AFSA — Armed Forces Security [SIGINT] Agency [USA]
AKEL — Cyprus Communist Party Amtorg American-Soviet Trading Corporation, New York
ASA — Army Security [SIGINT] Agency [USA]
AVH — Hungarian security and intelligence agency
AVO — predecessor of AVH
BfV — FRG security service
BND — FRG foreign intelligence agency
CDU — Christian Democratic Union [FRG]
Cheka — All-Russian Extraordinary Commission for Combating Counter-Revolution and Sabotage: predecessor KGB (1917-22)
CIA — Central Intelligence Agency [USA]
COCOM — Coordinating Committee for East-West Trade
Comecon — [Soviet Bloc] Council for Mutual Economic Aid Comintern Communist International
CPC — Christian Peace Conference
CPC — Communist Party of Canada
CPCz — Communist Party of Czechoslovakia
CPGB — Communist Party of Great Britain
CPSU — Communist Party of the Soviet Union
CPUSA — Communist Party of the United States of America
CSU — Christian Social Union [FRG: ally of CDU]
DCI — Director of Central Intelligence [USA]
DGS — Portuguese security service
DGSE — French foreign intelligence service
DIA — Defense Intelligence Agency [USA]
DLB — dead letter-box
DRG — Soviet sabotage and intelligence group
DS — Bulgarian security and intelligence service
DST — French security service
F Line — “Special Actions” department in KGB residencies
FAPSI — Russian (post-Soviet) SIGINT agency
FBI — Federal Bureau of Investigation [USA]
FCD — First Chief [Foreign Intelligence] Directorate, KGB
FCO — Foreign and Commonwealth Office [UK]
FRG — Federal Republic of Germany
GCHQ — Government Communications Head-Quarters [British SIGINT Agency]
GDR — German Democratic Republic
GPU — Soviet security and intelligence service (within NKVD, 1922-3)
GRU — Soviet Military Intelligence
GUGB — Soviet security and intelligence service (within NKVD, 1943-43)
Gulag — Labour Camps Directorate
HUMINT — intelligence from human sources (espionage)
HVA — GDR foreign intelligence service
ICBM — intercontinental ballistic missile
IMINT — imagery intelligence
INO — foreign intelligence department of Cheka/GPU/OGPU/ GUGB, 1920-1941; predecessor of INU
INU — foreign intelligence directorate of NKGB/GUGB/MGB, 1941-54; predecessor of FCD
IRA — Irish Republican Army
JIC — Joint Intelligence Committee [UK]
K-231 — club of former political prisoners jailed under Article 231 of the Czechoslovak criminal code
KAN — Club of Non-Party Activists [Czechoslovakia]
KGB — Soviet security and intelligence service (1954-1991)
KHAD — Afghan security service
KI — Soviet foreign intelligence agency, initially combining foreign intelligence directorates of MGB and GRU (1947-51)
KKE — Greek Communist Party
KKE-es — breakaway Eurocommunist Greek Communist Party
KOR — Workers Defence Committee [Poland]
KPÖ — Austrian Communist Party
KR Line — Counter-intelligence department in KGB residencies
LLB — live letter box
MGB — Soviet Ministry of State Security (1946-54)
MGIMO — Moscow State Institute for International Relations
MI5 — British security service
MI6 — alternative designation for SIS [UK]
MOR — Monarchist Association of Central Russia (“The Trust”)
N Line — Illegal support department in KGB residencies
NATO — North Atlantic Treaty Organization
NKGB — People’s Commisariat for State Security (Soviet security and intelligence service, 1941 and 1943-6)
NKVD — People’s Commisariat for Internal Affairs (incorporated state security, 1922-3, 1934-43)
NSA — National Security [SIGINT] Agency [USA]
NSC — National Security Council [USA]
NSZRiS — People’s [anti-Bolshevik] Union for Defence of Country and Freedom
NTS — National Labour Alliance (Soviet émigré social-democratic movement)
Okhrana — Tsarist security service, 1881-1917
OMS — Comintern International Liaison Department
OSS — Office of Strategic Services [USA]
OT — Operational Technical Support (FCD)
OUN — Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists
OZNA — Yugoslav security and intelligence service
PCF — French Communist Party
PCI — Italian Communist Party
PCP — Portuguese Communist Party
PFLP — Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
PIDE — Portuguese Liberation Organization
PLO — Palestine Liberation Organization
POUM — Workers Unification Party (Spanish Marxist Trotskyist Party in 1930s)
PR Line — political intelligence department in KGB residences
PSOE — Spanish Socialist Party
PUWP — Polish United Workers [Communist] Party
RCMP — Royal Canadian Mounted Police
ROVS — [White] Russian Combined Services Union
RYAN — Raketno-Yadernoye Napadenie (Nuclear Missile Attack)
SALT — Strategic Arms Limitation Talks
SAM — Soviet surface-to-air missile
SB — Polish Security and intelligence service
SCD — Second Chief [Internal Security and Counter-Intelligence] Directorate, KGB
SDECE — French foreign intelligence service; predecessor of DGSE
SDI — Strategic Defense Initiative (‘Star Wars’)
SED — Socialist Unity [Communist] Party [GDR]
SIGINT — intelligence derived from interception and analysis of signals
SIS — Secret Intelligence Service [UK]
SK Line — Soviet colony department in KGB residencies
SKP — Communist Party of Finland
SOE — Special Operations Executive [UK]
SPD — Social Democratic Party [FRG]
Spetsnaz — Soviet special forces
SR — Socialist Revolutionary
S&T — scientific and technological intelligence
Stapo — Austrian police security service
Stasi — GDR Ministry of State Security
Stavka — Wartime Soviet GHQ/high command
StB — Czechoslovak security and intelligence service
SVR — Russian (post-Soviet) foreign intelligence service
TUC — Trades Union Congress [UK]
UAR — United Arab Republic
UB — Polish security and intelligence service; predecessor of SB
UDBA — Yugoslav security and intelligence service; successor to OZNA
VPK — Soviet Military Industrial Commission
VVR — Supreme Military Council [anti-Bolshevik Ukranian underground]
WCC — World Council of Churches
WPC — World Peace Council
X Line — S&T department in KGB residencies