The acquisition of secret information, objects, persons who possess state secrets - all this is of interest to various states. To ensure security and to combat intelligence, Russian military counterintelligence was created. This professional holiday is dedicated to employees who suppress various subversive activities against their state.

When is it celebrated?

Who's celebrating

This is a professional holiday not only for military counterintelligence officers, but also for all other workers related to this service.

History of the holiday

On December 19, 1918, the Bureau of the Central Committee of the RCP (b) ratified a decree on the merger of front-line and army Chekas with the bodies of Military control and on the formation of a Special Department of the Cheka (All-Russian Extraordinary Commission for Combating Counter-Revolution and Sabotage) under the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR. This was a new anti-espionage body. It was this day that became the date of this professional holiday.

About the profession

Military counterintelligence officers work closely with the military prosecutor's office and other authorities. They conduct operations to detect and eliminate intelligence from foreign special services, various extremist and terrorist groups, and fight drug trafficking and illegal arms sales. In addition, these specialists provide assistance in increasing and checking the combat readiness of units.

It is quite difficult to get into the ranks of military counterintelligence officers, since there is only contract service. An unblemished biography, excellent physical data and theoretical preparation will be only the first of several steps. It is also necessary to graduate from a special educational institution run by the Russian FSB and undergo a rigorous selection process. A military counterintelligence officer must be a psychologist and have an analytical mind, combat skills, prudence, originality of thought and many other qualities.

The head of the GUKR “Smersh” was General Abakumov, who “beat” German intelligence during the Second World War. Despite this, in 1951 he was accused of treason, taken into custody and executed.

During the Second World War, Smersh employees exposed just over 30 thousand spies, 6 thousand terrorists and 3.5 thousand saboteurs.

The progenitor of military counterintelligence is Adjutant General A. Kuropatkin, who on January 20, 1903 expressed his thoughts about it to Emperor Nicholas II.

December 19 is celebrated as Military Counterintelligence Day in Russia. The date was chosen due to the fact that it was on this day in 1918 that a special department appeared in Soviet Russia, which subsequently became part of the military counterintelligence of the GPU. Special military counterintelligence departments were created on the basis of a resolution of the Bureau of the Central Committee of the RCP (b). According to this decree, the army Chekas merged with the military control bodies, and as a result, a Special Department of the Cheka was formed under the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR.

The system was constantly improved, and over time, special departments of fronts, districts and other military formations became part of a unified system of state security bodies in the troops.

Military counterintelligence initially set as its task the identification of provocateurs operating in the ranks of the army, as they called them at that time - “counters”, foreign intelligence agents who found themselves in certain military positions in the army of Soviet Russia. Due to the fact that in 1918 the army of the new post-revolutionary state was just being formed, military counterintelligence officers had more than enough work. The work was complicated by the fact that the military counterintelligence system itself was actually written from scratch, since they decided to neglect the existing experience of pre-revolutionary Russia in terms of countering destructive elements in the army. As a result, the formation and structuring of the special department went through numerous thorns and left its mark on the effectiveness of certain stages of the creation of a monolithic Red Army.

However, as a result of a truly gigantic amount of work, primarily on the selection of personnel, the effective activities of military counterintelligence were streamlined, and in some respects, fine-tuned, as they say, down to the smallest detail.

Operational employees of special departments (special officers) were attached to military units and formations (depending on rank). At the same time, the special officers had to wear the uniform of the unit to which they were “assigned.” What official range of tasks was assigned to operational officers of military counterintelligence at the initial stage of its existence?

In addition to monitoring the morale of the unit's military personnel and their political views, military counterintelligence officers were tasked with identifying counter-revolutionary cells and individuals engaged in destructive agitation. Special officers had to identify individuals who were engaged in preparations for sabotage as part of units of the Red Army, espionage in favor of certain states, and exhibited terrorist activity.

A separate function of representatives of special departments was to conduct investigative work on crimes against statehood with the transfer of cases to military tribunals.

The memories of participants in the Great Patriotic War regarding the activities of military counterintelligence representatives can hardly be called exclusively positive. In wartime conditions, outright excesses also occurred when military personnel who were accused of counter-revolutionary activities were put on trial, for example, for incorrectly wrapping foot wraps, as a result of which the soldier rubbed his legs to monstrous wounds during foot marches and lost the ability to move as part of a unit during the offensive. retreat. For modern lovers of tinkering, in such cases they are a truly tasty morsel, with the help of which they can once again spin the flywheel of “human rights activities” and publish another “profound work” about the Stalinist repressive machine. In fact, excesses and unfair decisions are by no means what can be called a trend in the actions of professional military counterintelligence officers.

The trend is that with the help of representatives of special departments, entire networks of enemy agents were actually identified, who acted under the cover of officer shoulder straps and more. Thanks to the activities of military counterintelligence officers, it was often possible to raise the morale of a unit at a time when the soldiers were panicking and intended to chaotically leave their positions, jeopardizing the conduct of a particular operation. There were many cases noted during the Great Patriotic War when it was employees of special departments who led units (although this function was certainly not part of the duties of military counterintelligence employees), for example, in the event of the death of a commander. And they did not lead them behind the backs of the soldiers, as adherents of “free history” sometimes like to claim.

Since the time of the Great Patriotic War, the name of counterintelligence organizations “SMERSH” has been heard, which received its name from the abbreviation of the phrase “death to spies.” The Main Counterintelligence Directorate, created on April 19, 1943, reported directly to the People's Commissar of Defense I.V. Stalin.

The need to create this kind of structure was argued by the fact that the Red Army was beginning to liberate the territories occupied by the Nazis, where collaborators of the Nazi troops could (and remained) remain. SMERSH fighters have hundreds of successful operations. A whole area of ​​activity is counteracting Bandera gangs operating in Western Ukraine.

The Main Directorate of Counterintelligence SMERSH was headed by Viktor Semyonovich Abakumov, who after the end of the Great Patriotic War was appointed to the post of Minister of State Security. In 1951, he was arrested on charges of “high treason and Zionist conspiracy,” and on December 19, 1954, he was shot on an amended charge of fabricating the so-called “Leningrad case” as part of what was then said to be “Beria’s gang.” In 1997, Viktor Abakumov was partially rehabilitated by the Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation.

Today, the military counterintelligence department operates as part of the Russian Federal Security Service. The department is headed by Colonel General Alexander Bezverkhny.

The tasks of military counterintelligence today are inextricably linked with the identification of destructive elements in the ranks of units of the Russian army, including those who, in violation of statutory requirements and Russian law, conduct contacts with representatives of foreign intelligence services and organizations supervised by foreign forces that negatively affect the combat capability or information security of units and formations. intelligence services and their derivatives. This includes activities to identify individuals who publicly publish secret information about new weapons, as well as personal data of Russian military personnel participating in various operations, including the anti-terrorist operation in Syria. This, at first glance, invisible work is one of the foundations of state security and improving the combat capability of the Russian army.

Happy holiday, military counterintelligence!

Military counterintelligence from Smersh to counter-terrorism operations Bondarenko Alexander Yulievich

The tasks are still the same

The tasks are still the same

Our interlocutor is the head of the Military Counterintelligence Department of the FSB of Russia, Colonel General Alexander Bezverkhny.

- Alexander Georgievich, we have a unique opportunity to acquaint readers with the rather “closed” history of military counterintelligence - from its military path, in general, only the period of the Great Patriotic War, the legendary “Smersh” is known. And the first question is why military counterintelligence is celebrating its 90th anniversary only now, if the Russian FSB celebrated its anniversary last year?

On December 19, 1918, the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks adopted a resolution that “combined the activities of the Cheka and Military Control” - on the creation of a special department of the Cheka and the formation of special army departments. This day is traditionally celebrated as a professional holiday for employees of the military counterintelligence agencies of the Federal Security Service of Russia.

- “Military control” - what is it?

This is what was preserved from the old military counterintelligence system, which, after the All-Russian General Staff was created on May 8, 1918, became part of the Military Statistical Department of its Operational Directorate... Then it underwent several more reorganizations, parallel structures were formed both along the line army and in the Cheka. But on December 19, 1918, a unified system of military counterintelligence agencies was created in the country.

- From what you have said, it is clear that Russian military counterintelligence did not appear in 1918...

Many anniversary dates are quite conventional - including the day of the formation of our army. But since the regular Russian army was formed about three centuries ago, the work on its counterintelligence support - the search for enemy infiltrators, possible defectors and traitors, as well as disinformation of the enemy - began around the same time. I’m not talking about the fact that similar work was carried out in the princely squads.

- But as a special service, military counterintelligence was created during the formation of the regular army?

No, there were no special counterintelligence bodies in the 18th century - they appeared only before the Patriotic War of 1812, when the Higher Military Police was created, which performed reconnaissance and counter-espionage functions in the interests of the active army, as well as police functions in territories that had recently become part of the empire , - Baltic provinces, parts of Poland. The Military Scientific Committee of the General Staff of the Russian Army was directly responsible for the fight against espionage, which, however, did not carry out investigative work - its role was limited to collecting and recording information. By 1815, the Higher Military Police was abolished.

- That is, with the end of the war... Did counter-intelligence support for the army continue in peacetime??

At all times, the armed forces have been the object of the enemy's primary reconnaissance aspirations. In addition, the army is the backbone of the state; any weakening of it is fraught with great trouble for the country and society. Therefore, after an indignation in the Semenovsky Life Guards Regiment in October 1820, the Secret Military Police was established to monitor the mood in the Guard troops. When in 1826 the famous III Division of His Imperial Majesty’s own Chancellery, the “high police,” was established, it also solved problems in the area of ​​military counterintelligence.

- But there was still no permanent counterintelligence structure in the troops. Why?

So, after all, the intelligence service in those days was at a different level than it would be in the twentieth century, so the opposition to it was quite adequate. But on January 20, 1903, Minister of War General Kuropatkin sent a memo to Nicholas II on the need to create a regular counterintelligence service, and the very next day the emperor made a positive decision. This was the beginning of the counterintelligence of the General Staff. It was created behind the scenes, operated in the strictest secrecy and was even called the “Intelligence Department” for the sake of conspiracy. I can say that Russian military counterintelligence managed to do a lot. However, even more difficult and large-scale tasks were assigned to employees of special departments of the Cheka.

- Features of the Civil War: society was split, literally anyone could belong to the enemy’s camp...

Here are just some of the operations of that time: in January 1919, counterintelligence officers of the Southern Front stopped the activities of the “Order of the Romanovites,” which was transporting officers to Denikin; in May, an attempt was thwarted to turn the guns of the ships and forts of the Kronstadt fortress against the troops of the Red Army, opening the way for Yudenich to Petrograd. In the summer of the same year, a special department of the Cheka uncovered the counter-revolutionary organization “National Center” in Moscow; The spy network was also eliminated at the Field Headquarters of the Republic - military experts maintained contact with British, French and Polish intelligence.

- Foreign intelligence services also took part in our turmoil?

Not a single one of our troubles, as you said, could have happened without such participation. So in November 1919, the special department of the 7th Army and the Petrograd Cheka exposed a major conspiracy, organized by the English intelligence officer Paul Dux; military counterintelligence officers of the Western Front dealt a crushing blow to the espionage and sabotage groups of the “Polish Military Organization” - in 1920, about one and a half thousand people were brought to justice for cases of Polish espionage. By the way, employees of the special department of the Cheka identified in Moscow the chief resident of Polish intelligence - Ignatius Dobrzhinsky, whom the leadership of the Cheka convinced to go over to the side of the Bolsheviks. Subsequently, he was enlisted in the Cheka staff and awarded the Order of the Red Banner.

- Did special departments work in cooperation with other divisions of the Cheka?

Of course, as with the units of the KGB of the USSR, the FSB and the SVR of Russia subsequently. I can say that the foreign department - foreign intelligence - was created within a special department of the Cheka in April 1920, and only on December 20 of the same year, in accordance with F.E. Dzerzhinsky's order No. 169, the INO VChK was organized on its basis. By the way, the well-known operational game “Trust”, which lasted almost six years, was started on the initiative of a special department of the Cheka.

- I understand that, as they say, “the list can be continued,” but with such enumeration it begins to seem that everything was brilliant and military counterintelligence had no problems...

I don't say that. There were failures, there were mistakes. A surprise for the state security authorities was the mutiny in Kronstadt in early March 1921, in which more than 27 thousand sailors and soldiers took part; they had in their hands the main base of the Baltic Fleet, two battleships and many other warships, up to 140 coastal guns. But on May 9, 1922, the “Regulations on Special Departments” were approved, according to which the fight against espionage, counter-revolution, conspiracies, banditry, smuggling and illegal border crossings was concentrated in the newly created counterintelligence department, which was transferred to the Secret Operational Directorate of the GPU, and thus the special departments were relieved of their main task.

- That is, military counterintelligence was not specifically engaged in counterintelligence work?

Yes, and only in 1923–1924 did special departments once again begin to be entrusted with the task of protecting the Armed Forces from enemy reconnaissance.

- A question that we cannot avoid, otherwise some will immediately accuse us of “hushing up” and other sins: what participation did military counterintelligence officers take in the repressions of the 1930s?

Like all other units of the NKVD, special departments were engaged in the search for “enemies of the people”, “saboteurs”, etc. Unfortunately, we still do not have reliable data about the real background of many of those cases: if it was initially believed that everyone was guilty, then by the end of the 1980s they began to claim that everyone was innocent. But there were those who were slandered and innocently convicted, as well as spies, traitors, and simply scoundrels! And on the threshold there was war - both in the west and in the east. To understand where the truth is, serious research work is needed.

- And then no one had any doubts?

Why? Among the first “high-profile” cases was the operation “Spring” launched in Ukraine - 2014 arrested people went through the judicial “troika” at the Collegium of the GPU of the Ukrainian SSR and the Collegium of the OGPU... In the summer of 1931, the head of the Special Department of the OGPU, Jan Kalistovich Olsky, requested the materials of the operation. Having studied them and conducted repeated interrogations of a number of those arrested, he protested the investigators’ conclusions, although he knew that the organizers of the case were supported by the 1st deputy. Chairman of the OGPU G. G. Yagoda. But he found support from V.R. Menzhinsky and I.V. Stalin, and as a result, Olsky was dismissed from the security agencies - “for loosening the iron discipline among the OGPU workers.” Several more senior employees of the Special Department of the OGPU who shared his position were fired.

- In general, not everything is so simple, although some of our researchers are trying very hard to reduce all the activities of state security agencies to these very “repressions”... Tell me, what did military counterintelligence actually do in the pre-war period?

Resisted the efforts of enemy intelligence services. In 1940 and early 1941 alone, the NKVD, including military counterintelligence units, opened and liquidated 66 German intelligence residencies and exposed over 1,600 fascist agents. As a result, it was a complete surprise for the enemy that on the eve of the war, the Soviet Union had already begun to redeploy military infrastructure to the east of the country, and the army received KV and T-34 tanks, an Il-2 attack aircraft, and a BM-13 mortar. The Wehrmacht command did not know either the real size of the Red Army or the quantitative and qualitative indicators of its weapons. All attempts by the Abwehr to create a stable intelligence network inside the USSR to obtain information about the Red Army were smashed against a strong counterintelligence barrier. And if in a number of European countries the success of the Nazis was largely ensured by the “fifth column” created by the German intelligence service, then in Russia there was none. Hitler's intelligence did not live up to expectations; it was largely idling - and this is the best indicator of the effectiveness of our military counterintelligence.

- “Red Star” has repeatedly talked about military counterintelligence during the Great Patriotic War, about the operations carried out by the Main Counterintelligence Directorate of the USSR People’s Commissariat of Defense “Smersh”...

Legally, Smersh existed for about three years - a short period, but its employees wrote one of the most striking and heroic pages in the history of military counterintelligence. In total, during the years of the Great Patriotic War, military counterintelligence neutralized more than 30 thousand spies, about 3.5 thousand saboteurs, and over 6 thousand terrorists. Over 3 thousand agents were deployed behind the front line, behind enemy lines; More than 180 radio games were conducted with enemy intelligence centers. Military counterintelligence officers fulfilled their duty with dignity: many of them were awarded high state awards, and four - senior lieutenants P. A. Zhidkov and V. M. Chebotarev, lieutenants G. M. Kravtsov and M. P. Krygin were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union . Unfortunately, posthumously. More than six thousand of our employees died in the battles for the freedom and independence of our Motherland. Today's military counterintelligence officers sacredly preserve the memory of them, continue and enhance the traditions of the legendary "Smersh", maintain contacts with Ivan Lavrentievich Ustinov, Leonid Georgievich Ivanov, Oleg Genrikhovich Ivanovsky and many other, fortunately, living veterans.

- It seems appropriate to ask what military counterintelligence is today, what tasks it performs.

The system of security bodies in the troops includes the Military Counterintelligence Department of the FSB of Russia, as well as directorates and departments for military districts and fleets, Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Space Forces, Special Purpose Command, and centrally subordinate associations; FSB departments for associations, formations, military units, garrisons, military educational institutions of the Armed Forces, other troops, military formations and bodies. The tasks and areas of activity of military counterintelligence are determined by the Law “On the Federal Security Service” of April 3, 1995 and the “Regulations on the directorates (departments) of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, other troops, military formations and bodies (security agencies in the troops )", approved by the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of February 7, 2000.

- By the way, how will the ongoing structural reorganization of the Armed Forces affect the organization of military counterintelligence??

Let us remember that the structure of Smersh corresponded to the structure of the Red Army, and this, according to experts, was one of the components of its effective activity. We remember this experience, and therefore all structural changes in the Armed Forces will be taken into account accordingly.

- Then let's return to the question of the tasks being solved...

The tasks of security agencies in the troops have become much broader and more versatile than those solved by military counterintelligence during the Soviet period. But, as before, the first place is to identify, prevent and suppress intelligence and other activities of intelligence services and organizations of foreign states, as well as individuals, aimed at harming the security of the Russian Federation, the Armed Forces, other troops, military formations and bodies.

- Do such threats still exist? Not so long ago they diligently instilled in us about the absence of all sorts of threats and enemies and universal love for Russia…

No, on the contrary, the number of people wishing to become owners of military secrets of the Russian Federation has increased many times over. Measures to increase defense capability, including new weapons developments, as well as plans for the construction and development of Russia's military component, are today causing unprecedented activity by foreign intelligence services, whose activities in some areas are becoming exceptionally daring. There is a special desire to obtain information regarding the development of the Strategic Nuclear Forces and the creation of new types of weapons for the Strategic Missile Forces. In addition to the intelligence services of the leading world powers, the former allies of the USSR in the CMEA and the Warsaw Pact do not remain aloof from collecting intelligence information; the intelligence services of a number of former union republics are becoming more active in their work on Russia.

- Even they, historically and by blood connected with Russia?

What do you want? In August 2008, FSB Director Alexander Vasilyevich Bortnikov reported to Russian President Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev about the detention of nine Georgian spies - all of them were Russian citizens, including its military personnel. Regarding “traditional” espionage from the western and eastern directions, suppressed by military counterintelligence officers in cooperation with other units of the Russian FSB, “Red Star” spoke in a series of its recent publications. I can clarify that there are also cases that we will talk about a little or much later...

- All we can do is hope and wait! Therefore, let's turn to other areas of activity of military counterintelligence...

One of our priority tasks is the fight against terrorism. The region where this work is now being carried out most actively is, as you understand, the North Caucasus. It is known that after the start of the counter-terrorist operation on the territory of the Chechen Republic in August 1999, a Temporary Operational Group of the Military Counterintelligence Directorate of the FSB of Russia in the North Caucasus region was created to provide counterintelligence support to the Joint Group of Troops (Forces). The command of the group of troops in Chechnya implemented many of its operational materials, which made it possible to prevent a number of emergency situations, attempts to deliberately disable military equipment, and theft of weapons and ammunition.

- The temporary task force still exists?

Certainly. The operational work of the employees is no longer temporary, but simply of the Operational Group of the Military Counterintelligence Department of the FSB of Russia and security agencies in the troops located in this region, takes place in the context of the ongoing war against international terrorism. The most important tasks of military counterintelligence remain the protection of combat units of federal forces from sabotage and terrorist acts by gangs, obtaining information about illegal armed groups and their agents, analysis and objective assessment of information on the combat readiness and combat capability of our troops.

- It seems that these tasks differ little from those solved by Smersh, which is not surprising in principle. Can you tell us about the results of this work??

Yes, only for 2006–2007, in close cooperation with the territorial bodies of the FSB, with special forces

divisions of the army and internal troops prevented several serious acts of sabotage and terrorism, discovered and destroyed dozens of militant bases and more than a hundred hiding places, from which a huge amount of weapons were seized, and neutralized a number of members and leaders of gangs.

- And if we talk more specifically about at least one of these operations?

I can say that thanks to the timely actions of military counterintelligence officers, the bombing of a column of the 136th motorized rifle brigade in the Republic of Dagestan was prevented. The militants placed 23 artillery shells along the road. It's scary to imagine what could have come of this!

- It is known that military counterintelligence officers had to directly participate in hostilities...

Yes, the most trained personnel of the leadership and operational staff of military counterintelligence were involved in counterintelligence operations. Many of them proved themselves to be true professionals, were repeatedly encouraged by management, and were awarded state awards for specific actions. Six military counterintelligence officers were awarded the title of Hero of Russia, including captains S.S. Gromov and I.V. Yatskov - posthumously.

- Eternal memory to them!.. It seems to me that in the activities of military counterintelligence agents there are again many parallels with the heroic traditions of Smersh...

It is not surprising - the main tasks of the security agencies in the troops remain, by and large, the same. Military counterintelligence, as before, provides the leadership of the Ministry of Defense and the General Staff, local command with information about the preconditions for emergency incidents in the troops and other threats to their safety, provides assistance in maintaining the combat readiness and combat capability of the troops, and makes a significant contribution to the localization of negative phenomena. And most importantly, on behalf of the state and in the interests of its security, we have the right to conduct operational-search activities to identify and neutralize threats to the security of both our Fatherland as a whole and the Armed Forces.

- And also fight corruption, financial abuse and similar crimes?

Yes, because behind these negative manifestations lie serious threats to the security of troops. Recently, the problem of combating corruption and organized crime in the army and navy has become particularly acute due to a significant increase in financial and material resources allocated for defense and reforming the military organization of the state. Security agencies in the military carry out work in this area in close cooperation with the relevant units of the FSB, the Main Military Prosecutor's Office and the Armed Forces of Ukraine under the General Prosecutor's Office of Russia.

- It is known that the higher the official position, the greater the impunity he enjoys. Discover the secret: at what level is the fight against corruption in the military carried out??

I will refrain from mentioning names in a festive interview, and the positions speak for themselves - only in the last three less than full years, based on military counterintelligence materials, the head of the central department and the deputy head of the main department of the Ministry of Defense, three deputy commanders were convicted and sentenced to various punishments for committing corruption crimes troops of districts and fleets, republican and regional military commissars, heads of the training ground and military institute, and other high-ranking leaders.

- Yes, it's impressive...

Based on our materials, the bodies of the Military Prosecutor's Office and military investigation in 2006–2007 initiated more than 600 criminal cases against corrupt officials and embezzlers of budget money allocated for defense. Damage amounting to over 4 billion rubles was prevented, and funds and securities worth more than 500 million rubles were returned to the state income. According to military counterintelligence materials, over 400 people have been convicted of corruption crimes.

- The conclusion that military counterintelligence is doing a lot of work to ensure the safety of troops is obvious... How could you personally sum up the activities of the department you head on the eve of the anniversary?

It’s too early to draw conclusions. We can only confidently say that military counterintelligence officers today have everything necessary for a high-quality solution to the tasks that we just talked about.

- Then, on behalf of the staff and readers of Krasnaya Zvezda, we wish all military counterintelligence employees great success in this work for the benefit of our Motherland! I wish you happiness and good luck! Congratulations to all military counterintelligence officers, veterans of Smersh and military counterintelligence on your glorious anniversary!

Thank you! I also thank the veterans for their support, and I sincerely wish operational success to the active military counterintelligence officers!