Intelligence agencies of Russia
The intelligence agencies of Russia, often unofficially referred to in Russian as Special services (Russian: Спецслужбы), include:
- Federal Security Service (FSB), an agency responsible for counter-intelligence and other aspects of state security as well as intelligence-gathering in some countries, primarily those of the CIS; reports directly to the president of Russia.
- Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), an agency concerned with collection of intelligence outside the Commonwealth of Independent States, reports directly to the president of Russia.
- Federal Protective Service (FSO), an agency concerned with the tasks related to the protection of several high-ranking state officials, mandated by the relevant law, including the President of Russia, as well as certain federal properties; reports directly to the president of Russia.
- Main Intelligence Directorate (G.U.), previously known as GRU, since 2010 officially the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces (GU; still commonly known by its previous abbreviation GRU), the primary intelligence service of the Russian Armed Forces.
Coordination and parliamentary supervision
The SVR and FSB, both successor agencies to the Soviet Union′s KGB, are administratively independent of each other and report to the president of Russia, who under law is in charge of directing these agencies. The GRU is a structural component of the General Staff of the Armed Forces and reports to the Chief of the General Staff and the Defence Minister.
The Director of FSB, Director of SVR and Director of FSO are permanent ex officio members of the Security Council of Russia, a consultative body under the president of Russia.[1][2]
Parliamentary supervision over the intelligence community in Russia is undertaken by the Federation Council's Committee for Security and Defense, and the Committee for Security and Anti-Corruption of the State Duma, which supervises Russia′s intelligence and security services.