It has a legal basis in Article 9 of Federal law 40-FZ of 1995, which was signed by President Yeltsin, and which defines the role of counterintelligence services in Russia.
The FSB's own view of its counterintelligence history focusses on activities in World War II.
[6] As of 2024[update], the FSB's director is Alexander Bortnikov, who previously served in counterintelligence units of the KGB during the Cold War.
In addition to arrests such as Evan Gershkovich, it follows the cars of diplomats (and their family members), cuts the power to their homes or breaks into them, and leaves human feces as a "calling card".
[10][11] The DKRO has been involved in "monitoring" of the Russian Foreign Ministry, which led to corruption, as officers extorted money from security companies.