Day of National Security Agent of Russian Federation

20.12.2007 // Minatom.ru

Today is the Day of National Security Agent of the Russian Federation

In his interview to Red Star the first deputy director of the Federal Security Service of Russia, General Sergey Smirnov says: “The history of our security service is closely interwoven with the history of our state. The Russian history of XX was controversial but romantic. The 90-year history of VChK-KGB-FSS is no less romantic: they protected our country from enemies, they were fighters of the “invisible front.”

The history of our security service is full of outstanding events, with some of them still generally unknown: the disclosure of the “conspiracy of ambassadors” and “Trust” operation, legendary “Smersh” (Death to Spies) and “Nuclear Project.” But most of the time it was inconspicuous routine, daily work to protect our Fatherland from the plots of ill-wishers. 

And how many outstanding people we have had! The founder of the Emergency Committee Felix Dzerzhinsky said that a security agent should have “clear hands, cold head and hot heart.” Our best intelligence men, Artur Artuzov, Pavel Malkov, Nikolay Kuznetsov, Yuri Andropov, had all the above qualities. Our present agents are no worse: Gennady Zaytsev, Gevork Vartanyan and many others.

Today, books and movies about secret service agents are very popular in our “most reading” country.

However, some people prefer looking at the history of our national security service through “black-colored glasses.” In the recent past they kept throwing mud at the service and charging it with repressions and other crimes. But there were also people who defended the service: even the strong opponent of the Soviet regime Academician Sakharov said that the state security service was the only incorrupt structure in the total chaos and anarchy of the Soviet times.

Today, too, despite dangers and difficulties, our special service agents faithfully perform their duty. For them protecting their country is a moral, patriotic and human duty.