The issues of the formation and development of security agencies are considered on the basis of materials from the archives of the FSB of Russia, many of which are first introduced into scientific circulation. The history of the Soviet special services, which carried out the functions of intelligence, counterintelligence, political search and the fight against banditry, is being reconstructed. The institutional and functional parameters of the process of organizing state security in the USSR, the importance of domestic intelligence and counterintelligence in ensuring international security, preventing and resolving international crises and military conflicts are analyzed. Discussion issues related to the repressive practices of the Soviet special services are covered. This publication is one of the first in Russia to systematize the history of Soviet state security agencies.