The head of the group is General Igor Korobov. The structure of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation

The second intelligence agency of the Soviet Union was the Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the USSR (GRU General Staff of the USSR Armed Forces). In addition to conducting strategic and military intelligence, since its formation at the dawn of Soviet power, the GRU has been engaged in obtaining military-technical information and information about advanced scientific achievements in the military field. Unlike the FSB, the GRU of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation remains a structure closed to prying eyes, which is not surprising, since the goals and tasks of military intelligence depend much less on the political regime of the country than the goals and tasks of the special services that ensure the internal security of the state.

Organizationally, the GRU of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the USSR consisted of departments, directions and departments (Fig. 3.4). In addition, the intelligence departments of all military districts, groups of troops and fleets were subordinate to the GRU. The intelligence departments, in turn, were subordinate to the intelligence departments of the armies and flotillas. At the divisional level, the GRU structures were represented by reconnaissance battalions. Finally, in almost all military districts there were separate special-purpose brigades (special forces), as well as special-purpose units (osnaz).

From the point of view of the actual protection of information, the following departments of the GRU should be distinguished.

· 5th directorate - operational intelligence, organization of intelligence work at the level of fronts, fleets and military districts. The heads of the intelligence departments of the military districts were subordinate to the 5th Directorate. The heads of the 2 directorates of the fleet headquarters also carried out their activities within the framework of the 5th directorate under the leadership of the chief of naval intelligence, who had the status of deputy chief of the GRU.

· 6th directorate - radio intelligence. The work of the department was carried out by the forces and means of four departments.

1st department (radio intelligence). He was engaged in the interception and decryption of messages from communication channels of foreign states. He led the divisions of the osnaz military districts and groups of troops.

2nd department (electronic intelligence). He used the services of the same interception stations and carried out electronic surveillance of the same countries as the 1st department. However, the specialists of this department were not interested in the information itself, but in the radiation parameters of radio, telemetry and other electronic systems used in military tracking and detection equipment.

· 3rd department (technical support). He was engaged in the maintenance of interception stations, the equipment of which was located in the buildings of Soviet embassies, consulates and trade missions, as well as at separately located interception stations.

Rice. 3.4. The structure of the GRU General Staff of the Armed Forces of the USSR

· 4th department (tracking). Around the clock monitored all the information that the 6th department was extracting. The main task of the department was to monitor the state and dynamics of changes in the military situation in the world. Each officer of this department was responsible for his object of observation (US Strategic Air Command, Tactical Air Command, etc.)

· 9th department - military technologies. Worked in close cooperation with research, design and other institutions and organizations of the military-industrial complex of the USSR. Engaged in obtaining information on the development and use of technologies for the production of military equipment and weapons.

· 10th management - military economy. She was engaged in the analysis of information on the production and sales in other countries of military and dual-use products, as well as issues of economic security.

The GRU is the main intelligence department of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. It was formed on November 5, 1918 as the Registration Office of the Field Headquarters of the RVSR.

The head of the GRU reports only to the chief of the General Staff and the Minister of Defense and has no direct connection with the political leadership of the country. Unlike the director of the Foreign Intelligence Service, whom the president receives weekly on Mondays, the head of military intelligence does not have "his hour" - a time strictly fixed in the daily routine for a report to the country's president. The existing system of "revealing" - that is, receiving intelligence information and analyzes by high authorities - deprives politicians of direct access to the GRU.

Chief of the GRU, Deputy Chief of the General Staff - Korabelnikov Valentin Vladimirovich

The structure of the GRU during the Soviet era

First Directorate (undercover intelligence)

It has five departments, each responsible for its own set of European countries. Each department has sections by country

Second Directorate (front-line intelligence)

Third Directorate (Asian countries)

Fourth (Africa and the Middle East)

Fifth. Directorate of operational-tactical intelligence (intelligence at military facilities)

Army intelligence units are subordinate to this directorate. Naval intelligence is subordinate to the Second Directorate of the Naval Staff, which in turn is subordinate to the Fifth Directorate of the GRU. Directorate - the coordinating center for thousands of intelligence structures in the army (from the intelligence departments of districts to special departments of units). Technical services: communication centers and encryption service, computer center, special archive, logistics and financial support service, planning and control department, as well as personnel department. As part of the department, there is a direction of special intelligence, which is supervised by SPETSNAZ.

Sixth Directorate (electronic and radio intelligence). Includes the Space Intelligence Center - on Volokolamsk Highway, the so-called "K-500 facility". Sovinformsputnik is the GRU's official intermediary for the sale of space satellites. The department includes special-purpose subdivisions of OSNAZ.

Seventh Directorate (responsible for NATO) Has six territorial offices

Eighth Directorate (work on designated countries)

Ninth Directorate (military technology)

Tenth Directorate (war economy, military production and sales, economic security)

Eleventh Directorate (strategic nuclear forces)

- Twelfth Directorate

- Administrative and technical department

- Financial management

- Operational and technical management

- Decryption service

The Military Diplomatic Academy (in the slang - "conservatory"), is located near the Moscow metro station "Oktyabrskoye Pole".

The first department of the GRU (production of forged documents)

GRU Section 8 (GRU Internal Communications Security)

- Archival Department of the GRU

- Two research institutes

Special Forces

These units constitute the elite of the army, significantly surpassing the airborne troops and "court units" in terms of training and armament. Special Forces brigades are a forge of intelligence personnel: a candidate for the "conservatory" student must have a rank of at least captain and serve in special forces for 5-7 years. Traditionally, the numerical ratio between the GRU and KGB (now SVR) residencies was and remains approximately 6:1 in favor of "pure intelligence".

The capture by the SBU of former or not quite former Russian special forces near Luhansk, their interviews and various information that surfaced in the press made it possible to take a fresh look at what is happening in the Donbass and in the Russian army. medialeaks collected what is known about the Special Forces of the GRU, where Evgeny Erofeev and Alexander Alexandrov served / are serving and summarized what the captives told.

What is the GRU special forces?

Full title: "Special Forces Units of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation". Tasks: deep reconnaissance and sabotage activities. This is what the boys dream about and what the heroes of Call Of Duty do: the special forces get deep behind enemy lines and run through the forest, collecting information about the enemy’s weapons, destroying its fortified points and communications.

Secret troops

Since officially no special forces existed, in Afghanistan, for example, they were called individual motorized rifle battalions. Until now, the GRU has not been mentioned in the names of the compounds. Let's say Alexandrov and Erofeev were / are employees 3rd Separate Guards Warsaw-Berlin Red Banner Order of Suvorov 3rd Class Special Forces Brigade . Now no one denies the existence of these troops, but the composition of the units is still classified. The number of troops of the Special Forces of the GRU is unknown, it is believed that now there are about 10 thousand of them in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.

What became famous SpN GRU

The most famous operation carried out by the Special Forces was the capture of the palace of Hafizullah Amin in Kabul in 1979. Due to the irregularity of hostilities in Afghanistan, the GRU special forces were widely used against the Mujahideen. Intelligence units were attached to all military formations, so everyone who served in Afghanistan knew about the existence of intelligence officers. It was in the late 80s that the number of this type of troops reached its maximum value. The hero of Michele Placido, Major Bandura in "The Afghan Break" is more of a bully than a paratrooper, but in 1991 it was still impossible to talk about this.

What is the difference between the SpN GRU and the Airborne Forces?

Special forces are often confused with paratroopers for a completely understandable reason: for conspiracy, the combat uniform of some units of the Special Forces of the GRU of the USSR was the same as that of the Airborne Forces. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the tradition remained. For example, the same 3rd separate brigade of the Special Forces wears vests and blue berets on the parade ground. Scouts also skydive, but paratroopers have larger combat missions. Accordingly, the number of airborne forces is much higher - 45 thousand people.

What is armed with SpN GRU?

In general, the armament of the special forces is the same as that of the rest of the motorized rifle units, but there are several specific technologies. The most famous are: the special “Val” assault rifle and the special “Vintorez” sniper rifle. This is a silent weapon with a subsonic bullet speed, which at the same time, due to a number of design features, has a high penetrating power. It was "Val" and "Vintorez", according to the SBU, that were captured on May 16 from the fighters of the "Erofeev detachment". There is, however, no convincing evidence that such weapons did not remain in the warehouses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Who serves in the Special Forces of the GRU?

Due to high requirements and the need for lengthy training, most of the special forces are contract soldiers. Young people with sports training, healthy, with knowledge of a foreign language are accepted for service. At the same time, we see that these are completely ordinary people from the provinces, for them service is rather a good job, it can be difficult and dangerous, but not a battle for an abstract idea.

Everything in life is not like in the movies

Patriotic cinema and bravura stories on TV inspire us that special forces soldiers are universal terminators. On a combat mission they can not sleep for three days, they shoot without a miss, alone with their bare hands they can scatter a dozen armed people and, of course, they don’t abandon their own. But if you believe the words of the captured soldiers, then quite unexpectedly for themselves, a rather large group of special forces fell into an ambush and, firing randomly, retreated in a hurry, leaving two wounded and one killed on the battlefield. Yes, they are well trained, they can run for a long time and shoot fairly accurately, but these are ordinary people who are afraid of bullets and do not always know where the enemy is waiting for them.

Not a word to the enemy

Scouts operate behind enemy lines, where the risk of being captured is quite high, respectively, soldiers and officers of the GRU special forces must be trained on how to behave in captivity, and before being sent on a mission, they must be instructed and receive a “legend”. Since these are secret troops, a secret mission, the command should have warned the fighters: you will be captured, we don’t know you, you yourself came there. It is all the more surprising that, as we see, both Alexandrov and Erofeev were absolutely not ready either for captivity, or for the fact that the country and their relatives refuse them.

SBU torture

It can be seen that both (former) members of the special forces are genuinely shocked that the Russian authorities (and even Alexandrov's wife) stated that they are not in the service of the Russian troops and it is not known how they ended up near Luhansk. This can be explained by torture, but people who are forced to say something against their will often do not make eye contact, pronounce words slowly and abruptly, or speak too correct phrases as if they had memorized the text. We do not see this on the Novaya Gazeta recording. Moreover, their words contradict the version of the SBU, which claims that the “Yerofeev group” was engaged in sabotage, while the captives speak only of observation. People who have been forced to say what they need by torture do not change their testimony so boldly.

Are there Russian troops in Donbass? How many are there and what are they doing there?

The Kremlin consistently denies participation in the conflict in the Donbass of the Russian Armed Forces. The capture of the special forces, according to Kyiv, proves the opposite. However, the SBU does not say how many Russian soldiers and units are fighting in eastern Ukraine.

If you study the blogs and interviews of members of the DPR and LPR militia, the picture is as follows: a large-scale military operation involving Russian units, if there was, then once in late August - early September, when the forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were suddenly thrown back from Ilovaisk, and the front line reached the border of Mariupol. According to various sources, there are military emissaries from Moscow in the headquarters of the DPR and LPR (just as specialists come from Washington to teach officers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine). There is a possibility that separate groups of military from Russia operate on the territory of the self-proclaimed republics, but in limited numbers. As the captives rightly point out, there are a lot of people here, including real retired officers who want to fight. Alexandrov and Erofeev say that their tasks included only observation without any sabotage, this does not coincide with either the version of the General Staff of the Russian Federation or the version of the SBU.

Russian military intelligence is the most closed structure of the state, the only special service that has not undergone any special changes since 1991. Where did the “bat” come from, which for many years served as the emblem of the military intelligence of the USSR and Russia, and even after the official replacement with a carnation with grenade, did not leave the headquarters of the Main Intelligence Directorate of Russia?

November 5, 1918 is considered to be the birthday of the Russian (in those days, Soviet) intelligence. It was then that the Revolutionary Military Council approved the structure of the Field Headquarters of the Revolutionary Military Council of the Republic, which included the Registration Department, which was then the prototype of today's GRU.
Just imagine: a new department was created on the fragments of the Imperial Army, which in one decade (!!!) acquired one of the largest intelligence networks in the world. Even the terror of the 1930s, which, of course, was a blow of enormous destructive power, did not destroy the Intelligence Directorate. The leadership and the scouts themselves fought for life and the opportunity to work in all ways. A simple example: today Richard Sorge, who has already become a legend of military intelligence, and then a resident of the intelligence department in Japan, simply refused to return to the USSR, knowing that this meant death. Sorge referred to the difficult situation and the inability to leave the seat vacant.
The role played by the activities of military intelligence in the Great War is invaluable. It was almost impossible to imagine that the intelligence department, which had been destroyed for years, would completely outplay the Abwehr, but today it is an established fact. Moreover, we are talking here about military intelligence, and about agents, and about Soviet saboteurs.
For some reason, the fact that the Soviet partisans are also a project of the intelligence department is little known. Detachments behind enemy lines were created by regular officers of the Republic of Uzbekistan. The local fighters did not wear the emblems of military intelligence only because it was not advertised at all. The theory and methodology of guerrilla warfare was put in the 50s and the basis of the GRU special forces being created. The basics of training, the methods of warfare, the aim for the speed of movement - everything is in accordance with science. Only now the special forces brigades have become part of the regular army, the range of tasks performed has expanded (the nuclear threat is a priority), special weapons and uniforms are being introduced, on which the symbol of military intelligence is a subject of special pride and a sign of belonging to the “elite of the elite”.
Created and trained to infiltrate the territories of aggressive states, GRU Spetsnaz units often participated in tasks that were far from their main profile. Soldiers and officers of the GRU special forces were involved in all military operations in which the Soviet Union took part. Thus, the military personnel of various reconnaissance brigades reinforced many units conducting combat operations. Although these guys no longer served directly under the emblem, but, as you know, there are no former special forces. They remained the best in any of the combat specialties, whether it was a sniper or a grenade launcher and many others.
November 5 acquired its “open” status only on October 12, 2000, when the Military Intelligence Day was established by order of the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation No. 490.

The bat once became the emblem of military intelligence - it makes little noise, but hears everything.

"Mouse" on the chevrons of the GRU special forces soldiers for a very long time, they say that the first here was 12 ObrSpN. For a long time, all this was unofficial, but with the end of the Soviet era, the view of the "separation of duties" in the armed forces has changed. In the elite military units, they began to introduce appropriate insignia, and approved the new official symbols of military intelligence.
In 1993, when the national military intelligence was preparing to celebrate the 75th anniversary of its creation. For this anniversary, someone who is fond of heraldry from among the employees of the GRU1 decided to present a gift to his colleagues in the form of new symbols. This proposal was supported by the head of the GRU, Colonel-General F.I. Ladygin. By that time, as is known, the Airborne Forces, as well as the Russian contingent of peacekeeping forces in Transnistria, had already acquired their own officially approved sleeve insignia (the letters “MS” on a blue rectangular patch). We do not know whether the “heraldists-scouts” and their superiors knew about this or not, but they nevertheless circumvented the law. In the second half of October, the GRU prepared a draft report of the Chief of the General Staff addressed to the Minister of Defense with a description and drawings of two sleeve insignia: for military intelligence agencies and military special forces. October 22 F.I. Ladygin signed it "from the hand" of the Chief of the General Staff, Colonel General
M.P. Kolesnikov, and the next day the Minister of Defense, General of the Army P.S. Grachev approved the descriptions and drawings of sleeve insignia.
So the bat became a symbol of military intelligence and special forces units. The choice was far from random. The bat has always been considered one of the most mysterious and secretive creatures operating under the cover of darkness. Well, secrecy, as you know, is the key to a successful reconnaissance operation.

However, in the GRU, as well as the intelligence departments of the branches of the armed forces, districts and fleets, the sleeve badge approved for them, for obvious reasons, was never worn. But its numerous varieties quickly spread throughout the units and subunits of military, artillery and engineering reconnaissance, as well as anti-sabotage combat. In formations and units for special purposes, various versions of sleeve insignia, made based on the approved pattern, were also widely used.

Each unit of military intelligence has its own unique symbols, these are various variations with a bat, and some specific sleeve patches. Very often, individual units of the Special Forces troops (Special Forces) use predatory animals and birds as their symbol - it all depends on the geographical location and the specifics of the tasks performed. In the photo, the emblem of military intelligence 551 ooSpN symbolizes the wolf detachment, which, by the way, was revered by scouts back in Soviet times, perhaps it was the second in popularity after the “mouse”.

It is believed that the red carnation is “a symbol of perseverance, devotion, inflexibility and determination in achieving the goals”, and the three-flame grenada is “the historical sign of the grenadiers, the most trained military personnel of the elite units

But starting from 1998, the bat began to be gradually supplanted by the new symbol of military intelligence, the red carnation, which was proposed by the famous heraldry artist Yu.V. Abaturov. The symbolism here is extremely clear: carnations were very often used by Soviet intelligence officers as an identification mark. Well, the number of petals on the new emblem of military intelligence is five types of intelligence (ground, air, sea, information, special), five continents on the globe, five senses that are extremely developed in a scout. Initially, she appears on the insignia "For Service in Military Intelligence". In 2000, it becomes an element of a large emblem and a new sleeve insignia of the GRU, and, finally, in 2005, it finally occupies a central place on all heraldic signs, including sleeve patches.
By the way, the innovation initially caused rather a negative reaction among the soldiers and officers of the special forces, but when it became clear that the reform did not mean the eradication of the “mouse”, the storm subsided. The introduction of the new official combined-arms emblem of military intelligence did not affect the popularity of the bat among the fighters of the GRU army units; even a superficial acquaintance with the culture of tattoos in the Special Forces troops is enough here. The bat, as one of the main elements of the symbolism of military intelligence, was established long before 1993 and will probably always remain so.

One way or another, the bat is an emblem that unites all active and retired scouts, it is a symbol of unity and exclusivity. And, in general, it does not matter who we are talking about - about a secret GRU agent somewhere in the army or a sniper from any of the special forces brigades. They all did and are doing one very important and responsible thing.
So, the bat is the main element of the symbolism of Russian military intelligence, even despite the appearance of the “carnation”, it does not give up its positions: this symbol today is not only on chevrons and flags, it has also become an element of soldier folklore.
It is noteworthy that even after the replacement of the "Bat" with the "Red Carnation", not only the special forces and the "pear" did not stop considering the "mice" as their symbol, but the "Bat" was preserved on the floor at the headquarters of the Main Intelligence Directorate, adjacent to the "Carnation", attached to the wall of the hall.

Today, the 2nd Main Directorate of the General Staff (GRU GSh) is a powerful military organization, the exact composition and organizational structure of which, of course, are a military secret. The current headquarters of the GRU has been operating since November 5, 2006, the facility was commissioned just in time for the holiday, it is here that the most important intelligence information is now coming in, and from here the command of military units of special forces is carried out. The building was designed in accordance with the most modern technologies, not only construction, but also safety - only selected employees can enter many of the "compartments" of the Aquarium. Well, the entrance is decorated with a giant emblem of the military intelligence of the Russian Federation.

Born in 1946. Graduated from the Military Diplomatic Academy under the Ministry of Defense of the USSR. For more than 20 years he worked in the bodies of the Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) of the General Staff of the RF Armed Forces. From 1992 to 1997 he was the first deputy head of the GRU of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. During the hostilities on the territory of the Chechen Republic, he repeatedly traveled to the combat zone. In May 1997, during a medical examination preceding the dismissal of Colonel-General Fyodor Ladygin, he was acting head of the GRU. In May 1997, he was appointed head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff of the RF Armed Forces. The former head of the GRU Fedor Ladygin, who held this position from 1992 to 1997, gave the following description of V. Korabelnikov: Intelligence well trained theoretically and having extensive experience in practical activities in various fields, including directly in operational work. As far as I can judge, my assessments turned out to be correct in relation to Colonel General Korabelnikov. It seems to me that he adequately leads the GRU and successfully copes with the tasks assigned to him." On August 20, 1997, he was introduced to the Coordinating Interdepartmental Council for Military-Technical Cooperation of the Russian Federation with foreign states. Since December 31, 1997 - Member of the Supervisory Board for the activities of the Rosvooruzhenie and Promexport companies. In July 1999, V. Korabelnikov received gratitude from President B. Yeltsin for his significant contribution to the process of resolving the conflict in the Yugoslav region of Kosovo. September 6, 1999 was included in the Commission under the President of the Russian Federation on military-technical cooperation with foreign states. Married.