General Ivan Ivanovich Agayants
Agayants: “Sometimes I am amazed how easy it is to play these games, if they did not have press freedom, we would have to invent it for them”[i]

Agayants was one of the early commanders of the department.[ii] Agayants began his career in 1930.[iii] He began his career under Artur K. Artuzov. From 1937 to 1940, Agayants was stationed in France to conduct operations in the Spanish Civil War. He then was stationed in Iran during World War II.[iv] He then served in Algiers in 1943. He served as the first resident for the KGB after the war. Additionally, he often travelled around the world to assist or oversee operations. This included operation trips to Sweden in 1963 and Pakistan and Indonesia in 1965.[v] Based on many operations he had performed in his career thus far, he sent the new KGB chairman Aleksandr Shelepin objectives that would become the Active Measures department, Department D. Created in 1959.

In 1967, Agayants was promoted to Deputy Head of the First Chief Directorate.[vi] Agayants died May 12, 1968 of lung cancer. Sergei A. Kondrashev took his place upon his death.

[i] Bittman, Ladislav, The KGB and Soviet Disinformation, An Insider’s View, (Pergamon-Brasseys International Defense Publishers, 1985) pg 69

[ii] Bittman, Ladislav, The KGB and Soviet Disinformation, An Insider’s View, (Pergamon-Brasseys International Defense Publishers, 1985) pg 2

[iii] Tennent H. Bagley, Spymaster, (SkyHorse, 2013) pg 167

[iv] Tennent H. Bagley, Spymaster, (SkyHorse, 2013) pg 167

[v] Barron, John, KGB: The Secret Work of Soviet Secret Agents, (Bantam Books, 1974) pg 226

[vi] Tennent H. Bagley, Spymaster, (SkyHorse, 2013) pg 169