Military intelligence group gsh. The structure of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation
It can be safely called the most popular military units in Russia. Dozens of films have been made about him, hundreds of books and articles have been written on the Internet. The Russian GRU Spetsnaz is the real elite of the armed forces - although, as a rule, film scripts have little relation to reality.
Only the very best get into the special forces, and in order to be enrolled in this unit, candidates must pass a tough selection. The usual training of the GRU special forces can shock the average man in the street - special attention is paid to the physical and psychological preparation of the special forces.
Real operations in which army special forces took part are usually not reported on TV or written in newspapers. Media hype usually means mission failure, and GRU spetsnaz failures are relatively rare.
Unlike special units other law enforcement agencies, special forces of the Chief intelligence agency does not have own name, and generally prefers to act without publicity. During operations, they can wear the uniform of any army in the world, and Earth, depicted on the emblem of military intelligence, means that the GRU special forces can operate anywhere in the world.
GRU Spetsnaz is the "eyes and ears" of the General Staff of the RF Armed Forces, and often an effective tool for various "delicate" operations. However, before continuing the story about the special forces and its everyday life, it should be said what the Main Intelligence Directorate is and about the history of the special units that are part of it.
GRU
The need to create a special body that would deal with intelligence in the interests of the military became obvious almost immediately after the formation of the Red Army. In November 1918, the Field Headquarters of the Revolutionary Council of the Republic was created, which included the Registration Department, which was engaged in the collection and processing of intelligence information. This structure provided the work of undercover intelligence of the Red Army and was engaged in counterintelligence activities.
The order to create the Field Headquarters (and with it the Registration Office) was dated November 5, 1918, so this date is considered the birthday of Soviet and Russian military intelligence.
However, one should not think that before the revolution of 1917 in Russia there were no structures that collected information in the interests of the military department. The same can be said about special military units who performed special, specific tasks.
Back in the 16th century, the Russian Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible established a guard service, which recruited Cossacks who were distinguished by good physical health, excellent skills in handling firearms and edged weapons. Their task was to monitor the territory of the "Wild Field", from which the raids of the Tatars and Nogais constantly came to the Moscow kingdom.
Later, under Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, the Secret Order was organized, collecting military information about potential opponents.
During the reign of Alexander I (in 1817), a detachment of mounted gendarmes was formed, which today would be called a rapid reaction unit. Their main task was to maintain order within the state. In the middle of the 19th century in Russian army reconnaissance and sabotage battalions were formed, consisting of Cossack scouts.
Were in Russian Empire and units reminiscent of modern army special forces. In 1764, on the initiative of Suvorov, Kutuzov and Panin, detachments of rangers were created that could carry out operations separately from the main forces of the army: raids, ambushes, fight the enemy in difficult terrain (mountains, forests).
In 1810, on the initiative of Barclay de Tolly, a Special Expedition (or Expedition of Secret Affairs) was created.
In 1921, the Intelligence Directorate of the Headquarters of the Red Army was formed on the basis of the Registration Directorate. The order on the creation of a new body indicated that the Intelligence Agency was engaged in military intelligence both in peacetime and in war time. In the 1920s, the department carried out undercover intelligence, created pro-Soviet partisan detachments in the territories of neighboring countries, and carried out active subversive activities.
Having survived several reorganizations, in 1934 the Intelligence Directorate of the Red Army became directly subordinate to the People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR. Soviet saboteurs and military advisers successfully operated in the Spanish war. At the end of the 1930s, the roller of political repressions thoroughly walked through the Soviet military intelligence, many officers were arrested and shot.
On February 16, 1942, the Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) of the General Staff of the Red Army was formed, under this name the organization existed for more than sixty years. After the war, the GRU General Staff was abolished for several years, but in 1949 it was restored again.
On October 24, 1950, a secret directive was issued on the creation of special units (SpN) that would be engaged in reconnaissance and sabotage behind enemy lines. Almost immediately, similar units were formed in all military districts of the USSR (a total of 46 companies of 120 people each). Later, spetsnaz brigades formed on their basis. The first one was created in 1962. In 1968, the first special forces training regiment appeared (near Pskov), in 1970 the second was formed near Tashkent.
original parts special purpose prepared for war with the NATO bloc. After the start (or before it) of hostilities, the scouts had to operate deep behind enemy lines, collect information and transfer it to the Main Intelligence Directorate, act against enemy headquarters and other control points, commit sabotage and terrorist attacks, sow panic among the population, destroy infrastructure . Particular attention was paid to weapons of mass destruction of the enemy: missile silos and launchers, strategic aviation airfields, submarine bases.
Special units of the GRU actively participated in the Afghan war, parts of the special forces played important role in the suppression of separatism in the North Caucasus. GRU special forces were also involved in civil war in Tajikistan and in the war against Georgia in 2008. There is information that some parts of the Special Forces are currently located on the territory of Syria.
At present, the Main Intelligence Directorate is not only sabotage and reconnaissance groups. The GRU is actively engaged in undercover intelligence, gathering information in cyberspace, and using electronic and space intelligence. Russian military intelligence officers successfully apply information warfare methods, work with foreign political forces and individual politicians.
In 2010, the Main Intelligence Directorate was renamed the Main Directorate of the General Staff, but the old name is still more famous and popular.
The structure and composition of the GRU Spetsnaz
- The 2nd Separate Special Purpose Brigade is part of the Western Military District.
- The 3rd Guards Separate GRU Brigade (Central Military District) was created in 1966 in Tolyatti. However, there is information about its disbandment.
- 10th Mountain Separate Brigade of the GRU of the North Caucasian Military District. It was formed in 2003 in the village of Molpino, Krasnodar Territory.
- 14th separate brigade of the GRU. It is part of the Far Eastern District, was formed in 1966. The soldiers of this unit took an active part in the fighting in Afghanistan. The 14th brigade went through both Chechen campaigns.
- 16th Special Purpose Brigade, part of the Western Military District. Formed in 1963. Participated in both Chechen campaigns, in peacekeeping operations, guarded especially important objects on the territory of Tajikistan in the early 90s.
- 22nd Guards Separate Special Purpose Brigade. Part of the Southern Military District. It was formed in 1976 in Kazakhstan. She took an active part in Afghan war. It is the first military unit to receive the rank of Guards after the end of World War II.
- 24th separate brigade of the GRU. Part of the Central Military District. The brigade participated in the Afghan war, in the fighting in the North Caucasus.
- 346th Separate Special Purpose Brigade. Southern Military District, town of Prokhladny, Kabardino-Balkaria.
- 25th separate regiment special purpose, part of the Southern Military District.
Also subordinate to the GRU are four reconnaissance maritime points: in the Pacific, Black, Baltic and Northern Fleets.
The total number of GRU special forces units is not exactly known. Different figures are called: from six to fifteen thousand people.
Training and arming of the GRU special forces
Who can get into the GRU special forces? What are the requirements for candidates?
It is rather difficult to get into the special forces, but not impossible.
First of all, the candidate must be in absolute physical health. It is not necessary to differ in impressive dimensions, in special forces endurance is much more important. Scouts during a raid can cover many tens of kilometers in a day, and they do it by no means lightly. You have to carry many kilograms of weapons, ammunition and ammunition on your own.
The applicant will have to pass the required minimum: run three kilometers in 10 minutes, pull up 25 times, run a hundred meters in 12 seconds, push up 90 times from the floor, do 90 abdominal exercises in 2 minutes. One of the physical standards is hand-to-hand combat.
Naturally, all candidates undergo the most thorough and scrupulous medical examination.
Except physical training, the psychological health of the applicant is no less important: the commando must be absolutely “stress-resistant” and not lose his head even in the most difficult situation. Therefore, candidates must pass an interview with a psychologist, followed by a lie detector test. Moreover, the relevant authorities carefully check all the relatives of the future intelligence officer, and parents are required to give written consent to the service of their son in special forces.
If a person still got into the special forces, he will have many months of hard training. Fighters are trained hand-to-hand combat which greatly enhances the spirit and strengthens the character. A special forces soldier must be able to fight not only with his bare hands, but also use various various objects in battle, sometimes not at all intended for combat use. The recruit is often put up against more strong rivals(and sometimes even several), in this case it is important for him not even to defeat him, but to hold out as long as possible.
From the very beginning of training, future special forces soldiers are instilled with the idea that they are the best.
Future special forces soldiers learn to endure the most severe tests on the verge of physical capabilities: long-term deprivation of sleep, food, extreme physical exercise, psychological pressure. Naturally, in the special forces, future fighters are trained to master all types of small arms.
Despite the "international" specifics of the tasks performed by the GRU special forces, its fighters most often use standard weapons of the Russian army.
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Which at different historical stages had different names (Registration Directorate → Intelligence Directorate of the Red Army Headquarters → Intelligence Department of the Office of the 1st Assistant Chief of Staff of the Red Army → Intelligence Directorate of the Red Army Headquarters → IV Directorate of the Red Army Headquarters → Information and Statistical Directorate of the Red Army → Intelligence Directorate of the Red Army → 5- e Directorate of the People's Commissariat of Defense of the USSR → Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff → Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff).
Until 1950 (including the years of the Great Patriotic War) in the structure of the Main Intelligence Directorate did not have its own military formations on a permanent basis. The Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) carried out its activities to provide the General Staff with intelligence information through an agent network abroad (strategic intelligence).
Otherwise, the GRU was a service that controlled the activities of intelligence agencies and intelligence formations of the types of armed forces in terms of conducting military (tactical) intelligence.
Spetsnaz GRU
Reasons for creating
In the late 1940s, in connection with the emergence of nuclear weapons, the USSR Armed Forces faced the question of the timely assessment, detection and decommissioning of objects of weapons of mass destruction (carriers, storage facilities, launchers). For this reason, the military-political leadership of the USSR and the Armed Forces decided to create special units on a permanent basis, designed to operate behind enemy lines.
- conducting reconnaissance of the concentration of enemy troops in his deep rear;
- destruction of tactical and operational-tactical means of a nuclear attack by a potential enemy;
- carrying out sabotage;
- organization of necessity partisan movement behind enemy lines;
- capturing persons with important information, etc.
The choice of the term “special” (“special purpose”) for the formations being created is explained by the fact that in Soviet military terminology, sabotage and reconnaissance activities deep behind enemy lines are defined by the term special intelligence, which is integral part operational intelligence.
The creation of these parts was entrusted to the 5th Directorate 2nd Main Directorate General Staff VS USSR ( 2nd Main Directorate- the historical name of the GRU in the period from 1949 to 1953).
Creation of separate companies
In total, according to directive No. Org / 2/395/832 of October 24, 1950, under the leadership of the GRU, by May 1, 1951, 46 individual companies special purpose (oorspn), the personnel of each of which consisted of 120 people. The total number of GRU special forces by May 1951 amounted to 5,520 military personnel.
Of the 46 companies created by subordination, they were divided:
- subordinate to the headquarters of the military district - 17 companies;
- subordination to the army headquarters - 22 companies;
- subordination to the headquarters of a group of troops - 2 companies;
- subordination to the headquarters of the airborne corps - 5 companies;
Scouts were trained to act as part of reconnaissance and sabotage groups of 8-10 people. All companies consisted of two reconnaissance platoons, radio communication platoon and training platoon. In this state, separate special-purpose companies existed until 1957.
The first recruitment of conscripts in separate special forces was made from among the soldiers and sergeants who served 2 years (for that historical period, military service in Soviet army lasted 3 years).
In 1953, as a result of the reduction armed forces out of 46 oorspn, only 11 separate companies remained.
Creation of battalions
In connection with the revision of views on the organization and methods of conducting special intelligence in the rear of a potential enemy, the leadership of the USSR Armed Forces raised the question of enlarging special forces. The main argument in favor of enlargement was the impossibility of organizing comprehensive combat training of servicemen on a company scale.
In 1957, on the initiative of the head of operational intelligence, Major General N. V. Sherstnev, the formation of separate battalions special purpose. According to the directive of the Chief of the General Staff OSH / 1 / 244878 of August 9, 1957, out of 11 separate special purpose companies remaining after the reduction of the USSR Armed Forces in 1953, by October 1957, on the basis of 8 companies, 5 battalions were deployed, and the remaining 3 companies were transferred to a new state with a personnel of 123 people.
Separate special-purpose battalions (OSP) were created as part of the GSVG, SGV, Carpathian, Turkestan and Transcaucasian military districts.
The personnel of the created battalions differed markedly:
- 26th obspn (GSVG) - 485 military personnel;
- 27th obspn (SGV) - 376;
- 36th obspn (PrikVO) - 376;
- 43rd obspn (ZakVO) - 376;
- 61st obspn (TurkVO) - 253.
Each battalion had 3 reconnaissance companies, a special radio communications company, a training platoon, an automobile platoon, and an economic platoon.
The total number of GRU special forces by October 1957 amounted to 2,235 military personnel.
Creation of brigades
In 1961, the military-political leadership of the USSR considered the possibility of creating partisan detachments in the rear of a potential enemy.
On June 21, 1961, the Decree of the Central Committee of the CPSU No. 338 of the year "On the training of personnel and the development of special equipment for organizing and equipping partisan detachments" was issued. In accordance with this resolution, the USSR Ministry of Defense carried out military exercises, during which in each military district a brigade of 1,700 people was created from the reserve military personnel, who, under the control of veterans of the Great Patriotic War with experience in participating in the partisan movement, mastered the conduct of sabotage within a month. activities behind enemy lines.
Based on the results of the exercises, the leadership of the USSR Armed Forces concluded that it was necessary to create permanent cadre formations as part of military districts, which in wartime would serve as the basis for the deployment of large reconnaissance and sabotage formations recruited from mobilized reserve military personnel.
On July 19, 1962, General Staff Directive No. 140547 was issued, which ordered the commanders of the military districts to form personnel special purpose brigades according to the state peace time.
In the period from July 19, 1962 to January 1, 1963, 10 framed separate special-purpose brigades (obrspn) were formed.
Prior to the creation of the brigades, on August 21, 1961, General Directive No. Org / 3/61588 was issued on the creation of an additional 8 separate special-purpose companies by October 1, 1961.
All special-purpose brigades created in the early 60s (with the exception of the 3rd brigade) were a cadre formation, in which, according to peacetime states, the personnel were 300-350 people. According to the plans of the military command, when martial law was introduced, due to the mobilization of reserve military personnel and holding 30-day training camps, the brigades were deployed into full-fledged combat-ready formations with personnel of 1,700 people.
According to the state of peacetime, a separate special-purpose brigade consisted of:
- Brigade management and subdivisions attached to it:
- detachment of special radio communications (communication battalion of 2 companies);
- mining company;
- logistics company;
- commandant platoon.
- 1-2 deployed separate detachments special purpose ( reconnaissance battalion 3 company composition);
- 2-3 separate special forces detachments (framed).
- separate special purpose brigades - 10;
- separate special-purpose battalions - 5;
- separate special-purpose companies - 11.
Creation of additional brigades and regiments
In connection with the need for full-fledged centralized training of junior commanders (sergeants), in 1971 the 1071st separate training regiment for special purposes was created. This regiment trained sergeants in the military specialty reconnaissance squad leader.
Also at the 1071st regiment was created Ensign School, in which military personnel who served in the GRU special forces were selected. The need for a school of ensigns was caused by a complex training program for military specialty Deputy Commander of the Special Forces Group, whose training by military personnel military service was irrational.
In connection with the participation of the GRU special forces in the fighting on the territory of Afghanistan, it was necessary to create a new educational formation for military personnel.
The reasons for the need to create an additional training unit were as follows:
In this regard, the choice for the deployment of the educational formation fell on the military camp of the 15th separate brigade of the special purpose of the Turkestan military district, which was transferred to Afghanistan in early 1985. The 467th separate special-purpose training regiment was created at the site of its former deployment in the city of Chirchik, Tashkent region of the Uzbek SSR.
The last special-purpose unit was the 67th Separate Special-Purpose Brigade, created in the Siberian Military District in the spring of 1984.
Participation of the GRU special forces in the Afghan war
The composition of the GRU special forces for 1991
Osnaz GRU
Special intelligence of the Soviet Navy
The first such formation appeared in October 1953 as part of Black Sea Fleet. Subsequently, until the end of 1957, a similar formation was created in each fleet. In the Caspian Flotilla, such a formation was created in 1969. According to the organizational and staff structure, these formations were military units, equal in number to a company (personnel - 122 people). They are officially named maritime reconnaissance post (mrp).
In wartime everything maritime reconnaissance posts deployed in separate special forces brigades. In 1968, the naval reconnaissance post of the Black Sea Fleet was renamed separate brigade special purpose. Despite the renaming, in fact, this brigade was an incomplete battalion (personnel - 148 people).
The task of the special intelligence servicemen was to:
- reconnaissance of enemy bases, ports and other facilities;
- destruction or incapacitation of warships, support transport ships, hydraulic structures, radio facilities on the coast and other facilities;
- guidance of aviation and missile systems of the Navy at enemy targets;
- conducting reconnaissance in the interests of the forces of the fleet during the landing of marines;
- capture of documentary data of the enemy and prisoners.
For the transfer of scouts, it was planned to use submarines, military transport aircraft and helicopters. In connection with ensuring the secrecy of the advancement, the personnel of the special intelligence were trained in diving and parachuting. Officially, the military specialty of the personnel of naval reconnaissance points was referred to as "scout diver".
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)
Has five controls, each responsible for its own set 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, management of planning and control, and management of personnel. 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". GRU official trade intermediary space satellites is Sovinformsputnik. 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 superior in terms of training and armament of the Airborne Forces and "court parts". 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 staff structure of the special forces group
It included a group commander (captain) and three squads.
1st branch:
squad leader - sergeant,
senior reconnaissance machine gunner - corporal,
scout - private;
intelligence officer - private;
reconnaissance sniper - private;
senior driver (BTR) / senior driver (BMP) - corporal.
2nd branch:
squad leader - sergeant;
reconnaissance machine gunner - private;
scout - private;
intelligence officer - private;
3rd branch:
squad leader - sergeant;
senior reconnaissance machine gunner - corporal;
reconnaissance machine gunner - private;
scout - private;
intelligence officer - private;
driver (BTR) / driver (BMP) - private.
Summary table of losses of special forces units
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A large-scale military reform is underway in Russia, which affects not only all types and branches of the armed forces, but also such specific structures as military intelligence.
Some call these reforms the destruction of the army and navy of Russia, others believe that all the costs are part of the creation of new armed forces of the Russian Federation, giving them a "new look". But everyone agrees that it was impossible to leave everything as it was impossible.
A striking example this situation is the position of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces. Once upon a time, the second most powerful intelligence of the country, after the KGB-FSB, is currently experiencing better times. A new complex of buildings on the Khodynka field, with an area of 70 thousand square meters. meters, commissioned in 2006, was empty.
During the "undercover struggle", which was accompanied by a campaign in the mass media, the GRU was defeated. One of the episodes of the struggle was the arrest of Colonel V. Kvachkov and rumors about the creation of underground combat groups.
Reference: Created on November 1, 1918, when a secret order of the Revolutionary Military Council of the Republic (RVSR) approved the staff of the Field Headquarters, which consisted of six directorates, including the Registration Directorate (Registrupr). It was the first centralized and full-fledged intelligence agency of the Soviet Republic. Since the order was announced on November 5, it is this date that is celebrated as Military Intelligence Day. Since April 1921, the Register was transformed into the Intelligence Directorate of the Red Army Headquarters (Razvedupr) with the inclusion of a military intelligence department. In the relevant Regulations, it was determined that this structure is the central body of military intelligence, both in wartime and in peacetime. In the same period, the residencies of the Intelligence Directorate of the Red Army Headquarters and the Foreign Department of the GPU (the prototype of the future Foreign Intelligence Service - the main source of political information for the country's leadership) merged. However, the effectiveness of the joint residency was low, so subsequently everything returned to its place, and the military-political leadership of the country again had two independent sources of information. In 1921-25, the Razvedupr carried out the so-called "active intelligence" - led the actions of pro-Soviet partisan detachments in the territories adjacent to Soviet Russia and USSR states. In 1939, the directorate was renamed the 5th Directorate of the Red Army. In June 1940, the 5th (intelligence) Directorate was again transferred to the control of the General Staff and received the name "Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff of the Red Army."
On October 24, 1950, the Directive of the Minister of War of the USSR No. ORG / 2/395/832 was signed with the stamp "Secret". She marked the beginning of the creation of special forces units (SpN) (deep reconnaissance or special purpose reconnaissance) for operations in the deep rear of the enemy. In the autumn of the same year, 46 separate Special Forces companies of 120 people each were created in all military districts. Later, units of the Special Forces were created (one brigade for each military district or fleet and a brigade of central subordination). From the mid-1960s to the 1990s - the best period in the GRU. The management staff is growing, logistics is a priority. Particular attention has been paid to military-technical intelligence, the first orbital groups are being created, belts are being built from radar stations, huge areas of antenna fields are growing, unique space control facilities are being built, each fleet receives newest ships radio and electronic intelligence. Since the 1990s, the decline of the GRU begins, associated with the general collapse Soviet system. The units and units of the Special Forces of the GRU played a positive role in the Afghan war, in Tajikistan and in operations on the territory of the Chechen Republic.
Destruction of the GRU?!
Opinions
Lieutenant General Dmitry Gerasimov, the former head of the GRU department who led all the special forces brigades, said in an interview with The New Times: “I am deeply convinced that the GRU special forces have been completely deliberately destroyed. Of the 14 brigades and two training regiments of the GRU, at best, no more than four brigades remained. At the same time, one must understand that this is no longer GRU special forces, but ordinary military intelligence, which is part of the Ground Forces. One of the best brigades - Berdskaya - was liquidated. With great difficulty, they managed to defend the 22nd brigade, which in peacetime received the high title of "Guards". This is our most combat-ready formation, constantly fighting in the most critical areas in Afghanistan, Chechnya and other "hot spots". I can say that the so-called "osnaz" - parts of electronic intelligence - have also been eliminated. In essence, we are building an armed force that can't see or hear anything."
A high-ranking GRU officer who, along with Korabelnikov, resigned from the central apparatus of military intelligence, told The New Times on condition of anonymity that he considers the collapse of the service a purposeful action: “The first attempts to systematically weaken the GRU were made under Pavel Grachev. At the initial stage, the main blow was dealt to the “osnaz”, as a result of which all the electronic intelligence centers available in the USSR were liquidated both on the territory of our country, with the exception of the Transcaucasian direction, and at Russian military bases. Further, all the main lines of work of the GRU, from strategic and undercover intelligence to auxiliary units and the Military Diplomatic Academy, which trained intelligence officers both for military attachés and for illegal GRU residencies, underwent a gradual weakening and reduction.
“The GRU empire is dying,” says the “professor”, an imposing middle-aged man in a starched shirt, who looks like a typical representative of creative bohemia. - I have such an image in my eyes: a professional athlete, whose legs and arms were amputated, his eye was knocked out and his eardrum was damaged. He is still alive, he understands everything, he sees something else, he can hardly hear, his heart is still beating, but he will not be able to be reborn. "Professor" is an analyst with extensive undercover intelligence experience. He is fluent in several European languages and Arabic, and has traveled to more than 50 countries around the world. Dismissed for uselessness. Now unemployed.
- "Furniture assembler" - a space intelligence officer. About 40 years old. Brought up, educated, military bearing, correct literary speech and competence unusual for a worker catches the eye. Works part-time in an Italian furniture salon. Assembles imported furniture, assembles household appliances. “It is disgusting to watch how our pathetic attempts to save at least something from the Soviet cosmonautics are presented as achievements recent years, he says irritably. - Well, this is necessary: Serdyukov (Minister of Defense) advertises the Resource satellite! They are still of Soviet assembly, they are stored in warehouses. And they were made not for the military, but for oilmen. There is no resolution, it is difficult to distinguish a cruiser from an aircraft carrier, and even in armored vehicles it is completely confused.
“We and the military intelligence are two big differences, but the GRU special forces were merged into the Ground Forces,” says a heavily knocked-down man, about fifty years old. “But it was we who were the most productive: both Khattab and Basayev are our work.” Senior officer of the GRU special forces, awarded four military orders. Extensive experience of participating in special events around the world. He carried out special tasks in Yugoslavia, fought for many years in the North Caucasus. Is no longer needed.
Data
According to experts, out of 7,000 officers who served in Soviet times, less than 2,000 remain. The former head of the GRU, V.V. Korabelnikov (1997-2009), was more or less able to maintain the importance of the GRU; after his resignation, military intelligence was finally “cleaned up”.
The electronic intelligence of the GRU is almost destroyed.
In the specialized research institute of the GRU, all development and research work (R&D and R&D) has been stopped. The Military Diplomatic Academy (VDA) began to cut teaching staff.
According to The New Times, the number of GRU "mining units" responsible for undercover and strategic intelligence in foreign countries has been reduced by 40%.
Mass layoffs are taking place among the most experienced officers of the GRU, dismissed on formal grounds in connection with the achievement of the length of service established by law. Unlike the Foreign Intelligence Service, which has a sufficient number of specialized educational institutions for the recruitment and intelligence training of very young people, the specifics and traditions of the GRU require that only the most experienced army officers, who are at least 30-35 years old at the time they enter the GRU, be selected for military intelligence. The dismissal of such specialists is an obvious waste of the “golden reserve” of the Russian intelligence community.
Reason for reform
The GRU was accused of the unpreparedness of the RF Armed Forces for an attack by Georgia. Thus, Deputy Chief of the General Staff, Colonel-General Anatoly Nogovitsyn, said that it was a surprise for us that Georgia had air defense systems of the Buk air defense system, which were supplied by Ukraine and Western systems for monitoring airspace. As a result, the Russian Air Force suffered serious losses for such a small conflict. Serdyukov directly accused the GRU of not preparing the necessary intelligence.
The GRU officers, however, say that information was provided but was not properly considered. The top leadership of the country and the Ministry of Defense received all the necessary data from the GRU. In addition, the chief of military intelligence has lost the right to a direct personal report to the president, and the information he sends passes through at least two filters - through the chief of the General Staff and the minister of defense.
Voiced reasons for the reduction of the GRU
The GRU has great potential for collecting information, compiling dossiers on businessmen, politicians, possesses information on corruption schemes, money laundering, and bank accounts. With such capabilities, the GRU is not controlled by the "manual" FSB-SVR.
A “shadow special service” has already been formed in the Russian Federation, which has people in the FSB, the Foreign Intelligence Service, the Ministry of Defense, the presidential administration, the government, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, according to the so-called. "network principle". This structure serves the interests of a narrow group of people - the "clan" that governs the country, they do not need a competitor in the form of the GRU, capable of independent comparative analysis.
FSB and SVR under protection high officials states, the GRU is alien to them. Therefore, military intelligence is being crushed.
The GRU has reached, or potentially can reach, the "customers" of instability, the terrorist underground North Caucasus, the threads from there stretch to Moscow.
Everything is fine?
“All this is absurd and conspiracy theories,” says Colonel Vitaly Shlykov, a former GRU officer and member of the Council on Foreign and Defense Policy, to whom The New Times outlined the arguments of his former colleagues, GRU officers. The main problem, Shlykov is convinced, is "cowardly sabotage of the reform of the armed forces carried out by Minister Serdyukov, by individual" arrogant generals ". The situation that has developed in the GRU is not a deliberate collapse, in his opinion, nothing terrible is happening at all. Highly professional special forces, the expert answers General Gerasimov, in general, in his opinion, should not be subordinate to military intelligence: an independent body should be created, which should be entrusted with the command of special forces, as is customary in most of the most developed countries of the world, Shlykov believes. As for the virtually destroyed global network of electronic intelligence of the GRU, then, according to the expert, today Russia, with all its desire, cannot play the geopolitical role that belonged to the USSR during the period cold war, just as there is no global confrontation between the two camps. So why spend so much money on it?
A completely different matter, according to Shlykov, is strategic and undercover intelligence. This resource of Russia cannot be lost. But he is convinced that a situation has developed in the GRU when the value of an agent was leveled by unskilled analytics: “Agents are valuable, but fools sat above them!” A recognized expert in the field of military construction believes that the GRU, which had a huge information and analytical service (it included 6 thematic departments and 6 departments in the structure of the 7th department, working only through NATO), for a long time abused the exclusive right to analyze and interpretation of the information obtained, preventing other analytical groups from working in this area, for example, such as the center headed by the former head of the SVR and former minister Foreign Affairs Academician Yevgeny Primakov. “It was high time to demonopolize the obtained information,” says Colonel Shlykov.