First Chief Directorate - FCD Residency Organization

FCD Residency Organization

KGB's First Chief Directorate residency, was the equivalent of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency's (CIA) station. The chief of residency (resident) was the equivalent of the CIA's Chief of Station.
So-called legal resident is a spy who operates in a foreign country under diplomatic cover (e.g., from his country's embassy). He is an official member of the consular staff, such as a commercial, cultural or military attaché. Thus he has diplomatic immunity from prosecution and cannot be arrested by the host country if suspected of espionage. The most the host country can do is send him back to his home country. And hi is in charge of the residency and the personnel. He is also un official contact who well-known people in government for contact that is use in times of crisis.
During the Cuban missile crisis KGB resident in Washington, D.C. Aleksandr Fomin (real name Alexander Feklisov) he played a huge role in resolving this conflict.

The residency was divided into lines (sections) each line was responsible for its assigned task of gathering intelligence, and one of the line's (section) was responsible for counterintelligence.
Counterintelligence line played a big role in the residency of the KGB, was responsible for counterintelligence and security of residency consulate and the embassy that housed the residency. This responsibility fell on KR Line (KR - shortcut from the kontrazvietka counter-intel). Mainly it used so-called "defensive counterintelligence" tactics. Which meant that KR Line attention and force was used for the internal security of the residency and the embassy. Operational control over residency personnel, surveillance, establishment of any suspicious contacts of residency personnel with citizens of the country where they are staying, and they had not reported, checking their personal mail etc. KR Line was using such tactics to make sure if anyone from residency or the embassy was recruited by the enemy such as the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), or if anyone is planning to do so.

The role of the KR Line has increased in 1985, considerably after the CIA counterintelligence officer Aldrich Ames and FBI counterintelligence special agent Robert Hanssen volunteered their services to the KGB residency in Washington DC.
In return for the money they gave the KGB the names of officers of the KGB residency in Washington DC (not only), who cooperated with the FBI and the CIA. Officers of Line KR immediately arrested persons identified, they were Vitaly Yurchenko, Major General, Dmitri Polyakov high-ranking officer from Soviet military intelligence, the GRU. He was cooperating with the CIA and FBI. Ames gave the Colonel Oleg Gordievsky was the head of the London residency, (resident) he spied for the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS or MI6). And many others who were arrested by the officers from KR Line and taken to Moscow. There they were passed into the hands of KGB's II Chief Directorate counterintelligence.
After a quick secret processes, they were sentenced to death. The death sentences carried out in the Lubyanka prison. Later they were buried face down in unmarked graves. Only Oleg Gordievsky was able to escape from USSR with the help of MI6.

Officers of the KR Line did not want to immediately arrest all identified by Ames and Hanssen. Because they knew that draw the attention of the CIA and FBI (with it did). They wanted to run a game of disinformation. But Stanislav Androsov the resident wishing to demonstrate their effectiveness to his superiors and ordered to immediately arrest all. After those incidents, the security of residencies have been enlarged, and the KR Line was assigned more security officers, especially in countries like USA and England.

The KGB's FCD residency was divided in two parts Operational Staff and Support Staff

• KGB Resident

Operational staff

• PR Line - collects information about political, economic, and military strategic intelligence, also active measures

• KR Line - Counterintelligence and Security

• Line X -

• Line N -

• Line EM -

• Special Reservists