The Main Directorate of State Security (Russian: Glavnoe Upravlenie Gosudarstvennoi Bezopasnosti) was the name of the Soviet secret police from July 1934 to April 1943. It was run under the auspices of the Peoples Commisariat of Internal Affairs (The NKVD), as it was better known. It evolved from the Joint State Political Directorate (OGPU), and later became a Peoples Commisariat unto itself, the Peoples Commisariat of National Security (The NKGB).

See also

• Chronology of Soviet secret police agencies