GRU (Russian Federation): Difference between revisions

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	'''''GRU''''' is the ] ] of the ] ] '''ГРУ''', which stands for "Гла́вное Разве́дывательное Управле́ние" (''Glavnoe Razvedyvatel'noe Upravlenie''), meaning '''Main Intelligence Directorate'''. The full name is GRU GSh (GRU Generalnovo Shtaba (or "GenShtaba"), ] "GRU of the ]").		'''''GRU''''' is the ] ] of the ] ] '''ГРУ''', which stands for "Гла́вное Разве́дывательное Управле́ние" (''Glavnoe Razvedyvatel'noe Upravlenie''), meaning '''Main Intelligence Directorate'''. The full name is GRU GSh (GRU Generalnovo Shtaba (or "GenShtaba"), ] "GRU of the ]").
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	The GRU is Russia's largest intelligence agency. It deploys six times as many agents in foreign countries as the ] which is the ] intelligence successor. It also commanded 25,000 ] troops in ] .		The GRU is Russia's largest intelligence agency. It deploys six times as many agents in foreign countries as the ] which is the ] intelligence successor. It also commanded 25,000 ] troops in ] .

			GRU agent Alexei Galkin, taken a prisoner by Chechen rebels and forced to make an interview, stated before the camera, according to the marketing website of Alexander Litvinenko's book Blowing up Russia: Terror from within, that apartment bombing in Buynaksk was organized by a GRU and FSB team<ref name="Galkin"> . </ref><ref name="Pribylovsky"> by ] and ] (in Russian).</ref> During ] several GRU officers were accused by Georgian authorities of preparations to commit ] and ] acts. GRU detachments from ] were transferred to ] independently on the ] after ] to reconstruct bridges and infrastructure.<ref name="debka4"> by DEBKAfile </ref> ] was assassinated by two GRU officers.
	An important GRU goal is preparing for a future war. According to GRU defector ], "Though most Americans do not realize it, America is penetrated by Russian military intelligence to the extent that arms caches lie in wait for use by Russian special forces". He also described a possibility that compact ] known as "]s" are hidden in the US<ref name="Lunev"> ]. ''Through the Eyes of the Enemy: The Autobiography of Stanislav Lunev'', Regnery Publishing, Inc., 1998. ISBN 0-89526-390-4 </ref><ref name="nucs"> by Jamie Glazov, FrontPageMagazine, October 27, 2006 </ref> and noted that "the most sensitive activity of the GRU is gathering intelligence on American leaders, and there is only one purpose for this intelligence: targeting information for ] (special forces) assassination squads ". The American leaders will be easily assassinated using the "]s", according to Lunev.<ref name="Lunev"/>

	GRU is also "one of the primary instructors of terrorists worldwide" according to Lunev <ref name="Lunev"/> Terrorist ] reportedly worked for this organization.<ref name="Glucksmann"> - by Andre Glucksmann. Prima-News, March 11, 2005 </ref><ref name="Basaev"> The Jamestown Foundation, September 08, 2006 </ref><ref name="Fuller">
	- by Liz Fuller, RFE/RL, March 1, 2005 </ref> GRU agent Alexei Galkin admitted that ] was organized by a GRU team under general command of head of the 14th section of the Central Intelligence Office Lt. Gen. Kostechko and GRU director ] <ref name="Galkin"> . </ref><ref name="Pribylovsky"> by ] and ] (in Russian).</ref> The interview of Galkin was conducted by famous journalist ] who wrote about it in his book ''Three Worlds Gone Mad'' <ref>
	] ''Three Worlds Gone Mad: Dangerous Journeys through the War Zones of Africa, Asia, and the South Pacific'', The Lyons Press; (2003), ISBN 1-592-28100-1 </ref>.

	During ] several GRU officers were accused by Georgian authorities of preparations to commit ] and ] acts. GRU detachments from ] were transferred to ] independently of the ] after ] "to improve Russia’s image in the Arab world", according to ].<ref name="debka4"> by DEBKAfile </ref> ] was assassinated by two GRU officers. GRU officers are accused of creating criminal ]<ref name="Korolkov"> by Igor Korolkov, ], January 11, 2007. </ref>

	==Miscellaneous==		==Miscellaneous==
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	an account of the experiences of former GRU colonel ]. Baranov had been recruited by the ] and agreed to spy for them, but was betrayed to the Russians by a ] in either the ] or the CIA and spent five years in prison before being released. The identity of the mole remains unknown to this day, although speculation has mounted that it could have been ].		an account of the experiences of former GRU colonel ]. Baranov had been recruited by the ] and agreed to spy for them, but was betrayed to the Russians by a ] in either the ] or the CIA and spent five years in prison before being released. The identity of the mole remains unknown to this day, although speculation has mounted that it could have been ].


	It was reported that GRU helped ] to hide his ] before the ]<ref name="Dastych"> -by David Dastych, Canada Free Press, February 28, 2006 </ref><ref name="pacep0"> -by ], ], October 2, 2003. </ref> Former Deputy Undersecretary of Defense ], a top ] official who was responsible for tracking ]'s weapons programs before and after the ], repeated in October ] <ref> ] ], 2004 </ref>, in March ] <ref> by Charles R. Smith, ], March 3, 2005</ref>, and again in February ] <ref name="Timmerman"> ], , ], Feb. 19, 2006</ref> that it was the ]ns who helped Saddam Hussein to "clean up" his ] stockpiles "to prevent the United States from discovering them." <ref name="Timmerman"/> <ref>Mike Minton, ''American Daily'', February 22, 2006.</ref> <ref>Ben Johnson, '']'', March 20, 2006.</ref>
	<ref>] ], December 30, 2004 </ref>

	==References==		==References==
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	* ]		* ]
	* ]		* ]
	* ], a GRU officer who played an important role during ~~the~~ ]		* ], a GRU officer who played an important role during ]
	* ], a GRU cipher clerk who defected in Canada		* ], a GRU cipher clerk who defected in Canada
	* ], a GRU defector who predicted that ] and ] will conclude the ]		* ], a GRU defector who predicted that ] and ] will conclude the ]
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		⚫	<!-- The below are interlanguage links. -->
	{{Chechen wars}}

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Revision as of 10:40, 8 April 2007

For other uses, see GRU (Russian Federation) (disambiguation).

GRU is the English transliteration of the Russian acronym ГРУ, which stands for "Гла́вное Разве́дывательное Управле́ние" (Glavnoe Razvedyvatel'noe Upravlenie), meaning Main Intelligence Directorate. The full name is GRU GSh (GRU Generalnovo Shtaba (or "GenShtaba"), i.e. "GRU of the General Staff").

History

The GRU was created in 1918 by Lenin, and given the task of handling all military intelligence. It operated residencies all over the world, along with the SIGINT (signals intelligence) station, in Lourdes, Cuba (22°59′42″N 82°27′50″W / 22.995°N 82.464°W / 22.995; -82.464), and throughout the former Soviet bloc countries, especially in Lithuania, Latvia, and most other power centers in the Soviet Union, most famously the CPSU and KGB.

The GRU was well-known in the Soviet government for its fierce independence from rival power blocs, even the Communist Party. At the time of the GRU's creation, Lenin infuriated the Cheka (predecessor of the KGB) by ordering it not to interfere with the GRU's operations. Nonetheless, the Cheka infiltrated the GRU in 1919. This planted the seed for a fierce rivalry between the two agencies, which were both engaged in espionage.

The existence of the GRU was not publicized during the Soviet era. It became widely known in Russia, and the West outside the narrow confines of the intelligence community, during perestroika, in part thanks to the writings of "Viktor Suvorov" (Vladimir Rezun), a GRU agent who defected to Britain in 1978, and wrote about his experiences in the Soviet military and intelligence services. According to Suvorov, even the general secretary of the CPSU couldn't enter GRU headquarters without going through a security screening.

The GRU is still a very important part of the Russian Federation's intelligence services, especially since it was never split up like the KGB was. The KGB was dissolved after aiding a failed coup (1991) against then Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. It has since been divided into the SVR (Foreign Intelligence Service) and the FSB (Federal Security Service). Current GRU Director is General Valentin Vladimirovich Korabelnikov.

GRU activities

According to the Federation of American Scientists: "...Though sometimes compared to the US Defense Intelligence Agency, activities encompass those performed by nearly all joint US military intelligence agencies as well as other national US organizations. The GRU gathers human intelligence through military attaches and foreign agents. It also maintains significant signals intelligence and imagery reconnaissance and satellite imagery capabilities." GRU Space Intelligence Directorate had put more than 130 SIGINT satellites into orbit. GRU and KGB SIGINT network employed about 350,000 specialists.

The GRU is Russia's largest intelligence agency. It deploys six times as many agents in foreign countries as the SVR which is the KGB intelligence successor. It also commanded 25,000 spetsnaz troops in 1997 .

GRU agent Alexei Galkin, taken a prisoner by Chechen rebels and forced to make an interview, stated before the camera, according to the marketing website of Alexander Litvinenko's book Blowing up Russia: Terror from within, that apartment bombing in Buynaksk was organized by a GRU and FSB team During 2006 Georgian-Russian espionage controversy several GRU officers were accused by Georgian authorities of preparations to commit sabotage and terrorist acts. GRU detachments from Chechnya were transferred to Lebanon independently on the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon after 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict to reconstruct bridges and infrastructure. Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev was assassinated by two GRU officers.

Miscellaneous

Dmitry Kozak and Vladislav Surkov from the current Putin administration reportedly served in GRU. Two Chechen former warlords Said-Magomed Kakiev and Sulim Yamadayev are commanders of "West" and "East" battalions that are controlled by GRU (each battalion includes close to a thousand fighters).

In 2002, Bill Powell wrote Treason, an account of the experiences of former GRU colonel Vyacheslav Baranov. Baranov had been recruited by the CIA and agreed to spy for them, but was betrayed to the Russians by a mole in either the FBI or the CIA and spent five years in prison before being released. The identity of the mole remains unknown to this day, although speculation has mounted that it could have been Robert Hanssen.

References

Christopher Andrew and Vasili Mitrokhin (2000). The Mitrokhin Archive: The KGB in Europe and the West. Gardners Books. ISBN 0-14-028487-7.
“OUR GROUP PREPARED DIVERSIONS IN CHECHNYA AND DAGESTAN”, Testimony of Senior Lieutenant Alexei Galkin, November 1999 .
The Operation "Successor" by Vladimir Pribylovsky and Yuriy Felshtinsky (in Russian).
Moscow posts two Chechen platoons in S. Lebanon, one headed by an ex-rebel commander, "to improve Russia’s image in the Arab world" by DEBKAfile
Land of the warlords, by Nick Paton Walsh, Guardian Unlimited
Template:Harvard reference

External links

History of military intelligence from the Agenta.ru project (in English)
GRU Info from FAS.org
Another FAS site
GRU High Command and Leading GRU Officers
President Putin visits new GRU headquaters
GRU structure

Cite error: The named reference Mitrokhin was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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