History of the creation of the Fifth Directorate of the KGB. Resolution of the Central Committee of the CPSU on the fight against ideological sabotage.

· Analytics, Baptists, KGB, Orthodoxy, Pentecostals, Russian Orthodox Church, Contemporary Persecution, Security Services, Articles by Boris Perchatkin, Subbotniks

Reading archival documents, only now do you realize in what a grandiose work God used us—to tear down the strongholds of Satan!

How significant our sacrifice was! After all, a quite small and scattered group of courageous people, of different convictions and confessions, struck fear into and set in motion the colossal repressive machine of the atheistic, God-fighting regime. They understood—this was the beginning of their end!

Why was the Fifth Directorate created in 1967?
Precisely because in the early sixties, the “Initsiativniki” Baptists made themselves known!
Dissidents Ginzburg and Galanskov began publishing samizdat!
— Sinyavsky and Daniel sent their exposé works to the West!
Pentecostals Patrushev and Sidenko started the struggle for freedom of religion and for the exodus of Pentecostals from the USSR!

In the seventies, we continued this struggle, intensified it, and with God’s help brought it to a victorious conclusion! This is the fruit of our and your labor! That is one side! But there is also the other side!(?)

These fruits were immediately seized upon by our adversaries and persecutors. While the godless tormented us physically—sending us to camps, from which some never returned, and those who did came back with shattered health.

Our church persecutors, using the office of minister, supplied an ideological justification for our persecution, using the Bible and their authority to isolate us from the people. So that we would receive neither moral nor material support, they said then, and still say now: “Look!!!! Their God does not bless them; they are in need and contempt!” (Although this was carried out by them, on the assignment of the Fifth Directorate.)

With the help of such “ministers,” the godless achieved the result that our families starved while some of us were in Soviet death camps.

No one organized help for us in the camps; our families were harassed. This war mowed down our ranks considerably; not all reached the victory. (If in the repressions up to the 1970s, only the godless authorities were guilty, then during our confrontation, both their minions with the Bible in their hands are to blame for our sacrifices!(?))

Our persecutors, the “ministers,” barged into America on our backs, deceiving the U.S. immigration authorities!(?) (Thanks to our silence and complacency, which turned into a catastrophe for our entire immigration.)

Read “The Mystery of Lawlessness in Action”

And here! — Prosperous conformists, seducers, and minions of the godless, bursting with health, strength and energy, under the roof of the Fifth Directorate began, intensified, and continue their activity.

Thanks to enormous financial flows from the pockets of sincere believers. The religious immigration that fled persecution to the USA, from the very first days, supports its own persecutors!(?)

No doubt, part of the parishioners’ money goes into the pockets of former chiefs of the KGB Fifth Directorate. As KGB Colonel Orlov stated: (read below) “Penetrate what you want to destroy, and rule over it.”

I appeal to the reader: consider and look closely, because you already know those who opposed us—serving the satanic CPSU faithfully and truly.

The regime they served is GONE. But they, like the generals of the KGB Fifth Directorate, remain in business and by this continue to bring and sow temptation, falsehood, and evil. They do not want to admit their bankruptcy, that is, to repent, because that would be the end of a free and all the more undeserved feeding trough.

They cling to power in every way, because for them it is a means of self-gratification and money, money, and money!!!

Recent documents confirm my assumptions that the Fifth Directorate created a religious mafia in America.

Boris Perchatkin.

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History of the Creation of the KGB Fifth Directorate

Resolution of the CPSU Central Committee on the Struggle against Ideological Subversion

The reactionary circles of the imperialist camp, led by the ruling circles of the United States, are constantly stepping up their efforts to intensify subversive actions against the USSR…

It is proposed to create within the central apparatus of the KGB under the USSR Council of Ministers an independent Directorate (Fifth) with the task of organizing counterintelligence work to combat acts of ideological subversion on the territory of the country, assigning it the following functions:

Organization of work to identify and study processes that could be used by the adversary for ideological subversion;

— identification and suppression of hostile activities of anti-Soviet, nationalist, and church-sectarian elements;

— development, in contact with intelligence, of the adversary’s ideological centers, anti-Soviet émigré and nationalist organizations abroad.

Organization of counterintelligence work among foreign students studying in the USSR, as well as among foreign delegations and groups entering the USSR through the Ministry of Culture and creative organizations. Pay special attention to the religious direction.

From the note of KGB Chairman Yu. V. Andropov to the Politburo, July 3, 1967

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Questions of the State Security Committee:

Create within the State Security Committee under the USSR Council of Ministers an independent (Fifth) Directorate for the organization of counterintelligence work to combat the adversary’s ideological subversion. In the KGB of the republics, KGB directorates for krais and oblasts, establish corresponding 5th Directorates, departments/sections. Entrust the State Security Committee (Comrade Andropov) with reviewing and approving the structure and staff of these units.
Allow the KGB under the USSR Council of Ministers, in addition to the existing ones, to form during 1967 200 KGB apparatuses in cities and districts. Consider it appropriate to rename the apparatuses of KGB commissioners in cities and districts into KGB departments/sections.

From the minutes of Politburo meeting No. 47, special file, 1967

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The Fifth Directorate was constantly being perfected.

In 1967, the 5th Department of the KGB was created from the 2nd Department of the 2nd Directorate. In 1979, the 5th Directorate of the KGB was established. In 1989, the 5th Directorate was renamed the “Z” Directorate of the KGB, and on January 1, 1991, it was officially dissolved—all its functions and personnel were transferred to the newly created KGB Directorate “OP”.

In secret KGB documents, the main goal of the directorate is stated as “the struggle against ideological diversion,” i.e., the fight against nationalism and anti-Soviet activity. Within the Fifth Directorate, there were three departments:

The first analyzed processes among the creative, scientific, and pedagogical intelligentsia and youth, attempting to prevent anti-Soviet and nationalist actions, ensuring the security of party and bureaucratic-apparatus representatives, searching for authors of anonymous anti-Soviet documents and leaflets, checking signals about intentions to carry out terrorist acts or acquire illegal firearms, and conducting counterintelligence work among former exiles, prisoners, and within nationalist organizations.

The second department waged the struggle against émigré anti-Soviet activity and its influence inside the country.

The third department infiltrated, recruited, and supervised agents within the church, and controlled the activity of religious societies.

KGB Directorates with Numerical and Letter Designations.

1st Chief Directorate of the KGB USSR — foreign intelligence.

2nd Chief Directorate — counterintelligence.

3rd Chief Directorate (1954–1960, 1982–1991), 3rd Directorate (1960–1982) — military counterintelligence.

4th Directorate (1954–1960) — struggle against anti-Soviet elements.

5th Directorate (1954–1960) — economic security.

6th Directorate (1954–1960) — transport security.

7th Directorate — operational search work (slang: top-tunys).

8th Chief Directorate — encryption/decryption.

9th Directorate (1954–1990) — protection of party and government leaders.

10th Directorate (1954–1959) — the commandant’s office of the Moscow Kremlin.

5th Directorate (1967–1989) — struggle against anti-Soviet elements and religious extremism.

15th Directorate (1969–1974), 15th Chief Directorate (1974–1991) — ensuring the operation of protected facilities (including D-6).

16th Directorate (1973–1991) — electronic intelligence, radio intercept, and decryption.

4th Directorate (1981–1991) — transport security.

6th Directorate (1982–1991) — economic security.

Directorate “Z” (1989–1991) — protection of the constitutional order. Successors.

In the counterintelligence line — FSK, then FSB;

In the border guard line — FPS, subsequently merged with the FSB;

In the foreign political intelligence line — SVR;

In the electronic intelligence, government communications, and cryptography line — FAPSI, whose powers were later divided among the SVR, FSB, and FSO;

In the line of protecting high-ranking state officials — FSO and SBP (Security Service of the President of the Russian Federation);

In the line of protecting especially important facilities — GUSP (more precisely, the Special Facilities Service — SSO)

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Victor Orlov

The KGB Dressed in a Cassock

Why Is the KGB Infiltrating the Church?

“The Washington Post” PUTTING THE KGB IN A CASSOCK

Why Moscow Is Infiltrating the Soviet Orthodox Church By Victor Orlov (OUTLOOK, The Washington Post, Sunday, July 17, 1988)

The author is a KGB officer who received asylum in the USA and is hiding behind a pseudonym.

The Russian Orthodox Church throughout the world is celebrating its 1000th anniversary this month, at a time when the Soviet regime gives the impression that it especially wishes to permit freedom of religion within its borders.

Nevertheless, it is important to know the real reason for this sudden tolerance: the hierarchy of the Soviet church can be trusted because it is successfully managed by the KGB organs. The proof of KGB penetration into the church comes from my own experience as a KGB intelligence officer.

Among other young officers, several years ago I was offered a place at the theological academy — the higher educational institution — at its headquarters in Zagorsk (Sergiyev Posad), not far from Moscow. This particular place at the academy (from the number of vacancies reserved for the KGB, without the usual entrance examination competition) provides a “brilliant” career in the church hierarchy and substantial material income. I refused, but there was no shortage of those willing to accept the offer.

There is no way to know exactly how many members of the church hierarchy are currently connected to the KGB, but there is no doubt that the KGB controls the key activities of the church hierarchy. It is important to understand the secret relationship between the KGB and the church now, when one hears few complaints about open persecution of religion in the Soviet Union. This absence of criticism should not be taken seriously, especially because the church is not independent by even the wildest stretch of imagination.

In reality, one of the tragedies of this situation is that millions of sincere Christians in the Soviet Union cannot reliably know to whom they confess, and who guides them.

The difficult decision currently facing the Soviet regime is the question of how to manage the Soviet church without appearing to grossly violate the human rights of its members. In order to see how the Soviets have accomplished this cunning task, it is necessary to cast a glance at past history.

There are four main stages in the relationship between the government and the church from the 1917 revolution to the present time.

Removal of the leadership. The first stage, which began immediately after the revolution, was marked by exceptional cruelty. The church inside the country lost all its leadership. Most of the leaders were killed or forced into exile. Accounts vary, but at least 6,000 priests were killed in the first 18 months after the Bolshevik revolution.
Struggle against believers. The second stage resulted in more refined actions. During this period, roughly from the early 1920s to the early 1940s, all church property was confiscated. Anyone who openly displayed their faith, at best, got a job as a servant. At the same time, a powerful propaganda campaign was launched against the church, with widespread use of disinformation.
Peaceful coexistence. The third stage, approximately from the mid‑1950s to the mid‑1980s, was marked by comparative tolerance. It seemed that the government had reconciled itself with the existence of the church—both the Orthodox and the Protestant, in the form of the AUCECB—and from time to time even praised it for its role in the peace movement. But at the very same time the free church—not controlled by the Fifth Directorate of the KGB—was brutally persecuted. In this way it was openly demonstrated how one ought to behave, and how one must not!
Apparent support. The fourth stage, which began recently, surprised many. The Soviet government, quite suddenly, started to support the church that had reached its 1000‑year anniversary. The Soviet Union, as the (American) television station CNN puts it, is proud of its church and its thousand‑year history.

It is necessary to carefully analyze this history. Two things cannot be taken away from the communists: logicality and cleverness. Morality, humanity, intellectual ability—these qualities are probably absent in the history of communism. But not logicality and cleverness. What, then, was logical and clever about the seeming change in attitude toward the church under Mikhail Gorbachev? To answer this question, one must understand the great importance that communists attach to systems of belief, for example, religion and ideology.

Lenin, immediately after the revolution, understood that he could not compete with the church in ideology or in winning the trust of the people. The only solution he saw was the destruction of the church.

And, in accordance with the communist motto: “If the enemy does not surrender, he must be destroyed,” the communists acted accordingly. However, the church, consisting of a multimillion‑strong society of believers, could not be crushed in a single day. Therefore, as a method of destruction, the takeover of the church was employed.

The next step was the call for the society of believers—in other words, the people—not to take part in any open expression of faith. To accomplish this, the regime offered the people a harsh choice: “show your faith and starve to death, or suppress your faith and stay alive.”

This cruel tactic felled the tree of the church in the Soviet Union, but its roots remained. Faith, even when hidden from observation, proved indestructible. That was bad news for the party. The communists realized that they had not destroyed religion; they had only forced it underground. And for the Soviet authorities, who fear their own people, this secret, private expression of religion turned out to be the most dangerous.

The Soviet regime resolved this problem in a way typical of the KGB: “Infiltrate what you want to destroy, and control it.” In this way, any church organization becomes nothing but a deceptive fantasy. It is then only a mirage. It is a cover for KGB activity and a conduit for the interests of the godless in all public spheres—especially abroad.

Penetration was carried out by the traditional KGB method. They organized a system of infiltration, recruitment, and denunciations, mainly by exploiting the personal lives of the clergy—encouraging the sinful inclinations of church leaders (greed for money, women, vanity, the desire to be first, theft), and pressuring the weak‑spirited with threats. One of the collateral benefits of this campaign was the establishment of distrust between clergy and believers, between priest and flock. In the end, the existence of the KGB could not be kept secret.

However, the party could not content itself with this weak system of informers and agents. The informers could not be trusted fully. Therefore, the next stage was the penetration of the church by the most loyal KGB officers. This method began no later than the mid‑1950s. This program was under the supervision of what is now known as the Fifth Directorate of the KGB (responsible for ideology), with the help of the Second Directorate (which is responsible for counterintelligence).

By the end of the 1980s (i.e., at the present time), complete penetration of the church had taken place. The created mirage was complete. Almost all churches, including the Protestant ones with rare exceptions (an exception is a one‑way ticket to the GULAG), proved to be under the control of the KGB to one degree or another, through corrupt or cowardly church leadership.

The KGB prefers this kind of deep penetration. It allows the KGB to build an ever‑expanding, tightly interwoven network, which it can use to create an elaborate mosaic of deception and to cross‑check information in all respects.

The process of penetration yields yet another benefit for the KGB, more precisely for its First Chief Directorate, which is in charge of foreign espionage. The KGB discovered that the church provides its officers with a very attractive cover for intelligence activities abroad.

The KGB constantly complained that the existing number of positions covered by holy orders is far from sufficient for its needs. Unfortunately, we in the free world can do little to help the millions of believers and the many honest priests in the Soviet Union. But we can, at least, deprive the communists and the KGB of the pleasure of our accepting the mirage they have created.

And we can look with equal skepticism at their continuing efforts to control the free expression of religion in the Soviet Union.

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