what exactly was the Russian KGB?

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Hardev P	CIA plus FBI Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Proud Indian	KGB means "Komitet Gosudarstvenoi Bezopasnosti". It is a Russian Intelligence Agency like CIA of America, RAW of India, ISI of Pakistan, etc. The KGB had been an integral feature of the Soviet state since it was established by Nikita S. Khrushchev (in office 1953-64) The KGB was created in 1954 to serve as the “sword and shield of the Communist Party.” The new security service, which played a major role in the purge of Beria’s supporters, was designed to be carefully controlled by senior Communist Party officials. It was divided into approximately 20 directorates, the most important of which were those responsible for foreign intelligence, domestic counterintelligence, technical intelligence, protection of the political leadership, and the security of the country’s frontiers. In the late 1960s an additional directorate was created to conduct surveillance on suspected dissidents. The KGB's branches in the fourteen non-Russian republics duplicated the structure and operations of the unionwide organization centered in Moscow; KGB offices existed in every subnational jurisdiction and city of the Soviet Union. The KGB's primary internal function was surveillance of the Soviet citizenry, using a vast intelligence apparatus to ensure loyalty to the regime and to suppress all expressions of political opposition. This apparatus served as the eyes and ears of the party leadership, supplying information on all aspects of Soviet society to the Politburo. The KGB Security Troops, which numbered about 40,000 in 1990, provided the KGB with coercive potential. Although Soviet sources did not specify the functions of these special troops, Western analysts believed that one of their main tasks was to guard the top leaders in the Kremlin, as well as key government and party buildings and officials at the major subnational levels. Such troops presumably were commanded by the Ninth Directorate of the KGB. I think that is enough spying on them for the time being... Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

kalashnikov	Russian equivalent of the american FBI. Top secret intelligence organization. Primary concern - national security. Occasional rumors and controversies surround it. It was even accused of unconstitutional conduct and crimes against innocent Soviet Civilians. Most of them are just exegerated rumors Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

David	http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KGB Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Bobby	Soviet secret police, very important in helping to suppress the Russian people Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Rounder	http://www.russiansabroad.com/russian_history_364.html Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Cory May	russian equivalent of the cia or interpol. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Student5218654	The above answer is good, but I'd more compare it to the German Gestapo of WWII. The KGB was a "secret police" that tracked down people who disagreed with Russian communism. They were often then never seen again. They spread propaganda that encouraged people not to "question the system", and used terror as a tactic to suppress "western" ideas. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No