View source for State Security Committee of the Republic of Belarus

{{distinguish|KGB}}
{{Short description|Belarusian national intelligence agency}}
{{Infobox government agency
| agency_name = State Security Committee of the Republic of Belarus
| nativename = Комитет государственной безопасности Республики Беларусь
| nativename_a =
| nativename_r =
| type = Special service
| seal =
| seal_width =
| seal_caption =
| logo = KGB Belarus crest.svg
| logo_width = 100px
| logo_caption = Emblem of the KGB of Belarus
| picture = KGB headquarters in Minsk, Belarus.jpg
| picture_width =
| picture_caption = KGB headquarters in [[Minsk]]
| formed = 23 October 1991
| preceding1 = [[Committee for State Security of the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic|KGB of the Belarusian SSR]]
| preceding2 = [[KGB|KGB of the USSR]]
| dissolved =
| superseding =
| jurisdiction = [[Belarus]]
| headquarters = [[Minsk]], [[Belarus]]
| coordinates = {{Coord|53|53|56|N|27|33|16|E|region:BY_type:landmark|display=title}}
| motto =
| employees = ''Classified''
| budget = ''Classified''
| minister1_name =
| minister1_pfo =
| minister2_name =
| minister2_pfo = <!-- (etc.) -->
| deputyminister1_name =
| deputyminister1_pfo =
| deputyminister2_name =
| deputyminister2_pfo = <!-- (etc.) -->
| chief1_name = [[Ivan Tertel]]
| chief1_position = Chairman
| chief2_name =
| chief2_position = <!-- (etc.) -->
| chief3_name =
| chief3_position =
| chief4_name =
| chief4_position =
| chief5_name =
| chief5_position =
| chief6_name =
| chief6_position =
| chief7_name =
| chief7_position =
| chief8_name =
| chief8_position =
| chief9_name =
| chief9_position =
| parent_department =
| parent_agency =
| child1_agency =
| child2_agency = <!-- (etc.) -->
| keydocument1 = <!-- (etc.) -->
| website = {{URL|http://kgb.by}}
| map =
| map_width =
| map_caption =
| footnotes =
| agency_type =
}}
The '''State Security Committee of the Republic of Belarus''' ('''KGB RB'''; {{langx|ru|Комитет государственной безопасности Республики Беларусь}}, КГБ РБ; {{langx|be|Камітэт дзяржаўнай бяспекі Рэспублікі Беларусь, КДБ РБ|Kamitet dziaržaŭnaj biaspieki Respubliki Belarus', KDB RB}}) is the national [[intelligence agency]] of [[Belarus]]. Along with its counterparts in [[Ministry of State Security (Transnistria)|Transnistria]] and [[South Ossetia]],<ref>{{cite news|title=South Ossetian KGB Says Situation Could Get Out Of Control|url=http://www.rferl.org/content/south_ossetia_tense_after_vote/24408072.html|access-date=22 February 2014|newspaper=Radio Free Europe|date=1 December 2011|archive-date=25 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200625150147/https://www.rferl.org/a/south_ossetia_tense_after_vote/24408072.html/|url-status=live}}</ref> it kept the unreformed name after declaring independence.
It is the successor to the [[Committee for State Security of the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic|KGB of the Byelorussian SSR]], a branch of the [[KGB|Soviet KGB]] which operated in the [[Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic|Byelorussian republic]]. [[Felix Dzerzhinsky]], who founded the [[Chronology of Soviet secret police agencies|first Soviet secret police]], the [[Cheka]], was born in present-day Belarus and remains an important figure in the state ideology of Belarus under president [[Alexander Lukashenko]] as well as a patron of the Belarusian KGB. It is governed by the law ''About State Security Bodies of the Republic of Belarus''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kgb.by/en/|title=The State Security Committee of the Republic of Belarus|website=www.kgb.by|access-date=3 March 2018|archive-date=25 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200625150152/http://www.kgb.by/en//|url-status=live}}</ref>
The KGB has command over the [[Alpha Group (Belarus)|Alpha Group]] as the main counter-terrorist unit, and they can be tasked to help the [[Militsiya (Belarus)|Militsiya]] and other [[Law enforcement in Belarus|law enforcement]] organizations in anti-crime operations.{{citation needed|date=July 2024}}
==History==
On 1 March 1922, under the auspices Central Executive Committee of the BSSR, a [[State Political Directorate]] is formed. In July 1934, an NKVD republican affiliate was formed in the BSSR. 10 years later, during a reform of the Soviet Ministry of Internal Affairs, the [[Committee for State Security of the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic]] ([[KGB]] of the BSSR) was formed, which would become an independent agency in 1978. On 25 August 1991, the [[Supreme Soviet of Belarus]] passed the [[Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic]] into constitutional law, effectively declaring independence from the USSR. In September 1991, the KGB of the BSSR was renamed to the KGB of the Republic of Belarus, becoming the new national security body of the state.
In October of that year, the Supreme Soviet mandated by law that the State Security Committee is subordinate to the [[Supreme Council of Belarus]]. In order to ensure the security of the new republic, the government provided regulations to the agency in January 1992.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.kgb.by/history/milestone/|title=История органов госбезопасности|access-date=2019-05-31|archive-date=2011-07-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706163423/http://www.kgb.by/history/milestone/|url-status=live}}</ref>
[[Major General]] [[Vadim Zaitsev]], who was in charge of Lukashenko's personal security, was appointed its leader in July 2008. His tenure lasted until November 2012 and he was replaced by [[Valery Vakulchik]].<ref name=diplo2011>{{cite news|title=Belarusian KGB's new chief is Valery Vakulchik|url=http://www.diplonews.com/feeds/free/20_November_2012_283.php|access-date=31 March 2013|newspaper=DiploNews|date=20 November 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121219043807/http://www.diplonews.com/feeds/free/20_November_2012_283.php|archive-date=19 December 2012}}</ref> The KGB is formally controlled by the [[President of Belarus]], [[Alexander Lukashenko]]. Human rights organizations, the [[United States]], and the [[European Union]] have accused the KGB of [[secret police]] activities and [[human rights abuses]].{{cn|date=November 2021}}
==Organization==
The headquarters of the State Security Committee ({{Langx|ru|Здание КГБ}}, {{Langx|be|Будынак КДБ}}) is located on [[Independence Avenue (Minsk)|Independence Avenue]] at the corner from Komsomolskaya Street. The building was built between 1945 and 1947 by architects Mikhail Parusnikov and Gennady Badanov.<ref>{{citation|author=С. В. Марцелеў (гал. рэд)|title=Збор помнікаў гісторыі і культуры Беларусі. Мінск|date=1988|publisher=Vyd-va "Belaruskai︠a︡ savetskai︠a︡ ėntsyklapedyi︠a︡" imi︠a︡ Petrusi︠a︡ Broŭki |isbn=5-85700-006-8}}</ref> The building was erected in the style of [[Stalinist Architecture]] and [[Neoclassicism]]. The left wing stretches across Independence Avenue to adjoin the neighboring House of the Minsk Mutual Agricultural Insurance Association.
===Structure===
* Main Directorate of Counterintelligence Activities
* Main Directorate of Economic Security and Anti-Corruption
* Main Directorate for Provision of Operational Search Activities
* Government Communications Department
* Office of Military Counterintelligence (UVKR)
Each region has regional divisions:
*KGB Directorate for the Brest Region
*KGB Directorate for the Vitebsk Region
*KGB Directorate for the Grodno Region
*KGB Directorate for the Gomel Region
*KGB Directorate for the Mogilev Region
*KGB Directorate for Minsk and Minsk Region
===Chairmen===
*Eduard Shirkovsky (30 October 1990 – 25 January 1994)
*Gennady Lavitsky (22 February – 21 July 1994)
*Vladimir Yegorov (28 July 1994 – 20 December 1995)
*Vladimir Matskevich (20 December 1995 – 27 November 2000)
*Leonid Erin (27 November 2000 – 18 November 2004)
*Stepan Sukhorenko (20 January 2005 – 17 July 2007)
*[[Yuri Zhadobin]] (17 July 2007 – 15 July 2008)
*[[Vadim Zaitsev]] (15 July 2008 – 9 November 2012)
*[[Leonid Maltsev]] (9–16 November 2012)
*[[Valery Vakulchik]] (16 November 2012 – 3 September 2020)
*[[Ivan Tertel]] (since 3 September 2020)
==Role in political repressions==
According to human rights organisations in the [[United States]], and the [[European Union]], the KGB and its senior leadership play a key role in [[Human rights in Belarus|human rights violations and political repressions]] in Belarus. The KGB has maintained both the name, the symbols and some of the repressive functions of its Soviet predecessor, the [[KGB|KGB of the Soviet Union]].
==International sanctions==
Several dozens former Chairmen and senior officers of the KGB of Belarus have been included in the [[List of people and organizations sanctioned in relation to human rights violations in Belarus|sanctions lists]] of the [[European Union]] and the [[United States]], especially following the brutal crackdown of peaceful protests that followed the allegedly falsified presidential elections of [[2006 Belarusian presidential election|2006]] and [[2010 Belarusian presidential election|2010]].<ref>[https://nn.by/?c=ar&i=61552 Поўны спіс 208 беларускіх чыноўнікаў, якім забаронены ўезд у ЕС] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171022033809/https://nn.by/?c=ar&i=61552 |date=2017-10-22 }} - [[Nasha Niva]], 11.10.2011</ref> Against most of them, the sanctions have been lifted in 2016 following an improvement of [[Belarus–European Union relations]].
On 2 October 2020, the European Union added former chairman of the KGB [[Valery Vakulchik]], as well as the Deputy Charimen, to its sanctions list.<ref>{{cite web|url = https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=uriserv%3AOJ.LI.2020.319.01.0001.01.ENG&toc=OJ%3AL%3A2020%3A319I%3ATOC|title = Council implementing regulation (EU) 2020/1387 of 2 October 2020 implementing Article 8a(1) of Regulation (EC) No 765/2006 concerning restrictive measures in respect of Belarus|author = |date = 2020-10-02|work = [[EUR-Lex]]|language = en|accessdate = 2020-12-24|archive-date = 2021-09-18|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210918014352/https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=uriserv:OJ.LI.2020.319.01.0001.01.ENG&toc=OJ:L:2020:319I:TOC|url-status = live}}</ref> On 6 November, Chairman [[Ivan Tertel]] was sanctioned by the EU as well.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A02012D0642-20210621|title=EUR-Lex - 02012D0642-20210621 - EN - EUR-Lex|publisher=[[EUR-Lex]]|access-date=2021-07-24|language=en|archive-date=2021-07-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210721170703/https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:02012D0642-20210621|url-status=live}}</ref> These people are also subject to the restrictive measures by the United Kingdom,<ref>{{cite web|title=Consolidated List of Financial Sanctions Targets in the UK|url=https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1010452/Belarus.pdf|publisher=Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation HM Treasury|accessdate=2021-09-08|language=en|archive-date=2021-08-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210812133419/https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1010452/Belarus.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> Switzerland,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.seco.admin.ch/seco/en/home/Aussenwirtschaftspolitik_Wirtschaftliche_Zusammenarbeit/Wirtschaftsbeziehungen/exportkontrollen-und-sanktionen/sanktionen-embargos/sanktionsmassnahmen/suche_sanktionsadressaten.html |title=Searching for subjects of sanctions |access-date=2021-09-19 |archive-date=2021-09-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210909222414/https://www.seco.admin.ch/seco/en/home/Aussenwirtschaftspolitik_Wirtschaftliche_Zusammenarbeit/Wirtschaftsbeziehungen/exportkontrollen-und-sanktionen/sanktionen-embargos/sanktionsmassnahmen/suche_sanktionsadressaten.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and Canada.<ref>{{cite web|title=Belarus sanctions|url=https://www.canada.ca/en/global-affairs/news/2020/11/belarus-sanctions.html|publisher=[[Global Affairs Canada]]|date=2020-11-06|accessdate=2021-09-08|language=en|archive-date=2021-09-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210902200510/https://www.canada.ca/en/global-affairs/news/2020/11/belarus-sanctions.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
The [[Alpha Group (Belarus)|KGB Alpha Group]] was placed under US Treasury Department sanctions for their role in suppressing the [[2020–2021 Belarusian protests|2020-21 protests]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/financial-sanctions/recent-actions/20201223|title=Belarus Designations; Iraq-related Designations Removals|access-date=2021-06-14|archive-date=2021-06-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210614051811/https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/financial-sanctions/recent-actions/20201223|url-status=live}}</ref>
On 21 June 2021, the [[U.S. Treasury]] has added the KGB of Belarus and its Chairman Ivan Tertel to its [[Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List]]<ref>[https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/financial-sanctions/recent-actions/20210621 Belarus Designations; Issuance of Belarus General License 3 and related Frequently Asked Questions] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210621225056/https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/financial-sanctions/recent-actions/20210621 |date=2021-06-21 }} - [[U.S. Department of Treasury]], 06/21/2021</ref> with the following motivation:
<blockquote>The State Security Committee of the Republic of Belarus (Belarusian KGB) has continually pressured and targeted the opposition in the aftermath of the fraudulent 2020 election.  The Belarusian KGB has detained, intimidated, and otherwise pressured the opposition, to include [[Raman Pratasevich|Pratasevich]].  In November 2020, the Belarusian KGB added Pratasevich and another opposition journalist to its list of terrorists. <ref>[https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy0237 Treasury and International Partners Condemn Ongoing Human Rights Abuses and Erosion of Democracy in Belarus] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210621222017/https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy0237 |date=2021-06-21 }} - [[U.S. Department of Treasury]], 06/21/2021</ref></blockquote>
In 2022, the KGB and Tertel were included in the sanctions lists of the European Union, the United States, Switzerland and Japan, while  Ukraine blacklisted only Tertel.<ref>{{cite web|title=State Security Committee of the Republic of Belarus|url=https://sanctions.nazk.gov.ua/en/sanction-company/2452/|work=[[National Agency on Corruption Prevention]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=TERTEL / TSERTSEL Ivan Stanislavovich|url=https://sanctions.nazk.gov.ua/en/sanction-person/352/|work=[[National Agency on Corruption Prevention]]}}</ref>
===KGB officers sanctioned by the EU or the US===
====Chairmen and Deputy Chairmen====
* Stepan Sukhorenko, Chairman of the KGB in 2005–2007, including during the [[2006 Belarusian presidential election]]. On EU sanctions list in 2006–2016; remains under sanctions by the [[United States]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://sanctionssearch.ofac.treas.gov/Details.aspx?id=1492|title=Sanctions List Search|website=sanctionssearch.ofac.treas.gov|access-date=3 March 2018|archive-date=16 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171116021706/https://sanctionssearch.ofac.treas.gov/Details.aspx?id=1492|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Vadim Zaitsev]], Chairman of the KGB. According to the decision of the [[European Union]], he is “responsible for transforming the KGB into the main organ of repression of civil society and of the democratic opposition” and for state propaganda accusing the protesters of bringing weapons to their rally.” According to the EU, Zaitsev “personally threatened the lives and health of the wife and child of former [[2010 Belarusian presidential election|presidential candidate]], [[Andrei Sannikov]]. He is the main initiator of orders for unlawful harassment of  democratic opposition, the [[torture]] of political opponents and the  mistreatment of prisoners.”<ref name=EU2012/>
* Vasily Dementei, First Deputy Chairman of the KGB; included in the EU sanctions list after crackdown of protests that followed [[2006 Belarusian presidential election|the controversial presidential election of 2006]].
* Igor Bakhmatov, former Deputy Chairman of the KGB in charge of the staff and the organisation of their tasks, responsible for the repressive work of the KGB against civil society and democratic opposition.<ref name=EU2012>{{cite web|url=http://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dec/2012/642/oj|title=EUR-Lex - 32012D0642 - EN - EUR-Lex|website=eur-lex.europa.eu|access-date=3 March 2018|archive-date=13 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210613164946/https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dec/2012/642/oj|url-status=live}}</ref>
* Vasili Dementey, former First deputy Chairman of the KGB (2005–2007); responsible for repressions against civil society and the democratic opposition, in particular after [[2006 Belarusian presidential election|the presidential election of 2006]] and in 2007.
* Viktor Vegera, First Deputy Chairman of the KGB.
* Leonid Dedkov, Deputy Chairman of the KGB.
* Nikolai Smolenski, former Deputy Chairman of the KGB.
* Nikolai Svorob, former Deputy Chairman of the KGB.
* Petr Tretiak, former Deputy Chairman of the KGB and Member of the Commission of the Security Council on radio frequencies.
* [[Ivan Tertel]], Deputy Chairman of the KGB, in charge of economic crime and the fight against corruption.
====Torture====
* Colonel Aleksandr Orlov, head of the [[Amerikanka|KGB detention centre in Minsk]]: according to the EU, he was personally responsible for "cruel, [[inhuman or degrading treatment|inhuman and degrading treatment]] or punishment of detainees" in the weeks and months after the crackdown on the protests in Minsk on 19 December 2010, on the eve of the [[2010 Belarusian presidential election|2010 presidential election]]. He has been on EU sanctions list between 2011 and 2016.<ref name=EU2012/>
* Colonel Oleg Chernyshev; he allegedly personally participated in tortures of opposition activists in the [[Amerikanka|KGB detention centre]] in [[Minsk]] after the crackdown on the [[2010 Belarusian presidential election|post-election protest demonstration]] in [[Minsk]] on 19 December 2010.<ref name=EU2012/>
* Lieutenant Colonel Dmitri Sukhov, operative of the military counter-intelligence of the KGB; accused of falsifying evidence and using threats in order to extort confessions from detained opposition activists in the [[Amerikanka|KGB detention centre]] in Minsk after the crackdown on the [[2010 Belarusian presidential election|post-election protest demonstration in Minsk on 19 December 2010]].<ref name=EU2012/>
* Lieutenant Colonel Pavel Traulko, former operative of the  military counter-intelligence of the KGB, then head of the press service of the newly formed [[Investigative Committee of Belarus]]. He is accused of falsifying evidence and using threats in order to extort confessions from opposition activists in the KGB detention centre in Minsk [[2010 Belarusian presidential election|after 19 December 2010]]. According to the EU, he was directly responsible for the use of “cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment and for denying the right to a fair trial”.<ref name=EU2012/>
====Sector (Board) commanders====
* Viktor Yaruta, Head of the KGB Board on State Communications
* Valeri Maslakov, Head of the KGB Board of Intelligence
* Sergei Shugaev, Head of the KGB Counter-Intelligence Division  and former Deputy Head of the KGB Counter-Intelligence Board
* Ivan Sanko, Major, senior investigator of the KGB
* Aleksandr Tolstashov, Head of the KGB Board on Protection of the Constitutional Order and Fight Against Terrorism
* Igor Voropaev, former Head of the KGB Board on State Communications
* Sergei Volkov, former Head of the KGB Board of Intelligence
* Alexey Zakharov, former Head of Military Counter-intelligence Board of the KGB
====Regional commanders====
In 2011, commanders of the KGB in the regions of Belarus were accused by the EU of being responsible for political repressions in their regions:<ref name=EU2012/>
* Igor Busko, Head of the KGB of the [[Brest Region]]
* Gennadi Gerasimenko, former Head of the KGB of the [[Vitebsk Region]]
* Vladimir Kalach, Head of the KGB of the [[Minsk Region]] and the city of [[Minsk]], former Deputy Head of the KGB for Minsk
* Ivan Korzh, Head of the KGB of the [[Hrodna Region]]
* Igor Kuznetsov, former Head of the KGB in the [[Minsk Region]] and in [[Minsk]] city
* Ivan Leskovski, Head of the KGB for [[Homel]] and former Deputy Head of the KGB for Homel
* [[Igor Sergeenko]], Head of the KGB of the City District of [[Mahiliou]]
==International activity==
A cooperation deal between the [[State Security Service of Georgia]] and the KGB was signed in 2016<ref>{{cite web|url=https://civil.ge/archives/125708|title = Chief of Belarus Security Agency Visits Tbilisi|date = 25 August 2016}}</ref> and came into force in 2021.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://civil.ge/archives/436607/amp|title=Georgia's Deal with Belarus KGB Comes into Force|date=14 August 2021}}</ref> At the time it came into force, their relationship was criticized over the KGB's role in suppressing the [[2020–2021 Belarusian protests]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.eng.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/56453/|title = Georgian activists alarmed by agreement of special services of Georgia and Belarus}}</ref>
On 1 December 2021, US-based [[Meta Platforms|Meta]] announced that 41 fake accounts on Facebook and 4 on Instagram belonging to Belarusian KGB were removed. The accounts criticised the actions of Poland during [[2021 Belarus–European Union border crisis|Belarus–European Union border crisis]] in English, Polish and Kurdish, while pretending to be journalists and activists.<ref>{{cite web |author= |url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/01/tech/facebook-belarus-poland/index.html |title=Facebook says Belarusian KGB used fake accounts to stoke border crisis |lang= |website=CNN |date=2021-12-01 |access-date=2021-12-02}}</ref>
On 10 April 2022, Meta reported that Internet accounts linked to KGB on the first day of the [[2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine|Russian invasion of Ukraine]] tried to spread fake news about the surrender of Ukrainian army and flight of Ukrainian authorities.<ref>{{cite web |author= |url=https://reform.by/307550-meta-kgb-belarusi-rasprostranjal-fejki-pro-kapituljaciju-ukrainy-na-polskom-i-anglijskom-jazykah |title=META: КГБ Беларуси распространял фейки про капитуляцию Украины на польском и английском языках |lang=ru |website=reform.by |date=2022-04-10 |access-date=2022-04-10}}</ref>
==See also==
* [[Human rights in Belarus]]
* [[List of people and organizations sanctioned in relation to human rights violations in Belarus]]
* [[Cyber Partisans]]
==References==
{{Reflist|refs=
}}
==External links==
{{commons category|State Security Committee of the Republic of Belarus}}
*[http://www.kgb.by/en/ Official site of the State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus] {{in lang|en}}
{{Law enforcement in Belarus}}
{{External national intelligence agencies}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Belarus, State Security Agency}}
[[Category:Law enforcement agencies of Belarus]]
[[Category:Domestic intelligence agencies]]
[[Category:Secret police]]
[[Category:Torture in Belarus]]
[[Category:State Security Committee of the Republic of Belarus| KGB of Belarus]]
[[Category:KGB]]
[[Category:Belarusian entities subject to U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctions]]
[[Category:Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List]]