Chairman of the Committee for State Security
Flag of the Chairman
Longest serving
Yuri Andropov
18 May 1967–26 May 1982
Committee for State Security
SeatLubyanka Building, 2 Bolshaya Lubyanka Street, Moscow, Russian SFSR
AppointerPremier
PrecursorMinister of State Security
Formation13 March 1954
First holderIvan Serov
Final holderVadim Bakatin
Abolished3 December 1991[1]
Superseded byHead of the Inter-republican Security Service [ru]
DeputyFirst Deputy Chairman

The chairman of the KGB was the head of the Soviet KGB. He was assisted by one or two first deputy chairmen, and four to six deputy chairmen. He was also the head of the Collegium of the KGB—which consisted of the chairman, deputy chairmen, directorate chiefs, and one or two republic-level KGB organization chairmen—who affected key policy decisions.

In 1934–1943 the Soviet State Security agency was part of the People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (NKVD) as the Main Directorate of State Security (GUGB). The director of the GUGB was the first deputy of the People's Commissar of Interior.

List

No. Portrait Name
(birth–death) 		Term of office Premier
Took office Left office Time in office
1 Chairman of the Cheka (1917–1922)
Felix Dzerzhinsky
(1877–1926) 		20 December 1917 6 February 1922 4 years, 48 days
Chairman of the GPU–OGPU (1922, 1923–1934)
Felix Dzerzhinsky
(1877–1926) 		6 February 1922 20 July 1926 4 years, 164 days
2 Vyacheslav Menzhinsky
(1874–1934) 		30 July 1926 10 May 1934 7 years, 284 days
3 Main Directorate of State Security of People's Commissar for Internal Affairs (1934–1941)
Genrikh Yagoda
(1891–1936) 		10 July 1934 26 September 1936 2 years, 78 days
4 Yakov Agranov
(1893–1938) 		29 December 1936 15 April 1937 107 days
5 Mikhail Frinovsky
(1898–1940) 		15 April 1937 28 March 1938 347 days
6 Lavrentiy Beria
(1899–1953) 		29 September 1938 17 December 1938 79 days
7 Vsevolod Merkulov
(1895–1953) 		17 December 1938 3 February 1941 2 years, 48 days
People's Commissar for State Security (1941)
Vsevolod Merkulov
(1895–1953) 		3 February 1941 20 July 1941 167 days
Main Directorate of State Security of People's Commissar for Internal Affairs (1941–1943)
Vsevolod Merkulov
(1895–1953) 		20 July 1941 14 April 1943 1 year, 268 days
People's Commissar for State Security (1943–1946)
Vsevolod Merkulov
(1895–1953) 		14 April 1943 15 March 1946 2 years, 335 days
Ministry of State Security (1946–1954)
Vsevolod Merkulov
(1895–1953) 		15 March 1946 18 March 1946 3 days
8 Viktor Abakumov
(1908–1954) 		18 March 1946 14 July 1951 5 years, 118 days
— Sergei Ogoltsov
(1900–1976)
Acting 		14 July 1951 9 August 1951 26 days
9 Semyon Ignatiev
(1904–1983) 		9 August 1951 5 March 1953 1 year, 208 days
6 Lavrentiy Beria
(1899–1953) 		5 March 1953 26 June 1953 113 days
10 Sergei Kruglov
(1907–1977) 		June 1953 13 March 1954 9 months
11 Chairman of the Committee for State Security (1954–1991)
Ivan Serov
(1905–1990) 		13 March 1954 8 December 1958 4 years, 270 days
12 Alexander Shelepin
(1918–1994) 		25 December 1958 13 November 1961 2 years, 323 days
13 Vladimir Semichastny
(1924–2001) 		13 November 1961 18 May 1967 5 years, 186 days
14 Yuri Andropov
(1914–1984) 		18 May 1967 26 May 1982 15 years, 8 days
15 Vitaly Fedorchuk
(1918–2008) 		26 May 1982 17 December 1982 205 days
16 Viktor Chebrikov
(1923–1999) 		17 December 1982 1 October 1988 5 years, 289 days
17 Vladimir Kryuchkov
(1924–2007) 		1 October 1988 28 August 1991 2 years, 331 days
— Leonid Shebarshin
(1935–2012)
Acting 		22 August 1991 23 August 1991 1 day
18 Vadim Bakatin
(1937–2022) 		29 August 1991 3 December 1991 96 days

See also

Citations

  1. ^ Закон СССР от 03.12.1991 N 124-Н О реорганизации органов государственной безопасности

Sources

Further reading

External links

55°45′31″N 37°37′32″E / 55.7587°N 37.6256°E / 55.7587; 37.6256

All-Union Government of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union topics
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