Main Directorate of State Security


The Main Directorate of State Security was the name of the Soviet Union's most important security body within the People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs NKVD USSR. At the time of its existence, which was from July 10, 1934 to February 3, 1941, the GUGB reflected exactly the Secret Operational Directorate within OGPU under the Council of People's Commissars, which operated within OGPU structure from 1923 to 1931/32.
An intelligence service and secret police from July 1934 to February 1941, it was run under the auspices of the Peoples Commissariat of Internal Affairs. Its first head was first deputy of People's Commissar of Internal Affairs, Commissioner 1st rank of State Security Yakov Agranov.

History

The Main Directorate of State Security evolved from the Joint State Political Directorate. On February 3, 1941, the Special Sections of the GUGB-NKVD became part of the Army and Navy. The GUGB was disbanded as an organization within NKVD USSR. The units that operated in GUGB were reorganized and made the core of the newly made People's Commissariat of State Security or NKGB.
Following the outbreak of World War II, the NKVD and NKGB were reunited, not as GUGB but as totally separate directorates. On July 20, 1941, Army and Airforce counter-intelligence was returned to the NKVD as Directorate of Special Departments under Viktor Abakumov; in January 1942, Navy CI followed. In April 1943, it was again transferred to the Narkomat of Defence and Narkomat of the Navy, becoming SMERSH ; at the same time, the GUGB was again separated from the NKVD as NKGB.

GUGB heads

Between 1934 and 1941, the Main Directorate of State Security went through several organizational changes. In January 1935, there were nine departments in the GUGB structure:
; Commissioner 1st rank of State Security Yakov Agranov
  1. Operational Department Karl Pauker
  2. Special DepartmentGleb Bokii
  3. Department of Economics – Lev Mironov
  4. Special Department – Mark Gai
  5. Secret Political Department – Georgy Molchanov
  6. Foreign Department – Artur Artuzov
  7. Department of Transport – Vladimir Kichkin
  8. Department of Information and Statistic – Yakov Genkin
  9. Staff Department – Yakov Weynschtok
By the end of 1937 the People's Commissar of Internal Affairs Nikolai Yezhov, in his order #00362 had changed the number of departments from five to twelve.
; komkor Mikhail Frinovsky
  • Department 1 Israel Dagin
  • Department 2 Ans Zalpeter
  • Department 3 Aleksandr Minayev-Cikanovich
  • Department 4 Mikhail Litvin
  • Military counterintelligence of the Soviet Army|Department 5 Nikolai Nikolaev-Zhuryd
  • Department 6 Mikhail Volkov
  • Department 7 – Abram Slutsky
  • Department 8 Vladimir Cesarsky
  • Department 9 Isaak Shapiro
  • Department 10 Yakov Weynschtok
  • Department 11 Victor Yrcev
  • Department 12 Semyen Zhukovsky
After Lavrenty Beria took over Frinovsky place as a GUGB head, in 29 of September 1938, GUGB underwent another organizational change -
; Commissioner 1st rank of State Security Lavrenty Beria
  • Department 1 – Israel Dagin
  • Department 2 – Bogdan Kobulov
  • Department 3 – Nikolai Nikolaev-Zhuryd
  • Military counterintelligence of the Soviet Army|Department 4 – — Pyotr Fedotov
  • Department 5 – Zelman Passov
  • Department 6 – Alexander Balamutov
  • GUGB Investigating Section
; Commissioner 3rd rank of State Security Vsevolod Merkulov
  • Department 1 –
  • *included Political department, 24 office divisions, a school, commandant's offices of the CC VKP and NKVD of USSR
  • Department 2 –
  • *Division 1
  • *Division 2
  • *Division 3
  • *Division 4
  • *Division 5
  • *Division 6
  • *Division 7
  • *Division 8
  • *Division 9
  • *Division 10
  • *Division 11
  • *Division 12
  • Department 3 –
  • *Division 1
  • *Division 2
  • *Division 3
  • *Division 4
  • *Division 5
  • *Division 6
  • *Division 7
  • *Division 8
  • *Division 9
  • *Division 10
  • *Division 11
  • *Division 12
  • *Division 13 ECCI, MOPR]
  • *Division 14 Foreign Trade, trade offices]
  • *Division 15 Intourist and VOKS]
  • *Diplomat security section
  • *Diplomat security political department
  • *Divisions 16, 17, 18, 19 Diplomat security
  • Military counterintelligence of the Soviet Army|Department 4 – —
  • *Division 1
  • *Division 2
  • *Division 3
  • *Division 4
  • *Division 5
  • *Division 6
  • *Division 7
  • *Division 8 politruk
  • *Division 9
  • *Division 10
  • *Division 11
  • *Division 12
  • *investigative section
  • Department 5 –
  • *Division 1
  • *Division 2
  • *Division 3
  • *Division 4
  • *Division 5
  • *Division 6
  • *Division 7
  • *Division 8
  • *Division 9
  • *Division 10
  • *Division 11
  • *Division 12
  • *Division 12
  • *Division 12
  • *Division 12
  • *Division 12
  • *Division 12
  • Department 6 –
  • *Division 1, 2, 3
  • *Division 4
  • *Division 5
  • *Division 6
  • *Division 7
  • *Division 8
  • GUGB Investigating Section —

    GUGB Ranks

The GUGB had a unique system of ranks, a blend of the position-rank system used in the Red Army and personal ranks used in the Militsiya; the rank insignia was also very distinct. Even though insignia introduced in 1937 followed the Red Army collar patch patterns, it assigned them to very different ranks for GUGB and Internal Troops/political/specialist branches, with GUGB rank placed at least one grade higher than a similar army equivalent.
When GUGB and Militsiya ranks were replaced with military ranks and insignia in February 1943, Major to Sergeant ranks were aligned with Colonel to Junior Lieutenant, and Senior Major and up were replaced with various degrees of Commissioner. In 1945, General Commissioner Lavrentiy Beria received the rank of the Marshal of the Soviet Union, and other GUGB Commissioners received ranks from Major general to Army General.
;Ranks of GUGB 1935–1943
  • генеральный комиссар ГБCommissioner General of State Security
  • комиссар ГБ 1-го рангаCommissioner 1st rank of State Security
  • комиссар ГБ 2-го рангаCommissioner 2nd rank of State Security
  • комиссар ГБ 3-го рангаCommissioner 3rd rank of State Security
  • старший майор ГБSenior Major of State Security
  • майор ГБMajor of State Security
  • капитан ГБCaptain of State Security
  • старший лейтенант ГБSenior Lieutenant of State Security
  • лейтенант ГБLieutenant of State Security
  • младший лейтенант ГБJunior Lieutenant of State Security
  • сержант ГБ Sergeant of State Security
;Rank insignia 1935-1937
;Rank insignia 1937-1943