Chief of Station . A legal resident is a spy who operates in

7540-429: The Line KR's role was increased considerably after CIA counterintelligence officer Aldrich Ames and FBI counterintelligence special agent Robert Hanssen volunteered their services to the KGB residency in Washington, DC. In return for money, they gave the KGB the names of officers of the KGB residency in Washington, DC, and other places, who cooperated with the FBI and/or the CIA. Line KR officers immediately arrested

7670-406: The Main Division I handled this mission within the National People's Army and the Border Troops , the Main Division VII handled the Ministry of the Interior and the People's Police , the Main Division XX handled espionage penetration attempts within the GDR's state apparatus and the Main Division II handled counterintelligence among the East German public in general, counterespionage within the HVA

7800-485: The Management office (INO chief and two deputies), chancellery, agents department, visas bureau and foreign sections. In 1922, after the creation of the State Political Directorate (GPU) and connecting it with People's Commisariat for Internal Affairs ( NKVD ) of the Russian SFSR , foreign intelligence was conducted by the GPU Foreign Department, and between December 1923 and July 1934 by the Foreign Department of Joint State Political Directorate or OGPU. In July 1934, OGPU

7930-403: The Ministry of State Security. After the death of longtime Soviet leader Joseph Stalin in March 1953, Lavrenty Beria took over control of the security and intelligence organs, disbanded the MGB and its existing tasks were given to the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) which he was in control of. In the MVD, the foreign intelligence was conducted by the Second Chief Directorate and following

SECTION 60

#1732772133106

8060-487: The Renaissance when Italian city-states installed resident ambassadors in capital cities to collect intelligence. Renaissance Venice became so obsessed with espionage that the Council of Ten , which was nominally responsible for security , did not even allow the doge to consult government archives freely. In 1481 the Council of Ten barred all Venetian government officials from making contact with ambassadors or foreigners. Those revealing official secrets could face

8190-424: The SED was expected of them. Qualified employees of other Stasi departments, such as those with secondary educational degrees, knowledge of foreign languages, etc., could, as a reward for "remarkable achievements", be transferred to the HVA as needed, which was akin to a decoration. On the other hand, HVA personnel could, due to inadequate performance or following an investigation, be transferred to other departments of

8320-400: The Soviet Union became the Foreign Intelligence Service ( SVR RF ). The primary foreign intelligence service in Russia and the Soviet Union has been the GRU , a military intelligence organization and special operations force. From the beginning, foreign intelligence played an important role in Soviet foreign policy. In the Soviet Union, foreign intelligence was formally formed in 1920 as

8450-604: The Soviet Union for the CIA, was shot down and captured. During the Cold War, many Soviet intelligence officials defected to the West, including Gen. Walter Krivitsky , Victor Kravchenko , Vladimir Petrov , Peter Deriabin, Pawel Monat and Oleg Penkovsky of the GRU . Among Western officials who defected to the Soviet Union are Guy Burgess and Donald D. Maclean of Great Britain in 1951, Otto John of West Germany in 1954, William H. Martin and Bernon F. Mitchell , U.S. cryptographers, in 1960, and Harold (Kim) Philby of Great Britain in 1962. U.S. acknowledgment of its U-2 flights and

8580-476: The Stasi, practically constituting a demotion. The full-time staff of the HVA were complemented by more than 10,000 "unofficial collaborators" or "unofficial employees", the so-called IMs ( Inoffizieller Mitarbeiter ). These were primarily GDR citizens with permission to travel to the West (the Reisekader ; conversely, only a fraction of those with travel permission were IMs), residents of East Germany who were related to "functionally interesting" target persons in

8710-442: The United States and some other jurisdictions can only occur if they take up arms or aids the enemy against their own country during wartime), or even executed, as the Rosenbergs were. For example, when Aldrich Ames handed a stack of dossiers of U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) agents in the Eastern Bloc to his KGB-officer "handler", the KGB "rolled up" several networks, and at least ten people were secretly shot. When Ames

8840-437: The United States has tended to emphasize technological methods such as SIGINT and IMINT . In the Soviet Union, both political ( KGB ) and military intelligence ( GRU ) officers were judged by the number of agents they recruited. Espionage agents are usually trained experts in a targeted field so they can differentiate mundane information from targets of value to their own organizational development. Correct identification of

8970-407: The West, couriers and instructors, but also thousands of residents of West Germany and West Berlin, partly in exposed positions in society. The HVA was particularly interested in recruiting Western students who were visiting the GDR. These were young academics who were suitable for leadership roles and therefore particularly predestined for confidential information; they were developed over decades at

9100-421: The adversary has sophisticated SIGINT detection and interception capability. Spies rely on COVCOM or covert communication through technically advanced spy devices. Agents must also transfer money securely. Reportedly Canada is losing $ 12 billion and German companies are estimated to be losing about €50 billion ($ 87 billion) and 30,000 jobs to industrial espionage every year. In espionage jargon, an "agent"

9230-505: The autumn of 1989, seven supervisors had a ranking of "general": highest-ranking associate was manager of the HVA, Werner Großmann, as lieutenant general. Four of his deputies, as well as Harry Schütt (chief of counter-espionage) and Otto Ledermann (manager of the SED foundation of the HVA) were Major Generals. The HVA associates regarded themselves to be the elite of the Ministry of State Security. A high degree of personal engagement, flexibility, performance, and primarily absolute loyalty to

9360-645: The biggest successes of Soviet foreign intelligence was the penetration of the American Manhattan Project , which was the code name for the effort during World War II to develop the first nuclear weapons of the United States with assistance from the United Kingdom and Canada. Information gathered in the United States, Great Britain and Canada, especially in USA, by NKVD and NKGB agents then supplied to Soviet physicists, allowed them to carry out

9490-573: The body involved should be issued with some form of warrant or permission from the government and should be enacting their procedures in the interest of protecting national security or the safety of public citizens. Those carrying out intelligence missions should act within not only RIPA but also the Data Protection Act and Human Rights Act. However, there are spy equipment laws and legal requirements around intelligence methods that vary for each form of intelligence enacted. In war, espionage

9620-707: The borough of Treptow-Köpenick. The APN was subordinated to the GDR Foreign Ministry. The first leader was Ackermann, his deputy was Richard Stahlmann . The head of the "advisers" was the KGB officer Andrei Grauer, who, according to Wolf, had been personally assigned by Stalin to this "reconstruction aid." In 1952, the APN College (the later HVA College) came into being, where agents known as "scouts for peace" (Kundschafter des Friedens) in Stasi jargon were prepared for operations in Western countries. Toward

9750-772: The chief of the foreign intelligence department (then 5th Department of the GUGB/NKVD) was a very young NKVD officer and graduate of the first official intelligence school (SHON), Major of State Security Pavel Fitin . Fitin graduated from a program in engineering studies at the Timiryazev Agricultural Academy in 1932 after which he served in the Red Army , then became an editor for the State Publishing House of Agricultural Literature. The All-Union Communist Party (CPSU) selected him for

9880-622: The creation of KGB foreign intelligence was conducted by the First Chief Directorate of the Committee for State Security or KGB, subordinate to the council of ministers of the USSR. The first chief of the Soviet foreign intelligence service, Cheka foreign department ( Inostranny Otdel —INO), was Yakov Davydov . He headed the foreign department until late 1921, when he was replaced by longtime revolutionary Solomon Mogilevsky . He led INO only for few months, as in 1925 he died in

10010-639: The early 21st century, the act was used to prosecute whistleblowers such as Thomas Andrews Drake , John Kiriakou , and Edward Snowden , as well as officials who communicated with journalists for innocuous reasons, such as Stephen Jin-Woo Kim . As of 2012 , India and Pakistan were holding several hundred prisoners of each other's country for minor violations like trespass or visa overstay, often with accusations of espionage attached. Some of these include cases where Pakistan and India both deny citizenship to these people, leaving them stateless . The BBC reported in 2012 on one such case, that of Mohammed Idrees, who

10140-472: The end of the year, Ackermann petitioned the ruling party's Politburo to replace him, and Walter Ulbricht assumed direct control of the APN. The primary mandate of the HVA was foreign reconnaissance ( espionage ), which included political, military, economic and technological intelligence-gathering. Among its other duties were activities against western intelligence agencies (by means of infiltrating their operations), preparing acts of sabotage , as well as

10270-405: The enlisting of foreign agents, wide use of emigrants for intelligence tasks and organization of a network of independent agents. Trilisser himself was very active, personally traveling to Berlin and Paris for meetings with important agents. Trilisser left his position in 1930, and was replaced by Artur Artuzov , the former chief of department of counter-intelligence (KRO) and main initiator of

10400-515: The exchange of Francis Gary Powers for Rudolf Abel in 1962 implied the legitimacy of some espionage as an arm of foreign policy. China has a very cost-effective intelligence program that is especially effective in monitoring neighboring countries such as Mongolia , Russia and India . Smaller countries can also mount effective and focused espionage efforts. For instance, the Vietnamese communists had consistently superior intelligence during

10530-537: The first Soviet nuclear explosion in 1949. In March 1954, Soviet state security underwent its last major postwar reorganization. The MGB was once again removed from the MVD, but downgraded from a ministry to the Committee for State Security (KGB), and formally attached to the Council of Ministers in an attempt to keep it under political control. The body responsible for foreign operations and intelligence collection activities

10660-493: The foreign intelligence agency of West Germany. As a high-level source, she was led by Markus Wolf personally. The actual sources of espionage operations in the West were not necessarily registered as IMs with the HVA (or the Ministry of State Security). In many cases, they were noted as Kontaktpersonen (KP) (contact persons), which reveals little about the degree of cooperation with the intelligence service. The HVA's predecessor,

10790-453: The head of the HVA, Colonel General Werner Großmann . His predecessor was Colonel General Markus Wolf , who led the HVA over 34 years until 1986 and was held in high professional regard in the intelligence community. The head of the HVA had five deputies. In the last case, these were Major Generals Horst Vogel (1. Deputy), Heinz Geyer (Chief of Staff), Heinrich Tauchert and Werner Prosetzky as well as Colonel Ralf-Peter Devaux. Initially,

10920-588: The height of World War I , all great powers except the United States had elaborate civilian espionage systems, and all national military establishments had intelligence units. In order to protect the country against foreign agents, the U.S. Congress passed the Espionage Act of 1917 . Mata Hari , who obtained information for Germany by seducing French officials, was the most noted espionage agent of World War I. Prior to World War II , Germany and Imperial Japan established elaborate espionage nets. In 1942

11050-611: The intelligence reorganization of 2004, the director of national intelligence is responsible for overseeing and coordinating the activities and budgets of the U.S. intelligence agencies. In the Cold War , espionage cases included Alger Hiss , Whittaker Chambers and the Rosenberg Case. In 1952 the Communist Chinese captured two CIA agents and in 1960 Francis Gary Powers , flying a U-2 reconnaissance mission over

11180-458: The internal security. Line KR had operational control over residency personnel, surveillance , establishment of any suspicious contacts of residency personnel with citizens of the country where they are staying that they had not reported, checking personal mail, etc. Line KR used such tactics to prevent or uncover anyone from the residency or embassy from being recruited by the enemy, such as the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). In 1985,

11310-598: The killings of Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists members Lev Rebet and Stepan Bandera by Bohdan Stashynsky in Munich in 1957 and 1959, as well as the unrelated slayings of emigre dissidents like Abdurahman Fatalibeyli , and the surreptitious ricin poisoning of the Bulgarian émigré Georgi Markov , shot with an umbrella-gun of KGB design, in 1978. The defection of assassins like Nikolai Khokhlov and Bohdan Stashynsky severely curtailed such activities however, and

11440-406: The lines was responsible for counterintelligence . The Line KR (short for "kontrazviedka," counterintelligence) played a big role in the KGB residency, being responsible for counterintelligence and security of the residency and the consulate or embassy that housed the residency. Mainly it used so-called "defensive counterintelligence" tactics. This meant that Line KR attention and force was used for

11570-508: The more common practice is to recruit a person already trusted with access to sensitive information, sometimes a person with a well-prepared synthetic identity (cover background), called a legend in tradecraft , may attempt to infiltrate a target organization. These agents can be moles (who are recruited before they get access to secrets), defectors (who are recruited after they get access to secrets and leave their country) or defectors in place (who get access but do not leave). A legend

11700-451: The most common forms of agent are: Less common or lesser known forms of agent include: Espionage against a nation is a crime under the legal code of many nations. In the United States, it is covered by the Espionage Act of 1917 . The risks of espionage vary. A spy violating the host country's laws may be deported, imprisoned, or even executed. A spy violating its own country's laws can be imprisoned for espionage or/and treason (which in

11830-437: The national defence with an intent, or reason to believe, that the information may be used to the injury of the United States or to the advantage of any foreign nation". Black's Law Dictionary (1990) defines espionage as: "... gathering, transmitting, or losing ... information related to the national defense ". Espionage is a violation of United States law, 18 U.S.C.   §§ 792 – 798 and Article 106a of

11960-438: The organization can be complex with many methods to avoid detection, including clandestine cell systems . Often the players have never met. Case officers are stationed in foreign countries to recruit and supervise intelligence agents, who in turn spy on targets in the countries where they are assigned. A spy need not be a citizen of the target country and hence does not automatically commit treason when operating within it. While

12090-688: The organization in which they are planted, such as giving false reports about their country's military movements, or about a competing company's ability to bring a product to market. Spies may be given other roles that also require infiltration, such as sabotage . Many governments spy on their allies as well as their enemies, although they typically maintain a policy of not commenting on this. Governments also employ private companies to collect information on their behalf such as SCG International Risk , International Intelligence Limited and others. Many organizations, both national and non-national, conduct espionage operations. It should not be assumed that espionage

12220-451: The penalties for being caught are often severe. Espionage has been recognized as of importance in military affairs since ancient times. The oldest known classified document was a report made by a spy disguised as a diplomatic envoy in the court of King Hammurabi , who died in around 1750 BC. The ancient Egyptians had a developed secret service, and espionage is mentioned in the Iliad ,

12350-423: The penalty for espionage in many countries was execution. This was true right up until the era of World War II ; for example, Josef Jakobs was a Nazi spy who parachuted into Great Britain in 1941 and was executed for espionage. In modern times, many people convicted of espionage have been given penal sentences rather than execution. For example, Aldrich Hazen Ames is an American CIA analyst, turned KGB mole, who

12480-483: The personnel. He is also an official contact who well-known people in government can contact in times of crisis. In 1962, KGB Washington, D.C. Resident Aleksandr Fomin (real name Alexander Feklisov ) played a huge role in resolving the Cuban Missile Crisis . The residency was divided into lines (sections). Each line was responsible for its assigned task of gathering intelligence. For instance, one of

12610-517: The place where the desired information is stored or accessing the people who know the information and will divulge it through some kind of subterfuge . There are exceptions to physical meetings, such as the Oslo Report , or the insistence of Robert Hanssen in never meeting the people who bought his information. The US defines espionage towards itself as "the act of obtaining, delivering, transmitting, communicating, or receiving information about

12740-527: The problems to tensions caused by the Kashmir conflict . Espionage is illegal in the UK under the National Security Act 2023 , which repealed prior Official Secrets Acts and creates three separate offences for espionage. A person is liable to be imprisoned for life for committing an offence under Section 1 of the Act, or 14 years for an offence under Sections 2 and 3 Government intelligence

12870-487: The program, providing operatives and intelligence for assassinations and other types of covert operations. The Thirteenth Department was responsible for direct action , including assassination and sabotage ; at one time it was led by Viktor Vladimirov . They were used both abroad and domestically. Occasionally, KGB assassinated the enemies of the USSR abroad—principally Soviet Bloc defectors, either directly or by aiding Communist country secret services. For instance:

13000-409: The prosecution of the war by the United States, or elsewhere". First Chief Directorate The First Main Directorate (Russian: Пе́рвое гла́вное управле́ние , romanized : Pérvoye glávnoye upravléniye , IPA: [ˈpʲervəjə ˈɡɫavnəjə ʊprɐˈvlʲenʲɪje] , lit. ' First Chief Directive' ) of the Committee for State Security under the USSR council of ministers ( PGU KGB )

13130-476: The purpose of acquiring intelligence are not considered spies but are lawful combatants entitled to be treated as prisoners of war upon capture by the enemy. Article 30 states that a spy captured behind enemy lines may only be punished following a trial. However, Article 31 provides that if a spy successfully rejoined his own military and is then captured by the enemy as a lawful combatant, he cannot be punished for his previous acts of espionage and must be treated as

13260-507: The purpose of waging destruction on an enemy's vital targets in addition to intelligence gathering. For example, during World War II , eight German agents entered the U.S. in June 1942 as part of Operation Pastorius , a sabotage mission against U.S. economic targets. Two weeks later, all were arrested in civilian clothes by the FBI thanks to two German agents betraying the mission to the U.S. Under

13390-510: The recently created foreign intelligence agency called the Committee of Information (KI). In the summer of 1948, the military personnel in KI were returned to the Soviet military to reconstitute a foreign military intelligence arm of the GRU. KI sections dealing with the new East Bloc and Soviet émigrés were returned to the MGB in late 1948. In 1951, the KI returned to the MGB, as a First Chief Directorate of

13520-580: The responsibility of the section or department head. Considerably greater amounts were made available for the secret procurement of equipment for section A VIII ("Operational Technology and Radio Communications") and for other recipients in the Stasi, the National People's Army or the East German economy; this money generally came from the Division of Commercial Coordination. Espionage Espionage , spying , or intelligence gathering

13650-504: The so-called "Active Measures" (distributing false intelligence) in the "Operational Sector Federal Republic of Germany ", including West Berlin . In the early 1980s, military espionage began to gain significance. The Soviet Union , the SED-led administration of the German Democratic Republic, and secretary of national security Erich Mielke expected paramount information in regard to the early discovery of Western war preparations from

13780-435: The status of wartime spies, specifically within "Laws and Customs of War on Land" (Hague IV); October 18, 1907: Chapter II Spies". Article 29 states that a person is considered a spy who, acts clandestinely or on false pretences, infiltrates enemy lines with the intention of acquiring intelligence about the enemy and communicate it to the belligerent during times of war. Soldiers who penetrate enemy lines in proper uniforms for

13910-598: The subject of broad interest and intensive research under the responsibilities of the Federal Commissioner for the Stasi Records . The HVA is regarded by some as the most effective foreign intelligence service during the Cold War and the second largest after Soviet Union's intelligence forces. It provided up to 80 percent of all information about NATO countries before the Warsaw Pact, according to

14040-545: The target at its execution is the sole purpose of the espionage operation. Broad areas of espionage targeting expertise include: Although the news media may speak of "spy satellites" and the like, espionage is not a synonym for all intelligence-gathering disciplines. It is a specific form of human source intelligence ( HUMINT ). Codebreaking ( cryptanalysis or COMINT ), aircraft or satellite photography ( IMINT ), and analysis of publicly available data sources ( OSINT ) are all intelligence gathering disciplines, but none of them

14170-530: The war effort. Since the end of World War II , the activity of espionage has enlarged, much of it growing out of the Cold War between the United States and the former USSR . The Russian Empire and its successor, the Soviet Union , have had a long tradition of espionage ranging from the Okhrana to the KGB (Committee for State Security), which also acted as a secret police force. In the United States,

14300-399: The world, they were used to build legal intelligence post called residentura. It was led by a resident whose real identity was known only to the ambassador . The first operations of the Soviet intelligence concentrated mainly on Russian military and political emigration organizations. According to Vladimir Lenin 's directions, the foreign intelligence department had chosen as his main target

14430-465: Was Lieutenant General Pyotr Kubatkin (born in 1907), when he was replaced by then Lieutenant General Pyotr Fedotov (born in 1900). Before he became head of foreign intelligence, he was working in OGPU/GUGB counter-intelligence and 'Secret Political departments and then he headed the NKVD's counter-intelligence department. From 1949 to 1951, the head of intelligence in the Committee of Information

14560-479: Was First Chief Directorate (FCD). The first head of FCD was Aleksandr Panyushkin , the former ambassador to the United States and China and former head of Second Chief Directorate in MVD responsible for foreign intelligence. Panyushkin's diplomatic background, however, did not imply any softening in MVD/KGB operational methods abroad. Indeed, one of the first foreign operations personally supervised by Panyushkin

14690-461: Was Operation Rhine, the attempted assassination of a Ukrainian émigré leader in West Germany . In 1956, Panyushkin was succeeded by his former deputy Aleksandr Sakharovsky , who was to remain head of FCD for record period of 15 years. He was remembered in the FCD chiefly as an efficient, energetic administrator. In 1971, Sakharovsky was succeeded by his 53-year-old former deputy Fyodor Mortin,

14820-544: Was Sergey Savchenko. Savchenko was born in 1904 and at first he was working as a security guard. He joined Soviet security organs in 1922 and in the 1940s was a top NKVD man in Ukrainian SSR . When Andrey Vyshinsky became Minister for Foreign Affairs and the head of Committee of Information, Savchenko was his deputy and head of foreign intelligence. In 1951, he was replaced by Lt. Gen. Yevgeny Petrovich Pitovranov, longtime secret service worker. Between 1950 and 1951, he

14950-502: Was arrested by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), he faced life in prison; his contact, who had diplomatic immunity , was declared persona non grata and taken to the airport. Ames' wife was threatened with life imprisonment if her husband did not cooperate; he did, and she was given a five-year sentence. Hugh Francis Redmond , a CIA officer in China, spent nineteen years in a Chinese prison for espionage—and died there—as he

15080-454: Was convicted of espionage in 1994; he is serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole in the high-security Allenwood U.S. Penitentiary . Ames was formerly a 31-year CIA counterintelligence officer and analyst who committed espionage against his country by spying for the Soviet Union and Russia . So far as it is known, Ames compromised the second-largest number of CIA agents, second only to Robert Hanssen , who also served

15210-610: Was convinced to wait for the development of the internal anti-Bolshevik forces. Among the successes of "Trust" was the luring of Boris Savinkov and Sidney Reilly into the Soviet Union to be arrested. In Soviet intelligence history, the 1930s proceeded as a so-called Era of the Great Illegals. Among others Arnold Deutsch , Theodore Maly and Yuri Modin were officers leading the Cambridge Five case. One of

15340-536: Was handled exclusively by its organic Division A IX . Werner Großmann – Deputy Minister and Chief of the HVA (since 1986), Generaloberst (since 1989) Horst Vogel – First Deputy Chief of the HVA (since 1989) and Chief of the Science and Technology Sector (since 1975), Generalmajor (since 1987) Heinz Geyer – Deputy Chief of the HVA (since 1977) and Chief of Staff (since 1982), Generalmajor (since 1985) Werner Prosetzky – Deputy Chief of

15470-411: Was held under Indian police control for approximately 13 years for overstaying his 15-day visa by 2–3 days after seeing his ill parents in 1999. Much of the 13 years were spent in prison waiting for a hearing, and more time was spent homeless or living with generous families. The Indian People's Union for Civil Liberties and Human Rights Law Network both decried his treatment. The BBC attributed some of

15600-605: Was located in Kharkiv and was divided in two sections: Western and Southern . Each section had six groups: registration, personal, technical, finance, law, and organization. WIB had its own internal stations, in Kiev and Odessa . The first had the so-called national section— Polish , Jewish and German . On December 20, 1920, Felix Dzerzhinsky created the Foreign Department ( Innostranny Otdel —INO), made up of

15730-657: Was named Cheka Special Section (department). The head of the Special Section was Mikhail Sergeyevich Kedrov . The Special Section's task was to run human intelligence: to gather political and military intelligence behind enemy lines, and expose and neutralize counter-revolutionary elements in the Red Army . At the beginning of 1920, the Cheka Special Section had a War Information Bureau (WIB), which conducted political, military, scientific and technical intelligence in surrounding countries. WIB headquarters

15860-579: Was often successful in sowing suspicion. Active measures included the establishment and support of international front organizations (e.g., the World Peace Council ); foreign communist, socialist and opposition parties; wars of national liberation in the Third World ; and underground, revolutionary, insurgency , criminal, and terrorist groups. The intelligence agencies of Eastern Bloc and other communist states also contributed to

15990-705: Was operating without diplomatic cover and immunity. In United States law, treason, espionage, and spying are separate crimes. Treason and espionage have graduated punishment levels. The United States in World War I passed the Espionage Act of 1917. Over the years, many spies, such as the Soble spy ring , Robert Lee Johnson , the Rosenberg ring , Aldrich Hazen Ames , Robert Philip Hanssen , Jonathan Pollard , John Anthony Walker , James Hall III , and others have been prosecuted under this law. From ancient times,

16120-536: Was reincorporated into NKVD of the Soviet Union, and renamed the Main Directorate of State Security ( GUGB ). Until October 9, 1936, INO was operated inside the GUGB organization as one of its departments. Then, for conspiracy purposes, People's Commissar of Internal Affairs Nikolai Yezhov , in his order #00362 had introduced a numeration of departments in the GUGB organization, hence Foreign Department or INO of

16250-417: Was structured into three Educational Departments : The HVA had more than 3,800 full-time employees in 1989. Among them were, according to the agency's directory, approximately 2,400 professional agents and 700 deputies, 700 unofficial employees, and 670 special agents ( Offiziere im besonderen Einsatz ) . In the course of the HVA's self-disestablishment, the number of employees rose at times above 4,200. In

16380-592: Was the Headquarters of the HVA ( Stab der HVA ) and the Sector for Science and Technology ( Sektor Wissenschaft und Technik ) (SWT), responsible for technological espionage, whose responsibilities were spread across sections. In a sense the Main Directorate was a secret service within the secret service with an autonomy within the Stasi similar to that enjoyed by the First Chief Directorate within

16510-849: Was the deputy of MGB head Viktor Abakumov . On March 5, 1953, MVD and MGB were merged into the MVD by Lavrenty Beria and his people took over all high positions. The foreign intelligence (2nd Chief Directorate of the MVD), was given to Vasili Ryasnoy. After Lavrenty Beria was arrested, along with his people in MVD, Aleksandr Panyushkin became the head of foreign intelligence. In the first years of existence, Soviet Russia did not have many foreign missions that could provide official camouflage for legal outpost of intelligence called residentura, so, foreign department (INO) relied mainly on illegals, officers assigned to foreign countries under false identities. Later when official Soviet embassies, diplomatic offices and foreign missions had been created in major cities around

16640-505: Was the experienced NKVD officer Pavel Sudoplatov . Before he became INO head in May, 1938, on Stalin's direct order, he personally assassinated the Ukrainian nationalist leader Yavhen Konovalets . Later in June 1941, Sudoplatov was placed in charge of the NKVD's Special Missions Directorate, whose principal task was to carry out sabotage operations behind enemy lines in wartime (both it and

16770-412: Was the organization responsible for foreign operations and intelligence activities by providing for the training and management of covert agents, intelligence collection administration, and the acquisition of foreign and domestic political, scientific and technical intelligence for the Soviet Union . The First Chief Directorate was formed within the KGB directorate in 1954, and after the collapse of

16900-558: Was the responsibility of the recently created new administration the People's Commissariat of State Security ( NKGB ) and was working in its structure as a 1st Directorate and, after the July 1941 organizational changes, as a 1st Directorate of the People's Commisariat for Internal Affairs (NKVD). It then returned to its former state. Already in April 1943, NKGB dealt with foreign intelligence as

#105894