KGB

Table of Contents

References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Images

Yury Vladimirovich Andropov

For Students

Read Next

Communism - mosaic hammer and sickle with star on the Pavilion of Ukraine at the All Russia Exhibition Centre (also known as VDNKh) in Moscow. Communist symbol of the former Soviet Union. USSR

Why Did the Soviet Union Collapse?

Discover

Berries and leaves of the bittersweet nightshade (Solanum dulcamara) plant. Poisonous plant

7 of the World’s Deadliest Plants

Close up of praying mantis walking on stone ground against a blurred background in Japan

6 Animals That Eat Their Mates

Portrait of Marie Antoinette by Jean-Francois Janinet, 1777. Color etching and engraving with gold leaf printed on two sheets, 30x13.5 in.

Did Marie-Antoinette Really Say “Let Them Eat Cake”?

Amendments 1-10 to the Constitution of the United States constitute what is known as the Bill of Rights on an American flag.

What Is the Emoluments Clause?

Small, white rat (genus Rattus) on a glass table. (rodent, laboratory, experiment)

Cruel and Unusual Punishments: 15 Types of Torture

Thumbnail for flags that look alike quiz Russia, Slovenia, Iceland, Norway

Flags That Look Alike

Candles Burning On Table In Church

What Is the Most Widely Practiced Religion in the World?

KGB: Facts & Related Content

Written and fact-checked by The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Facts

Also Known As	Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti
Date	1954 - 1991
Headquarters	Moscow
Areas Of Involvement	intelligence
Related People	Vladimir Putin • Boris Pugo • Heydar Aliyev • Vladimir A. Kryuchkov • Yevgeny Primakov • Alexander Litvinenko • Kim Philby • Yury Andropov • Aleksandr Nikolayevich Shelepin

Photos

Yury Vladimirovich Andropov

See All Images →

Topics

Central Intelligence Agency National Aeronautics and Space Administration Federal Bureau of Investigation National Security Agency MI6 Mossad U.S. Secret Service U.S. Department of Defense Environmental Protection Agency Indian Space Research Organisation

Dig Deeper: More Articles That Discuss This Topic

intelligence: Russia and the Soviet Union

Quiz

Thermonuclear hydrogen bomb, code-named MIKE, detonated in the Marshall Islands in the fall of 1952. Photo taken at a height of 12,000 feet, 50 miles from the detonation site. (Photo 3 of a series of 8) Atomic bomb explosion nuclear energy hydrogen energy

Facts You Should Know: The Cold War Quiz