Federal Security Service

Background

The Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation, or FSB, is Russia’s principal domestic security agency and the main successor to the Soviet Union’s KGB. Its core mandate covers counterintelligence, internal security, border security, counterterrorism, surveillance, and the investigation of certain serious crimes and federal law violations. Because it operates across these areas, the FSB is one of the central institutions involved in protecting the Russian state’s internal security and enforcing federal authority.

The agency is headed by a director, currently Alexander Bortnikov, who is appointed by and directly answerable to the president of Russia. Formally part of the executive branch, the FSB nonetheless holds substantial influence within the state system. It is headquartered at Lubyanka Square in Moscow, in the former KGB building, and its functions include a range of internal security and intelligence roles. Since 2003, its remit has also included the Border Guard Service and part of the Federal Agency of Government Communication and Information, expanding its operational reach.

The FSB was created in 1995 through the reorganization of the Federal Counterintelligence Service, and it inherited much of the domestic security role once held by the KGB. Other major KGB successor bodies, including the Foreign Intelligence Service, the Federal Protective Service, and the Main Directorate of Special Programs, remain administratively separate. In addition to domestic counterintelligence and law-enforcement functions, the FSB has been associated with intelligence activity in former Soviet states, a role that became more prominent after its 2003 expansion. A recent Security Council meeting chaired by President Vladimir Putin on strengthening Russia’s constitutional order shows the agency’s continuing place in the country’s security and governance framework.