Budgets

   The Soviet intelligence services never published their budgets. The only benchmark is a statement by Leonid Shebarshin that while the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) had a budget of $30 billion, the KGB’s budget was only 5 million hard currency rubles, about $8 million, at the end of the Cold War. Of course, Shebarshin’s statement is self-serving: the budget of the entire U.S. intelligence community—not just the CIA—was $30 billion. Moreover, most of the U.S. intelligence budget went to Defense Department technical programs, whereas such programs in the Soviet Union were managed by the GRU. Still, the KGB’s power did not come from its budget: it could requisition what it needed—personnel, money, or property—to accomplish its missions.

   The post-Soviet Russian military has certainly suffered financially. Officers and soldiers have gone months without salaries. Ships have rusted away at dockside, and planes have turned to unflyable relics. The MVD (Ministry of Internal Affairs) has suffered greatly as well, with limited funds for operations and police officers. Nevertheless, the Russian intelligence services remain robust and are the largest in the world.