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CHURCH COMMITTEE REPORTS

APPENDIX III.
SOVIET INTELLIGENCE COLLECTION AND OPERATIONS AGAINST THE
UNITED STATES
A. INTRODUCTION
The U.S.S.R. conducts espionage and "active measures" or covert
action operations on a large scale against its main enemy-the United
States.1 These activities are carried out in the U.S. and abroad by the
Soviet intelligence and security services-the KGB and the GRU-and
by the intelligence and security services of Soviet-influenced Eastern
European countries, via their officers and agents in the United States
and in other countries.
The main targets are U.S. Government officials, members of the business,
scientific and political communities with access to the U.S. Government,
and other influential entities such as youth, journalist and
trade organizations.
According to the CIA, the United States is still the major target
of the Soviet Union, Soviet intelligence and security services regard
the greater degree of contact between the United States and the
U.S.S.R. resulting from detente both as an incr.eased counterintelligence
threat and as an opportunity for recruitment of more
intelligence sources.
1. General St1"lWture and Oommand
The intelligence and security structure of the Soviet Union today
consists of two main elements. The first is the Committee of State Security-
known in the U.S.S.R. and abroad by its initials-KGB. The
second element is the lesser-known military intelligence organizationthe
Chief Directorate of Intelligence of the General Staff-whose initials
are GRU. Both of these organizations operate on a world-wide
basis. There is no Soviet embassy abroad which does not have its contingent
of KGB officers, and it is doubtful whether there are more than one
or two without GRU officers. Furthermore, the diplomatically-accredited
personnel in Soviet Embassies are generally from 40 percent
to 60 percent GRU and KGB officers. However, while there are many
similarities between the operations of these two organizations overseas,
there is one basic difference between them. The GRU engages only in
foreign intelligence collection and has no domestic functions. The
KGB, however, exists to safeguard national security. It interprets this
mandate in the broadest sense, and therefore both its foreign activities
and its domestic mission are multi-faceted.
The KGB and GRU are nominally controlled by the Soviet Government
but are actually commanded' by the Communist Party of the
Soviet Union (CPSU). Officially, both intelligence services report to
the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Government: the KGB reports
1 The People's Republic of China is now almost as important a target to the
Soviet Union as is the United States.
(557)
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dir-ectly and the ORC throllgh the General Staff of the Ministry of
Defense. It ap~ars that HlP role of th!~ Coullcil of Jrinisters in overseeing
thf'se organizations is limited to administrative control, while
the actnal rontral of operation:- is a Party function. Both organizations
report indirectly and directly to the CPSl: leadership through their
resper-tin ('hif'1'-': T11Tii Vladimiroyich AndropoL Chairman of the
KGB; and ~{arshal Andrei Antonovich Grechko, Jlinister of Defense.
Both are full v0tj ng '"'1PTll hpr<: of the Politburo, the highest ruling body
ofthf' CPSl'.
£. Budget
Accurate estimates of Soviet pxpenditures on intellig-ence Rre difficult
to arrive at. because of rigid security and because of the peculiarities
of Soviet accounting practices. The available evidence indicates
that both the KGB and GRTT receive high priority in the allocation of
funds and other resources.
:1. The 801'7et Intelligence and Secur-ity Services-The KGB
As noted above, the KGB has both domestic and foreign functions.
Abroad, the KGB is responsible for the collection of foreign
intelligence; for the control of all official Soviet installations and
personnel; for th,~ penetration of all hostile intelligence and security
servi'~es; and fOl ;:;ollcluding covert and "executive action" programs.
However, it concentrates a- far greater share of its attention on its
internal functiolls, which include: uncovering espionage, subversion
and dis~idence; censorship of all international, and selected internal
communieutiolls; invcstiguting crimes against the st.ate and presenting
evidence for prosecution; protecting the borders of the country;
providing physical protection for the leaders and important
installations of the Party and state, and for visiting foreig-n dignitaries;
disrupting and neutralizing the activity of hostile intelligence
services and emigre organizations by aggre€Sive counterintelligence
operations; supervising t.he development and installation of secure
~ommunications systems, and providing maintenance and security for
those systems.
The number of KGB personnel engaged in clandestine activity directed
against foreign cour:!ril'i- is estimated by the CIA at 10,000 while
the counterintelligence and security components Qperating insioe the
Soviet Cniou are nlnch larger. \Vith the inclusion of a sizeable administrati.-
e and support apparatus, the total number of all-Union or
natiollal-Ievel persollnel ha" been estimated at a total of 410,000. Of this
t.otal, the Border Troops have been credited with over 175,000
employees; the Kremlin Guards ano possibly other uniformed components,
while not individually reported, may number over 65,000.
In addition to the 410,000 national-level personne1 estimate, each
Republic and autonomous region has its own KGB structure, and there
are KGB offices, in every town of any size across the entire Soviet
Union. . .
B. ORC'\XJZATI()~ AXD STRGCTLRE
,. Exer:utire Le1.:el
The Chairman of the KGR 11l1·ii Ylncliminwi(1) All(lr0l)O\-, i:: as~
isteo 3r the expcllt,iw l('velll:- 'wr"p] il(,pllties and by a senior policy559
making board known as the "coiiegiulll:' Thi" body meets at least
once 11 month to discuss KGB activities. Other offieials :--([(It us various
specialists and the ,_hairlllo'll uJ' (lit' Hl'llllblic-le\"e1 KGB organization::,
participate in collegium discussions when speeific problem:; are di::;cussed,
2. Ohief Directorate Le~)el
The KGB has a highly-complex organizational structure, but it is
generally correct to say that the First Chief Directorate is concerned
with foreign operations and that the Second Chief Directorate has
primary responsibility fOI intern,ll 3c('urity and eounterintelligence.
a. The Fil'st Ohief DiJectOrllCc-TIlL' First Chief Directorate of the
KGB is orgalliz(~ll on botJl geog1'aphi,'al and fUllctionallines. The geographic
departments are numbered, and the First Department operates
against the l~Jlited ~tatl'" and Car;ada. Trarlitionally, the numerical
llesignation "First" has been lIssigned to the department that operate,;
against the "main "Hemy" llf tItp LS.S.R The Fnited States has
ueen that enemy since 'Y"lId 'fai rf; !.ut tlw Peoplr's Hppublic of
China ha~ since been dClated aitnl)"t to thi,., "tatn" hy current attitudes
i'f not by formal orgunizat ion. "
The Second Deopartment is responsible for Latin America, induding
Mexico. The Third Department concentrates on the United Kingdom,
Australia, New Zealand and Scandinayia; the Fourth Department
on 'Vest Germany, Austria and Switzerland, and so on for the thirteen
additional departments.
The functional or specialized components of the KGB First Chief
Directorate cunct>l'll themselves ",ith part icular Jjongeographical targE'ts,
types of operations and types of information on a world-wide
basis. TIlPl'e are sel'eral impurLlnt Clllll[l"W'llts ill this category:
-Tlw Oounterintelligence Di:'lctomle wmks directly against foreign
intelligence and security 8·1'\,ic\,,,.
---The "'-c'ient'ific rind Terknical lh'rN'torate 1'I1llS clandest.ine operati()
n~ to collect iJJfc,rllia,iOl; Oll fI"lJlJOJu"6cal ((lhanees and analYzes
tllPir application to r11ilitan and jndu~trinll1Sf's. .
---Depal'tniCllt ":1" (Co\crt .\.., Liull awl D'.I ~l,rjotl) plans, coordinates
awl supports those acti,-itics which are known as "active measnrE's"-
a naul£' which apIJI'OXi!datec' ;'C!JI ert ilction." I"This group was
formerly called Department "D"--disinformation and received extensive
publicity in the Wesl ill tIle HIGOs under that WlIIlP,]
-Department ,; 17", formerly known as thl Thirteenth DepartmE'nt..
conducts assassinations, alJductioIl. :dld other typE'S of ;'executi ve acti~
n." It is known to have carrietl out assassinations abroatl. Currently,
thIS DE'partnwnl is l~rilllarily ('oIlcpmecl with contingency planning
for sabo·tage awl partIsan \I'arfa1'e operations.
--The Int6Zligcl/c,; L;(/i801; Depul'tllu':d lllaintnins liaIson with th"
st.atc security or intdligenc,· sen'ices of the East European Commllllbt
countries :llld of ot1lpr pro-S()\ id-tatf'0. It ~,l'rrl':-; as;j, dWlmel for
le\')'i~~ reqt~iI:f'm~nts on those sp;rvices and f~r coordinating their
ac1l1: ltll'::;, .n lll]l~ l!l l'l'CCIlt year,; lIlcl'l'a"ecl efficlency and diplomatic
conSIderatIOns hft n' led to variatiolls in tlJf' degree of Soviet control
of the East Europf'an intf'lligenc(' and sernrity 5er"i('f'8, the CIA
considers the services of these countries to be an effective extension
560
of the KGB. The CIA also considers the Cuban intelligence service
(the DGI) to be effectively controlled by the KGB.
b. The Second Ohief Directorate.-The primary responsibility of
this group is internal security and counterintelligence, including penetration,
detection and frustra60n of externally and internally supported
anti-Soviet activities. All 'Soviet citizens, all foreign embassies
and consulates, and the growing number of foreigners who visit and
live in the U.S.S.R. each year are under its purview.
The Second Chief Directorate is broken down into several functional
departments, including:
-The American Department, which conducts all operational
activity directed at the official representatives of the United States,
Canadian and Latin American governments in the Soviet Union. Its
mission is two-fold: first, to minimize associations between diplomats
and the Soviet citizenry and to monitor contacts that do take place;
second, to attempt recruitment of American officials. One department is
responsible for identifying, investigating, questioning and maintaining
records on all Soviet citizens in 'authorized and unauthorized contact
with United States officials in ,the U.S.S.R., including any 'Soviet
citizen who wants to visit the U.S. Embassy for any reason. Another
section arranges controlled contacts for U.S. Embassy officers during
trips outside Moscow.
-The Foreign Tourists Department controls and attempts recruitment
of tourists who visit the U.S.S.R. through a large informant
network within all tourist services, including hotels, restaurants,
campsites, service stations, etc.
C. THE GRU
The GRU has a significantly smaller number of personnel in Moscow
than the KGB since it has only one function-the collection
of foreign strategic intelligence. Its headquarters is reported to have
2,000 officers.
The GRU Chief, General of the Army Petr Ivashutin, is assisted
by several deputies, as is the Chief of the KGB. Also, like the KGB,
the GRU has a collegium which examines current problems and proposed
activities. The GRU is broken down into geographic components,
although fewer than the KGB. Of the four geographical
components, one is responsible for collection of strategic information
about the United States, the United Kingdom and Latin America.
Of the GRU's functional components, two deserve mention. One
directorate is responsible for signals intelligence (SIGINT) collection.
The primary intercept targets of this directorate are the strategic
air and ground forces of the United States, Western European countries,
Japan, and the People's Republic of China. SIGINT units in the
U.S.S.R., East European countries, and covert units in Soviet embassies
and trade missions abroad intercept and analyze all types of
electronic communications, including encrypted and clear-text official
messages, and telephone calls.
Another fuc60nal directorate trains Africans, Arabs, Asians and
Latin Americans in organizing underground nets lLnd insurgent movements
in their countries. The training is done at camps and bases in
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the U.S.S.R., and this directorate works closely with the CPSU
Central Committee which is responsible for selecting the individual
students or political groups to be trained.
D. THE SCOPE AKD METHODS OF ANTI-UNITED STATES OPERATIONS
BY THE KGB AND GRU
KGB and GRU officers total approximately one-third of the 10,000
Soviets currently assigned to official Soviet installations abroad (excluding
military and economic aid missions). Government control of
all Soviet trade, business and media services provides an additional
type of cover for KGB find GRU officers. Additionally, Soviet intelligence
officers occupy many posts in the United Nations administrative
structure and in the U.N.'s auxiliary organizations, such as the International
Atomic Energy Agency and the International Telecommunications
Union.
The number of Soviet intelligence and operations officers is a misleading
indicator of the scope of Soviet operations. Many Soviet officers
are responsible for many informants or assets who provide intelligence,
or carry out operations for the KGB and GRU.
A main objective of Soviet intelligence officers both in the United
States and in countries in which U.S. installations exist and U.S.
citizens live, is recruitment of Americans as intelligence assets. A 1959
Soviet directive which was reaffirmed as recently as 1975 states that
"great attention" should be given to the recruitment of U.S. agents
who have "access to encrypted and other secret correspondence, such
as code clerks, secretaries and typists."
Another objective is the recruitment and cultivation of "agents of
influence," or agents who can influence political events or decisions.
Soviet intelligence also mounts technical operations against U.S.
installations and personnel. Planting of microphones and installation
of telephone "taps" is done on a massive scale in the U.S.S.R. and
Soviet-oriented countries. The Soviets are more selective in the West
but they do conduct such operations. The primary targets are the officers
and residences of U.S. ambassadors, senior foreign service personnel,
CIA officers, and defense attaches.
E. E.\STERX ErRoPEAx SECrRITY AND INTELLIGEXCE SERVIC~S
According to the CIA, counterparts of the KGB and GRU in Eastern
European countries serve in varying degrees as extensions of
Soviet anti-United States intelligence collection and covert action
operations.
Of the eight Communist countries in Eastern Europe. five (Poland,
Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria. and the German Democratic Republic)
adhere closely to the Soviet line and their intelligence and security
services are strongly influenced and. to a large extent, controlled
by the KGB and the GRU. Soviet intelligence advisors are permanently
assigned to their headquarters and the advisors have total
access to all information collected bv these services as well as to their
"sources and methods" data. The U:S.S.R. is able to impose collection
requirements on these Eastern European services for information not
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nepded by the country itself. The CIA knows of operations against
U.S. citir.ens and installations carried out by Eastern European intelligence
scniees under Soriet guidance.
The other three Communist countries in Eastern Europe ,Romania,
Yugo~lavia) and Alh:lllia) have attained varying degrees of
inderendencr from th,: U.S,S.IL as is reflected by the absence of any
significant liaison rrlationship between their security services and the
KGBandGRU.
All Eastern European intelligence services concentrate heavily on
the American target at home and abroad, frequently under direct
Soviet guidance. W'hile these services, by American or Soviet standards,
are not large, in aggregatp. the number of officers they hu,"e
assigned abroad approaches that of the Soviet intelligence services
and they thns represent n significnnt enhancement of the already formidable
capabilities of thr KGB and GRU. They continue to exerr.
ise tight politiral control within their borders.

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