What is the KGB and Why is it so Feared?

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  • čas přidán 15. 05. 2022
  • With its predecessors including the Tsarist intelligence agencies, the Bolsheivk’s shield and sword and Stalin’s NKVD, the KGB was no ordinary service to the Soviet Union’s Communist Party. Knocking on doors, boots hammering down hallways, the omnipresent organisation did everything in its power to serve and protect the Soviet single party state. With sixteen directorates at its height, and widely known for its surveillance, espionage and interrogations, watch how the agency began, operated, and influenced our world not so long ago.
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    Credit:
    Created by Daniel Turner (B.A. (Hons) in History, University College London)
    Narrator:
    Chris Kane
    vocalforge.com/
    Script Writer: Natasha Martell
    Andrew, Christopher. The Sword and the Shield: The Mitrokhin Archive and the Secret History of the KGB. New York. Basic Books, 2001.
    Andrew, Christopher, and Oleg Gordievsky. KGB: The Inside Story. New York. HarperCollins Publishers, 1990.
    Andrew, Christopher, and Vasili Mitrokhin. The World Was Going Our Way: The KGB and the Battle for the Third World. New York. Basic Books, 2005.
    Shebarshin, Leonid. “Reflections on the KGB in Russia.” Economic and Political Weekly 28, no. 51 (1993): 2829-32.
    White, Stephen, and Ol’Ga Kryshtanovskaya. “Public Attitudes to the KGB: A Research Note.” Europe-Asia Studies 45, no. 1 (1993): 169-75.

Komentáře • 2,5K

  • @modelermark172
    @modelermark172 Před 2 lety +11206

    There is a story about an Egyptian Tomb being discovered when Nasser was President of Egypt. The Egyptian Archaeologists were unsure of the age of the tomb, and the visiting Soviet KGB offered to take a look at it. The next day, the KGB informed the Egyptians that the mummy was 3,247 years old. When asked how they knew, the KGB simply said, "The mummy confessed."

  • @justbattlefield8794
    @justbattlefield8794 Před 2 lety +3938

    A CIA spy, an MI6 spy and a KGB spy were bragging about how secret their work is, the CIA spy says "my work is so secret only me, my boss and my co-worker know what I'm doing, after that, the MI6 spy says "My work is so secret, only me and my boss know what I'm doing", after that the KGB spy says "My work is so secret, I don't even know what I'm doing!"

    • @AudieHolland
      @AudieHolland Před 2 lety

      In reality, the CIA didn't know what they were doing.
      MI6 was infiltrated by the KGB so partially working for them.
      And the KGB knew everything.

    • @semdavidanger
      @semdavidanger Před 2 lety +62

      Oh,. My,.

    • @nickglennlewis5676
      @nickglennlewis5676 Před 2 lety +59

      Here: new job assignment. ... ... ... Shoot the entity that reads this Less it be the assigner or me: supereme leader. PS. That means you to

    • @PassivesAbseits
      @PassivesAbseits Před 2 lety +94

      In comes the Danish spy, claiming: Nobody even knows, I exist...

    • @nlrenzo9432
      @nlrenzo9432 Před 2 lety +8

      Lol

  • @Griggs133
    @Griggs133 Před 2 lety +831

    I had a Russian math professor who grew up in a small hunting village near the USSR/Mongolian border. When she was a girl, she would hunt but was only allowed to go a few miles out in the forest but never past the lake. Her father and all the other adults in the village had stories about there was a ghost who haunted the lake, and if the ghost caught you that you would never be seen again. When the USSR fell and she revisited the village she found out there was an outpost used by the KGB to monitor transmissions coming out of China after the SIno-Soviet split.

    • @jasonvanwyk209
      @jasonvanwyk209 Před rokem +11

      OMG

    • @egertroos1691
      @egertroos1691 Před rokem

      You from Mongolia?

    • @xFlared
      @xFlared Před rokem +32

      What happened to the ghost?

    • @Akshayattr1
      @Akshayattr1 Před rokem

      @@xFlared there was no ghost. the KGB probably took over people who accidentally saw their outpost. think of it like people disaapearing in area 51 in U.S.

    • @Fesko-ly1wr
      @Fesko-ly1wr Před rokem +1

      She was probably from Buryat republic?

  • @kev3d
    @kev3d Před 2 lety +1491

    In the late 80's as the cold war was winding down, a western Economist was sent to the Soviet Union to report on the situation of the market. Gorbachev allowed this, but only with an English-speaking KGB agent to escort the economist around.
    The first stop was a shoe store where the shelves were bare.
    the economist spoke allowed as he wrote, which was his habit "Shoe shortage."
    The agent is annoyed and raises an eyebrow, but says nothing.
    The next stop is a bakery and once again, most of the shelves have nothing but a dusting of flour and stale crumbs.
    "Bread shortage" the economist says as he writes. Once again the agent is quite irritated but merely huffs a bit.
    Then the pair visit a butcher and behind the glass there is little more than a few pitiful looking cuts of mostly sinew and bone.
    "Meat shortage" the economist says. Finally the KGB agent has had enough. He bellows strongly:
    "Leeson here Amerikanski! In the old days, ve vould have shot you for you eensolence! "
    The economist opens his note pad:
    "Bullet shortage."

  • @michaelvillarama7584
    @michaelvillarama7584 Před 2 lety +3164

    Can we take the time to applaud the narrator for actually taking the time to name all 15 Soviet Republics.

  • @shinchan-F-urmom
    @shinchan-F-urmom Před 2 lety +1276

    Fun Fact: there is nothing as "ex-KGB"

    • @Mayakran
      @Mayakran Před 2 lety +139

      Well now they’re the FSB. The origins of the organization goes all the way back to the Okhrana in the days of Tsar Alexander III, and they will likely remain in power as long as some form of Russia exists.

    • @Randomguy.01
      @Randomguy.01 Před 2 lety

      Yes it is because they dont have enough money to pay spies and as I say to some stupid people just the winners write history and America now control whit it Puppet states and Spies all the word

    • @ilhamseptian1604
      @ilhamseptian1604 Před 2 lety +9

      @@Mayakran FSB now is wack

    • @harrietharlow9929
      @harrietharlow9929 Před 2 lety +25

      Exactly. Once a Chekist, always a Checkist.

    • @harrietharlow9929
      @harrietharlow9929 Před 2 lety +34

      @@Mayakran I also consider the FSB to be a mere continuation of the KGB which was, at base, a continuation of the Okhrana under new administration.

  • @snickerson69
    @snickerson69 Před 2 lety +1193

    Shortly after the end of WWII, my great grandma used to work is a shoe factory near Riga (It was Latvian SSR then). Her work was to glue the pre-made parts together. Decades later someone bought the building and and found a room with a large device used to listen to phone calls that was later confirmed to have been used by the KGB.

    • @ilhamseptian1604
      @ilhamseptian1604 Před 2 lety +21

      Another story' from your relatives? That was really interisting

    • @cinemaparadiso5402
      @cinemaparadiso5402 Před 2 lety +21

      Back in my day (today) NSA and Is rael spied on you and me ...

    • @exdop654
      @exdop654 Před 2 lety +4

      I'm from Latvia good one bro

    • @RisingInTheFlesh
      @RisingInTheFlesh Před 2 lety +1

      @@cinemaparadiso5402 Is rael owns US politicians

    • @teddyfresh9605
      @teddyfresh9605 Před rokem +5

      @@cinemaparadiso5402
      Everyone spies on everybody. Your anti semitic hysteria has no place here

  • @izebdeh
    @izebdeh Před 2 lety +217

    As a Bangladeshi I knew the Soviets aided in the Liberation which was just another proxy war for them. But I had no idea they had their fingers so deep in the Political Leadership. Fascinating stuff.

  • @radjadawamindra697
    @radjadawamindra697 Před 2 lety +790

    "The flags may be different, but the methods are all the same."
    *Viktor Reznov, Vorkuta, USSR, 1963*

    • @nolangonzales8534
      @nolangonzales8534 Před 2 lety +15

      that says a lot

    • @radjadawamindra697
      @radjadawamindra697 Před 2 lety +1

      @@nolangonzales8534 that says a lot for pretty much every wars on Earth including the current war in Ukraine. I mean who's to say that there aren't any Russian lieutenant captured and brainwashed by Ukrainian intelligence into believing that he's part of Ukrainian volunteer forces to be used against the Russian invading forces consisted of his former superiors and fellow countrymen.

    • @jameshailerthepostmaster4389
      @jameshailerthepostmaster4389 Před 2 lety +89

      MI6, KGB, MSS, CIA, Mossad, and etc. They are all the same.

    • @astrosherlock374
      @astrosherlock374 Před 2 lety +40

      He was talking about the intelligence agencies of the world, not just Russia. R&AW, CIA, SIS, Mossad, KGB, ISI, all of them.

    • @MaxwellAerialPhotography
      @MaxwellAerialPhotography Před 2 lety +31

      “Governments may change, but the lies stay the same.”
      -James Bond, Goldeneye

  • @lindanib541
    @lindanib541 Před 2 lety +6477

    Here's my favourite joke about the KGB;
    The CIA, FBI, and the KGB are tasked with finding a rabbit in a forest.
    The CIA show up after a few days and release a 6000 word article on the fact that rabbits don't exist.
    The FBI show up with a dead rabbit and say in a press release "The rabbit had it coming."
    The KGB show up with a bruised and beaten bear. The bear is forced to make a statement "I am a rabbit, my father was a rabbit, and my mother is a rabbit. My whole family are rabbits!"

    • @PugnaciousProductions
      @PugnaciousProductions Před 2 lety +569

      @Don't Read My Profile Photo okay, I won’t.

    • @wibzard
      @wibzard Před 2 lety +439

      I feel like the CIA and the FBI should be switched..

    • @newtonsbuilds8831
      @newtonsbuilds8831 Před 2 lety +34

      I love this

    • @bigyesman2496
      @bigyesman2496 Před 2 lety +177

      bear started speaking russian just so he doesnt get killed by the kgb :skull:

    • @lisapop5219
      @lisapop5219 Před 2 lety +67

      That actually made me chuckle a bit

  • @CartoonHistory
    @CartoonHistory Před 2 lety +608

    One of the most terrifying scenes in "The Death of Stalin" was Beria walking through the interrogation rooms whilst people are screaming "long live Stalin" just before being shot. Really chilling.

  • @xeanderman6688
    @xeanderman6688 Před 2 lety +137

    I love how the title is "Why they are feared" instead of "why they were feared". Because you know FSB is KGB under a different name

  • @princessmarlena1359
    @princessmarlena1359 Před 2 lety +357

    Citizen: “I feel like I’m being watched…”
    🖼 🔈“Nyet, Comrade! Go back to sleep!”

    • @davidvasquez08
      @davidvasquez08 Před 2 lety +10

      👀👀👀👀

    • @jmpm-tz1so
      @jmpm-tz1so Před 2 lety +34

      Citizen: *goes back to sleep and forgets his dumb question*
      🖼🔈:*happy KGB noices*

    • @user-qh1ls4to5o
      @user-qh1ls4to5o Před 2 lety +7

      its spelled Net "Нет"

    • @vasiliifilippenko1677
      @vasiliifilippenko1677 Před 2 lety +2

      Do you know that the name Marlena in the soviet union was in the honor of Marx and Lenin?

    • @jackryan4313
      @jackryan4313 Před 2 lety

      @@user-qh1ls4to5o and in English, it's spelled nyet. 🤦🏼‍♂️

  • @711jastin
    @711jastin Před 2 lety +618

    the reason they are feared is that you never knew you're on their list, for reasons unknown, it can be as ridiculous as someone turned you in to the authorities because your neighbor's cousin Vadim secretly sold half pack of opened western cigarette to a random person, which the cigarette allegedly came from your rubbish bin as the neighbor claimed.

    • @wolfswinkel8906
      @wolfswinkel8906 Před 2 lety +13

      who did the KGB put on their list for such a reason? Got any names or is this an urban legend?

    • @NoName-wl5uo
      @NoName-wl5uo Před 2 lety +57

      @@wolfswinkel8906 it's probably an expression about how something so farfetched can get you in trouble.

    • @wolfswinkel8906
      @wolfswinkel8906 Před 2 lety +1

      @@NoName-wl5uo I'm looking for some examples of this high handedness and all I'm seeing is selling state secrets to the CIA and MI6- an offence which these two agencies are famous for punishing. The way OP makes this allegation of impunity without any facts to back them up is how public opinion is shaped and influenced by falsehoods.

    • @cheesedmacaroni
      @cheesedmacaroni Před 2 lety +2

      VADIM BLYAT!

    • @megancrager4397
      @megancrager4397 Před 2 lety +4

      @@wolfswinkel8906 did you read it literally? I didn't.

  • @VERRATENMEMESANDCOD
    @VERRATENMEMESANDCOD Před 2 lety +700

    So there's a story:
    Three agencies went to find the white rabbit in a forest. The first one was the FBI who investigated for months and finally reported that the rabbit had escaped.
    The second one was the ( GIGN or CIA I guess ) who went in came out and burned down the entire forest to kill the rabbit.
    The third one was the KGB who went in and came out 2 hours later: with them was a bear who admitted that he was the rabbit.

  • @Redslayer0908
    @Redslayer0908 Před rokem +46

    My great grandpa, returning from the Polish II corps under British command. Came back to Poland and because he had been in the II corps, he got spied on by the kgb, had to bury anything that showed his past life as a Polish Soldier. He fought in 3 wars and died in 1972. He fought in WW1, Polish-Soviet war and, WW2

    • @egertroos1691
      @egertroos1691 Před rokem +2

      Greetings from Estonia my polish brother.

  • @Haanicz
    @Haanicz Před 2 lety +623

    Small correction - at 4:07, you say that the Prague Spring began in 1969. It actually started much earlier and ended in August 1968 when the Warsaw pact armies invaded Czechoslovakia, which marked the beginning of the period we now call "normalisation"

    • @Schmeldestofall
      @Schmeldestofall Před 2 lety +15

      And at 4:25 they have the Czechoslovak flat upside down

    • @DopravniPoradce
      @DopravniPoradce Před 2 lety +5

      Good catch, I missed that. I only noticed the flags upside down.

    • @metalpreacher02
      @metalpreacher02 Před rokem +1

      the reason Jaromir Jagr wears #68

    • @RJ-bj3sm
      @RJ-bj3sm Před 3 měsíci

      Not in 1969 but in 1968

  • @0bserver416
    @0bserver416 Před 2 lety +699

    Fun fact❗
    KGB still exists.
    The security service in Belarus inherited the Soviet name and is still officially KGB.
    You're welcome.

    • @wisp6826
      @wisp6826 Před 2 lety +81

      Russian FSB is pretty much KGB.

    • @0bserver416
      @0bserver416 Před 2 lety +41

      @@wisp6826
      What I meant is just the name it retained from the Soviet past - KGB.

    • @wisp6826
      @wisp6826 Před 2 lety +12

      @@0bserver416 I know. What I am saying is that FSB is pretty much KGB in all but name.

    • @zachhoward9099
      @zachhoward9099 Před 2 lety +16

      Most of Belarus imagery is directly lifted from its time as a Soviet Republic just sans hammer and sickle

    • @chairmanxina2338
      @chairmanxina2338 Před 2 lety +5

      @@zachhoward9099 without* hammer and sickle.
      You are french

  • @SoSarchastic
    @SoSarchastic Před 2 lety +61

    There’s a far longer lineage that entities like the KGB and OGPU come from. Some of the methods used by the KGB against protest groups were also conducted by the Tsar’s secret agents: the Okhrana in the 1880/90s

    • @harrietharlow9929
      @harrietharlow9929 Před 2 lety +7

      And before the Okrana there were the Oprichniki which could also be considered Ivan the Terrible's heavy handed and less-than-secret police. As for more modern Russia/USSR/Russia I see the security organs of each merely a continuation of the previous regime under a new name/initials.

    • @user-tv9nb9ed6o
      @user-tv9nb9ed6o Před 2 lety

      @@harrietharlow9929 лучше так, чем диктатура "ЛГБТ идеологии и сумасшедшей толерантности", - белых европейских женщин насилуют, а вам запрещают их защищать🤣🤣 Тряпки.
      Вы не достойны своей культуры, ваши предки жалеют что вы существуете...

  • @giannb5145
    @giannb5145 Před 2 lety +16

    KGB chief Yuri Andropov was the Soviet Deng Xiaoping, but he died early. And Xi Jinping today, is the Chinese Yuri Andropov

  • @Just_Some_Guy_with_a_Mustache

    "Knock knock."
    "Who's the-?" *slap*
    "We will ask the questions!"

  • @connorwright7040
    @connorwright7040 Před 2 lety +1416

    The KGB (short for Killing Gloves of Boxing) is an unlockable melee weapon for the Heavy in Team Fortress 2, taking the appearance of a pair of boxing gloves colored either red or blue according to the team you're on. Upon killing an enemy with the KGB, all your attacks for the next five seconds are guaranteed to be critical hits. This ability is offset by a 20% slower attack speed.
    An effective strategy with this weapon is to kill an enemy with a melee and then switch to your primary or shotgun to deal massively increased damage for 5 seconds.

  • @throwed210SATX
    @throwed210SATX Před 2 lety +29

    Wasn't the predecessor of KGB called the NKVD and not KVD? And also Jack Barsky is also one of the most famous ex-KGB agents alive today. Barsky was actually in espionage living illegally in NY, where Putin was a low level bureaucrat stationed in Dresden Germany

    • @DopravniPoradce
      @DopravniPoradce Před 2 lety +4

      Had the same question and he's right NKVD briefly became MVD which became KGB.

    • @user-co3uc8vt7e
      @user-co3uc8vt7e Před 2 lety +2

      Not MVD, but MGB. MGB was split into KGB and MVD.

    • @andershargrave7246
      @andershargrave7246 Před rokem +1

      KGB's predecessor was MGB, which is one of NKVDs parts.
      NKVD is - People Comissariat of Internal Affairs, while MGB - is Ministry of State Security. And KGB is Comittee of State Security. Their oldest predecessor is ChK, which stands for Emergency Comittee

  • @UrvineSpiegel
    @UrvineSpiegel Před 2 lety +2

    I really like the simple animations. Just enough to paint the picture without pulling you away from the narration.

  • @Wackymushrooms
    @Wackymushrooms Před 2 lety +1003

    *I remember hearing about a Soviet horror story about a black Volga car that was supposed to be the devil's car and kidnapped people and when they were found they were missing blood, turns out that it was just the KGB.*

    • @silverhawkscape2677
      @silverhawkscape2677 Před 2 lety +70

      They aren't too different from each other really.

    • @artemshevtsov6062
      @artemshevtsov6062 Před 2 lety +21

      that’s messed up

    • @littlekong7685
      @littlekong7685 Před 2 lety +71

      I worked with a woman, when she was a little girl she said shadows would come in the night and open apartment doors with keys and take someone, they were the KGB with forged key copies. In under a year they had taken every man in the entire apartment block, one night at a time, including her father. Only 1 ever returned, and he never spoke again in his life and could not work because of all his broken and poorly healed bones. All the men were engineers or bankers, and no one knows why the KGB were taking them or what they did with them (and the few women and children who resisted and got taken as well).

    • @CapybaraConnoisseur89
      @CapybaraConnoisseur89 Před 2 lety +31

      I can confirm, in Poland when I was young they scared us with Black Volga. And it was in 90's after the collapse of Soviet Union.

    • @Americansikkunt
      @Americansikkunt Před 2 lety +13

      @@littlekong7685 What could possibly warrant kidnapping men on that scale….?
      …Did they know something? Like, something beyond regular KGB secrets???

  • @brothergunns5055
    @brothergunns5055 Před 2 lety +512

    For a lot of years, KGB also had a lot of influence in Indian politics

    • @caelum2185
      @caelum2185 Před 2 lety +192

      USSR also had a lot of role in protecting India from USA and its goons, eg 1972 war.

    • @brothergunns5055
      @brothergunns5055 Před 2 lety +29

      @@caelum2185 TRUE

    • @attemptedunkindness3632
      @attemptedunkindness3632 Před 2 lety

      *Looks at all the non sanctioned oil Indian is buying* Some could say they still do.

    • @brothergunns5055
      @brothergunns5055 Před 2 lety +76

      @@attemptedunkindness3632 India is one of the few countries that didn't vote against Russia. And moreover the influence of KGB ended after the emergence of RAW.

    • @Maviolo.
      @Maviolo. Před 2 lety +10

      Nobody cares

  • @KillbillyA
    @KillbillyA Před 2 lety +37

    Very nice. Sad the last part is missing. KGB schooled various specialists in all soviet block countries, russians always have plans for decades ahead. So it happened, that iw in my country, czech republic, we have currently president and central bank governor from the "prognostic office", which was a "economical institute" formed directly by KGB in the 1980s, when they already knew, the CCCP will fall one day. The point was, it was not really the end, just transformation, and people schooled in this institute overtook power in the newly formed free republics. As to this day, we had 2 presidents and about a dozen of various high ranking officials schooled in this very institute. All these years they seemed to be pro-western modern economists to the general public, but they were in fact sleeping agents with simple task of returning all the republics slowly under russian influence again- Luckily they were only partly succesful, but the cold war never ended for russians and the espionage is still strong and will always be.

    • @user-xm2hg3xy7l
      @user-xm2hg3xy7l Před rokem

      Россия стала колонией США

    • @Zapper-kq1zg
      @Zapper-kq1zg Před rokem

      @@user-xm2hg3xy7lона НЕ колония США, а полуколония транснациональных компаний

    • @anthonypiranio7409
      @anthonypiranio7409 Před 8 měsíci

      Good plans till the 90s hit.

  • @arkaprabha8218
    @arkaprabha8218 Před 2 lety +1

    Really good explanation. Looking forward for more such useful and interesting video. Please carry on sir

  • @RDSyafriyar
    @RDSyafriyar Před 2 lety +494

    "I was not extremely patriotic about Mother Russia. I played their game, pretending. You have to deal with, you know, party people, KGB. Horrifying." - Mikhail Baryshnikov

    • @luciferhuey6285
      @luciferhuey6285 Před 2 lety

      @Don't Read My Profile Photo the KGB should get you for being a menace

    • @miahsafwanabdal4994
      @miahsafwanabdal4994 Před 2 lety +11

      @Don't Read My Profile Photo people have better things to do, don't worry

    • @Mallettt123
      @Mallettt123 Před 2 lety +9

      @Don't Read My Profile Photo sod off bot

    • @Anonymous-qj3sf
      @Anonymous-qj3sf Před 2 lety +6

      There were many careerists in the KGB, since working in the KGB opened up opportunities in many areas, including politics.

  • @Gugner
    @Gugner Před 2 lety +259

    Fact: The KGB did not die, it just changed its name from KGB to FSB, using same brutal methods. So, KGB does STILL exist.

    • @g3tshotheett
      @g3tshotheett Před 2 lety

      ….

    • @shayaldwarka7907
      @shayaldwarka7907 Před 2 lety +1

      But the FSB only operates within Russia.

    • @theotherfoot129
      @theotherfoot129 Před 2 lety +62

      @@shayaldwarka7907 ....that you know of. The CIA isn't allowed to operate on US soil either yet they have done so many times

    • @natebox4550
      @natebox4550 Před 2 lety

      @@shayaldwarka7907 supposedly, albeit yeah their mainly in Russia.

    • @queue2
      @queue2 Před 2 lety +3

      Man, when i read the last sentence i got shivers down my spine

  • @jamesbanish1723
    @jamesbanish1723 Před 2 lety +11

    History is always interesting to me. Sometimes it can be painful. However, it should never be hidden or censored.

    • @johndawson6057
      @johndawson6057 Před rokem +1

      History, especially in the last 500 years have always, always been painful.

  • @prakashghumaliya2002
    @prakashghumaliya2002 Před 2 lety +2

    Thank you for video sir

  • @MadLad_Poli33
    @MadLad_Poli33 Před 2 lety +90

    KGB is basicly [CLASSIFIED]

  • @TihetrisWeathersby
    @TihetrisWeathersby Před 2 lety +217

    The KGB did a lot of stuff off the books, They were basically free to do whatever the CPSU wanted

  • @Elsa-zk8kg
    @Elsa-zk8kg Před rokem +10

    The accent 1:15 💀

  • @Dredaslime1
    @Dredaslime1 Před 2 lety +1

    Thank you for the info... very good👌🏿

  • @karlakirkpatrick2214
    @karlakirkpatrick2214 Před 2 lety +52

    People forget that he was former military and he wanted into politics so he joined KGB and yes that was him in the photo with Reagan back in the day, when he had hair.

  • @marcuslaffey1637
    @marcuslaffey1637 Před 2 lety +295

    As terrifying as the KGB was, they were much softer than their predecessor, the NKVD

    • @hoppinggnomethe4154
      @hoppinggnomethe4154 Před 2 lety

      KGB is much worse. they destroy the West from the inside. thanks to them, generations of the West, prior to the fall of the KGB, were influenced and indoctrinated by communist/socialist/Marxist ideologies without knowing. these same people would be indoctrinating the next generations despite the fact the KGB doesn't exist anymore

    • @idek6585
      @idek6585 Před 2 lety +25

      At least, that's what we know of anyway...

    • @brodyguthrie9713
      @brodyguthrie9713 Před 2 lety +62

      The thousands of Polish Officers massacred at Katyn Wood would likely agree with you about the NKVD

    • @orestmarkheva7325
      @orestmarkheva7325 Před 2 lety

      ​@YourNotSoProudFather sure them and before that russian army officers and people. Everybody always had it coming with them

    • @ghiaccioiced
      @ghiaccioiced Před 2 lety

      @YourNotSoProudFather Okay, so by that logic the Untermenschen that the N@z1s mentioned had it coming, huh?

  • @manuelfriend4060
    @manuelfriend4060 Před 2 lety +12

    Except the kgb/ Russian secret police still exists, just under a different persona. Agencies like this don't just go away.

  • @0199kilaM
    @0199kilaM Před 2 lety +3

    Still so glad that simple history exists to tell us cool history facts like he could talk about a rock and make it interesting ♥️

  • @compatriot852
    @compatriot852 Před 2 lety +333

    The KGB were often feared due to how ruthless and inhumane they were. Nobody was safe from their rule of terror be it that they or a family member would soon become targeted to execution or severe torture just for showing even the slightest amounts of anti Soviet sentiment
    In Lithuania, there are some monuments dedicated to the victims of them

  • @sriramradhakrishna878
    @sriramradhakrishna878 Před 2 lety +94

    This was probably the most interesting simple history video I've watched till date. Gonna take some time off CZcams now just to read up about each of these incidents in greater detail.

    • @SolidGoldGuy
      @SolidGoldGuy Před 2 lety +1

      Its so sad that you killed yourself with 3 gunshots to the back of your head while tied up 3 days from now. RIP

  • @Shurikova666
    @Shurikova666 Před rokem +8

    The KGB was created because the West was never given rest by Russia's rich resources, and the USSR was a completely independent competitor. The freedom of some chattering dissidents was not at all interested in the West, but was only used in anti-Soviet propaganda.If the USSR still existed, various economic sanctions would have zero effect.

  • @oliversherman2414
    @oliversherman2414 Před 2 lety

    I love your channel keep up the great stuff

  • @yourfriendlymedic357
    @yourfriendlymedic357 Před 2 lety +414

    “The KGB is just the meaner cousin of the CIA” -someone probably

  • @v8y2m
    @v8y2m Před 2 lety +30

    Why is everyone scared of heavy players using the Killing Gloves Boxing in tf2?

    • @BytzDrawz
      @BytzDrawz Před 2 lety

      For those who don't get it: tf2 has a weapon called the KGB (Killer Gloves of Boxing)
      Hehe

  • @tamtenztyu1761
    @tamtenztyu1761 Před 2 lety +12

    1:09 Saul Goodman nooo 😭😭

  • @jonathansmith8672
    @jonathansmith8672 Před 2 lety +2

    3:07 Wow!! I love how you depicted Alcatraz and its cells! Speaking of which, you HAVE to do a video on Alcatraz and its escape attempts! 😍😍🤗🤗☺👍👍❤❤

  • @masturbinho6656
    @masturbinho6656 Před 2 lety +55

    KGB: wow we are so Effective
    The Stasi: hold my beer

  • @theburden9920
    @theburden9920 Před 2 lety +44

    You can still feel the effects of KGB after 30 years

  • @AdamSisko6
    @AdamSisko6 Před 2 lety +3

    im very glad you mention 4:23 in czechoslovakia its a famous photo in our country

  • @petrigrobler5901
    @petrigrobler5901 Před rokem +1

    I love these documentaries!

  • @SilverSpectre90
    @SilverSpectre90 Před 2 lety +17

    Ask Mason, Woods, Adler and Hudson
    They will Tell you all you need to know about them

  • @elijahthegamer..
    @elijahthegamer.. Před 2 lety +46

    I missed the old animation style but I like this one better

  • @AndrewPonti
    @AndrewPonti Před 2 lety +45

    "The Americans" is a great look into the 80s undercover KGB. Some think it was overrated but I think it was pretty good and an interesting insight into the era.

    • @lifeischeesy
      @lifeischeesy Před 11 měsíci

      It was pretty dramatic but the premise was amazing. I expected more from the show (more politics, less personal drama) but television needs certain elements to be successful I guess. Still would recommend the show wholeheartedly.

    • @lolitavine9616
      @lolitavine9616 Před 11 měsíci

      I liked the show, but the real KGB officers who were declassified in America and who served as prototypes of the main characters (the Bezrukov family, who pretended to be Americans for more than 20 years and had 2 children who did not know that their parents were Russian spies). So they saw this series and said it was great, but it had nothing to do with reality. They don't run around with guns in the streets and don't torture anyone in the garage. Their job is to integrate into society and make the right connections with the right people to get information. They don't break into anyone's safes - it would be too risky, so you can easily get caught. Their task, on the contrary, is to integrate into society so much and make such strong social ties that no one will ever suspect them.
      They also told a lot of interesting things about their work in America, about what mistakes they made and wrote a book in Russian, how to make a circle of acquaintances and achieve goals (for example, career advancement and all that), sharing their experience and psychological knowledge. As an introvert, the book turned out to be useful to me, because it's hard for me to make friends.

  • @zdenekhajek4868
    @zdenekhajek4868 Před 2 lety +2

    Nice job as always, but in animation of Prague Spring is Czech flag "upside down". The Statue of Saint Wenceslas holds it right, but the crowd doesnt. Anyway nice work!

  • @justbattlefield8794
    @justbattlefield8794 Před 2 lety +17

    there a story about Russian citizen was visiting a hotel, soon after he checked in he smokes a little and puts his cigar in a flower pot. Soon after he hears this announcement: Please don't put your cigarettes in the flower pots, your damaging the mics!

    • @Anonymous-qj3sf
      @Anonymous-qj3sf Před 2 lety

      I don't think anyone in a hotel puts a cigarette in a flower pot... It's not ethical.

  • @tylerclayton6081
    @tylerclayton6081 Před 2 lety +206

    Nikita Khrushchev shared this opinion in his memoirs:
    "If the United States had not helped us, we would not have won the war, One-on-one against Hitler's Germany, we would not have withstood its onslaught and would have lost the war. No one talks about this officially, and Stalin never, I think, left any written traces of his opinion, but I can say that he expressed this view several times in conversations with me."

    • @stormaurora3027
      @stormaurora3027 Před 2 lety

      The United States purposely weakened the ussr using Germany.

    • @sadsouppp4363
      @sadsouppp4363 Před 2 lety +5

      Where can I read said memoirs

    • @s0nnyburnett
      @s0nnyburnett Před 2 lety +18

      lend lease was no joke

    • @Armin2012
      @Armin2012 Před 2 lety +1

      @@s0nnyburnett we can see what it did with Ukraine. They’re getting bankrolled, to such a point that any equipment losses can be replaced without much concern

    • @awookiefromendor
      @awookiefromendor Před 2 lety +13

      @Pops Mcgee Very doubtful.

  • @MrPh30
    @MrPh30 Před 2 lety +7

    They also were much involved in the Bush War in Southern African regions, ( SWA, Angola, Moz, SA, Zim ,Zam ,Tanzania ) with Cuban advisors and secret police and services , not only theirs but also Stasi, North Korean,China and other Warsaw Pacts services also.

  • @technoimperialist9509
    @technoimperialist9509 Před rokem +1

    I finally a simple history video without clickbait thumbnail

  • @anthonyrufino9271
    @anthonyrufino9271 Před 2 lety +25

    "Get the charge ready Bell"
    - Adler

  • @nematolvajkergetok5104
    @nematolvajkergetok5104 Před 2 lety +42

    4:00 Again, the same inaccuracy I see everywhere! Matyas Rakosi had been removed from office months before the 1956 uprising. He was replaced by Ernő Gerő as Premier of the Hungarian Workers' Party and de facto dictator.
    4:20 The Red Army had been renamed to Soviet Army in 1946.
    5:42 Khrushchev had no hair at all. He was completely bald.

    • @panzerivausfg4062
      @panzerivausfg4062 Před 2 lety

      Try to search some photos of Khrushchev smartass.
      He isn't bald
      Also the narrator clearly said "former head of state"...when talking about Rakosi.
      Idiot...

    • @WM-gf8zm
      @WM-gf8zm Před 2 lety +4

      also ussr didnt collapse, it was illegally dissolved, and yeltsin couped ussr

    • @nematolvajkergetok5104
      @nematolvajkergetok5104 Před 2 lety +9

      @@WM-gf8zm A matter of opinions. The USSR was in an untenable situation and couldn't survive. That's a collapse in my book.

    • @ZioStalin
      @ZioStalin Před 2 lety

      @@nematolvajkergetok5104 There was a referendum and the people said they wanted it to NOT be dissolved. Eltsin, the drunk pig, did the opposite.

    • @WM-gf8zm
      @WM-gf8zm Před 2 lety

      @@nematolvajkergetok5104 it was still illegally dissolved whether you like it or not. its a fact, not how someone looks at it. Yeltsin dissolved it without it going through people or state.

  • @user-ln5lo2li3c
    @user-ln5lo2li3c Před 2 lety +8

    In 1991 KGB changed it’s name to FSB. So the same KGB people became FSB…

  • @zenup1099
    @zenup1099 Před 2 lety +3

    4:38 he looks like saul goodman

  • @giano427
    @giano427 Před 2 lety +45

    And then the FSB came to be and it was back to business as usual.

    • @orestmarkheva7325
      @orestmarkheva7325 Před 2 lety

      well more like they just changed name. And shrunk their appetite, now they just poison people in public and helping people to kill themselves

    • @Mayakran
      @Mayakran Před 2 lety +1

      It’s been the same business since the late 1800’s with the Okhrana and it’s unlikely to ever stop.

  • @Euro2610
    @Euro2610 Před 2 lety +7

    God, your animation work just keeps getting better and better.

  • @Thomas-rl9xd
    @Thomas-rl9xd Před 2 lety +6

    Please do a video on the battle of Delville wood. As a South African it would be truly amazing to see our troops remembered on this channel.
    Thank you..

  • @KingSlayer-hf3mu
    @KingSlayer-hf3mu Před 2 lety +3

    Little correction, Prague Spring happened in 1968, not 1969
    p.s. keep up the good work, love your videos!

  • @ChongiFishing
    @ChongiFishing Před 2 lety +56

    5:08 Imagine if Putin and Zelensky met at the peace talks and started pouring lead onto each other with concealed pistols.

    • @marcleslac2413
      @marcleslac2413 Před 2 lety +8

      But zelensky reveals he had a prop and pulls out 2 ak47s and akimbos them servant of the people style.

    • @magicman3163
      @magicman3163 Před 2 lety +18

      Zelensky isn’t part of any military so he’d get smoked by the former KGB agent

    • @Romchikthelemon
      @Romchikthelemon Před 2 lety

      So childish.

    • @ChongiFishing
      @ChongiFishing Před 2 lety

      @@Romchikthelemon says the guy watching cartoon history videos

  • @snoopuppers6319
    @snoopuppers6319 Před 2 lety +22

    The Killing Gloves of Boxing (K.G.B.) are an unlockable melee weapon for the Heavy. They are a pair of large, padded, team-colored boxing gloves.
    The Killing Gloves of Boxing deal the same damage on hit as the default Fists, but have a 20% longer swing time and thus less potential to follow up hits. When the Heavy kills an enemy with the K.G.B., however, he is guaranteed Critical hits for the next 5 seconds and can kill additional enemies with the weapon to refresh the boost's duration. This boost affects other weapons, allowing the Heavy to switch to other weapons such as the Shotgun to deal further damage at the cost of losing boost time through the switch animation.
    The Killing Gloves of Boxing are automatically given to any player who obtains 22 Heavy achievements.

    • @Mechabang
      @Mechabang Před 2 lety +2

      TF2?

    • @bugbuster8598
      @bugbuster8598 Před 2 lety +3

      @@Mechabang Ahh, I see you are man of culture as well...

    • @Mechabang
      @Mechabang Před 2 lety +1

      "Hehehe, crry some more." Heavy Weapons Guy.

    • @battlesheep2552
      @battlesheep2552 Před 2 lety +3

      They also have the Gloves of Running Urgently (GRU)

    • @timbledon32
      @timbledon32 Před 2 lety

      Ah, a man of culture as well...

  • @garrisonnichols807
    @garrisonnichols807 Před 2 lety +4

    1:03 Communist version of "Hi I'm here to talk about your car's extended warranty"

  • @Jell0zz
    @Jell0zz Před 2 lety +39

    Interesting, would be nice if you'd do a similar expose on the CIA/NSA/FBI/DHS complex and it's Foreign Coups.
    Not to mention it's inherent static nature when compared to the 'fluid' nature of public office jobs, although their fluidity in the US can be argued.
    In the end you have a large security apparatus that's looking to justify it's existence and lacks oversight.

  • @occidentalexplorer1125
    @occidentalexplorer1125 Před 2 lety +34

    The FSB is the new KGB.

    • @ArtjomKoslow
      @ArtjomKoslow Před 2 lety

      Nah. The FSB don't even pretend to be not corrupt. They are more Thugs than Intelligence Officers. The FSB lives off the Successes the KGB and other Soviet Intelligence Services made. That's why they are feared. If you've seen the latest Assassinations they executed like the Bicyle-Driveby on that Guy in Berlin... Pretty pathetic. And if you use Poison- Don't use the radioactive Material your Country is the biggest Producer of.

  • @pabcu2507
    @pabcu2507 Před 2 lety +34

    That’s nothing compared to shrek’s secret onion agency

    • @PK-Radio
      @PK-Radio Před 2 lety +5

      Mario’s Mega Mushroom Agency

    • @caim9986
      @caim9986 Před 2 lety +1

      Scooby-Doo Baloo snacks enterprise

    • @r3dsnow757
      @r3dsnow757 Před 2 lety +2

      Bob The Builder Construction Union Corporation

    • @shrekchrist2857
      @shrekchrist2857 Před 2 lety +2

      Shut up and keep my agency a secret and now I have to strip you of your layers now

  • @unknownz1238
    @unknownz1238 Před 2 lety +5

    While on the subject of secret police you should talk about the scale of the stasi during the Cold War in East Germany

  • @skaimask29
    @skaimask29 Před 2 lety +1

    You guys should do videos about Naval ships/Classes honestly.

  • @mr.antique5407
    @mr.antique5407 Před 2 lety +18

    KGB
    *Slaps Simply History*
    "WE WILL ASK THE QUESTIONS!"

  • @magicman3163
    @magicman3163 Před 2 lety +8

    2:00 they existed before the Gestapo they were originally from Lenin then got a name change then became the NKVD and then the KGB

  • @RobertStrzalko
    @RobertStrzalko Před rokem

    I haven't watched this video yet, but it looks like it would be very interesting.

  • @azoljik
    @azoljik Před 2 lety

    I like how in video title it is said in present but in the video itself in past

  • @dosto5481
    @dosto5481 Před 2 lety +17

    Your videos are legendary, thank you!

  • @totally_not_stalin7094
    @totally_not_stalin7094 Před 2 lety +5

    Thank you for posting!!

  • @bensmith3242
    @bensmith3242 Před rokem +1

    00:14 when you’re writing an essay and need to get the word count up

  • @obenreizer7176
    @obenreizer7176 Před rokem

    Can you do more videos like these that talk about organizations in history?

  • @LamborghiniDiabloSVPursuit
    @LamborghiniDiabloSVPursuit Před 2 lety +73

    Its often said Intelligence agencies actually have the most power in a country since they have enough dirt on everyone important that they could topple the government if they choose.
    The KGB just took that saying more literally than most.

    • @gevorgvanarmenie9788
      @gevorgvanarmenie9788 Před 2 lety

      I mean KGB kinda did take control of Russia. Putin is an ex-KGB agent.

    • @shadowtrooper1052
      @shadowtrooper1052 Před 2 lety +2

      CIA would like to know your location😉

    • @polygonalfortress
      @polygonalfortress Před 2 lety

      The CIA was good at destabilizing and overthrowing governments that were considered "communists"

  • @jamesscalzo3033
    @jamesscalzo3033 Před 2 lety +48

    Loved the video @Simple History! Can't wait for the next video guys! The one thing we must also remember about Vladimir Putin and his ties to the KGB is that he was a 23 year old, Top-Teir Lieutenant in the KGB at the Time of the Soviet Union's Collapse in 1989-1990. He knows more about what's going on in the World than he let's on.

    • @Tinil0
      @Tinil0 Před 2 lety

      He absolutely was not a top tier lieutenant. That is mythologizing. Putin was a mid-level operative who was a bit below par when it came to actual spy activities but was INCREDIBLY good with people.
      What makes me most confused about your message though is...what do you mean "than he let's on?" Putin has always been completely open about his KGB past and has used it to get ahead in politics the entire time. It isn't a secret to anybody.

    • @joelmalone7922
      @joelmalone7922 Před 2 lety +6

      Vladimir Putin was 39 years old when he left Germany and returned to the USSR. He will be 70 in a few months.

    • @zachhoward9099
      @zachhoward9099 Před 2 lety

      He was born in 1952 so he would’ve been in his late 30s in 1989 and he was a Lt Colonel when the USSR collapsed in 1991

    • @Americansikkunt
      @Americansikkunt Před 2 lety

      Like the coverup of Tartaria…..

    • @Anonymous-qj3sf
      @Anonymous-qj3sf Před 2 lety

      Then he was the director of the FSB in the 90s in Russia

  • @tacomeister4130
    @tacomeister4130 Před rokem +8

    Therapist: don't worry, simple history putin isn't real. He can't get you
    Simple history putin: 1:27

  • @Yohan6665
    @Yohan6665 Před rokem +1

    Thank you for bringing my country there. I didn't know in our country one party system was influenced by kgb. Thanks!

  • @MohamadHakimiAbdulHalim
    @MohamadHakimiAbdulHalim Před 2 lety +12

    "There's a mole within the KGB"
    - Secretary Gorbachev

  • @michaelsvec9275
    @michaelsvec9275 Před 2 lety

    Great video 👐 But I have one question; why are the Czechoslovak flags flipped at 4:07?

  • @unintentionallydramatic
    @unintentionallydramatic Před 2 lety +2

    C-can we talk about why the title is in present-tense? No?
    OK.

  • @theofficercat6697
    @theofficercat6697 Před 2 lety +5

    Good video keep up the good work

  • @nitep1212
    @nitep1212 Před 2 lety +15

    Prague's spring didnt begin at 1969, but in August 1968. Other then that, nice video!

    • @wallythewondercorncake8657
      @wallythewondercorncake8657 Před 2 lety +1

      Actually August 68 is when it ended, it started in January

    • @zonzeven
      @zonzeven Před 2 lety

      @@wallythewondercorncake8657 Indeed! Prague Spring was from 5 jan 1968 until 21 aug 1968.

  • @jack_lin5946
    @jack_lin5946 Před 2 lety

    Can you do a video about the kenpeitai? Would love it!

  • @dannydeedsdonedirtcheep1726

    The killing gloves of boxing give crits after kill, so of course they're feared when paired with the tomislav, which has an increased spin up speed.

  • @numb3rs448
    @numb3rs448 Před 2 lety +10

    Hey simple history, i just wanted to say i enjoyed this episode, and will you be making an episode on the gestappo?

  • @neofulcrum5013
    @neofulcrum5013 Před 2 lety +10

    Oh good I needed this video as a reference for one of the factions in my book

    • @indianajones4321
      @indianajones4321 Před 2 lety

      Hey man I’ve seen you around a lot of Star Wars and history channels, if you haven’t already, you should check out the channels The Great War and World War Two

    • @neofulcrum5013
      @neofulcrum5013 Před 2 lety +3

      @@indianajones4321 thanks!

  • @jplumbum
    @jplumbum Před 2 lety

    Great video, you should make one of the Easter Rising of 1916.

  • @ahnafusaid8028
    @ahnafusaid8028 Před rokem

    I am very happy to see my country in simple history video. I would also love to see an entire video on Bangladesh.

  • @weschalo1641
    @weschalo1641 Před 2 lety +6

    can you do more Yugoslavija stuff?