Education of military counterintelligence officers since the beginning of Cold War

The article describes in brief the international situation immediately after the end of the Second World War, when USA, Great Britain and other Western countries started their struggle against their war time ally - USSR. The beginning of the Cold War as worldwide phenomenon has expressed itself in different regions and in numerous contradictions between opponents, and it has been clear that one of the main features of the Cold War was arms race, especially in the field of nuclear weapons development. Therefore, protection of defense secrets and enhancement of security of armed forces grew as basic aim for military counterintelligence. The article provides convincing evidence of initiation and strong activation of subversive and clandestine actions by western intelligence services against the Soviet Union. Numerous measures were used: recruitment of soviet citizens located in western countries before their repatriation, enlistment for subversive actions of members of Ukrainian nationalistic organizations having escaped to western occupation zones, organization of wide spy networks around locations of Soviet military units, especially in Group of Soviet Army in Germany, penetration of undercover agents into Baltics, Ukraine, Caucasus and other regions. These new conditions created the need for education and training of qualified personnel for military counterintelligence detachments being able to effectively encounter and neutralize subversive efforts of western special services. One of specialized educational schools was Novosibirsk school of the Ministry of State Security, later named middle-level school of the Ministry of State security, later renamed middle-level school of the Committee of State Security. Curriculum of the school is analyzed in the article. It comprised of numerous different disciplines: legislation and manuals on law enforcement, detailed information on foreign intelligence services and methods of their cover-up and subversive activities against armed forces of Soviet Union. Special courses explained complex methods for disclosure and neutralization of hostile agents using effective experience in the field of successful counterintelligence defense and protection of the army at the period of the Great Patriotic War. Serious attention was paid to military training and physical fitness of young officers. In the course of education, the experience has proved the acute need for on-the-job training as means of gaining practical operational abilities in counterintelligence detachments of the armed forces units. Novosibirsk school had provided essential input in the preparation for service of military counterintelligence officers. Many of its graduates grew to the commanding positions in special detachments of the field army and military district level. More than dozens of them were promoted to generalship rank.

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