GRU headquarters in Moscow, Russia.
Tensions between Russia and the West continue to increase after the poisoning of former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in the UK.
As one of the oldest intelligence agencies of the former Soviet Union and today’s Russia, GRU was founded in 1920 as the Coordination Department of Military Intelligence Agencies.
The GRU at that time was believed to be under the control of the KGB.
However, after decades of building, GRU gradually grew in size and reputation.
GRU has achieved many outstanding achievements during its operation.
GRU – ‘secret weapon’ of Russian intelligence
GRU special forces soldiers in combat training
Whalen was arrested by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in 1962 after providing Soviet intelligence with sensitive information about US military capabilities and the plans of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, including methods
Since May 1961, GRU colonel Georgi Bolshakov, operating under the guise of chief representative of the TASS news agency in Washington, was ordered to contact Robert Kennedy, US Attorney General and younger brother of President John F.
Colonel Bolshkov convinced Robert Kennedy that they could abolish diplomatic protocols to build sincere relations and establish an official communication channel between American president Kennedy and Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev.
However, Bolshkov’s mission was ruined by a GRU officer.
GRU symbol and full name in the headquarters lobby.
Penkovsky gave a lot of important intelligence information to the West such as the Soviet Union’s military capabilities and Soviet leader Khrushchev’s foreign policy plans, especially the secret placement of a nuclear missile base in Cuba.
Penkovsky was later discovered and executed.
After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the KGB was disbanded, while the GRU was retained but had its operating budget significantly reduced.
GRU special forces during an exercise in 2017. Photo: RBTH.
However, the GRU made a strong comeback after President Vladimir Putin, a former intelligence officer, came to power.
`For Mr. Putin personally, the GRU achieved a resounding victory in the annexation of the Crimean peninsula in 2014. After this victory, the GRU became the favorite secret weapon of the Russian President,` Mark Galeotti, expert
The GRU now owns a large number of spies on a scale comparable to the Overseas Intelligence Service and has increased its activities abroad.
