Committee for State Security of the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic (

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

:Комитет государственной безопасности Армянской ССР) or KGB of ArSSR was the

security agency A security agency is a governmental organization that conducts intelligence activities for the internal security of a nation. They are the domestic cousins of foreign intelligence agencies, and typically conduct counterintelligence to thwart other ...

of the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic, being the local branch of Committee for State Security of the USSR. It was the principal

intelligence agency An intelligence agency is a government agency responsible for the collection, analysis, and exploitation of information in support of law enforcement, national security, military, public safety, and foreign policy objectives. Means of informa ...

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ' ...

from 1954 to 1991. It was succeeded by the National Security Service after the

collapse of the Soviet Union The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...

. The KGB in

often provided undercover agents to be stationed inside the

Armenian Apostolic Church , native_name_lang = hy , icon = Armenian Apostolic Church logo.svg , icon_width = 100px , icon_alt = , image = Էջմիածնի_Մայր_Տաճար.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , a ...

, due to the church's prevalence in the country. The Armenian KGB fell under the direct control of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Armenia, although the Communist Party of the Soviet Union could take control and also direct its activities.

History

In 1929, the

NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (russian: Наро́дный комиссариа́т вну́тренних дел, Naródnyy komissariát vnútrennikh del, ), abbreviated NKVD ( ), was the interior ministry of the Soviet Union. ...

of the Armenian SSR, which was the Armenian equivalent to the national NKVD headquarters in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

was dissolved and was reestablished in 5 years later as a more organized political department. In February 1941 the People's Commissariat for State Security of USSR was made into an independent institution from the NKVD, before it was reunited again that July. On 13 March 1954, the Supreme Soviet of USSR made the decision to create a republican affiliate for the Committee of State Security (KGB) in the republic. During its existence, it was subordinate to the

Council of Ministers A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/ shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or nati ...

of Armenian SSR. In April 1990, the KGB headquarters in

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and i ...

, the capital of Armenia, was burned down by rioters as a result of the agency's arrest of four people on accusations of stealing

Soviet Army uk, Радянська армія , image = File:Communist star with golden border and red rims.svg , alt = , caption = Emblem of the Soviet Army , start_date ...

weapons. In September 1991, the Supreme Soviet of Armenia signed the

Declaration of State Sovereignty of Armenia The Declaration of State Sovereignty of Armenia was signed by Armenia's president Levon Ter-Petrossian and Supreme Council of Armenia secretary Ara Sahakian on August 23, 1990 in Yerevan, Armenia. The Republic of Armenia was established on Sept ...

, which resulted in the agency's disestablishment in December of that year.

Chairmen

* George Badamyants (May 18, 1954 - November 21, 1972) * Arkady Ragozin (November 21, 1972 - November 24, 1975) * Hrayr Mikhaelyan (November 24, 1975 - June 28, 1978) * Marius Yuzbashyan (June 28, 1978 - October 25, 1988) * Valery Badamyants (October 25, 1988 - September 13, 1990) * Usik Harutyunyan (September 13, 1990 - December 4, 1991)

References

{{Regional KGB Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic KGB