Russia's equivalent to the CIA isn't a single agency, but primarily the SVR (Foreign Intelligence Service), responsible for external intelligence, while the FSB (Federal Security Service) handles domestic matters (like the FBI), and the GRU (Military Intelligence Directorate) manages military intelligence abroad, with the SVR being the closest direct counterpart for foreign human intelligence.
The KGB dissolved on December 3, 1991. Its immediate successor agencies were the Federal Security Agency of the RSFSR (AFB), the Inter-Republican Security Service (MSB), the Central Intelligence Service (TsSR), and the Committee for the Protection of the State Border (KOGG).
Federal Security Service (FSB), Russian internal security and counterintelligence service created in 1994 as one of the successor agencies of the Soviet-era KGB.
The KSSO: Russia's Special Operations Command. The Special Operations Forces Command has established itself as Russia's foremost special forces division. Known also as the “polite people”, Russian Special Forces or the KSSO and it rivals many tier-1 western special forces.
For America, the chief target is Moscow's Committee for State Security-the KGB. For the Kremlin, it is the Central Intelligence Agency. In this shadow world of lies, deception, double crosses and double agents, no one can say for certain which side holds the upper hand.
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The DCI's title now is "Director of the Central Intelligence Agency" (DCIA), serving as head of the CIA. Currently, the Central Intelligence Agency answers directly to the Director of National Intelligence, although the CIA Director may brief the President directly.
Spetsnaz (Russian: Спецназ) are special forces in many post-Soviet states. Historically, this term referred to the Soviet Union's Spetsnaz GRU, special operations units of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Soviet General Staff (GRU).
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In October 2025, Institute for the Study of War (ISW) cited alleged leaked Russian data published by the I Want to Live hotline operated by the Main Directorate of Intelligence of Ukraine, according to which Russia suffered 281,550 total losses between January and August 2025, including: 86,744 killed, 33,996 missing ...
The Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) is the civilian foreign intelligence agency of Russia. The SVR succeeded the First Chief Directorate of the KGB in December 1991. The SVR has its headquarters in the Yasenevo District of Moscow with its director reporting directly to the President of the Russian Federation.
"GRU" has several meanings, most commonly referring to the Gated Recurrent Unit, a type of neural network, or Russia's military intelligence agency, the Main Intelligence Directorate (Glavnoye Razvedyvatelnoye Upravlenie). It can also refer to the character Felonious Gru from Despicable Me, or less commonly, grits (Louisiana French) or a shipbuilding term.
The intelligence and security communities—primarily the Federal Security Service (FSB), Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), military intelligence (still generally known as the GRU1), and Federal Protection Service (FSO2)—are particularly powerful structures in Russia, with especially strong lines into the Kremlin and, ...
FCDO advises against all travel to Russia due to the risks and threats from its continuing invasion of Ukraine, including: security incidents, such as drone attacks, and Russian air defence activity. lack of flights to return to the UK. limited ability for the UK government to provide support.
The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a regional intergovernmental organisation in Eurasia. It was formed following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. It covers an area of 20,368,759 km2 (7,864,422 sq mi) and has an estimated population of 246,200,194.
Kim Philby. Harold Adrian Russell "Kim" Philby (1 January 1912 – 11 May 1988) was a British intelligence officer and a double agent for the Soviet Union.
A special mission unit (SMU), at one time referred to as a "tier 1" unit, is a designation for the United States military's most highly secretive and elite special operations forces. The term special missions unit is also used in Australia to describe the Special Air Service Regiment.
Neither SAS nor SBS is definitively "more elite"; they are equally elite but specialized, with the SAS focusing on land/air and the SBS on maritime/amphibious roles, both part of the UK's UK Special Forces (UKSF) and sharing the same rigorous Joint Special Forces Selection process, with SBS adding extra maritime training like swimmer-canoeist skills. Think of them as the Army's and Navy's top-tier counterparts within the same elite special forces framework.
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Mammals found only in Russia include the Baikal Seal (ARKive WM), the Snow Sheep (caprinae world), the Turuchan Pika (iNaturalist), the Black-capped Marmot (iNaturalist), the Forest Steppe Marmot (iNaturalist), the Caucasian Mountain Ground Squirrel (iNaturalist), Vorontsov's Ground Squirrel (Species New to Science), ...
In open ocean, blue water engagements, the Russian Navy would not pose a capable peer-to-peer threat to the Royal Navy, let alone to the combined naval forces of NATO.
By law, CIA is specifically prohibited from collecting foreign intelligence concerning the domestic activities of US citizens. Its mission is to collect information related to foreign intelligence and foreign counterintelligence.
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA /ˌsiː.aɪˈeɪ/) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and conducting covert operations.
Hence the use of spies, of whom there are five classes: (1) Local spies; (2) inward spies; (3) converted spies; (4) doomed spies; (5) surviving spies.