The KGB Secret-Service

КГБ (KGB) is an acronym for:

Комитет
Государственной
Безопасности

(Ka-mi-tyet
Ga-soo-darst-vi-ney
Bi-za-pas-nas-ti)

and translates into English as 'Committee for State Security'.

The KGB was the feared Russian secret-service of the Soviet era, and its ideological mission was represented by the "sword and shield": the shield to defend the revolution, the sword to smite its foes.

The KGB's official responsibilities were external espionage, counter-espionage, the liquidation of anti-Soviet and counter-revolutionary organisations within the Soviet Union and abroad, guarding the national borders, and guarding the Communist Party and State leaders. It also investigated and prosecuted thieves of State and socialist property.

The KGB was dissolved when its chief, Colonel-General Vladimir Kryuchkov, used the KGB's resources to aid the August 1991 coup attempt to overthrow Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev.

The KGB was replaced by the FSB, the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation. The FSB main offices are located in the dreaded 'Lubyanka Prison', located in the heart of Moscow at Lubyanka Square.

Although Lubyanka prison is featured in many tourist guides, the FSB offices are obviously closed to the public. There are closed-circuit TV cameras on every building and every corner for many blocks around this area, and one walks past the guards out the front of the old prison with reserved deference.

However, to lighten the mood there is a nice little restaurant called the Sword & Shield very close to the Lubyanka Prison that features all sorts of Soviet paraphernalia as ambient decoration.