The Kgb in Post-Soviet Russia

The KGB in Post-Soviet Russia

For many people, the very letters 'KGB' brings to mind secrecy, deception, power, and conjure up images of the Cold War and spy movies. The KGB is associated with the fallen Soviet empire, the wings of a beast that has long since been slain, allowing the masses of the world's people to sigh with relief. But is this view actually accurate? I am inclined to flatly answer no, and I will present my case as to why the KGB not only survived the fall of Communism, but the likelihood that it is not going anywhere anytime soon.

After the October Revolution of 1917 overthrew the moderate interim government that had succeeded the Czar, the new Bolshevik regime found itself engaged in a raging civil war against the anti-communist White Army. In order to keep order and squash any dissent, Lenin established a secret police force called the Cheka which often employed brutal methods against real or percieved enemies of the Soviet regime, including arrests, torture, and killings. In the founding of this secret police force, the first seeds of what would become the KGB had been planted.

In the Early 20s, as the health of the USSR's charismatic leader Vladimir Lenin became worse, he grew more reclusive and spent his last years on his estate in Gorki. One of his most loyal aids, Joseph Stalin would keep him company and discuss policy with him. Gradually though, the two drifted further apart in their views and Lenin became suspicious of Stalin's intentions and leadership qualities. After Stalin cursed at Lenin's wife, Lenin was deeply offended and wrote in his will that Stalin should be removed from the post of General Secretary of the Party. Lenin died in 1924 and was given a lavish funeral against his wishes that was organized by Stalin. In the power struggle that ensued after Lenin's death, Stalin cemented his authority by outmaneuvering his rivals and transforming the relatively mediocre position of general secretary into the highest position of the country. Stalin used the secret police to ruthlessly execute and silence his critics and stamp his authority on the country. Under Stalin the secret police was pervasive, and it was shaped further into becoming the organization later known as the KGB.

After the death of Stalin, Nikita Kruschev ascended to power. He denounced Stalin's atrocities and carried out a de-Stalinization of the country by reversing many of his policies and abolishing his cult of personality. Under Kruschev and his successors however, the KGB did not become any less significant, if anything it was more significant. Events like the Bay of Pigs, Cuban missile crisis, the space race, the Vietnam War etc, defined the Cold war between the two nations at which the CIA and KGB were in the very center.

Mikhail Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet Union, was a reformist who enacted liberal policies like Glasnost and