SOVIET ARMY AND MVD COUNTERINTELLIGENCE ACTIVITY

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP82-00046R000400130009-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: December 15, 2016
• Document Release Date: February 25, 2003
• Sequence Number: 9
• Publication Date: September 22, 1954
• Content Type: REPORT

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CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
INFORMATION REPORT
PLACE. ACQUIRED
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C0NFIDEN'PIAL
USSR
'i'bis mutierlal contnin.% information affecting the Na.
tional Defense of the United States within the mean.
111g of the Espionage Laws, Title 18, U.S.C. Bees, 793
and 794, the transmission or revelation of which in
any manner to an unauthorized person is prohibited
by law.
REPORT NO.
Soviet Army arid. MVD Counter _ iyLo1J..L.. DATE DISTR.
5ence Act.tv:ity
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NO. OF PAGES
REQUIREMENT NO. RD
REFERENCES
THE SOURCE EVALUATIONS IN THIS REPORT ARE DEFINITIVE.
.THE APPRAISAL OF CONTENT IS TENTATIVE.
(FOR KEY SEE REVERSE)
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22 September 1.C51N
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CO.NF:I:T)ENTTAL
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,--COUNTRY USSR
SUB CT Soviet Army and MVD Counterintelligence
Activity
DATE OF INFORMATION
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PLACE ACQUIRED
THIS IS UNEVALUATED INFORMATION
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DATE DISTR. 20. August 1954
NO. OF PAGES 3
REFERENCES:
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25X11. questioned concerning counterintelligence personnel in
25X1 military units. the pre-World War II designation
of such units was Special section (OO-Osobyy Otdel). During World
War II, the designation of counterintelligence units was changed
to "Smersh" (Smart Shpionam-Death to Spies). Sometime in 194b-
1947, these units were redes gnated as "OKR" Otdel Kontr-Razvedki-
Counterintelligence Sections . these groups as 25X1
working very closely with the unit political section, which he said
was considered, for all practical purposes, a second counterintelli-
gence unit. All dissatisfaction, whether it is with the service, the
government, the Party the system of collectivised agriculture, stop
is considered a fair target for counterintelligence.
2. 00, and later Smersh, was headed during World War II by Oen.(fnu)
ABAKUMOV as one of the MOB Directorates. It was charged dpeoifi-
cally with combating counterrevolutionary thought and activity in
the Soviet armed forces.
25X1 AEAKUMOV had the reputation of being a great
n trusted favorite of STALIN who believed him implicitly. AEAKUMOV
later became MOB Minister.
3. OKR personnel were charged with counterintelligence activities in
all of the armed forces including those of the MVD and the then MOD,
reporting directly to the MOB Counterintelligence Directorate. Its
agents have nets throughout the entire ranks of the armed forces
among officers, non commissioned officers, and private soldiers.
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The combined arms unit level (soyedineniye) in the army, there is
an Otdel (section) OKR; at the regimental level., there is an
Otdeleniye (section) OKR; at units below regimental level are
found individual agents (Upol.nomochennyy). In the Border Guard
and Otdel. OKR Is to be found at the district level, an Otdeleniye
OKR at the detachment level, and an agent at the Komendatura
level. Similar units are to be found at similar levels in other
MVD troop units.
25X1 4. these counterintelligence units are not sub-
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5.
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or nate to the commanders on whose staff level they are to be
68und. For example, the agent ini 2d Komendatura, 25X1
whether to arrest the suspect, have him shipped out, start an
investigation or find some other solution
Id" Border uuara vet) was not subordinate He was obli.- 25X1
gated however to inform of an counterrevolution-
ary activity in the Unit, and he decided 25X1
Concerning actual counterintelligence operational activities in
the unit, however, the agent did not tell who his informants
were or any similar data. In actual practice, however,
the command personnel would frequently see the agent
talking to individual, soldiers or officers in all sorts of odd and
out of the way places (including the latrine "Worse and more
shameful," wrote secret or
sometimes anonymous reports to the agent saying that a specific
soldier was drunk and disorderly on a certain occasion, or was
dirty or sloppy". These reports were often found or discovered
while they were being written and receive in- 25X1
formatJon that a certain sergeant or private was informing on
someone else.
25X16. I I such a busybody attitude, such an occupation
with tr;.v a (meloch"), and personal nastiness about who drank how
much, when and with whom, who went where and with whom, he talked
(especi.all,y civilians), engenders a very sttuig feeling of distrust
and hatred for the OKR system. If its operatives confined them-
selves to real counterintelligence work such as apprehending or
spotting : spies, traitors, and deserters, they could be tolerated.
25X1 however that they occupied themselves with "any
r vsya kaya gryaz ") , trivia, and. skulked about in such a con-
spiratorial manner that they are universally hated and despised.
25X1 vi,slbiy heated and repeatedly denounced OKR work as
crude, dirty, and trivial.
7. He related, with great gusto, one incident which happened when he
was sitting in his,quarters talking to 0 intelligence officer.
25X1 The latter, whom he described as it "right guy" (sympatichnyy parent),
indicated someone was listening at the keyhole. Tiptoeing to the
door which opened outward on a flight of stairs, the intelligence
officer - a big man physically - suddenly and violently burst open
the door, severely shaking up and knocking down the stairs the unit
agent, who apparently was listening intently at the keyhole. 25X1
25X1 the intelligence officer then rushed down to solace a
help the-poor agent, all. the while chuckling inwardly, saying they
had no idea anyone was outside. The latter solemnly swore he had
gust stopped at that place accidently to tie his shoe when the
incident occurred.
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25X1 8. all OKR agents (Upolnomochennyy) are
or ricers; that OKR officers could be transferred freely if
need be from one service to another (for example, from the
air force to the army to the MVD troops to the fleet). Normally
they wear the uniform of the service to which assigned.19
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the opinion that political officers could be trans-
ferred similarly to counterintellige ers but to a more
limited extent. He pointed out that unit political
officer was closely tied in with the local regional party com-
mittee. He said often energetic party officials were injected
into the army as political officers or, on the other hand, re-
lieved of military duty when it was deemed to be in the party's
interest to give them another assignment.
ne o is officers s wore mixed air and ground foroes
uniform.
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