List of chairmen of the KGB

The chairman of the KGB was the head of the Soviet KGB. He was assisted by one or two first deputy chairmen, and four to six deputy chairmen. He was also the head of the Collegium of the KGB&mdash;which consisted of the chairman, deputy chairmen, directorate chiefs, and one or two republic-level KGB organization chairmen&mdash;who affected key policy decisions.

In 1934–1943 the Soviet State Security agency was part of the People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (NKVD) as the Main Directorate of State Security (GUGB). The director of the GUGB was the first deputy of the People's Commissar of Interior.