State Security Committee of the Republic of Belarus
The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus (Belarusian: Камітэт дзяржаўнай бяспекі, КДБ; translit. Kamitet Dziaržaǔnaj Biaspieki, KDB, Russian: Комитет государственной безопасности, КГБ; translit. Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti, KGB) is the national intelligence agency of Belarus. Along with its counterparts in Transnistria and South Ossetia,[1] it is one of the few intelligence agencies that kept the Russian name "KGB" after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, albeit it is lost in translation when written in Belarusian (becoming KDB rather than KGB). (The "Special Riot Police," however, are still called OMON.)
It is the Belarusian successor organization to the KGB of the Soviet Union. Felix Edmundovich Dzerzhinsky, who founded the Cheka – the original Bolshevik intelligence police – was born in what is now Belarus and remains a national hero.
It is governed by the law About State Security Bodies of the Republic of Belarus. [2]
Major General Vadim Zaitsev, who was in charge of Lukashenko's personal security, was appointed its leader in July 2008. His tenure lasted until November 2012 and he was replaced by Valery Vakulchik.[3] The KGB is formally controlled by the president of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko.
References
- ↑ "South Ossetian KGB Says Situation Could Get Out Of Control". Radio Free Europe. 1 December 2011. Retrieved 22 February 2014.
- ↑ http://www.kgb.by/en/
- ↑ "Belarusian KGB's new chief is Valery Vakulchik". DiploNews. 20 November 2012. Retrieved 31 March 2013.
External links
Coordinates: 53°53′56″N 27°33′16″E / 53.89889°N 27.55444°E