sad relic of the Soviet age, it seems inconceivable that any generation
of Russian security specialists will abandon this tool.INOSTRANNIY OTDEL(IO). The Foreign Department of the Cheka,
the Inostranniy otdel, or IO, was created on 20 December 1920. Its
first director was a veteran of Communist Partyunderground activ-
ity, Yakov Davtyan, who operated under the alias “Davidov.” The
first rezidenturawas opened in Berlin in 1922. By the mid 1920s, the
IO had established a presence in London, Brussels, Rome, Istanbul,
Montreal, and New York. The initial responsibility of the organiza-
tion was the identification of émigrégroups operating in the territory
of the Soviet Union. From the beginning, the British were identified
as the main adversary, and efforts were made to recruit sources with
access to British policies. Davtyan lasted less than two years as chief
of the service before returning to work as a Cominternrepresenta-
tive. He was executed in 1938, like many of the founders of the IO.
See alsoILLEGALS; TRILISSER, MIKHAIL.IVASHUTIN, PETR IVANOVICH (1909–2002). The longest serving
chief of any Soviet intelligence service, Ivashutin made the GRUthe
world’s largest military intelligence service. Ivashutin entered the
OGPUin the early 1930s. He served in the Great Patriotic Warin
Smersh as the chief of counterintelligencein three different Red
Army fronts. In 1946 he transferred to the MGBand served in the
Ukraine in 1952–1953 as security chief, then was promoted head of
the Third (Military Counterintelligence) Chief Directorate. Known as
a tough counterintelligence officer, he was promoted to the post of
KGBdeputy chair in 1960. In 1962 he was responsible for crushing
economic riots in Novocherkassk. In 1963, following revelations
about the Central Intelligence Agency’s recruitment of military intel-
ligence officers, Ivashutin was made chief of the GRU.
During his tenure, the GRU became a full-service intelligence
agency. Ivashutin broadened the technical and human intelligence ca-
pabilities of the service. The GRU expanded the number of officers
under diplomatic cover in Soviet diplomatic and trade missions and
became the primary producer of Soviet technical intelligence. During
the more than 23 years he led the service, the GRU developed im-
agery and signals intelligencesatellites, as well as aircraft and ships
to collect intelligence. The GRU also greatly expanded its SpetznazIVASHUTIN, PETR IVANOVICH (1909–2002)• 12306-313 G-P.qxd 7/27/06 7:56 AM Page 123