People's Commissariat for State Security

People's Commissariat for State Security
Народный комиссариат государственной безопасности
Agency overview
Formed3 February 1941 (1941-02-03)
14 April 1943 (1943-04-14)
Preceding agencies
  • Cheka (1917–1922)
  • GPU (1922–1923)
  • OGPU (1923–1934)
  • NKVD (1934–1941)
    (1941–1943)
  • GUGB (1934–1941)
Dissolved20 July 1941 (1941-07-20)
15 March 1946 (1946-03-15)
Superseding agencies
TypeIntelligence agency
Secret police
JurisdictionCouncil of People's Commissars of the Soviet Union
HeadquartersLubyanka Building, 2 Bolshaya Lubyanka Street, Moscow, Soviet Union
Agency executive

The People's Commissariat for State Security (Russian: Народный комиссариат государственной безопасности, romanizedNarodnyy komissariat gosudarstvennoy bezopasnosti) or NKGB, was the name of the Soviet secret police, intelligence and counter-intelligence force that existed from 3 February 1941 to 20 July 1941, and again from 14 April 1943 to 15 March 1946, before being renamed the Ministry for State Security (MGB).