PERSONAL GUARD OF SOVIET GOVERNMENT LEADERS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00810A003900890001-1
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 22, 2002
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: April 9, 1954
• Content Type: REPORT

Approved For Release 2002/10/09 :CIA-RDP80-00810A003900890001-1
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
INFORMATION REPORT
Personal Guard of Soviet
Government Leaders
25X1A
25X1 SECRET
COUNTRY IISSR~East Germany
PLACE AC~2UIRED
SOURCE:
t
Thin Docualpnt contains information affecting the Na-.
tional Defense of the United 8tatea, within the mean-
ing of. Title 18, Sections 703 and 794, of the U.B. Code, as
amended. Its tsaasmtssiotl or repelation of its contents
to or receipt by an unauthorized person is prohibited
by law. The reproductiQp oL this form is prohibited.
REPORT NO.
DATE DISTR.
;~
Aril Iq~t
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NO. OF PAGES 2
REQUIREMENT NO. RD
REFERENCES
THE SOURCE EVALUATIONS IN THIS REPORT ARE DEFINITIVE.
THE APPRAISAL OF CONTENT IS TENTATIVE.
(fOR KEY SEE REVERSE) 25X1 X
1. 7?:h,a assignment of the personal guard is to protect the liyea of the Soviet
"leaders". A member of the personal guard must, if'ne.~eapary;, shield the
leader" with his own body. "~
2. During the war Audrey Zhdanov, at that time a member of the Politburo, had
his summer residence on an island somewhere near Leningrad. An area of un
known size around the dacha was called, in then) NKiTD language; .the 'special
service zone" (zone osobago obsluzhivaniya) .~' ?TKi'tt?~zclne was 'kept under vigilant
control by the NKVD, and,the ~+5th Guards Rifle Division was located iA close
praxiuci.ty. Une day Zhdanov's guards discovered some hand: grenades in the
speLi.al service zone. A lively correspondence began in connection with the
case. Zhdanov's guards wanted to know whether or not the hand grenades were
left i.r~ the special service zone by accident.. The Chief of the. Special ,?3ection
pf the 1vK~ of 'the ~+Sth Guards Rifle Division finally managed to convince the
guards that the grenadres had been left there by soldiers of the division fluxing
a combat operation.
3. :Ln. 19+?2 when the ;5th G~zarda Rifle Division was create?a,.~frona fife 70th Rifle
Division?for succeest~ul operations at -.the, fronts - ?r}adaxiov .hi.mself presented
the guards colors to the division. The. area where colors were. presented wt3s
~rus~rouxided in advance by a battalion f specially brought from .Leningrad. Telex
phones were installed in the whole sectar,and from every corner?af the square
calls could be made to the special fl+ection of the NILVD of the- Leningrad Front
and to Headquarters of the Front . ~, high-ranking Air Force officer -also was
on duty at a telephone, in case of an enemy air raid. ,~ wooded .area nesrr the
parade ground was combed by agents of the First (or Headquarters) Section Qf
the Special Section of the 1~KVD of the Leningrad Front. Zhdanov arrived with
his own guard and with about tt~rity other per6ions J including generals of the
Leningrad Front,, so it was difficult to d,eter..>~iine the 'number of perspn~l wards.,
The agents of the Special Section of the NKVD ~of -the divisi?n suad those of the
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 Approved For Release 2002/10/09: CIA-RDP80-00810A003900890001-1
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Special Section Of the NKVD of the army, who.were brought for this
occasion., .farmed a line at scarce distance from the stand where Zhdanov de-
livered his speechd
Cn special occasions,, such as the May Day and 1 November parades, lunch for
f'or Zhdanov and his entourage. was brought to the reviewing stand in a special
sealed box by an NKVD officer. On the evening preceding the ceremony the food
was analyzed by a especial physician to determine whether it was. poisoned, and
then 3.n the presence of a special commission of the N~VD the food was sealed
in a ba;x_.
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5? When :Molotov and Vyshinskiy passed through Berlin, travelling to various cone-.
fex?ences in Paris, London, and New York, agents of 'the First Section of the
Directorate of Intelligence (iJKR) reported to the Berlin-Ih,hlhof airfield
for the !?organization of security^. Before the plane arrived, a coded cable
usus,lly was sent by the Third Chief Directorate of the NKGB ordering that. the
air:f'i.elcl. be checked with mine deteCtors~ The First Section would. dispatch
several operational officers to supervise the work of 'a company of engineer
troops. which checked the airfield for mines.
6? When organizing security for the participants at the Potsdam Conference in
1.9k5, ~eieuter~a,zit General Vlasik, Chief of Stalin's guard (and also Stalin's
personal photographer), arrived in Germany before the Conference started...
'Vlasik. cs.lled a meeting of theNKGB personnel in charge of security for. the
par.ticiparlts of the Conference, The protective measures for Stalin himself
were E.xaremely thorough For instance, two routes were established, which
Stalin would traverse in his car. These routes were subdivided into sectors
(tr~.ssa), which j.n turn were subdivided into segments. Each of the operational
officers participating in the security measures had one such segment assigned
t:o him. Operational officers were required to know who lived along the route
i,n thei.r segments, and had two weeks to investigate all persons. If one of
i,hu~ inha;bi~ants was considered a security risk, the operational officer, under
va..r~.ous pretexts, would remove him to another district. Agents were given
assignments to unmask persons who had terroristic intentions; and, should the
sl.igh.t:est suspicion arise, the suspect was isolated.
? Ire order to protect participants of the Potsdam Conference (meaning Stalin),
a r~gimerit o:~' 1~FS troops was sent to Potsdam. All the routes Stalin could
u.se when travelling were equipped with telephones9 Guards were ordered not
t~o use firearms in the Conference area without special need, but to use silent
wr~apons (bayonets) "in order not to disturb the Conference work".
SECRET
Approved For Release 2002/10/09: CIA-RDP80-00810A003900890001-1