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List of chairmen of the KGB

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The chairman of the KGB was the head of the Committee for State Security (KGB), the main security agency of the Soviet Union in 1954–1991. He was assisted by one or two first deputy chairmen, and four to six deputy chairmen. He was also the head of the Collegium of the KGB—which consisted of the chairman, deputy chairmen, directorate chiefs, and one or two republic-level KGB organization chairmen—who affected key policy decisions.

Chairman of the Committee for State Security
Flag of the Chairman
Longest serving
Yuri Andropov
18 May 1967–26 May 1982
Committee for State Security
SeatLubyanka Building, 2 Bolshaya Lubyanka Street, Moscow, Russian SFSR
AppointerPremier
PrecursorMinister of State Security
Formation13 March 1954
First holderIvan Serov
Final holderVadim Bakatin
Abolished3 December 1991[1]
Superseded byHead of the Inter-republican Security Service [ru]
DeputyFirst Deputy Chairman

In 1934–1943 the Soviet State Security agency was part of the People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (NKVD) as the Main Directorate of State Security (GUGB). The director of the GUGB was the first deputy of the People's Commissar of Interior.

List

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No. Portrait Name
(birth–death) 		Term of office Premier
Took office Left office Time in office
1 Chairman of the Cheka (1917–1922)
  Felix Dzerzhinsky
(1877–1926) 		20 December 1917 7 July 1918 199 days
2   Yakov Peters
(1886–1938) 		7 July 1918 22 August 1918 46 days
1   Felix Dzerzhinsky
(1877–1926) 		22 August 1918 6 February 1922 3 years, 168 days
Chairman of the GPU–OGPU (1922, 1923–1934)
  Felix Dzerzhinsky
(1877–1926) 		6 February 1922 20 July 1926 4 years, 164 days
3   Vyacheslav Menzhinsky
(1874–1934) 		30 July 1926 10 May 1934 7 years, 284 days
4 Main Directorate of State Security of People's Commissar for Internal Affairs (1934–1941)
  Genrikh Yagoda
(1891–1936) 		10 July 1934 26 September 1936 2 years, 78 days
5   Yakov Agranov
(1893–1938) 		29 December 1936 15 April 1937 107 days
6   Mikhail Frinovsky
(1898–1940) 		15 April 1937 28 March 1938 347 days
7   Lavrentiy Beria
(1899–1953) 		29 September 1938 17 December 1938 79 days
8   Vsevolod Merkulov
(1895–1953) 		17 December 1938 3 February 1941 2 years, 48 days
People's Commissar for State Security (1941)
  Vsevolod Merkulov
(1895–1953) 		3 February 1941 20 July 1941 167 days
Main Directorate of State Security of People's Commissar for Internal Affairs (1941–1943)
  Vsevolod Merkulov
(1895–1953) 		20 July 1941 14 April 1943 1 year, 268 days
People's Commissar for State Security (1943–1946)
  Vsevolod Merkulov
(1895–1953) 		14 April 1943 15 March 1946 2 years, 335 days
Ministry of State Security (1946–1954)
  Vsevolod Merkulov
(1895–1953) 		15 March 1946 18 March 1946 3 days
9   Viktor Abakumov
(1908–1954) 		18 March 1946 14 July 1951 5 years, 118 days
— Sergei Ogoltsov
(1900–1976)
Acting 		14 July 1951 9 August 1951 26 days
10 Semyon Ignatiev
(1904–1983) 		9 August 1951 5 March 1953 1 year, 208 days
7   Lavrentiy Beria
(1899–1953) 		5 March 1953 26 June 1953 113 days
11   Sergei Kruglov
(1907–1977) 		June 1953 13 March 1954 9 months
12 Chairman of the Committee for State Security (1954–1991)
  Ivan Serov
(1905–1990) 		13 March 1954 8 December 1958 4 years, 270 days
13   Alexander Shelepin
(1918–1994) 		25 December 1958 13 November 1961 2 years, 323 days
14   Vladimir Semichastny
(1924–2001) 		13 November 1961 18 May 1967 5 years, 186 days
15   Yuri Andropov
(1914–1984) 		18 May 1967 26 May 1982 15 years, 8 days
16 Vitaly Fedorchuk
(1918–2008) 		26 May 1982 17 December 1982 205 days
17 Viktor Chebrikov
(1923–1999) 		17 December 1982 1 October 1988 5 years, 289 days
18   Vladimir Kryuchkov
(1924–2007) 		1 October 1988 28 August 1991 2 years, 331 days
— Leonid Shebarshin
(1935–2012)
Acting 		22 August 1991 23 August 1991 1 day
19   Vadim Bakatin
(1937–2022) 		29 August 1991 3 December 1991 96 days

Timeline

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Vadim BakatinLeonid ShebarshinVladimir KryuchkovViktor ChebrikovVitaly FedorchukYuri AndropovVladimir SemichastnyAlexander ShelepinIvan SerovSergei KruglovSemyon IgnatievSergei OgoltsovViktor AbakumovVsevolod MerkulovLavrentiy BeriaMikhail FrinovskyYakov AgranovGenrikh YagodaVyacheslav MenzhinskyJēkabs PeterssFelix Dzerzhinsky

See also

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Citations

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  1. ^ Закон СССР от 03.12.1991 N 124-Н О реорганизации органов государственной безопасности

Sources

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  • Christopher Andrew and Vasili Mitrokhin, The Mitrokhin Archive: The KGB in Europe and the West, Gardners Books (2000), ISBN 0-14-028487-7 Basic Books (1999), hardcover, ISBN 0-465-00310-9; trade paperback (September, 2000), ISBN 0-465-00312-5
  • John Barron, "KGB: The Secret Work of Soviet Secret Agents",Reader's Digest Press (1974), ISBN 0-88349-009-9
  • Vasili Mitrokhin and Christopher Andrew, The World Was Going Our Way: The KGB and the Battle for the Third World, Basic Books (2005) hardcover, 677 pages ISBN 0-465-00311-7

Further reading

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  • Yevgenia Albats and Catherine A. Fitzpatrick. The State Within a State: The KGB and Its Hold on Russia – Past, Present, and Future. Farrar Straus Giroux (1994) ISBN 0-374-52738-5.
  • John Barron. KGB: The Secret Works Of Soviet Secret Agents. Bantam Books (1981) ISBN 0-553-23275-4
  • Vadim J. Birstein. The Perversion Of Knowledge: The True Story of Soviet Science. Westview Press (2004) ISBN 0-8133-4280-5 (describes a secret KGB lab engaged in development and testing of poisons)
  • John Dziak, Chekisty: A History of the KGB, Lexington Books (1988) ISBN 978-0-669-10258-1
  • Sheymov, Victor (1993). Tower of Secrets. Naval Institute Press. pp. 420. ISBN 1-55750-764-3.
  • Бережков, Василий Иванович (2004). Руководители Ленинградского управления КГБ : 1954–1991. Санкт-Петербург: Выбор, 2004. ISBN 5-93518-035-9 (in Russian)
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55°45′31″N 37°37′32″E / 55.7587°N 37.6256°E / 55.7587; 37.6256

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