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Soviet Union [USSR] Security Troops of the Committee for State Security
The KGB's Security Troops, which numbered about 40,000 in 1989,
provided the KGB with a coercive potential. Although Soviet sources
did not specify the functions of these special troops, Western
analysts thought that one of their main tasks was to guard the top
leadership in the Kremlin, as well as key government and party
buildings and officials at the republic and regional levels. Such
troops were presumably under the Ninth Directorate of the KGB.
The Security Troops also included several units of signal
troops, which were reportedly responsible for installation,
maintenance, and operation of secret communications facilities for
leading party and government bodies, including the Ministry of
Defense. These troops were probably under the command of the Eighth
Chief Directorate. Other special KGB troops were intended for
counterterrorist and counterinsurgency operations. Such troops were
reportedly employed, along with the MVD's Internal Troops, to
suppress public protests and disperse demonstrations, such as that
of the Crimean Tatars in July 1987 and those in the republics of
Armenia and Azerbaydzhan in March 1988. Special KGB troops also
were trained for sabotage and diversionary missions abroad.
Data as of May 1989
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