After the adoption of the “Declaration of Independence” on 28 May 1918, the need emerged to establish a security service alongside the national army in order to effectively combat internal and external threats, prevent possible acts of terror, thwart disruptive activities and provide security within state borders. The government of Azerbaijan considered it expedient to establish the new body within the Ministry of War. The appointment of former tsarist army generals Samad bay Mehmandarov as war minister, Aliagha Shikhlinsky as deputy minister and Mammad bay Sulkevich as chief-of-staff gave a strong impetus to the emergence of intelligence and counter-intelligence activities along with army b ...

The Soviet government established local Extraordinary Commissions (Cheka) to combat counterrevolution and sabotage in the territories they occupied. Immediately after the occupation of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, the same process began in our country, and on 29 April 1920, the Azerbaijani Extraordinary Commission (Azerbaijani Cheka) was established. Since the entity initially operated jointly with the Special Department of the 11th Red Army due to staffing and technical shortcomings, Semyon Andreyevich Pankratov headed the Azerbaijani Cheka along with the Special Department of the 11th Army ...

According to the 6 February 1922 resolution of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, Cheka and some of its local bodies were abolished and the State Political Department (SPD) was established on its basis. In Azerbaijan, a decision was made at a meeting of the Board of the Central Executive Committee on 7 August 1926 to replace Azerbaijani Cheka with the SPD. The main task of the SPD was to secure the successful completion of the policy of collectivization pursued by the Bolshevik government. However, the resistance of national forces against the polic ...

By the 10 July 1934 decision of the USSR Central Executive Committee, the United State Political Department (USPD) was abolished as an independent body. On its basis, the Main State Security Department (SSSD) was established and incorporated into the USSR People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs (PCIA). The reorganization of state security agencies stemmed from significant changes in operational conditions and external threats. As the threat of Nazi Germany's invasion of the USSR increased in 1935-1938, the special services of the USSR and the Azerbaijan SSR faced urgent tasks. Baku oil was of special interest to Hitler in terms of w ...

After the war, as part of the reorganization of state security agencies, the military apparatus was abolished. As a result, the structure of the Soviet state security agencies was greatly simplified. By the 7 March 1953 joint decision of the plenum of the Central Committee of the CPSU, the USSR Council of Ministers and the USSR Supreme Soviet, the USSR Ministry of State Security and the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs were merged into one body - the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs. However, a decree was issued on 13 March 1954, establishing the State Security Committee (KGB) under the USSR Council of Ministers. It included the head offices and independent departments ...

The appointment of an Azerbaijani - national leader Heydar Aliyev - to the post of chairman of the State Security Committee of Azerbaijan for the first time in many decades marked the beginning of a new page in the history of this agency. As a result of the far-sighted and purposeful activity of the genius personality, the first Azerbaijani general in the KGB, greater prominence was given to the training and promotion of national personnel in the security agencies. One of the spheres of Heydar Aliyev's activity in the KGB was directed against the separatist activity of Armenians and pro-Armenian forces. For example, in the  ...

After regaining its independence in 1991 and the recognition of the sovereignty of our country by the vast majority of world powers, the pressure on the Republic of Azerbaijan and domestic and foreign threats intensified. All this aggravated the already complicated socio-political situation in Azerbaijan. The severe socio-economic crisis, chaos and anarchy in the country paralyzed public administration. The creation of illegal armed groups under the guise of "volunteer fighters" by some members of the government eventually accelerated the collapse of the ruling forces. In such circumstances, it was impossible to talk not only about the rule of law and&n ...