MILNET: former GRU

Glavnoye Razvedyvatelnoye Upravleniye

Translation: Chief Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff.

According to Viktor Suvorov in his book Soviet Military Intelligence, the GRU's role is "...to prevent the collapse of the Soviet Union from an external blow...". The GRU is a military intelligence organization, but is authorized to operate within the USSR and is thought to have less authority as the KGB .

Here are notes from Richelson's Sword and Shield (consult the MILNET Bibliography for this and other fine works by Richelson).

GRU, Chief Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff One of eleven departments of the Soviet General Staff. Responsible for conducting and coordinating strategic and tactical intelligence collection, and analysis for the entire Soviet armed forces. Collection methods include:

• Open Source Data
• Clandestine Human Collection
• Satellite and Aircraft Photographic Reconaissance
• Signals Intelligence Collection (ships, aircraft, satellites, and ground stations)

Moreover, the intelligence gathered may cover a nation's willingness, capabilities, and intentions of making war.

Intelligence gathered can include:

• Political
• Military
• Economic
• Scientific and Technical Data
• The Study of Military possiblities

GRU is managed by the Chief, GRU and his two Deputies (First Deputy Chief, and the Chief of Information). A total of nine Directorates and Departments report directly to the Chief, GRU:

1. Space Intelligence Directorate
2. Personnel Directorate
3. Operational/Technical Directorate
4. Administrative/Technical Directorate
5. Directorate for Foreign Relations
6. Political Department
7. Financial Department
8. Eighth Department
9. Archives Department

First Deputy Chief

The First Deputy Chief is responsible for Intelligence Collection, both via HUMINT means as well as technical collection such as overhead reconnaissance and intercepts (SIGINT).

Reporting to the First Deputy Chief are four geographical directorates, two technical directorates, and four "Directions" or sections. Each of the directorates listed below has about 300 officers in Moscow Center:

• First Directorate: Europe and Morocco (not including the UK)
• Second Directorate: North and South America, Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.
• Third Directorate: Asia
• Fourth Directorate: Africa
• Fifth Directorate: Operational Intelligence (see below)
• Sixth Directorate: Radio and Radio-Technical Intelligence (COMSEC, SIGINT)
• First Direction: Moscow
• Second Direction: East and West Berlin
• Third Direction: National Liberation Movements and Terrorism
• Fourth Direction: Operations from Cuba

Chief of Information

The Chief of Information of the GRU is responsible for analysis and reporting on information gathered by all sources. This is accomplished via the Information Command Post.

Also reporting to the Chief of Information are six directorates (Seventh thru Twelfth), and an Institute:

• Seventh Directorate: NATO
• Eighth Directorate: Individual Countries
• Ninth Directorate: Military Technology
• Tenth Directorate: Military Economics
• Eleventh Directorate: Doctrine and Weapons
• Twelfth Directorate: ?
• Institute of Information

  Information Command Post

  Reports directly to the Chief of Information. All intelligence comes through the Information Command Post whether it comes from agents, technical sources, illegals, allied intelligence services or intelligence directorates of the military or Soviet forces abroad. The Information Command Post can request additional information or more detail as well as can double check information it has received. Preliminary processing of all information occurs at the Information Command Post.

The Fifth Directorate

Reporting to the First Deputy Chief is the Fifth Directorate which is responsible for all non-human intelligence collection. It directs the activities of 21 intelligence directorates under the auspices of:

• Sixteen Military Districts
• Four Groups of Forces
• Fleet Intelligence (four geographical fleets, the Northern, Baltic, Black Sea, and Pacific)

The organizations of these intelligence directorates is standardized with five departments and two facilities group:

• First Department: Department of Reconnaissance, responsible for supervising the reconnaissance elements of military divisions and companies.
• Second Department: Department of Agent Intelligence, responsible for recruitment of agents and their acquistion of information.
• Third Department: Spetsnaz Department, responsible for wartime psychological operations such as assassination of political and military leaders, the destruction of lines of communications and supply, and terrorist operations aimed at eroding the enemy's will to continue to fight. Preparations during peacetime (to insure they are ready in the event war) may account for many covert actions of the Soviets.
• Fourth Department: Information Department, collects and collates all the intelligence flowing into the intelligence directorate.
• The Fifth Department collects electronic intelligence, divided into two regiments: - Radio Intelligence Regiment communications intercept (SIGINT) - Radio-Technical Intelligence Regiment - ELINT (radar intercepts)
• Technical Facilities Group, responsible for the interpretation of aerial photography
• Interpreter's Group, responsible for deciphering and translation of documents acquired and the interrogation of prisoners of war.

Fleet Intelligence

The fleet intelligence directorates are organized along the same standard as the military districts and groups of forces, with the differences being that the:

• First Department: Is responsible for Ship Reconnaissance
• Second Department: Seeks out and recruits agents in large ports and naval bases.