View source for Federal Security Service

{{Short description|Principal security agency of Russia}}
{{Redirect|ФСБ|the Bulgarian band|FSB (band)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2020}}
{{Infobox government agency
| agency_name     = Federal Security Service<br />of the Russian Federation
| native_name     = {{lang|ru|Федеральная служба безопасности Российской Федерации}}                                                                                       (Federal'naya Sluzhba Bezopasnosti Rossiyskoy Federatsii)
| agency_type     = Independent
| seal            = Emblem of Federal security service.svg
| seal_width      = 150
| seal_caption    = Emblem of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation
| logo            = Flag of the Russian Federal Security Service.svg{{!}}border
| logo_width      = 150
| logo_caption    = Flag of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation
| picture         = 
| picture_width   = 
| picture_caption = 
| chief1_name     = [[Alexander Bortnikov]] (Army General)
| chief2_name     = [[Sergei B. Korolev|Sergei Korolev]]
| chief1_position = [[Director of the Federal Security Service|Director]]
| chief2_position = First Deputy Director
| formed          = {{start date and age|df=yes|1995|4|3}}
| preceding1      = [[Federal Counterintelligence Service|FSK]]
| employees       = ''Classified''
| budget          = ''Classified''
| jurisdiction    = [[Russia]]
| headquarters    = [[Lubyanka Building]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Информация ФСБ России :: Федеральная Служба Безопасности |url=http://fsb.ru/ |access-date=2024-06-05 |website=fsb.ru}}</ref>
| website         = {{Official URL}}
{{Infobox building
| embed = yes
| name               = 
| native_name        = Федеральная служба безопасности Российской Федерации
| native_name_lang   = ru
| image              = Lubyanka Building.jpg
| image_size         = 250px
| caption            = Lubyanka Building
| start_date         = 
| completion_date    = 
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}}

The '''Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation'''{{efn|{{lang-rus|Федеральная служба безопасности Российской Федерации|Federal'naya sluzhba bezopasnosti Rossiyskoy Federatsii|fʲɪdʲɪˈralʲnəjə ˈsluʐbə bʲɪzɐˈpasnəstʲɪ rɐˈsʲijskəj fʲɪdʲɪˈratsɨɪ}} [ФСБ, ФСБ России], {{Literal translation|Federal Service [of] Safety}}}} ('''FSB''') is the principal [[security agency]] of [[Russia]] and the main successor agency to the [[Soviet Union]]'s [[KGB]]; its immediate predecessor was the [[Federal Counterintelligence Service]] (FSK), which was reorganized into the FSB in 1995. The three major structural successor components of the former KGB that remain administratively independent of the FSB are the [[Foreign Intelligence Service (Russia)|Foreign Intelligence Service]] (SVR), the [[Federal Protective Service (Russia)|Federal Protective Service]] (FSO), and the [[Main Directorate of Special Programs of the President of the Russian Federation]] (GUSP).

The primary responsibilities are within the country and include [[counter-intelligence]], [[internal security|internal]] and [[border control|border security]], [[counterterrorism]], [[surveillance]] and investigating some other types of serious crimes and federal law violations. It is headquartered in [[Lubyanka Square]], [[Moscow]]'s center, in the main building of the former KGB. The [[Director of the Federal Security Service|director of the FSB]] is appointed by and directly answerable to the [[president of Russia]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.consultant.ru/document/cons_doc_LAW_6300/401d7ae25353d2cc1d9b95c5113cc28a77209e69/ |title=Статья 1. Федеральная служба безопасности и ее назначение |access-date=16 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180816230624/https://www.consultant.ru/document/cons_doc_LAW_6300/401d7ae25353d2cc1d9b95c5113cc28a77209e69/ |archive-date=16 August 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> Being part of Russia's executive branch formally, the FSB has significant, if not decisive, power over it.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Chernysh |first=Vadym |date=2024-03-05 |title=The Ability of Russia's Federal Security Service to Influence the Executive Through its Apparatus of Seconded Employees |url=https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/jss/vol17/iss1/3 |journal=Journal of Strategic Security |volume=17 |issue=1 |pages=31–41 |doi=10.5038/1944-0472.17.1.2164 |issn=1944-0464|doi-access=free }}</ref>

In 2003, the FSB's responsibilities were expanded by incorporating the [[Border Guard Service of Russia|Border Guard Service]] and a major part of the [[FAPSI|Federal Agency of Government Communication and Information]] (FAPSI); this would include intelligence activities in countries that were once members of the Soviet Union, work formerly done by the KGB's Fifth Service. The SVR had in 1992 signed an agreement not to spy on those countries; the FSB had made no such commitment.

==History==
===Initial recognition of the KGB===

The Federal Security Service (FSS; {{lang-rus|Федеральная служба безопасности Российской Федерации|Federal'naya sluzhba bezopasnosti Rossiyskoy Federatsii (FSB)|fʲɪdʲɪˈralʲnəjə ˈsluʐbə bʲɪzɐˈpasnəstʲɪ rɐˈsʲijskəj fʲɪdʲɪˈratsɨɪ}} [ФСБ, ФСБ России], {{Literal translation|Federal Service [of] Safety}}) is one of the successor organizations of the Soviet Committee of State Security ([[KGB]]). Following the [[Soviet coup attempt of 1991|attempted coup of 1991]]—in which some KGB units as well as the KGB head [[Vladimir Kryuchkov]] played a major part—the KGB was dismantled and ceased to exist from November 1991.<ref>[https://www.ndu.edu/inss/mcnair/mcnair34/34tar.html THE MILITARY AND THE AUGUST 1991 COUP] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090110054125/https://www.ndu.edu/inss/McNair/mcnair34/34tar.html |date=10 January 2009 }} McNair Paper 34, The Russian Military's Role in Politics, January 1995.</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Gevorkian |first=Natalia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aQsAAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA36 |title=The KGB: "They still need us" |date=January 1993 |journal=Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists |volume=49 |issue=1 |pages=36–39 |doi=10.1080/00963402.1993.11456300 |bibcode=1993BuAtS..49a..36G |access-date=17 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151018192236/https://books.google.com/books?id=aQsAAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PP1&pg=PA36 |archive-date=18 October 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In December 1991, two government agencies answerable to the [[Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic|Russian]] president were created by President Yeltsin's decrees on the basis of the relevant main directorates of the defunct KGB: [[Foreign Intelligence Service (Russia)]] (SVR, the former [[First Chief Directorate|First Main Directorate]]) and the [[FAPSI|Federal Agency of Government Communications and Information]] (FAPSI, merging the functions of the former 8th Main Directorate and 16th Main Directorate of the KGB). In January 1992, another new institution, the Ministry of Security, took over domestic and border security responsibilities.<ref name="schneider">{{cite book|title=Politics and the Ruling Group in Putin's Russia|editor=Stephen White|last1=Schneider|first1=Eberhard|chapter=The Russian Federal Security Service under President Putin}}</ref> Following [[1993 Russian constitutional crisis|the 1993 constitutional crisis]], the Ministry of Security was reorganized on 21 December 1993 into the [[Federal Counter-Intelligence Service]] (FSK). The FSK was headed by [[Sergei Stepashin]]. Before the start of the [[First Chechen War|First Chechen War's]] main military activities, the FSK was responsible for the covert operations against the separatists led by [[Dzhokhar Dudayev]].<ref name="sakwa_p98">{{cite book |title=Russian Politics and Society |last1=Sakwa |first1=Richard |edition=4th |page=98}}</ref>

===Creation of the FSB===
[[File:RIAN archive 100306 Vladimir Putin, Federal Security Service Director.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Present 
 (2018 - ) [[President of Russia]] and former KGB officer [[Vladimir Putin]] served as the FSB's director from 1998 to 1999]]
In 1995, the FSK was renamed and reorganized into the Federal Security Service (FSB) by the Federal Law "On the Federal Security Service" (the title of the law as amended in June 2003<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.kremlin.ru/acts/bank/19652/page/1 |title=Федеральный закон от 30.06.2003 г. № 86-ФЗ |access-date=16 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180817023249/https://www.kremlin.ru/acts/bank/19652/page/1 |archive-date=17 August 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref>) signed by the president on 3 April 1995.<ref name="fedlaw95">[https://www.consultant.ru/document/cons_doc_LAW_6300/ ФЕДЕРАЛЬНЫЙ ЗАКОН О ФЕДЕРАЛЬНОЙ СЛУЖБЕ БЕЗОПАСНОСТИ] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180816194755/https://www.consultant.ru/document/cons_doc_LAW_6300/ |date=16 August 2018 }} Russian Federation Federal Law No. 40-FZ. Adopted by the State Duma 22 February 1995.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://docs.cntd.ru/document/9011123 |title=ФЕДЕРАЛЬНЫЙ ЗАКОН О федеральной службе безопасности |access-date=16 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180816230753/https://docs.cntd.ru/document/9011123 |archive-date=16 August 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> The FSB reforms were rounded out by [[Decree of the President of Russia|decree]] No. 633, signed by [[Boris Yeltsin]] on 23 June 1995. The [[Decree of the President of Russia|decree]] made the tasks of the FSB more specific, giving the FSB substantial rights to conduct cryptographic work, and described the powers of the FSB director. The number of deputy directors was increased to eight: two first deputies, five deputies responsible for departments and directorates and one deputy director heading the [[Moscow|Moscow City]] and [[Moscow Oblast|Moscow regional]] directorate. Yeltsin appointed Colonel-General [[Mikhail Barsukov|Mikhail Ivanovich Barsukov]] as the new director of the FSB. In 1998, Yeltsin appointed [[Vladimir Putin]], a KGB veteran who would later succeed Yeltsin as federal president, as director of the FSB.<ref>Mark Tran. [https://www.theguardian.com/yeltsin/Story/0,,205434,00.html Who is Vladimir Putin?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220303130030/https://www.theguardian.com/world/1999/aug/09/russia.marktran1 |date=3 March 2022 }} Profile: Russia's new prime minister. Guardian Unlimited 9 August 1999.</ref> Putin was reluctant to take over the directorship, but once appointed conducted a thorough reorganization, which included the dismissal of most of the FSB's top personnel.<ref name="sakwa_p98"/> Putin appointed [[Nikolai Patrushev]] as the head of FSB in 1999.<ref name="schneider"/>

===Role in the Second Chechen War===
After the main military offensive of the [[Second Chechen War]] ended and the separatists changed tactics to guerilla warfare, overall command of the federal forces in Chechnya was transferred from the military to the FSB in January 2001. While the army lacked technical means of tracking the guerrilla groups, the FSB suffered from insufficient human intelligence due to its inability to build networks of agents and informants. In the autumn of 2002, the separatists launched a massive campaign of [[terrorism]] against the Russian civilians, including the [[Dubrovka theatre attack]]. The inability of the federal forces to conduct efficient counterterrorist operations led to the government to transfer the responsibility of "maintaining order" in Chechnya from the FSB to the [[Ministry of Internal Affairs (Russia)|Ministry of Internal Affairs]] (MVD) in July 2003.<ref name="baev">{{cite book|title=Chechnya: From Past to Future|editor=Richard Sakwa|last1=Baev|first1=Pavel|chapter=Chechnya and the Russian Military|publisher=Anthem Press|year=2005}}</ref>

===Putin reforms===
[[File:Vladimir Putin with Nikolay Patrushev-4.jpg|thumb|President Putin meeting with Director of FSB [[Nikolai Patrushev]] on 9 August 2000]]
After becoming president, [[Vladimir Putin]] launched a major reorganization of the FSB. First, the FSB was placed under direct control of the President by a decree issued on 17 May 2000.<ref name="schneider"/> The internal structure of the agency was reformed by a decree signed on 17 June 2000. In the resulting structure, the FSB was to have a director, a first deputy director and nine other deputy directors, including one possible state secretary and the chiefs of six departments: Economic Security Department, Counterintelligence Department, Organizational and Personnel Service, Department of activity provision, Department for Analysis, Forecasting and Strategic Planning, Department for Protection of the Constitutional System and the Fight against Terrorism.

In 2003, the agency's responsibilities were considerably widened. The [[Border Guard Service of Russia]], with its staff of 210,000, was integrated to the FSB via a decree signed on 11 March 2003. The merger was completed by 1 July 2003. In addition, The Federal Agency of Government Communication and Information (FAPSI) was abolished, and the FSB was granted a major part of its functions, while other parts went to the [[Ministry of Defense (Russia)|Ministry of Defense]].<ref name="schneider"/> Among the reasons for this strengthening of the FSB were the enhanced need for security after increased terror attacks against Russian civilians starting with the [[Moscow theater hostage crisis]]; the need to end the permanent infighting between the FSB, FAPSI and the Border Guards due to their overlapping functions; and the need for more efficient response to migration, drug trafficking and illegal arms trading. In addition, the FSB was the sole power base of the new president, so the restructuring strengthened his position (see [[Political groups under Vladimir Putin's presidency]]).<ref name="schneider"/>

On 28 June 2004, in a speech to high-ranking FSB officers, Putin emphasized three major tasks of the agency: neutralizing foreign espionage, safeguarding the economic and financial security of the country, and combating organized crime.<ref name="schneider"/> In September 2006, the FSB was shaken up by a major reshuffle. Combined with some earlier reassignments – most notably those of FSB Deputy Directors [[Yury Zaostrovtsev]] and Vladimir Anisimov in 2004 and 2005 – the changes were widely believed to be linked to the [[Three Whales Corruption Scandal]] that had slowly unfolded since 2000. Some analysts considered the changes to be an attempt to undermine FSB Director [[Nikolay Patrushev]]'s influence, as his team from the [[Karelia]]n KGB Directorate of the late 1980s&nbsp; to early 1990s suffered most, and he had been on vacations during the events.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://2005.novayagazeta.ru/nomer/2005/46n/n46n-s00.shtml |title=Фсб Закрытого Типа<!-- Bot generated title --> |access-date=8 February 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070202013451/https://2005.novayagazeta.ru/nomer/2005/46n/n46n-s00.shtml |archive-date=2 February 2007 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.kommersant.com/p704751/r_1/Mass_Dismissals_at_the_FSB/ |title=Mass Dismissals at the FSB – Kommersant Moscow |publisher=Kommersant.com |access-date=4 November 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110512001828/https://www.kommersant.com/p704751/r_1/Mass_Dismissals_at_the_FSB/ |archive-date=12 May 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author1=Елена Ъ-Киселева |author2=Николай Ъ-Сергеев |author3=Михаил Ъ-Фишман |url=https://www.kommersant.ru/doc.html?docId=704751 |title=Ъ – Кит и меч |journal=Коммерсантъ |date=14 September 2006 |publisher=Kommersant.ru |access-date=4 November 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070314094158/https://www.kommersant.ru/doc.html?docId=704751 |archive-date=14 March 2007 |url-status=live }}</ref>

By 2008, the agency had one Director, two First Deputy Directors and 5 Deputy Directors. It had the following 9 divisions:<ref name="schneider"/>
#[[DKRO|Counter-Espionage]]
#Service for Defense of Constitutional Order and Fight against Terrorism
#Border Service
#Economic Security Service
#Current Information and International Links
#Organizational and Personnel Service
#Monitoring Department
#Scientific and Technical Service
#Organizational Security Service

===Counterterrorist operations===
[[File:RIAN archive 835340 Antiterrorist operation in Makhachkala.jpg|thumb|left|FSB special forces members during a special operation in [[Makhachkala]], as a result of which "one fighter was killed and two terrorist attacks prevented" in 2010]]

Beginning with the [[Moscow theater hostage crisis]] in 2002, Russia was faced with increased levels of [[Terrorism in Russia|terrorism]]. FSB [[Spetsnaz]] units [[Alpha Group]] and [[Vympel]] played a key role in hostage rescue operations during the Moscow theater siege and the [[Beslan school siege]].{{citation needed|date=May 2022}} Their performance was criticised due to the high number of hostage casualties. In 2006, the FSB successfully killed [[Shamil Basayev]], who was behind the Beslan tragedy and several other high-profile terrorist acts. According to the FSB, the operation was planned over six months and made possible due to the FSB's increased activities in foreign countries that were supplying arms to the terrorists. Basayev was tracked via surveillance of this arms trafficking. He and other militants were preparing to carry out a terrorist attack in [[Ingushetia]] when FSB agents destroyed their convoy; 12 militants were killed.<ref name="independent_basayev">{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/russians-claim-killing-of-rebel-basayev-the-beslan-butcher-407462.html|title=Russians claim killing of rebel Basayev, the Beslan butcher|newspaper=The Independent|date=11 July 2006|access-date=27 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140809094919/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/russians-claim-killing-of-rebel-basayev-the-beslan-butcher-407462.html|archive-date=9 August 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="bbc_basayev">{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/5165456.stm|title=Chechen rebel chief Basayev dies|work=BBC News|date=10 June 2006|access-date=13 February 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110121193334/https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/5165456.stm|archive-date=21 January 2011|url-status=live}}</ref>

During the last years of the [[Vladimir Putin]]'s second presidency (2006–2008), terrorist attacks in Russia dwindled, falling from 257 in 2005 to 48 in 2007. Military analyst [[Vitaly Shlykov]] praised the effectiveness of Russia's security agencies, saying that the experience learned in [[Chechnya]] and [[Dagestan]] had been key to the success. In 2008, the American [[Carnegie Endowment]]'s Foreign Policy magazine named Russia as "the worst place to be a terrorist" and highlighted especially Russia's willingness to prioritize national security over civil rights.<ref name="rp_biberman">{{cite web|url=https://russiaprofile.org/politics/a1213293768.html|title=No Place to Be a Terrorist|last1=Biberman|first1=Yelena|publisher=Russia Profile|date=6 December 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006085439/https://russiaprofile.org/politics/a1213293768.html|archive-date=6 October 2014}}</ref> By 2010, Russian forces led by the FSB had managed to eliminate the top level leadership of the Chechen insurgency, except for [[Dokka Umarov]].<ref name="saradzhyan_eliminating">{{cite web|url=https://www.isn.ethz.ch/isn/Current-Affairs/Security-Watch/Detail/?ots591=4888caa0-b3db-1461-98b9-e20e7b9c13d4&lng=en&id=114375|title=Eliminating Terrorists, Not Terror|last1=Saradzhyan|first1=Simon|publisher=International Relations and Security Network|date=31 March 2010|access-date=14 February 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110512174118/https://www.isn.ethz.ch/isn/Current-Affairs/Security-Watch/Detail/?ots591=4888caa0-b3db-1461-98b9-e20e7b9c13d4&lng=en&id=114375|archive-date=12 May 2011|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Increased terrorism and expansion of the FSB's powers===
[[File:Bortnikov Medvedev.jpg|thumb|President Dmitry Medvedev meeting with FSB Director [[Alexander Bortnikov]] in June 2009]]
Starting from 2009, the level of terrorism in Russia increased again, particularly suicide attacks. Between February 2005 and August 2008, no civilians were killed in such attacks. In 2008, at least 17 were killed, and in 2009 the number rose to 45.<ref name="saradzhyan_increase">{{cite web|url=https://www.isn.ethz.ch/isn/Current-Affairs/Security-Watch/Detail/?ots591=4888caa0-b3db-1461-98b9-e20e7b9c13d4&lng=en&id=125818|title=Russia's North Caucasus, the Terrorism Revival|last1=Saradzhyan|first1=Simon|publisher=International Relations and Security Network|date=23 December 2010|access-date=14 February 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110512174129/https://www.isn.ethz.ch/isn/Current-Affairs/Security-Watch/Detail/?ots591=4888caa0-b3db-1461-98b9-e20e7b9c13d4&lng=en&id=125818|archive-date=12 May 2011|url-status=live}}</ref>

In March 2010, Islamist militants organised the [[2010 Moscow Metro bombings]], which killed 40 people. One of the two blasts took place at Lubyanka station, near the FSB headquarters. Militant leader [[Dokka Umarov|Doku Umarov]]—dubbed "Russia's Osama Bin Laden"—took responsibility for the attacks.

In July 2010, President [[Dmitry Medvedev]] expanded the FSB's powers in its fight against terrorism. FSB officers received the power to issue warnings to citizens on actions that could lead to committing crimes and arrest people for 15 days if they fail to comply with legitimate orders given by the officers. The bill was harshly criticized by human rights organizations.{{citation needed|date=December 2020}}

===Role in Ukraine===
Since 2014, the FSB devoted substantial resources to preparing for a Russian takeover of Ukraine.<ref name="Times0309Infur">{{cite news |last1=Ball |first1=Tom |title=Putin infuriated by Russian intelligence failures in Ukraine war |url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/putin-infuriated-by-russian-intelligence-failures-in-ukraine-war-mmbmvhf2b |access-date=March 13, 2022 |work=The Times |date=March 9, 2022 |quote=Since 2014, the agency had spent a lot of time and resources on attempts to foment unrest in western Ukraine among far-right groups, which ultimately came to nothing, Soldatov said. Their assessments of popular support among Ukrainians for a Russian invasion and the extent to which the country would resist were also 'terribly miscalculated'.}}</ref> Although Russia's SVR and [[GRU (Russian Federation)|GRU]] (foreign and military intelligence services) were also involved, FSB had a lead role on "intelligence and influence operations".<ref name="BBC_KillList">{{cite news |title=US reveals claims of Russian 'kill list' if Moscow occupies Ukraine |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-60472889 |access-date=19 March 2022 |work=[[BBC]] |date=21 February 2022 |quote=Back in 1992 Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service, the SVR, signed a deal with Ukraine and neighbouring states not to spy on them. That left the way open for the FSB which grew in power, particularly after its head in the late 1990s, Vladimir Putin, became Russia's leader. The SVR and military intelligence, the GRU, both still operate in Ukraine but the FSB leads on intelligence and influence operations.}}</ref>

The FSB's Fifth Service, also referred to as the "Department for Operational Information" and "Operational Information and International Relations Service" is stated by the BBC and Radio Free Europe as counterintelligence in former territories of the Soviet Union, work formerly done by the KGB's Fifth Service. Its Ninth Directorate of the Fifth Service targets Ukraine.<ref name="RFE0311" /><ref name="BBC_KillList" /><ref name="2022_0225RUSI"/> Putin was persuaded to invade Ukraine by a small group of his closest associates, especially [[Nikolai Patrushev]], [[Yury Kovalchuk]] and [[Alexander Bortnikov]].<ref name="trio">{{cite news |title=A look at the trio who convinced Putin to invade |url=https://news.yahoo.com/look-trio-convinced-putin-invade-084200834.html |work=Yahoo News |date=9 January 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=How Putin blundered into Ukraine — then doubled down |url=https://www.ft.com/content/80002564-33e8-48fb-b734-44810afb7a49 |work=Financial Times |date=23 February 2023}}</ref> According to some experts, Bortnikov played a key role in Putin's decision to invade Ukraine.<ref name="trio"/>

[[File:Путин - Бортников (16 июня 2020).jpg|thumb|FSB Director Alexander Bortnikov played a key role in Putin's decision to [[Russian invasion of Ukraine|invade Ukraine]] in 2022.<ref name="trio"/>]]

According to a report of the [[Royal United Services Institute]] citing interviews officers and analysts of [[Security Service of Ukraine]], the FSB Ukraine team greatly expanded July 2021, and by February 2022 it had "around 200 officers" although most teams consist of only 10–20.<ref name="RUSI_SpecialReport">{{cite web |title=The Plot to Destroy Ukraine |url=https://static.rusi.org/special-report-202202-ukraine-web.pdf |publisher=[[Royal United Services Institute]] |access-date=19 March 2022 |date=15 February 2022 |quote=The most concerning development to Ukraine is the expansion of FSB resources targeting Ukraine. Within the FSB's Fifth Service, run by Colonel General Sergei Beseda, the Department for Operational Information has teams dedicated to most of the 'territories' of the former Soviet Union. Most teams comprise 10–20 personnel. In July 2021, the Ukraine team of the FSB Fifth Service was expanded to form the 9th Directorate comprising around 200 officers.}}</ref> Before the 2022 invasion, intelligence agencies in Ukraine, Germany, the UK, and the US reported that the FSB planned to replace elected leaders of Ukraine with Ukrainians now living in Russia.<ref name="Gdn0213Coup">{{cite news |last1=Sabbagh |first1=Dan |title=Russia's FSB agency tasked with engineering coups in Ukrainian cities, UK believes |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/feb/13/russias-fsb-agency-engineering-coups-ukrainian-cities |access-date=19 March 2022 |work=The Guardian |date=13 February 2022 |quote=Beseda was wanted by Ukraine for questioning in the aftermath of the anti-Russian Maidan revolution in February 2014, believing he was part of a failed attempt to take control of violent efforts to suppress the popular protests. Moscow said he was present to help ensure the protection of the Russian embassy during a time of uncertainty.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/782479.html|title=State overthrow being prepared by FSB officer, three defectors from Interior Ministry – media|website=en.interfax.com.ua}}</ref>

In 2014, according to a Russian military analyst, the FSB badly misled Putin with claims that Ukrainians would welcome a Russian invasion of Crimea to free them from "fascists".<ref name="BBC2016_FSB2014">{{cite news |title=Russian GRU military spy chief Igor Sergun dies |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-35226131 |access-date=13 March 2022 |work=BBC |date=5 January 2016 |quote=But Russian military analyst Igor Sutyagin ...told the BBC that the FSB got its social analysis of Ukraine wrong in 2013-2014...The FSB had told Mr Putin that Ukrainians were "just waiting for him to liberate them from the 'fascists'," he said.}}</ref> According to ''[[Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty|Radio Free Europe]]'', in 2022, the FSB again promised easy victory if Russia invaded Ukraine.<ref name="RFE0311">{{cite web |title=Russian Officials Predicted A Quick Triumph In Ukraine. Did Bad Intelligence Skew Kremlin Decision-Making? |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-invasion-ukraine-intelligence-putin/31748594.html |publisher=[[Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty|Radio Free Europe]] |access-date=March 13, 2022 |date=March 11, 2022 |quote=The FSB unit that conducts foreign political analysis -- the Ninth Directorate of the Fifth Service – commissioned public opinion polls in Ukraine earlier in February, weeks before the war...The surveys suggest that Ukrainians' main concerns prior to the war were mundane things: food prices, energy prices, corruption.}}</ref>

[[File:2022-02-21. Заседание Совета Безопасности Российской Федерации 13.jpg|thumb|Putin, Bortnikov and members of the [[Security Council of Russia|Security Council]] on 21 February 2022. That day, Putin said he would recognise the [[Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine|separatist-held territories]] in [[Donbas]] as independent states.]]
With the start of the [[2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine]], Ukrainian counterintelligence has repeatedly asserted that the FSB suffered failures of [[operations security]], including acts of insubordination and possible sabotage. In March 2022, Russia's encrypted communication system in Ukraine became useless after the Russian military destroyed cellphone towers; unencrypted phone calls from the FSB in Ukraine to superiors in Moscow discussing the death of [[Vitaly Gerasimov]] were tapped and released publicly. Ukrainian intelligence reported that FSB members were leaking intelligence to them, including the location of the Chechen commandos sent to assassinate Zelensky. In late March, Ukrainian intelligence posted online the names, addresses, phone numbers, and more of 620 people they identified as FSB agents. None of these reports have been confirmed by the FSB.<ref name="Gerasimov0307">{{cite news |date=March 7, 2022 |title=Vitaly Gerasimov: second Russian general killed, Ukraine defence ministry claims |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/08/vitaly-gerasimov-second-russian-general-killed-ukraine-defence-ministry-claims |access-date=March 13, 2022 |quote='In the call, you hear the Ukraine-based FSB officer ask his boss if he can talk via the secure Era system. The boss says Era is not working...Era is a super expensive cryptophone system that [Russia’s defence ministry] introduced in 2021 with great fanfare.'}}</ref><ref name="GerasiPhones0309">{{cite web |date=March 9, 2022 |title=Russian Military Phones Hacked: Report |url=https://www.thedefensepost.com/2022/03/09/russian-phones-hacked/ |access-date=March 13, 2022 |publisher=The Defense Post |quote=The Russian military had been using an encrypted communication system called 'Era' to communicate with commanders and fellow soldiers to prevent eavesdropping. Since the 3G/4G towers needed for Era to operate have been destroyed, Ukrainian intelligence has intercepted phone calls, including one made by a Federal Security Service (FSB) field officer informing officials in Russia of the death of Major General Vitaly Gerasimov.}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Ball |first1=Tom |date=March 10, 2022 |title=Spies accused of betraying Putin's Chechen units |work=The Times |url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/spies-accused-of-betraying-putins-chechen-units-537fj6lnr |access-date=March 13, 2022 |quote=Chechen fighters loyal to the Kremlin are being betrayed by Russian spies who are leaking their whereabouts to Ukrainian forces, an aide to President Zelensky has claimed. Aleksei Arestovich said that the FSB was 'quietly passing on' information about the movements of Chechen units.}}</ref><ref name="620Names">{{cite news |title=Ukraine intelligence publishes names of 620 alleged Russian agents |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraine-intelligence-publishes-names-620-alleged-russian-agents-2022-03-28/ |access-date=March 30, 2022 |publisher=Reuters |date=March 28, 2022 |quote=In a post in Russian on its official website, the intelligence arm of the Ukrainian defence ministry listed people it said were FSB employees registered at the agency's headquarters in Moscow.}}</ref><ref name="TimesBreach329">{{cite news |last1=Ball |first1=Tom |title=Names and addresses of 620 FSB officers published in data breach |url=https://www.thetimes.com/world/russia-ukraine-war/article/names-and-addresses-of-625-fsb-officers-published-after-data-breach-q68sqdh2t |access-date=March 30, 2022 |work=The Times |date=March 29, 2022 |quote=The names and addresses of 620 people who are said to be FSB officers were published yesterday in what Kyiv said was a huge data breach of the Russian security agency...As well as names and addresses, the list includes details of agents' cars such as their numberplates, their phone numbers and dates and places of birth.}}</ref>

Media outlets of Ukraine, its allies in the West, and Russian dissidents report that Vladimir Putin has blamed setbacks in the military operations on the FSB and the Fifth Service. On 11 March 2022, investigative journalist [[Andrei Soldatov]] reported that Fifth Service head [[Sergey Beseda]] and his deputy, [[Anatoly Bolyukh]] were under house arrest due to [[Vladimir Putin|Putin]]'s discontent with intelligence failures regarding the [[2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine|invasion of Ukraine]]. A U.S. official interviewed by ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'' described the arrest report as "credible".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Ball |first1=Tom |last2=Brown |first2=Larisa |date=12 March 2022 |title=Kremlin arrests FSB chiefs in fallout from Ukraine chaos |work=The Times |url=https://www.thetimes.com/world/russia-ukraine-war/article/kremlin-arrests-fsb-chiefs-in-fallout-from-ukraine-invasion-chaos-92w0829c5 |url-access=subscription |access-date=12 March 2022 |quote=A Russian spy chief is said to have been placed under house arrest in a sign that President Putin is seeking to blame the security services for the stalled invasion of Ukraine.}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{cite web |last=Zakir-Hussain |first=Maryam |date=13 March 2022 |title='Putin's spy chief and his deputy under house arrest' |url=https://www.independent.ie/world-news/europe/putins-spy-chief-and-his-deputy-under-house-arrest-41440456.html |work=[[Irish Independent]] |accessdate=13 March 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-03-12 |title=Russian spy chiefs 'under house arrest' as Putin blames them for Ukraine setbacks |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/russian-spy-chiefs-putin-security-b2034350.html |access-date=2022-04-12 |website=The Independent |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=From bad intel to worse Putin reportedly turns on FSB agency that botched Russia's Ukraine prep |url=https://meduza.io/en/feature/2022/03/11/from-bad-intel-to-worse |access-date=2022-04-12 |website=Meduza |language=en}}</ref><ref name="wsj0319">{{cite news |date=March 19, 2022 |title=Reported Detention of Russian Spy Boss Shows Tension Over Stalled Ukraine Invasion, U.S. Officials Say |work=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/reported-detention-of-russian-spy-boss-shows-tension-over-stalled-ukraine-invasion-u-s-officials-say-11647687601 |access-date=March 19, 2022 |quote=A U.S. official described as credible reports that the commander of the FSB intelligence agency’s unit responsible for Ukraine had been placed under house arrest. The official, in an interview, also said bickering had broken out between the FSB and the Russian Ministry of Defense, two of the principal government units responsible for the preparation of the Feb. 24 invasion.}}</ref>

On 11 April 2022, the [[The Times|''Times of London'']], citing unnamed sources who had spoken to [[Bellingcat]] executive director [[Christo Grozev]], reported that Beseda was transferred to [[Lefortovo Prison]], the scene of mass executions during Stalin's [[Great Purge|purges]]. The same report claims that up over 100 FSB agents from the Fifth Service had been sacked. The ''Times of London'' also reports that "it is thought that" the Fifth Service is now headed by Beseda's former subordinate, [[Grigory Grishaev]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Porter |first=Tom |date=2022-04-08 |title=A senior Russian official was sent to a notorious Moscow jail in retribution for poor Ukraine intel, expert says |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-fsbs-beseda-in-prison-after-ukraine-intel-failings-soldatov-2022-4 |access-date=2022-04-08 |website=Business Insider |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Ball |first=Tom |date=2022-04-11 |title=Putin 'purges' 150 FSB agents in response to Russia's botched war with Ukraine |work=[[The Times]] |url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/putin-purges-150-fsb-agents-in-response-to-russias-botched-war-with-ukraine-lf9k6tn6g |url-access=subscription |access-date=2022-04-11 |issn=0140-0460}}</ref>

According to an article in the 11 April 2022 issue of ''The Washington Post'':<ref name="WaPo0411">{{cite news |title=Hubris and isolation led Vladimir Putin to misjudge Ukraine |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/04/11/putin-misjudged-ukraine-hubris-isolation/ |access-date=April 16, 2022 |newspaper=Washington Post |date=April 11, 2022 |quote=In U.S. and European intelligence circles, the FSB’s reputation stands in contrast to the ruthless, cunning reputation of its predecessor, the KGB. Several current and former officials described the Russian security service as rife with corruption, beset by bureaucratic bloat and ultimately out of touch.  A Ukrainian intelligence official said the FSB had spent millions recruiting a network of pro-Russian collaborators who ultimately told Putin and his top advisers, among them the current FSB director, what they wanted to hear: The central government in Kyiv wouldn’t hold and resistance would collapse.}}</ref><blockquote>Several current and former officials described the Russian security service as rife with corruption, beset by bureaucratic bloat and ultimately out of touch. A Ukrainian intelligence official said the FSB had spent millions recruiting a network of pro-Russian collaborators who ultimately told Putin and his top advisers, among them the current FSB director, what they wanted to hear.</blockquote>

A series of alleged leaked letters from FSB analysts, made public after the invasion began, report the same kind of problem. For example: "You have to write the analysis in a way that makes Russia the victor ... otherwise you get questioned for not doing good work."<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/leaked-russian-spy-report-whistleblower-26416023|title='Leaked Russian report spy' says Ukraine invasion a 'total failure'|first1=Rosaleen|last1=Fenton|first2=Ketsuda|last2=Phoutinane|date=8 March 2022|newspaper=[[Daily Record (Scotland)|Daily Record]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.igorsushko.com/2022/03/all-fsbletters-translated-as-of-march.html|title=All #FSBletters translated as of April 29th, 2022 - Chronological Order - Look Inside|first=Igor|last=Sushko|website=www.igorsushko.com}}</ref>

Russian-American ballet dancer [[Ksenia Karelina]] was arrested in early 2024 in Yekaterinburg and charged with "treason" for sending $51.80 to [[Razom]], a [[New York City]]-based nonprofit organization that sends humanitarian assistance to [[Ukraine]].<ref>{{Cite web |first1=Ivana |last1=Kottasová |first2=AnneClaire |last2=Stapleton |date=2024-08-07 |title=Russian-American woman admits guilt in treason case, Russian state media reports |url=https://www.cnn.com/2024/08/07/europe/ksenia-karelina-russian-american-treason-guilt-intl/index.html |access-date=2024-08-07 |website=CNN |language=en}}</ref> The FSB accused Karelina of taking part in "public actions to support the Kyiv regime."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Edwards |first=Christian |date=2024-06-20 |title=Russian court begins hearing treason case against US-Russian citizen |url=https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/20/europe/ksenia-karelina-trial-begin-russia-intl/index.html |access-date=2024-08-03 |website=CNN |language=en}}</ref> She initially faced life in prison, but pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 12 years in prison.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ksenia Karelina: US-Russian woman jailed in Russia for 12 years for treason |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cp9rygl5k4jo |access-date=2024-08-15 |website=www.bbc.com |date=15 August 2024 |language=en-GB}}</ref> 

In August 2024, a "counter-terrorism" operational regime under the FSB was introduced in [[Kursk Oblast|Kursk]], [[Bryansk Oblast|Bryansk]] and [[Belgorod Oblast]]s. This means in practice that "movement is restricted, vehicles can be seized, phone calls can be monitored, areas are declared no-go zones, checkpoints introduced, and security is beefed up at key infrastructure sites."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.voanews.com/a/russia-launches-new-operation-to-halt-advancing-ukrainian-troops/7737304.html|title=Russia evacuates tens of thousands amid Ukraine incursion|date=10 August 2024|website=[[Voice of America]]|access-date=10 August 2024|archive-date=16 August 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240816035546/https://www.voanews.com/a/russia-launches-new-operation-to-halt-advancing-ukrainian-troops/7737304.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Function==
===Counterintelligence===
{{Main|DKRO}}
In 2011, the FSB said it had exposed 199 foreign spies, including 41 professional spies and 158 agents employed by foreign intelligence services.{{citation needed|date=February 2023}} The number has risen in recent years: in 2006 the FSB reportedly caught about 27 foreign intelligence officers and 89 foreign agents.<ref name="Day">{{Cite web |url=https://grani.ru/Politics/Russia/FSB/m.115994.html |title=Story to the Day of Checkist |access-date=22 December 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110512174546/https://grani.ru/Politics/Russia/FSB/m.115994.html |archive-date=12 May 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref> Comparing the number of exposed spies historically, the then-FSB Director [[Nikolay Kovalyov (politician)|Nikolay Kovalyov]] said in 1996: "There has never been such a number of [[spy|spies]] arrested by us since the time when German agents were sent in during the years of World War II." The 2011 figure is similar to what was reported in 1995–1996, when around 400 foreign intelligence agents were uncovered during the two-year period.{{citation needed|date=February 2023}}

In a high-profile case of foreign espionage, the FSB said in February 2012 that an engineer working at the [[Plesetsk Cosmodrome]], Russia's main space center for military launches, had been sentenced to 13 years in prison on charges of state treason. A court judged that the engineer had sold information about the testing of new Russian strategic missile systems to the American [[CIA]].{{citation needed|date=February 2023}}

A number of scientists have been accused of espionage and illegal technology exports by the FSB since it was established; instances include researcher [[Igor Sutyagin]],<ref name="Sytyagin">{{cite web |url=https://www.hrw.org/backgrounder/eca/russia/4.htm |title=Case study: Igor Sutiagin |publisher=Human Rights Watch |date=October 2003 |access-date=4 November 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080313081442/https://www.hrw.org/backgrounder/eca/russia/4.htm |archive-date=13 March 2008 |url-status=live }}</ref> physicist [[Valentin Danilov]],<ref name="Danilov">{{cite web |url=https://shr.aaas.org/aaashran/alert.php?a_id=290 |title=AAAS Human Rights Action Network |publisher=Shr.aaas.org |access-date=4 November 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100706030005/https://shr.aaas.org/aaashran/alert.php?a_id=290 |archive-date=6 July 2010 |url-status=live }}</ref> physical chemist [[Oleg Korobeinichev]],<ref name="Korob">{{Cite web |url=https://www.mosnews.com/news/2006/03/23/korobeinichev.shtml |title=Russian Scientist Charged With Disclosing State Secret |archive-url=https://archive.today/20060324025349/http://www.mosnews.com/news/2006/03/23/korobeinichev.shtml |archive-date=24 March 2006 |url-status=usurped}}</ref> academician [[Oskar Kaibyshev]],<ref name="Kaibyshev">{{Cite web|url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2006/08/09/001.html|title=Oskar Kaibyshev convicted}}</ref> and physicist [[Yuri Ryzhov (physicist)|Yury Ryzhov]].<ref name="Ryzov">{{Cite web |url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2006/07/28/011.html |title=Researchers Throw Up Their Arms |access-date=22 December 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070323003701/https://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2006/07/28/011.html |archive-date=23 March 2007 |url-status=live }}</ref> Ecologist and journalist [[Aleksandr Nikitin (environmentalist)|Alexander Nikitin]], who worked with the [[Bellona Foundation]], was accused of espionage. He published material exposing hazards posed by the Russian Navy's nuclear fleet. He was acquitted in 1999 after spending several years in prison (his case was sent for re-investigation 13 times while he remained in prison). In August 2021, the FSB arrested [[plasma physics]]-expert Alexander Kuranov, chief designer of the Hypersonic Systems Research Center (NIPGS in Russian) in [[St. Petersburg]]. Kuranov is suspected of [[Espionage|passing secret information]] to a foreigner about hypersonic technology; he oversaw concept design on the [[Ayaks]]/Ajax [[Hypersonic flight|hypersonic]] aircraft and has run a Russia-US scientific [[Academic conference|symposium]] for several years.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s)/no by-line.--> |title=Russia holds hypersonic flight expert in spy probe |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-58186033 |work=[[BBC News]] |date=August 12, 2021 |access-date=August 12, 2021 |archive-date=12 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210812173349/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-58186033 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s)/no by-line.--> |title=Russia Detains Hypersonic Flight Expert In Treason Case |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-researcher-treason-charges/31406516.html |work=[[Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty]] |date=August 12, 2021 |access-date=August 12, 2021 |archive-date=12 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210812173349/https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-researcher-treason-charges/31406516.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Other instances of prosecution are the cases of investigative journalist and ecologist [[Grigory Pasko]],<ref name="Pasko1">{{cite web |url=https://www.index.org.ru/mayday/pasko_a.html |title=Grigory Pasko site |publisher=Index.org.ru |access-date=4 November 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511061522/https://www.index.org.ru/mayday/pasko_a.html |archive-date=11 May 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Pasko">[https://193.71.199.52/en/international/russia/envirorights/pasko/24748.html The Pasko case] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060104010756/https://193.71.199.52/en/international/russia/envirorights/pasko/24748.html |date=4 January 2006 }}</ref> [[Vladimir Petrenko]], who described danger posed by military chemical warfare stockpiles, and [[Nikolay Shchur]], chairman of the [[Snezhinskiy Ecological Fund]].{{citation needed|date=February 2023}}

Other arrested people include [[Viktor Orekhov]], a former KGB officer who assisted Soviet dissidents, [[Vladimir Kazantsev (KGB officer)|Vladimir Kazantsev]], who disclosed illegal purchases of eavesdropping devices from foreign firms, and [[Vil Mirzayanov]], who had written that Russia was working on a nerve-gas weapon.{{citation needed|date=February 2023}}

===Counterterrorism===
[[File:RIAN archive 846846 Dozens killed in Domodedovo airport blast.jpg|thumb|left|FSB officers on the scene of the [[Domodedovo International Airport bombing]] in 2011. Combating terrorism is one of the main tasks of the agency.]]
In 2011, the FSB prevented 94 "crimes of a terrorist nature", including eight terrorist attacks. In particular, the agency foiled a planned suicide bombing in Moscow on New Year's Eve. The agency failed to prevent terrorists perpetrating the [[Domodedovo International Airport bombing]].{{citation needed|date=February 2023}} Over the years, FSB and affiliated state security organizations have killed all presidents of the separatist [[Chechen Republic of Ichkeria]] including [[Dzhokhar Dudaev]], [[Zelimkhan Yandarbiev]], [[Aslan Maskhadov]], and [[Abdul-Khalim Saidullaev]].{{citation needed|date=February 2023}} During the [[Moscow theater hostage crisis]] and [[Beslan school hostage crisis]], all hostage-takers were killed on the spot by FSB spetsnaz forces. Only one of the suspects, [[Nur-Pashi Kulayev]], survived and was convicted later by the court. It is reported that more than 100 leaders of terrorist groups have been killed during 119 operations on North Caucasus during 2006.<ref name="Day" /> On 28 July 2006, the FSB presented a list of 17 terrorist organizations recognized by the [[Supreme Court of the Russian Federation]], to {{Lang|ru-latn|[[Rossiyskaya Gazeta]]}} newspaper, which published the list that day. The list had been available previously, but only through individual request.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.rg.ru/2006/07/28/terror-organizacii.html|title=17 particularly dangerous|work=[[Rossiyskaya Gazeta]]|language=ru|date=28 July 2006|access-date=13 August 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060818142919/https://www.rg.ru/2006/07/28/terror-organizacii.html|archive-date=18 August 2006|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.arabtimesonline.com/arabtimes/kuwait/Viewdet.asp?ID=8534&cat=a|title='Terror' list out; Russia tags two Kuwaiti groups|work=[[Arab Times]]|date=13 August 2006|access-date=13 August 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070311095831/https://www.arabtimesonline.com/arabtimes/kuwait/Viewdet.asp?ID=8534&cat=a|archive-date=11 March 2007|url-status=live}}</ref> Commenting on the list, Yuri Sapunov, head of counterterrorism at the FSB, named three main criteria necessary for organizations to be listed.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/5223458.stm|title=Russia names 'terrorist' groups|work=BBC News|date=28 July 2006|access-date=13 August 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061109022439/https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/5223458.stm|archive-date=9 November 2006|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Foreign intelligence===
According to some unofficial sources,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Департамент оперативной информации (ДОИ) ФСБ |url=https://www.agentura.ru/dossier/russia/fsb/structure/doi/ |archivedate=10 November 2013 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131110205807/https://www.agentura.ru/dossier/russia/fsb/structure/doi/ |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Наши спецслужбы – на территории бывшего Союза |url=https://www.agentura.ru/press/about/jointprojects/novgaz/exussr3/ |archivedate=7 August 2013 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130807024611/https://agentura.ru/press/about/jointprojects/novgaz/exussr3/ |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://2006.novayagazeta.ru/nomer/2006/22n/n22n-s15.shtml |title=НАШИ СПЕЦСЛУЖБЫ – НА ТЕРРИТОРИИ БЫВШЕГО СОЮЗА |access-date=23 December 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070212062546/https://2006.novayagazeta.ru/nomer/2006/22n/n22n-s15.shtml |archive-date=12 February 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>[https://www.thedailybeast.com/inside-vladimir-putins-shadowy-army-of-global-spies Andrei Soldatov. Inside Vladimir Putin’s Shadowy Army of Global Spies] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210907232025/https://www.thedailybeast.com/inside-vladimir-putins-shadowy-army-of-global-spies |date=7 September 2021}}. [[The Daily Beast]], Aug. 29, 2021</ref><ref>[[Sergey Beseda]] is The Head of the 5th Service of the FSB - Operational Information and International Relations Service.</ref> since 1999, the FSB has also been tasked with the intelligence-gathering on the territory of the [[Commonwealth of Independent States|CIS]] countries, wherein the SVR is legally forbidden from conducting espionage under the inter-government agreements. Such activity is in line with Article 8 of the Federal Law on the FSB.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://base.consultant.ru/cons/cgi/online.cgi?req=doc;base=LAW;n=146085 |title=ФЕДЕРАЛЬНЫЙ ЗАКОН О ФЕДЕРАЛЬНОЙ СЛУЖБЕ БЕЗОПАСНОСТИ |access-date=11 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151119095845/https://base.consultant.ru/cons/cgi/online.cgi?req=doc;base=LAW;n=146085 |archive-date=19 November 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref>

According to the [[Royal United Services Institute]], FSB's Department for Operational Information "is responsible for compiling data on Russia's 'near abroad{{'"}}, having taken over the work of KGB's Fifth Service, which ran counterintelligence inside territories of the Soviet Union.<ref name="2022_0225RUSI"/>

===Targeted killing===
In the summer of 2006, the FSB was given the legal power to engage in [[targeted killing]] of terrorism suspects overseas if ordered by the president.<ref name="Finn2">{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/11/AR2006121101434_2.html |last=Finn |first=Peter |title=In Russia, A Secretive Force Widens |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=15 January 2007 |access-date=28 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150701072223/https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/11/AR2006121101434_2.html |archive-date=1 July 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Border protection===
[[File:RIAN archive 942200 Border guards of the Federal Security Service pursuing trespassers of the maritime boundary during exercises in Kaliningrad region.jpg|thumb|left|Border guards of the Federal Security Service pursuing trespassers of the maritime boundary during exercises in [[Kaliningrad Oblast]]]]

The [[Border Guard Service of Russia|Federal Border Guard Service]] (FPS) has been part of the FSB since 2003. Russia has {{convert|61000|km|mi|sp=us}} of sea and land borders, {{convert|7500|km|mi|sp=us}} of which is with Kazakhstan, and {{convert|4000|km|mi|sp=us}} with China. One kilometer (.62 miles) of border protection costs around 1&nbsp;million rubles per year.{{citation needed|date=February 2023}}

===Export control===
The FSB is engaged in the development of Russia's export control strategy and examines drafts of international agreements related to the transfer of [[dual-use]] and military commodities and technologies. Its primary role in the [[nonproliferation]] sphere is to collect information to prevent the illegal export of controlled nuclear technology and materials.<ref>"Status of the State Licensing System of Control over Exports of Nuclear Materials, Dual-use Commodities and Technologies in Russia:  Manual for foreign associates in Russia", International Business Relations Corporation, Department of Nuclear Energy and Nuclear Fuel Cycle (Moscow, 2002).</ref>

===Surveillance===
In September 2017, [[WikiLeaks]] released "Spy Files Russia", revealing how a company called [[Peter-Service]] helped state entities gather data on Russian mobile phone users as part of an [[Mass surveillance in Russia|online surveillance]] system called the System for Operative Investigative Activities ([[SORM]]) with close collaboration with the FSB.<ref>{{cite news |last=Taylor |first=Adam |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2017/09/19/wikileaks-releases-files-that-appear-to-offer-details-of-russian-surveillance-system/ |title=WikiLeaks releases files that appear to offer details of Russian surveillance system |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=19 September 2017 |access-date=21 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170930045312/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2017/09/19/wikileaks-releases-files-that-appear-to-offer-details-of-russian-surveillance-system/ |archive-date=30 September 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Lomas |first=Natasha |url=https://techcrunch.com/2017/09/19/wikileaks-releases-documents-it-claims-detail-russia-mass-surveillance-apparatus/ |title=Wikileaks releases documents it claims detail Russia mass surveillance apparatus |work=[[TechCrunch]] |date=19 September 2017 |access-date=2 July 2021 |archive-date=9 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709182843/https://techcrunch.com/2017/09/19/wikileaks-releases-documents-it-claims-detail-russia-mass-surveillance-apparatus/ |url-status=live }}</ref> SORM-1 is for wiretapping phones. SORM-2 intercepts electronic correspondence and Internet traffic. Beginning in the summer of 2014, SORM-3 has been "on guard" and integrates all telecommunication services in real time.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newsru.com/russia/20sep2017/wikipiter.html |title=WikiLeaks обвинил петербургскую компанию в слежке за россиянами |trans-title=WikiLeaks accused St. Petersburg company of spying on Russians |language=ru |work=NewsRu |date=20 September 2017 |access-date=2 July 2021 |archive-date=20 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170920101449/https://www.newsru.com/russia/20sep2017/wikipiter.html}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Камалетдинов (Kamaletdinov, Damir) |first=Дамир |url=https://tjournal.ru/flood/59637-na-wikileaks-opublikovali-podrobnosti-slezhki-specsluzhb-za-rossiyanami |title=На WikiLeaks опубликовали подробности слежки спецслужб за россиянами |trans-title=WikiLeaks published details of the surveillance of Russians by special services |language=ru |work=[[:ru:TJ|TJournal.ru]] |date=19 September 2017 |access-date=2 July 2021 |archive-date=9 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709184314/https://tjournal.ru/flood/59637-na-wikileaks-opublikovali-podrobnosti-slezhki-specsluzhb-za-rossiyanami |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Cyber Units ===
In recent years, the FSB has expanded its mission to include foreign intelligence collection and offensive cyber operations. Cyber analysts have referred to FSB hackers as [[Berserk Bear]], [[Energetic Bear]], [[Gamaredon]], TeamSpy, Dragonfly, [[Havex]], [[Crouching Yeti]], and Koala.

The FSB reportedly has two primary centers overseeing its information security and cyber operations. The first is the 16th Center, which houses most of the FSB's signals intelligence capabilities. The FSB also includes the 18th Center for Information Security, which oversees domestic operations and security but conducts foreign operations as well. The U.S. government indicted 18th Center FSB officers in 2017 for breaching [[Yahoo! data breaches|Yahoo]] and millions of email accounts. In 2021, Ukrainian intelligence released information and recordings of 18th Center FSB officers based in [[Crimea]] as part of the "Gamaredon" hacking group.

Media reporting indicates FSB units are capable of manufacturing their own advanced malware tools and have been documented manipulating exposed malware to mimic other hacking teams and conceal their activities. Reporting indicates the FSB oversees training and research institutes, which directly support the FSB's cyber mission.

One FSB team reportedly focuses on penetrating infrastructure and energy sector targets. Most operations linked to this team appear to be reconnaissance or clandestine surveillance. The targeting of the energy sector has raised concern within the U.S. government. The [[Department of Homeland Security]] and the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] have documented the unit's reconnaissance and noted the possibility of inserting malware to cause future damage in an attack. The U.S. government also has linked the unit to attempts to penetrate state and local government networks in 2020.

Media reporting has documented close connections between the FSB and criminal and civilian hackers, which the FSB reportedly uses to augment and staff its cyber units. DOJ has indicted multiple Russian hackers for a variety of criminal and state-sponsored cyber activities. Many of these indictments describe the close relationship between criminal hackers and the FSB.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bowen |first=Andrew S. |date=2022-02-02 |title=In Focus: Russian Cyber Units |url=https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/IF/IF11718 |journal=Congressional Research Service |issue=IF11718 |pages=2}}</ref>

==Organization==
[[File:Moscow, Bolshaya Lubyanka 2 Jan 2010 02.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|The FSB headquarters at [[Lubyanka Square]]]]
[[File:RIAN archive 98400 The reception room in the building of the Federal Security Service.jpg|thumb|The reception room of the Federal Security Service building located on Kuznetsky Most in Moscow]]
{{Update|date=September 2009}}

===Director===
Since 2008, the director of the FSB has been General [[Alexander Bortnikov]].<ref name="TimesWhistle0307">{{cite news |title=This war will be a total failure, FSB whistleblower says |url=https://www.thetimes.com/world/russia-ukraine-war/article/this-war-will-be-a-total-failure-fsb-whistleblower-says-wl2gtdl9m |access-date=March 12, 2022 |work=[[The Times]] |date=March 7, 2022 |quote=A report thought to be by an analyst in the FSB, the successor agency to the KGB...said the FSB was being blamed for the failure of the invasion but had been given no warning of it and was unprepared to deal with the effects of crippling sanctions.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation - The Russian Government |url=http://government.ru/en/department/113/ |access-date=2025-03-02 |website=government.ru}}</ref>

===First Deputy Director===
The current First Deputy Director of the FSB is [[Sergei B. Korolev|Sergei Korolev]]. He was appointed by Russian President [[Vladimir Putin]] on 24 February 2021.<ref>{{cite news |title=Путин назначил первого заместителя директора ФСБ|trans-title=Putin appoints first deputy director of the FSB |url=https://www.rbc.ru/politics/04/03/2021/603fff959a7947e7196b264c |access-date=29 March 2022 |work=[[RBK Group|RBC.ru]] |date=4 March 2021 |language=ru}}</ref>

===Head of scientific and technical service===
As of 2022, [[Eduard Chernovoltsev]] was listed the Head of scientific and technical service of the FSB.<ref name="tad">{{cite news |title=Chernovoltsev Eduard Person |url=https://tadviser.com/index.php/Person:Chernovoltsev_Eduard |access-date=29 December 2022 |publisher=TAdviser}}</ref>

===Regional structure===
[[File:Lubyanka_Square_KGB_Computing_Centre.JPG|thumb|Center of Information Security of the FSB RF, [[Lubyanka Square]]]]
[[File:Construction FSB building, Kazan (2007-07-20) 04.jpg|thumb|FSB event in [[Kazan]], [[Tatarstan]]]]
Below the nationwide level, the FSB has regional offices in all the [[federal subjects of Russia]]. It also has administrations in the armed forces and other military institutions. Sub-departments exist for areas such as aviation, special training centers, forensic expertise, military medicine, etc.<ref name="schneider"/>

Structure of the Federal Office (incomplete):
*[[DKRO|Counterintelligence Service]] (Department) – chiefs: [[Oleg Syromolotov]] (since Aug 2000), Valery Pechyonkin (September 1997&nbsp;– August 2000)
**Directorate for the Counterintelligence Support of Strategic Facilities
**Military Counterintelligence Directorate&nbsp;– chiefs: [[Alexander Bezverkhny]] (at least since 2002), Vladimir Petrishchev (since January 1996)
*Service (Department) for Protection of the Constitutional System and the Fight against Terrorism&nbsp;– chiefs: [[Alexey Sedov]] (since March 2006), [[Alexander Bragin]] (2004&nbsp;– March 2006), [[Alexander Zhdankov]] (2001–2004), [[German Ugryumov]] (2000–2001)
**Directorate for Terrorism and Political Extremism Control&nbsp;– chiefs: [[Mikhail Belousov]], before him Grafov, before the latter [[Boris Mylnikov]] (since 2000)
*Economic Security Service (Department)&nbsp;– chiefs: [[Sergei Alpatov]] (acting since 4 March 2021),  [[Sergei B. Korolev|Sergei Korolev]] (June 2016 to 24 February 2021), {{Interlanguage link|Yuri V. Yakovlev|ru|Яковлев, Юрий Владимирович}} (2008 to June 2016), [[Alexander Bortnikov]] (2 March 2004 to 2008), [[Yury Zaostrovtsev]] (January 2000&nbsp;– March 2004), [[Viktor Ivanov (politician)|Viktor Ivanov]] (April 1999&nbsp;– January 2000), [[Nikolay Patrushev]] (1998&nbsp;– April 1999), [[Alexander Grigoryev]] (28 August&nbsp;– 1 October 1998).
*Operational Information and International Relations Service (Analysis, Forecasting, and Strategic Planning Department)&nbsp;– chiefs: [[Sergey Beseda]] (since 2009), [[Viktor Komogorov]] (1999–2009), [[Sergei Ivanov]] (1998–1999); The successor of the KGB's Fifth Service, this department is in charge of counterintelligence operations against territories of the former Soviet Union.<ref name="2022_0225RUSI">{{cite web |title=Ukraine Through Russia's Eyes |url=https://rusi.org/explore-our-research/publications/commentary/ukraine-through-russias-eyes |publisher=[[Royal United Services Institute]] |access-date=March 12, 2022 |date=February 25, 2022 |quote=The KGB’s Fifth Service had been responsible for counterintelligence in the territories of the former Soviet Union. When the KGB became the FSB in the 1990s, and these territories became independent states, the Fifth Service transitioned into an intelligence agency targeting Russia's neighbours. Its Department for Operational Information is responsible for compiling data on Russia's 'near abroad'}}</ref>
*Organizational and Personnel Service (Department)&nbsp;– chiefs: [[Yevgeny Lovyrev]] (since 2001), Yevgeny Solovyov (before Lovyrev)
*Department for Activity Provision&nbsp;– chiefs: [[Mikhail Shekin]] (since September 2006), [[Sergey Shishin]] (before Shekin), [[Pyotr Pereverzev]] (as of 2004), [[Alexander Strelkov]] (before Pereverzev)
*[[Border Guard Service of Russia|Border Guard Service]]&nbsp;– chiefs: [[Vladimir Pronichev]] (since 2003)
*Control Service&nbsp;– chiefs: [[Alexander Zhdankov]] (since 2004)[[File:Рашид Нургалиев и Александр Бортников.jpeg|thumb|[[Rashid Nurgaliyev]] (left) and [[Alexander Bortnikov]] in April 2010]]
**Inspection Directorate&nbsp;– chiefs: [[Vladimir Anisimov]] (2004 – May 2005), [[Rashid Nurgaliyev]] (12 July 2000 – 2002),
**Internal Security Directorate&nbsp;– chiefs: [[Alexander Kupryazhkin]] (until September 2006), [[Sergei Shishin]] (before Kupryazhkin since December 2002), [[Sergei Mikhailovich Smirnov|Sergei Smirnov]] (April 1999&nbsp;– December 2002), [[Viktor Ivanov (politician)|Viktor Ivanov]] (1998&nbsp;– April 1999), [[Nikolay Patrushev]] (1994–1998)
*Science and Engineering Service (Department)&nbsp;– chiefs: [[Nikolai Klimashin]]
*Center of Information Security
*Investigation Directorate&nbsp;– chiefs: [[Nikolay Oleshko]] (since December 2004), [[Yury Anisimov]] (as of 2004), [[Viktor Milchenko]] (since 2002), [[Sergey Balashov]] (until 2002 since at least 2001), [[Vladimir Galkin]] (as of 1997 and 1998)

Besides the services (departments) and directorates of the federal office, the territorial directorates of FSB in the [[Federal subjects of Russia|federal subjects]] are also subordinate to it. Of these, St. Petersburg and Leningrad Oblast Directorate of FSB and its predecessors (historically covering both Leningrad/[[Saint Petersburg]] and [[Leningrad Oblast]]) have played especially important roles in the history of this organization, as many of the officers of the Directorate, including [[Vladimir Putin]] and [[Nikolay Patrushev]], later assumed important positions within the federal FSB office or other government bodies. After the last Chief of the Soviet time, [[Anatoly Kurkov]], the St. Petersburg and Leningrad Oblast Directorate were led by [[Sergei Stepashin]] (29 November 1991 – 1992), [[Viktor Cherkesov]] (1992&nbsp;–1998), [[Alexander Grigoryev]] (1 October 1998&nbsp;– 5 January 2001), Sergei Smirnov (5 January 2001&nbsp;– June 2003), [[Alexander Bortnikov]] (June 2003&nbsp;– March 2004) and [[Yury Ignashchenkov]] (since March 2004).

===Directors of the FSB===
On 20 June 1996, [[Boris Yeltsin]] fired [[Director of FSB]] [[Mikhail Barsukov]] and appointed [[Nikolay Kovalyov (politician)|Nikolay Kovalyov]] as acting Director and later Director of the FSB. Aleksander Bortnikov took over on 12 May 2008.
{{div col|colwidth=27em}}
* [[Nikolai Golushko]], December 1993 – February 1994
* [[Sergei Stepashin]], February 1994 – June 1995
* [[Mikhail Barsukov]], July 1995 – June 1996
* [[Nikolay Kovalyov (politician)|Nikolai Kovalyov]], July 1996 – July 1998
* [[Vladimir Putin]], July 1998 – August 1999
* [[Nikolai Patrushev]], August 1999 – 12 May 2008
* [[Alexander Bortnikov]], 12 May 2008 – present
{{div col end}}

{{Anchor|Criticism of FSB political role in Russia and Possible Human Rights Violations}}

==Criticism==
[[File:Volgodonsk 1999.jpg|thumb|200px|Aftermath of the [[1999 Russian apartment bombings]]]]
The FSB has been criticised for [[corruption]], [[human rights violations]] and [[secret police]] activities. Some Kremlin critics such as [[Alexander Litvinenko]] have claimed that the FSB is engaged in suppression of internal dissent; Litvinenko died in 2006 as a result of [[polonium]] poisoning.<ref name="Murray">[https://www.cbc.ca/news2/reportsfromabroad/murray/20061219.html "The sadistic poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019040836/https://www.cbc.ca/news2/reportsfromabroad/murray/20061219.html |date=19 October 2017 }} – by Don Murray;- CBC News, 2006</ref> Litvinenko, along with a series of other authors such as [[Yury Felshtinsky]], [[David Satter]], [[Boris Kagarlitsky]], [[Vladimir Pribylovsky]], [[Mikhail Trepashkin]], have claimed that the 1999 [[Russian apartment bombings|apartment bombings]] in [[Moscow]] and other Russian cities were a [[false flag]] attack coordinated by the FSB in order to win public support for a new full-scale [[Second Chechen War|war in Chechnya]] and boost former FSB director and then prime minister [[Vladimir Putin]]'s popularity in the lead-up to [[1999 Russian legislative election|parliamentary elections]] and presidential transfer of power.{{efn|Attributed to multiple sources: <ref>[[Blowing Up Russia: Terror from Within]]</ref><ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-19647226 Who was Alexander Litvinenko] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170114072258/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-19647226 |date=14 January 2017 }} [[BBC]], 13 December 2012.</ref><ref name="Kagarlitsky">{{cite web |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/russia-planned-chechen-war-before-bombings-727324.html |title=''Boris Kagarlitsky, a member of the Russian Academy of Sciences Institute of Comparative Politics, writing in the weekly Novaya Gazeta, says that the bombings in Moscow and elsewhere were arranged by the GRU'' |website=[[Independent.co.uk]] |access-date=27 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090827150331/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/russia-planned-chechen-war-before-bombings-727324.html |archive-date=27 August 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="DavidSatter">{{cite web|url=https://www.hudson.org/files/publications/SatterHouseTestimony2007.pdf |title=David Satter&nbsp;– House Committee on Foreign Affairs|access-date=2012-01-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927065706/https://www.hudson.org/files/publications/SatterHouseTestimony2007.pdf |archive-date=27 September 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Felshtinsky |first1=Yuri |author-link1=Yuri Felshtinsky |last2=Pribylovsky |first2=Vladimir |author-link2=Vladimir Pribylovsky |name-list-style=amp |date=2008 |title=The Age of Assassins. The Rise and Rise of Vladimir Putin |location=London, UK |publisher=Gibson Square Books |pages=105–111 |isbn=978-1-906142-07-0}}</ref><ref name="Videoat">{{youTube|PnkYo9TuBIQ}}''In Memoriam Aleksander Litvinenko'', Jos de Putter, Tegenlicht documentary VPRO 2007, Moscow, 2004 Interview with [[Anna Politkovskaya]]</ref><ref name="RussianFederation">{{Cite web |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/eur46/012/2006/en/?open&of=ENG-2EU |title=Russian Federation: Amnesty International's concerns and recommendations in the case of Mikhail Trepashkin – Amnesty International |date=23 March 2006 |access-date=20 November 2018 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181221134701/https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/eur46/012/2006/en/?open&of=ENG-2EU |archive-date=21 December 2018}}</ref><ref name="BombBlamed">{{cite web |title=Bomb Blamed in Fatal Moscow Apartment Blast |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-sep-10-mn-8677-story.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019040837/https://articles.latimes.com/1999/sep/10/news/mn-8677 |archive-date=19 October 2017 |author=Richard C. Paddock |work=Los Angeles Times |url-status=live |date=10 September 1999}}</ref><ref name="Atleast">{{cite web |url=https://www.cnn.com/WORLD/europe/9909/10/russia.explosion.03/ |archive-date=11 December 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081211121823/http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/europe/9909/10/russia.explosion.03/ |url-status=dead |title=At least 90 dead in Moscow apartment blast |website=CNN |date=10 September 1999 |access-date=3 March 2022 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Evangelista|first=Matthew|title=The Chechen Wars: Will Russia Go the Way of the Soviet Union?|publisher=Brookings Institution Press|year=2002 |isbn=978-0-8157-2499-5|url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/chechenwars00matt|page=81}}</ref><ref name="DidPutin">{{cite web |url=https://www.questia.com/library/1G1-61892243/did-putin-s-agents-plant-the-bombs |author=Jamie Dettmer |date=17 April 2000 |title=Did Putin's Agents Plant the Bombs? |work=[[Insight on the News]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220303130021/https://www.gale.com/databases/questia |archive-date=3 March 2022}}</ref><ref name="Theconsolidation">’'The consolidation of Dictatorship in Russia'’ by [[Joel M. Ostrow]], [[Georgil Satarov]], [[Irina Khakamada]] p.96</ref>}} The FSB has been further criticized by some for failure to bring Islamist terrorism in Russia under control.<ref>[https://www.defac.ac.uk/colleges/csrc/document-listings/russian/04(01)-MAS.pdf Russia After The Presidential Election] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070926231555/https://www.defac.ac.uk/colleges/csrc/document-listings/russian/04(01)-MAS.pdf |date=26 September 2007 }} by Mark A. Smith [[Conflict Studies Research Centre]]</ref> In the mid-2000s, the pro-Kremlin Russian sociologist [[Olga Kryshtanovskaya]] claimed that the FSB played a dominant role in the country's political, economic and even cultural life.<ref name="Finn">[https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/11/AR2006121101434.html ''In Russia, A Secretive Force Widens''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101118094551/https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/11/AR2006121101434.html |date=18 November 2010 }} – by P. Finn&nbsp;— Washington Post, 2006</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=The making of a neo-KGB state |url=https://www.economist.com/node/9682621 |newspaper=[[The Economist]] |access-date=18 July 2013 |date=23 August 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131009032052/https://www.economist.com/node/9682621 |archive-date=9 October 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.novayagazeta.ru/society/18104.html |title=ПОГОНОВОЖАТЫЕ |date=17 May 1985 |access-date=9 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140815103444/https://www.novayagazeta.ru/society/18104.html |archive-date=15 August 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref>

After the annexation of Crimea, the FSB may also have been responsible for the forced disappearances and torture of [[Crimean Tatars|Crimean Tatar]] activists and public figures. According to the [[United Nations]], in occupied Crimea, the FSB used torture with elements of sexual violence against pro-Ukrainian activists, forcing them to confess to crimes related to terrorism. The detainees were, allegedly, beaten, tortured with electric shocks in the genitals and threatened with rape.<ref>[https://www.bbc.com/russian/news-41386295.amp ООН заявила о нарушении прав человека в Крыму: что есть в докладе?]</ref><ref name="UNHCR_2017">{{cite web |title=UN report details grave human rights violations in Russian-occupied Crimea |url=https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2017/09/un-report-details-grave-human-rights-violations-russian-occupied-crimea |publisher=UNHCR |access-date=October 19, 2023 |date=November 25, 2017 |quote=The report cites two cases documented by the UN Human Rights Office in 2016, when pro-Ukrainian supporters were allegedly compelled by FSB officers to confess to terrorism-related crimes through torture with elements of sexual violence.}}</ref> Some, such as Oleh Sentsov, have been detained and accused in politically motivated [[kangaroo court]]s.<ref>{{Cite news|last1=Yakovlieva |first1=Iryna|last2=Colville|first2=Rupert Colville|date=25 September 2017|title=UN report details grave human rights violations in Russian-occupied Crimea|work=United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner|url=https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=22140|access-date=9 April 2021|archive-date=7 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210507221738/https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=22140|url-status=live}}</ref> The FSB spied on and filmed a gathering of members of the [[Jehovah's Witnesses]] while they were about to undergo baptism rites, with the videos used as evidence in a trial against the defendants in 2021; Jehovah's Witnesses have been banned as a group in Russia since 2017 for "extremism".<ref>{{Cite news |title=Camera In The Banya |newspaper=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |date=14 May 2021 |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/camera-in-the-banya-russian-fsb-spied-on-jehovahs-witnesses-in-bathhouse-/31255350.html |access-date=24 May 2021 |url-status=live |archive-date=24 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210524213135/https://www.rferl.org/a/camera-in-the-banya-russian-fsb-spied-on-jehovahs-witnesses-in-bathhouse-/31255350.html}}</ref>

In spite of various anti-corruption actions of the Russian government, FSB operatives and officials are routinely found in the center of various fraud, [[Racket (crime)|racket]] and [[corruption]] scandals.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/vladimir-putins-top-cops-some-in-the-fsb-are-mobsters-even-kgb-vets-are-ashamed|title=Some of Putin's Top Cops Are Mobsters. Even KGB Vets Are Ashamed|last=Nemtsova|first=Anna |date=2019-07-10 |access-date=2019-07-10|url-status=live|archive-date=10 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190710205605/https://www.thedailybeast.com/vladimir-putins-top-cops-some-in-the-fsb-are-mobsters-even-kgb-vets-are-ashamed}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title="Everything's falling down." Major General comments on recent arrests in FSB|url=https://en.crimerussia.com/organizedcrime/everything-s-falling-down-major-general-comments-on-recent-arrests-in-fsb/|access-date=2019-07-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190710192909/https://en.crimerussia.com/organizedcrime/everything-s-falling-down-major-general-comments-on-recent-arrests-in-fsb/|archive-date=10 July 2019|url-status=live |website=en.crimerussia.com}}</ref> FSB officers have been frequently accused of torture,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.newsweek.com/russias-antifa-being-tortured-and-detained-putins-shadowy-security-service-874087|title=Russia's Antifa is being tortured and detained by Putin's shadowy security service, sources say|last=Maza|first=Cristina |date=2018-04-06|website=Newsweek|language=en|access-date=2019-06-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190816172048/https://www.newsweek.com/russias-antifa-being-tortured-and-detained-putins-shadowy-security-service-874087|archive-date=16 August 2019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="urlCrimea: Persecution of Crimean Tatars Intensifies | Human Rights Watch">{{cite web |url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/11/14/crimea-persecution-crimean-tatars-intensifies |title=Crimea: Persecution of Crimean Tatars Intensifies &#124; Human Rights Watch |date=14 November 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180803233824/https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/11/14/crimea-persecution-crimean-tatars-intensifies |archive-date=3 August 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="urlRussian Terrorism Suspects Allege Torture at Secret FSB Site">{{cite news |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-metro-bombing-azimov-brothers-fsb-torture/28637695.html |title=Russian Terrorism Suspects Allege Torture At 'Secret' FSB Site |newspaper=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |date=26 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180910204515/https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-metro-bombing-azimov-brothers-fsb-torture/28637695.html |archive-date=10 September 2018 |url-status=live|last1=Schreck |first1=Carl }}</ref><ref name="url“You should understand: FSB officers always get their way!”: Anti-fascist Viktor Filinkov reveals how he was tortured by Russian security services | openDemocracy">{{cite web |url=https://www.opendemocracy.net/od-russia/viktor-filinkov/fsb-officers-always-get-their-way |title="You should understand: FSB officers always get their way!": Anti-fascist Viktor Filinkov reveals how he was tortured by Russian security services &#124; openDemocracy |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180910165234/https://www.opendemocracy.net/od-russia/viktor-filinkov/fsb-officers-always-get-their-way |archive-date=10 September 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="urlCrimean Tatar Close To Dzhemilev Says He Was Tortured By Russian FSB">{{cite news |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/crimean-tatar-close-to-dzhemilev-says-he-was-tortured-by-russian-fsb/29355350.html |title=Crimean Tatar Close To Dzhemilev Says He Was Tortured By Russian FSB |newspaper=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |date=10 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180911110706/https://www.rferl.org/a/crimean-tatar-close-to-dzhemilev-says-he-was-tortured-by-russian-fsb/29355350.html |archive-date=11 September 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> extortion, bribery and illegal takeovers of private companies, often working together with tax inspection officers. Active and former FSB officers are also present as "[[curator]]s" in "almost every single large enterprise", both in public and private sectors.<ref>{{cite web|title=Предприниматель, бежавший из России, рассказал как ФСБ у него "отжимала" бизнес|date=19 July 2015  |url=https://tvrain.ru/teleshow/here_and_now/predprinimatel_bezhavshij_iz_rossii_rasskazal_kak_fsb_u_nego_otzhimala_biznes-391236/|website=tvrain.ru|access-date=2015-07-19|archive-date=20 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150720150804/https://tvrain.ru/teleshow/here_and_now/predprinimatel_bezhavshij_iz_rossii_rasskazal_kak_fsb_u_nego_otzhimala_biznes-391236/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Дмитрий |last=Волчек|script-title=ru:ФСБ контролирует буквально все|title=FSB controls literally everything|language=ru|url=https://www.svoboda.org/content/article/27134684.html|newspaper=Радио Свобода |access-date=2015-07-19|url-status=live|archive-date=20 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150720210840/https://www.svoboda.org/content/article/27134684.html}}</ref> Several unnamed current and former officials described the FSB as less effective than the KGB, describing it as "rife with corruption, beset by bureaucratic bloat and ultimately out of touch", in a report by ''[[The Washington Post]]'' in 2022.<ref name="WaPo0411" />''

On 29 December 2016, the [[White House]] accused and sanctioned the FSB and several other Russian companies for what the US intelligence agencies said was their role in helping the Russian military intelligence service, the [[GRU (Russian Federation)|Main Intelligence Directorate]] (GRU) disrupt and spread disinformation during the [[2016 United States presidential election|2016 US presidential election]]. In addition, the [[State Department]] also declared 35 Russian diplomats and officials [[persona non-grata]] and denied Russian government officials access to two Russian-owned installations in [[Maryland]] and [[New York (state)|New York]].<ref>{{cite web|title=FACT SHEET: Actions in Response to Russian Malicious Cyber Activity and Harassment|url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2016/12/29/fact-sheet-actions-response-russian-malicious-cyber-activity-and|access-date=31 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170121093005/https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2016/12/29/fact-sheet-actions-response-russian-malicious-cyber-activity-and|archive-date=21 January 2017|via=[[NARA|National Archives]]|work=[[whitehouse.gov]]|date=29 December 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>

An investigation by [[Bellingcat]] and ''[[The Insider (website)|The Insider]]'' implicated FSB agents in the [[poisoning of Alexei Navalny|poisoning]] of opposition leader [[Alexei Navalny]] in August 2020, where he became ill during a flight.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-54012278|title=Alexei Navalny: Two hours that saved Russian opposition leader's life|website=BBC News|date=4 September 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-55303703|title=Alexei Navalny: Report names 'Russian agents' in poisoning case|website=BBC News|date=14 December 2020}}</ref>

It was reported that during the [[Russian invasion of Ukraine|2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine]], FSB officers carried out filtration activities in [[Mariupol]], which were accompanied by searches, interrogations, forced deportations to Russia, beatings and torture.<ref>[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-61683513.amp  The Russians said beatings were my re-education], [[BBC]]</ref>

According to an investigative report by {{Lang|ru-latn|[[Novaya Gazeta]]}}, some of the [[suspicious deaths of Russian businesspeople (2022–2024)|suspicious deaths of Russian businesspeople]] in 2022–2023 may possibly be connected to large scale [[Accounting scandals|accounting fraud]] by [[Gazprom]] executives, who may have funneled money to a network of businesses owned by friends and family members with ties to the FSB and Russian military.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Gazprom: Russia's state corruption giant |author=Alisa Kashperskaya, [[Ilya Shumanov]]|work=Novaya Gazeta  |date=9 March 2023 |access-date=9 March 2023 |url=https://novayagazeta.eu/articles/2023/03/09/gazprom-russias-state-corruption-giant-en |language=en |archive-date=9 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230309181121/https://novayagazeta.eu/articles/2023/03/09/gazprom-russias-state-corruption-giant-en |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Role in the Russian doping scandal===
{{Main|Doping in Russia|McLaren Report}}
Following the broadcast of a documentary film alleging systematic doping in Russia, [[World Anti-Doping Agency]] (WADA) president [[Craig Reedie]] authorized an Independent Commission (IC) to investigate the issues brought up by the documentary in 2015. The IC authorized a review of practices on whether there were any breaches by the [[Russian Anti-Doping Agency]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Independent Commission Report #1 |url=https://www.wada-ama.org/en/resources/independent-commission-report-1 |access-date=2022-04-07 |website=World Anti-Doping Agency |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=The Independent Commission Report #1 |url=https://www.wada-ama.org/sites/default/files/resources/files/wada_independent_commission_report_1_en.pdf |publisher=[[World Anti-Doping Agency|WADA]] |date=November 9, 2015 |access-date=7 April 2022 |pages=3 |archive-date=7 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171207031456/https://www.wada-ama.org/sites/default/files/resources/files/wada_independent_commission_report_1_en.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> The report found direct interference into the laboratory's operations by the Russian State undermined the laboratory's independence and that tests conducted by the laboratory were highly suspect. The report elaborates on the role of the FSB:{{blockquote|text=[A] laboratory staff member reported that an FSB agent regularly visits the [[Moscow Anti-Doping Laboratory|Moscow laboratory]]. The IC sources within the laboratory identified the FSB agent as Evgeniy Blotkin/Blokhin. Sources reported that Moscow laboratory [[Grigory Rodchenkov|Director Rodchenkov]] was required to meet with Evgeniy Blotkin weekly to update him on the "mood of WADA". One laboratory staff member provided information to IC investigators about the suspected bugging or wiretapping of telephones, while another staff member reported that office spaces within the Moscow laboratory were monitored (bugged) by the FSB in order to be informed of the laboratory's activities. This could not be independently verified by the IC, but the reported statements demonstrate the perceptions of laboratory officials, who believe they are under constant state surveillance. This perception is also fuelled by the FSB's regular visits to the laboratory and the questioning of its staff members. For example, the IC learned that staff members were routinely questioned by FSB upon their return from global laboratory and WADA seminars. Following the airing of the ARD documentary, select laboratory staff members were directed by the FSB not to cooperate with the WADA investigation.|source=13.4 FSB Influence|author=World Anti-Doping Agency|title=The Independent Commission Report #1|multiline=true}}

In January 2016, the head of Russia's anti-doping laboratory [[Grigory Rodchenkov]] fled Russia and exposed the doping program, which included members of the FSB replacing tainted urine samples with older, clean ones.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/13/sports/russia-doping-sochi-olympics-2014.html|title=Russian Insider Says State-Run Doping Fueled Olympic Gold|last1=Ruiz|first1=Rebecca R.|date=12 May 2016|work=The New York Times|access-date=8 December 2017|last2=Schwirtz|first2=Michael|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> As a result of the scandals the [[International Association of Athletics Federations]] suspended Russia from all international athletic competitions including the [[2016 Summer Olympics]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Mogan |first=Tony |date=17 June 2016 |title=Russia athletes banned from 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro after IAAF uphold suspension |url=http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/russia-banned-2016-olympic-games-rio-de-janeiro-after-iaaf-uphold-suspension-1566096 |publisher=}}</ref>

In July 2016, the first [[McLaren Report]] found that "beyond a reasonable doubt" the Russian [[Ministry of Sport (Russia)|Ministry of Sport]], the Centre of Sports Preparation of the National Teams of Russia, the FSB, and the WADA-accredited laboratory in Moscow "operated for the protection of doped Russian athletes" within a "state-directed failsafe system" using "the disappearing positive [test] methodology".<ref>{{Cite web |title=McLaren Independent Investigation Report - Part I |url=https://www.wada-ama.org/en/resources/mclaren-independent-investigation-report-part-i |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220127010321/https://www.wada-ama.org/en/resources/mclaren-independent-investigation-report-part-i |archive-date=27 Jan 2022 |access-date=2022-04-07 |website=World Anti-Doping Agency |language=en}}</ref><ref name="NYT160718">{{cite news |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/19/sports/report-confirms-state-sponsored-doping-by-russia-at-olympics.html |title= Russia May Face Olympics Ban as Doping Scheme Is Confirmed |first= Rebecca R. |last= Ruiz |work= The New York Times |date= 18 July 2016 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/olympics/story/_/id/17100024/takeaways-mclaren-report-confusion-corruption-cynicism|title=Takeaways from McLaren report? Confusion, corruption, cynicism|date=18 July 2016|publisher=}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://ftw.usatoday.com/2016/07/the-damning-mclaren-report-on-russian-olympic-doping-explained|title=The damning McLaren Report on Russian Olympic doping, explained|date=18 July 2016|publisher=}}</ref> In a second McLaren Report released December 2016, it was found that <blockquote>In the period before the Sochi Games, a "clean urine bank" was established at the FSB Command Centre, which was situated immediately adjacent to the Sochi Laboratory. Inside that building a dedicated room containing several large freezers was set up for the purpose of storing the clean urine samples.<ref>{{Cite web |title=McLaren Independent Investigation Report - Part II |url=https://www.wada-ama.org/en/resources/mclaren-independent-investigation-report-part-ii |access-date=2022-04-07 |website=World Anti-Doping Agency |language=en}}</ref></blockquote>

===Crocus City Hall attack===
{{See also|Disinformation in the Russian invasion of Ukraine#Involvement in the Crocus City Hall attack}}
[[File:Terrorist attack at the Crocus City Hall in Moscow aftermath.jpg|thumb|Emergency services responding to the [[Crocus City Hall attack]]]]
On 7 March the [[Embassy of the United States, Moscow|United States Embassy in Moscow]] warned that "extremists have imminent plans to target large gatherings in Moscow, to include concerts"<ref>{{cite news |last1=Barnes |first1=Julian |last2=Méheut |first2=Constant |last3=Troianovski |first3=Anton |title=US Warned About Possible Moscow Attack Before Concert Hall Shooting |url-status=live |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/22/world/europe/moscow-concert-attack-us-embassy.html |access-date=23 March 2024 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=22 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240322215109/https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/22/world/europe/moscow-concert-attack-us-embassy.html |archive-date=22 March 2024}}</ref> That day, the US also privately warned Russian officials of the danger of an impending attack from IS–KP from intelligence gathered earlier in March, under the US intelligence community's "[[duty to warn]]" requirement,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Barnes |first1=Julian E. |last2=Schmitt |first2=Eric |author-link2=Eric P. Schmitt |date=22 March 2024 |title=US Says ISIS Was Responsible for Deadly Moscow Concert Hall Attack |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/22/world/europe/isis-moscow-attack-concert-hall.html |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240322225756/https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/22/world/europe/isis-moscow-attack-concert-hall.html |archive-date=22 March 2024 |access-date=22 March 2024 |work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref> specifically mentioning the Crocus City Hall venue.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Harris |first1=Shane |title=U.S. told Russia that Crocus City Hall was possible target of attack |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2024/04/02/us-warning-russia-isis-crocus/ |access-date=10 April 2024 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=2 April 2024 |archive-date=7 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240407194814/https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2024/04/02/us-warning-russia-isis-crocus/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Ten days after the attack it was reported that [[Iran]] had also warned Russia that a major "terrorist operation" was being planned, based on information gathered from IS militants arrested after the [[2024 Kerman bombings]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Exclusive: Iran alerted Russia to security threat before Moscow attack |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/iran-alerted-russia-security-threat-before-moscow-attack-sources-say-2024-04-01/ |work=[[Reuters]] |date=1 April 2024}}</ref>

Three days before the Crocus City Hall attack, President [[Vladimir Putin]] told the board of the FSB that Western warnings of a potential attack inside Russia were "provocative" and "resemble outright blackmail and the intention to intimidate and destabilise our society".<ref>{{cite news |last=Corera |first=Gordon |title=Moscow attack: Did Russia ignore US 'extremist' attacks warning? |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-68646375 |access-date=25 March 2024 |work=[[BBC News]] |date=23 March 2024 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240323165443/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-68646375 |archive-date=23 March 2024}}</ref>

On 22 March 2024, four Tajik [[Islamic State – Khorasan Province|ISIS–K]] gunmen launched an [[Crocus City Hall attack|attack on a concert hall]] in [[Krasnogorsk, Moscow Oblast|Krasnogorsk]], Russia, with rifles and incendiaries.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/22/us/politics/isis-k-moscow-attack.html |title=What We Know About ISIS-K, the Group That Claimed Responsibility for the Moscow Attack |first=Eric |last=Schmitt |author-link=Eric Schmitt |date=22 March 2024 |access-date=23 March 2024 |newspaper=[[New York Times]]}}</ref> The attack, claimed by ISIS–K, killed 144 and injured 551 and marked the deadliest attack on Russian soil since the [[Beslan school siege]] in 2004. Putin and the FSB suggested that [[Ukraine]] was involved in the attack, without offering evidence.<ref>{{cite news |date=26 March 2024 |title=Russia's Putin says 'radical Islamists' behind Moscow concert hall attack |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/3/25/russias-putin-says-radical-islamists-behind-moscow-concert-hall-attack |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240326023653/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/3/25/russias-putin-says-radical-islamists-behind-moscow-concert-hall-attack |archive-date=26 March 2024 |access-date=26 March 2024 |work=Al Jazeera}}</ref> [[Alexander Bortnikov]], the head of the FSB, said that "radical Islamists" prepared the attack with help from Ukrainian and Western "special services".<ref>{{cite news |title=Russia blames Ukraine, the West over Moscow concert hall attack |url=https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20240326-russia-blames-ukraine-the-west-over-moscow-concert-hall-attack |access-date=26 March 2024 |work=France 24 |date=26 March 2024 |archive-date=26 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240326202739/https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20240326-russia-blames-ukraine-the-west-over-moscow-concert-hall-attack |url-status=live }}</ref> Bortnikov claimed that the US warning was "of a general nature".<ref>{{cite news |title=Russia persists in blaming Ukraine for concert attack despite its denial and Islamic State's claim |url=https://apnews.com/article/russia-moscow-krasnogorsk-gunmen-concert-hall-fire-cf12eabb9cad1a7437ad8fae821b87ca |work=[[Associated Press]] |date=27 March 2024 |access-date=27 March 2024 |archive-date=27 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240327131033/https://apnews.com/article/russia-moscow-krasnogorsk-gunmen-concert-hall-fire-cf12eabb9cad1a7437ad8fae821b87ca |url-status=live }}</ref>

IS-affiliated [[Amaq News Agency]] published a video filmed by one of the attackers.<ref>{{cite news |last=Roth |first=Andrew |title=New Islamic State videos back claim it carried out Moscow concert hall attack |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/mar/24/new-islamic-state-videos-back-claim-it-carried-out-moscow-concert-hall-attack |access-date=24 March 2024 |work=the Guardian |publisher=Guardian News & Media |date=24 March 2024 |archive-date=24 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240324131035/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/mar/24/new-islamic-state-videos-back-claim-it-carried-out-moscow-concert-hall-attack |url-status=live }}</ref> Ukraine denied any involvement in the attack, and described the FSB's claims that the perpetrators of the Crocus City Hall attack tried to escape to Ukraine as "very doubtful and primitive" [[Disinformation in the Russian invasion of Ukraine|disinformation]], recalling that the border is heavily guarded by soldiers and drones, mined in many areas, and constantly shelled from both sides.<ref>{{cite news |title=Center for Countering Disinformation pushes back against Russian allegations of involvement in mass shooting |url=https://english.nv.ua/nation/ukraine-denies-russia-propaganda-about-involvement-in-moscow-mass-shooting-50403759.html |work=[[The New Voice of Ukraine]] |date=23 March 2024}}</ref> A short video on Telegram allegedly showed one of the suspects being tortured by FSB agents, who cut off his ear and forced him to eat it.<ref>{{cite news |date=23 March 2024 |title=Video circulates showing Russian security agent cutting off the ear of an apprehended terrorist suspect and forcing him to eat it |url=https://meduza.io/en/news/2024/03/23/video-circulates-showing-russian-security-agent-cutting-off-the-ear-of-an-apprehended-terrorist-suspect-and-forcing-him-to-eat-it |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240323164921/https://meduza.io/en/news/2024/03/23/video-circulates-showing-russian-security-agent-cutting-off-the-ear-of-an-apprehended-terrorist-suspect-and-forcing-him-to-eat-it |archive-date=23 March 2024 |access-date=23 March 2024 |work=[[Meduza]]}}</ref>

Navalny associate [[Ivan Zhdanov]] criticized Russian security services for their "catastrophic incompetence" and the FSB for being "busy with everything except its direct responsibilities – killing their political opponents, spying on citizens and [[Russian 2022 war censorship laws|prosecuting people who are against the war]]." Another associate, [[Leonid Volkov (politician)|Leonid Volkov]], said that the FSB "can't do the only job it really should be doing: preventing a real, nightmarish terrorist attack."<ref>{{cite news |last=Cordell |first=Jake |agency=Agence France-Presse |date=24 March 2024 |title=Russian Opposition Blasts Putin's Broken Security Promises After Moscow Attack |url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2024/03/24/russian-opposition-blasts-putins-broken-security-promises-after-moscow-attack-a84605 |access-date=25 March 2024 |publisher=[[The Moscow Times]] |archive-date=24 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240324205839/https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2024/03/24/russian-opposition-blasts-putins-broken-security-promises-after-moscow-attack-a84605 |url-status=live }}</ref> ''[[Novaya Gazeta Europe]]''{{'}}s chief editor, [[Kirill Martynov]], criticized Putin for dismissing Western intelligence warnings and focusing resources on "[[Russian anti-LGBTQ law|LGBT extremists]]" and the war with Ukraine instead of guarding against "real threats".<ref>{{cite news|title = Fear stalks Russia after Moscow massacre as Putin's allies play blame game|url = https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/3/25/fear-stalks-russia-after-moscow-massacre-as-putins-allies-play-blame-game|website = Al Jazeera|date = 25 March 2024|access-date = 25 March 2024|archive-date = 25 March 2024|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20240325144820/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/3/25/fear-stalks-russia-after-moscow-massacre-as-putins-allies-play-blame-game|url-status = live}}</ref>

===Ukrainian invasion of the Kursk Oblast===
{{See also|August 2024 Kursk Oblast incursion}}
In August 2024, Ukrainian forces [[August 2024 Kursk Oblast incursion|crossed the border]] into [[Kursk Oblast]] during the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine resulting in part of the oblast becoming under [[Ukrainian occupation of Kursk oblast |Ukrainian occupation]]. All legal national borders of Russia are controlled by the [[FSB Border Service of Russia|FSB Border Guard]] under the command of FSB director Alexander Bortnikov.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Weiss |first1=Michael |title=How Ukraine Caught Putin's Forces Off Guard in Kursk — And Why |url=https://newlinesmag.com/spotlight/how-ukraine-caught-putins-forces-off-guard-in-kursk-and-why/ |work=New Lines Magazine |date=14 August 2024}}</ref> Since most of the best Russian troops were deployed in Ukraine, most of the men guarding the border in the Kursk Oblast were young, inexperienced [[Conscription in Russia|conscripts]] from the FSB Border Service and lightly equipped army infantry units (all male citizens of Russia aged 18–30 are subject to conscription for 1 year of active duty military service),<ref>{{cite news |title=How the Ukrainian army easily entered Russia and is holding its positions |url=https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2024/08/14/how-the-ukrainian-army-easily-entered-russia-and-is-holding-its-positions_6715079_4.html# |work=[[Le Monde]] |date=14 August 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Russia left 'mainly kids' and conscripts to defend its borders, Ukrainian soldier says after surprise attack |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/ukraine-soldier-russia-troops-kursk-kids-mandatory-service-wsj-2024-8 |work=Business Insider |date=13 August 2024}}</ref> who suffered heavy losses in combat with experienced Ukrainian troops.<ref name="thebarentsobserver">{{cite news |title=As Ukraine advances in Kursk, families of north Russian conscripts cry mercy |url=https://thebarentsobserver.com/en/security/2024/08/ukraine-advances-kursk-families-north-russian-conscripts-cry-mercy |work=The Barents Observer |date=15 August 2024}}</ref> Some of the conscripts stationed on the border with Ukraine were even purportedly unarmed.<ref>{{cite news |title=Putin promised poorly trained conscripts wouldn't be sent to war. Now the front line has come to them |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2024/08/16/europe/russia-putin-war-ukraine-intl-latam/index.html |work=CNN |date=16 August 2024}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Russia}}
*[[Awards of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation]]
*[[Federal Protective Service (Russia)|Federal Protective Service]], government protection agency
*[[Intelligence agencies of Russia]]
*[[SORM]], law that allows the FSB to monitor communications
*[[Third Section of His Imperial Majesty's Own Chancellery]]
*[[Vulkan files leak]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}{{Congressional Research Service|article=Russian Cyber Units|url=https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/IF/IF11718|author=Andrew S. Bowen}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite journal|url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/13691481241258108|title=The Autocrat's Indispensable Service: How Russian Intelligence secured Vladimir Putin's Regime after failing him in Ukraine|first1=Huw|last1=Dylan|first2=David|last2=V. Gioe|first3=Elena|last3=Grossfeld|journal=The British Journal of Politics and International Relations|volume=27|issue=2|date=2025|pages=510–528 |doi=10.1177/13691481241258108 }}

==External links==
{{Commons}}
*{{Official website}} {{in lang|ru}}

{{Law enforcement agencies of Russia}}
{{Russian intelligence community}}
{{Domestic national intelligence agencies}}
{{Government of the Russian Federation}}
{{Doping in Russia}}
{{Authority control}}

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