Polygraph

The Russian government split the KGB into multiple agencies after the formation of the Russian Federation.

Posted by The Bulwark Daily, Checked

Polygraph verdictTrue
Sources
4 support2 context
Said
1 time·
Confidence
90%
The Bulwark DailySep 29, 2026
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Multiple sources, including a primary Congressional Research Service report, state that after the KGB was dissolved in December 1991 its functions were divided among several agencies, such as the SVR and what became the FSB.

What was said

… How difficult it is to, you know, I think one thing is that the kind of arm of the security services is always concentrated in Moscow, right? That's the heart of the empire, and the reforms for the Russian Federation, they split up the KGB into multiple agencies, the idea being, let's get power out of the hands of the security services. Guess what? You know, nine years later, a former KGB officer who's head of the FSB is in charge again, and the FSB, which is essentially, like, you know, the FSB, the NSA, and CIA …
The Bulwark Daily · · from the transcriptPost →

What we found

Supports. The CRS report states that after the Soviet Union's dissolution in 1991, the KGB was broken up into several smaller organizations, with its domestic and counterintelligence missions divided among agencies that later consolidated into the FSB.[2]

Supports. Reuters reports that following the Soviet Union's dissolution, the KGB was divided into domestic and foreign branches.[1]

Supports. Photius and the DTIC assessment state that Yeltsin dispersed the former KGB's functions among several different agencies after the KGB's official dissolution in December 1991, shortly before the Soviet Union itself ended.[3][4]

Context. The Wikipedia entry notes the KGB was succeeded in Russia by the SVR and what later became the FSB, and the factsanddetails source describes the KGB being broken up into several agencies in 1991.[5][6]

Sources

6 sources: 1 fact-checker, 1 primary, 4 not rated

  1. 1Putin lauds spy servicereuters.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports
  2. 2service - Congress.govcongress.gov · primary source · cited for: supports
  3. 3Russia Successor Agencies to the KGBphotius.com · not rated · cited for: supports
  4. 4Russia's New Security Services. An Assessment.apps.dtic.mil · not rated · cited for: supports
  5. 5KGB - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org · not rated · cited for: context
  6. 6KGB AFTER THE BREAK UP OF SOVIET UNIONfactsanddetails.com · not rated · cited for: context

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