# Filipp Bobkov

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Soviet-Russian KGB functionary (1925-2019)

In this name that follows [East Slavic naming customs](/source/East_Slavic_naming_customs), the [patronymic](/source/Patronymic) is *Denisovich* and the [family name](/source/Surname) is *Bobkov*.

Filipp Denisovich Bobkov Bobkov in 2012 Native name Филипп Денисович Бобков Nickname KGB's Brain Born (1925-12-01)1 December 1925 Chervona Kam'yanka, Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, Soviet Union (now Ukraine) Died 17 June 2019(2019-06-17) (aged 93) Moscow, Russia Allegiance Soviet Union Branch Red Army (until 1945) NKGB (1945–1946) MGB (1946–1953) KGB (1953–1992) Service years 1942–1992 Rank Army General Commands Fifth Main Directorate of the KGB Conflicts World War II Operation Büffel Battle of Smolensk Baltic offensive Battles of the Courland Bridgehead Jeltoqsan Sumgait massacres January Events Awards

**Filipp Denisovich Bobkov** ([Russian](/source/Russian_language): Фили́пп Дени́сович Бобко́в; 1 December 1925 – 17 June 2019) was a Soviet and Russian [KGB](/source/KGB) functionary, who worked as the chief of the [KGB](/source/KGB) subunit responsible for repressing dissent (Fifth Main Directorate), which was responsible for suppression of internal dissent in the former [Soviet Union](/source/Soviet_Union). He was widely regarded as the chief KGB ideologist or "KGB brain."[1]

## Service in the Soviet secret services

Bobkov began his career in the Soviet secret services—then known as the [People's Commissariat for State Security](/source/People's_Commissariat_for_State_Security), or NKGB—in 1945, under the guidance of [Lavrentiy Beria](/source/Lavrentiy_Beria). In the power struggles that followed the death of Soviet leader [Joseph Stalin](/source/Joseph_Stalin), Bobkov survived Beria's removal and execution, and later outlasted eleven subsequent chairmen of the [Ministry of State Security](/source/Ministry_of_State_Security_(Soviet_Union)) (MGB) and KGB. During the 1970s and 1980s, he "effectively became the KGB's real chairman, although officially he held the post of first deputy," according to Russian investigative journalist [Yevgenia Albats](/source/Yevgenia_Albats).[2]

### Creation of front organizations

Bobkov was very instrumental in creation of KGB-controlled political organizations, such as the [Anti-Zionist Committee of the Soviet Public](/source/Anti-Zionist_Committee_of_the_Soviet_Public), established in 1983. He also allegedly invented the [Liberal Democratic Party of Russia](/source/Liberal_Democratic_Party_of_Russia), according to Soviet Politburo member [Alexander Yakovlev](/source/Alexander_Yakovlev). However, Bobkov denied these allegations, saying that he did not support the creation of a "[Zubatov](/source/Sergei_Zubatov)-style pseudo-party under KGB control, which directs interests and sentiments of certain social groups."[3]

### Ethnic conflicts

As described in his official biography, Bobkov was personally engaged in resolving ethnic conflicts in the Soviet Union. This included incidents such as the [Sumgait pogrom](/source/Sumgait_pogrom), the [January Events](/source/January_Events_(Lithuania)) in Lithuania, the 1989 tribal clashes in Uzbekistan, and the [Jeltoqsan](/source/Jeltoqsan). Former Politburo deputy and reformist leader Alexander Yakovlev, however, has claimed that Bobkov did not solve these conflicts, but rather created them in an effort to maintain the power of the KGB by showing its necessity.[4]

### Perestroika

According to Bobkov, [perestroika](/source/Perestroika) had been invented by him and his KGB colleagues: "We in the KGB contributed quite a bit to the process of perestroika because [...] without it the Soviet Union could not move ahead."[5]

Documents discovered by political scientist [Robert van Voren](/source/Robert_van_Voren) in the [Stasi](/source/Stasi) archives show that in summer 1989 Bobkov came to Berlin and told Stasi Director [Erich Mielke](/source/Erich_Mielke) that [German reunification](/source/German_reunification) was the work of mentally ill persons.[6]

Bobkov allegedly supervised the transfer of Communist Party money to foreign banks prior to the [1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt](/source/1991_Soviet_coup_d'%C3%A9tat_attempt).[7][8] In October 1990, Bobkov ordered the creation of [commercial firms](/source/Front_organization) and banks, which were managed by KGB officers and their "trusted contacts." The project was funded by KGB and Party money, "which made up almost 80% of the amount invested in the new banks, stock exchanges, and businesses in 1990-1991," according to the testimony of Richard Palmer to the [United States Congress](/source/United_States_Congress) regarding Soviet infiltration of the Western financial system.[9] [Nikolay Kruchina](/source/Nikolay_Kruchina), a high ranking [CPSU](/source/Communist_Party_of_the_Soviet_Union) official who was officially responsible for supervising the Communist Party money, fell to his death from the window of his luxury apartment in Moscow soon after the events.

### Post-Soviet Russia

Bobkov officially retired in 1991 and organized a private security service in the [Media Most](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Media_Most&action=edit&redlink=1) company called SB MOST Group ([Russian](/source/Russian_language): СБ „Группы МОСТ“), which included thousands of his former KGB colleagues.[8][10][11][12] The entire archive of 5th KGB Main Directorate was taken to Media-Most.[8][13] This security service allegedly organized an attempted assassination of Russian oligarch [Boris Berezovsky](/source/Boris_Berezovsky_(businessman)) in 1994.[12] On 3 July 2000, the FreeLance Bureau (FLB) under its editor-in-chief Sergei Sokolov released what was called *Russiagate* ([Russian](/source/Russian_language): "Рашенгейт") or the “Database of SB MOST Group” ([Russian](/source/Russian_language): «База данных СБ „Группы МОСТ“») although Sokolov stated that in addition to the MOST Group Security Bureau's database, Sokolov released other files, transcripts, etc from the FSB and other security structures as well.[14][15][16]

His daughter Dasha or Daria Bobkova ([Russian](/source/Russian_language): Дарья Бобкова) heads the Spanish branch of Most-Bank ([Russian](/source/Russian_language): Мост-Банк - Испанский).[12]

He also worked as a personal security adviser of Russian Parliament speaker [Ruslan Khasbulatov](/source/Ruslan_Khasbulatov).[17]

Bobkov died on 17 June 2019.[18]

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Жирнов, Евгений (Zhirnov, Evgeny) (12 May 2000). [Одна жизнь Филиппа Денисовича](http://www.kommersant.ru/doc.aspx?DocsID=18086). One life of Filipp Denisovich (in Russian). *[Kommersant](/source/Kommersant)*. Retrieved 15 January 2021.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** [*The State Within a State: The KGB and Its Hold on Russia - Past, Present, and Future*](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0374527385/), by [Yevgenia Albats](/source/Yevgenia_Albats) and Catherine A. Fitzpatrick. 1994. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-374-18104-7](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-374-18104-7).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** [Alexander Nikolaevich Yakovlev](/source/Alexander_Nikolaevich_Yakovlev) *Time of darkness*, Moscow, 2003, [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [5-85646-097-9](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/5-85646-097-9), page 574 ([Russian](/source/Russian_language): Яковлев А. Сумерки. Москва: Материк 2003 г.). The book provides an official copy of a document providing the initial LDPR funding (3 million rubles) from the [CPSU](/source/CPSU) money

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** [Alexander Nikolaevich Yakovlev](/source/Alexander_Nikolaevich_Yakovlev) *Time of darkness*, Moscow, 2003, [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [5-85646-097-9](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/5-85646-097-9), page 551 ([Russian](/source/Russian_language): Яковлев А. Сумерки. Москва: Материк 2003 г.)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** J. Michael Waller *Secret Empire: The KGB in Russia Today.*, Westview Press. Boulder, CO., 1994., [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-8133-2323-1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-8133-2323-1)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Trehub_6-0)** Trehub, Hanna (22 February 2013). ["Political Madness: Dutch Sovietologist Robert van Voren speaks about Soviet repressive psychiatry and its surviving offshoots"](http://ukrainianweek.com/Society/72920). *[The Ukrainian Week](/source/The_Ukrainian_Week)*. Retrieved 25 February 2014.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** [Transfer of Communist Party money](https://books.google.com/books?id=-dPpeeU84h0C&pg=PA317&dq=Bobkov+KGB&sig=nAZhtnZZwIUt6mHc3AdzzjK2QOc)

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Stringer2003_8-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Stringer2003_8-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Stringer2003_8-2) [Нерсесов, Юрий](https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9D%D0%B5%D1%80%D1%81%D0%B5%D1%81%D0%BE%D0%B2,_%D0%AE%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%B9_%D0%90%D1%80%D0%BA%D0%B0%D0%B4%D1%8C%D0%B5%D0%B2%D0%B8%D1%87) (23 January 2003). [Жертвы иудейской войны](http://stringer-news.com/Publication.mhtml?PubID=1736&Menu=&Part=39). stringer-news.ru website. Retrieved 3 June 2021.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** [STATEMENT OF RICHARD L. PALMER](http://www.russianlaw.org/palmer.htm), PRESIDENT OF CACHET INTERNATIONAL, INC. ON THE INFILTRATION OF THE WESTERN FINANCIAL SYSTEM BY ELEMENTS OF RUSSIAN ORGANIZED CRIME BEFORE THE HOUSE COMMITTEE ON BANKING AND FINANCIAL SERVICES ON SEPTEMBER 21, 1999

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** Grove, Lloyd (7 April 1995). ["Russky business"](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1995/04/07/russky-business/5fc93480-5ba4-4352-998e-d37ce55c8a27/). *[The Washington Post](/source/The_Washington_Post)*. Retrieved 5 March 2021.{{[cite news](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Cite_news)}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service ([link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:CS1_maint:_deprecated_archival_service))

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** [Ideologist for all times](http://www.rosvesty.ru/numbers/1762/nongrata/) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20051108090332/http://www.rosvesty.ru/numbers/1762/nongrata/) 2005-11-08 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine), by Felix Shemedlovsky, Russian Vedomosti

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Apolitical_Gusinsky_12-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Apolitical_Gusinsky_12-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Apolitical_Gusinsky_12-2) Григорьев, Андрей (Grigoriev, Andrei) (28 March 2000). [Аполитичный Гусинский](https://archive.today/20130416234759/http://www.ko.ru/document.php?id=1509). Apolitical Gusinsky. (in Russian). *«Компания»* — деловой еженедельник (*Company*). [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20120212201126/http://ko.ru/articles/1509) from the original on 12 February 2012. Retrieved 15 January 2021.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** [Ideologist for all times](http://www.rosvesty.ru/numbers/1762/nongrata/) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20051108090332/http://www.rosvesty.ru/numbers/1762/nongrata/) 2005-11-08 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine), by Felix Shemedlovsky, Russian Vedomosti, [A slightly different version](http://www.flb.ru/info/33789.html)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-14)** Нехорошев, Григорий (Nekhoroshev, Grigory) (3 July 2000). ["FLB.RU ПОДГОТОВИЛО ГРАНДИОЗНЫЙ СКАНДАЛ. В нем затрагивается более трехсот имен известных людей РФ"](https://web.archive.org/web/20010127203200/https://www.ng.ru/events/2000-07-04/2_flb.html) [FLB.RU PREPARED A GREAT SCANDAL . It touches on more than three hundred names of famous people of the Russian Federation]. *[Независимая Газета](/source/Nezavisimaya_Gazeta) (Nezavisimaya Gazeta)* (in Russian). Archived from [the original](https://www.ng.ru/events/2000-07-04/2_flb.html) on 27 January 2001. Retrieved 5 March 2021.{{[cite news](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Cite_news)}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list ([link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:CS1_maint:_multiple_names:_authors_list))

1. **[^](#cite_ref-15)** ["(Un)Civil Societies Report: July 13, 2000"](https://www.rferl.org/a/1347355.html). *[Radio Free Europe](/source/Radio_Free_Europe)*. 13 July 2000. Retrieved 5 March 2021. See section *RUSSIAN WEB SITE PUBLISHES EXTENSIVE "RUSSIAGATE" DATABASE...*

1. **[^](#cite_ref-16)** [Челноков, Алексей (Chelnokov, Alexey)](https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A7%D0%B5%D0%BB%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B2,_%D0%90%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%BA%D1%81%D0%B5%D0%B9_%D0%A1%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B3%D0%B5%D0%B5%D0%B2%D0%B8%D1%87) [in Russian]; Плужников, Сергей (Pluzhnikov, Sergey); [Соколов, Сергей (Sokolov, Sergey)](https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A1%D0%BE%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%BE%D0%B2,_%D0%A1%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B3%D0%B5%D0%B9_%D0%92%D0%B8%D0%BA%D1%82%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B8%D1%87) [in Russian] (3 July 2000). [""Рашенгейт""](https://web.archive.org/web/20010818093946/http://www.flb.ru/bdrussiangate.html) ["Rashengate"]. *[Журналистское агентство Free Lance Bureau (FLB)](https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%90%D0%B3%D0%B5%D0%BD%D1%82%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B2%D0%BE_%D1%84%D0%B5%D0%B4%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%BB%D1%8C%D0%BD%D1%8B%D1%85_%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%81%D1%81%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%B4%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B9) (flb.ru)* (in Russian). Archived from [the original](http://www.flb.ru/bdrussiangate.html) on 18 August 2001. Retrieved 5 March 2021.{{[cite news](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Cite_news)}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list ([link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:CS1_maint:_multiple_names:_authors_list))

1. **[^](#cite_ref-17)** [Personal security adviser of Ruslan Hasbulatov](https://books.google.com/books?id=LMDQwnArs3EC&pg=PA295&dq=Bobkov+KGB&lr=&sig=ds6HwV2xPXH4EgOsufeK79dxCO0)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-18)** ["Philipp Bobkov, senior KGB officer who helped stamp out dissent in the former Soviet Union – obituary"](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2019/06/20/philipp-bobkov-senior-kgb-officer-helped-stamp-dissent-former/). *The Telegraph*. 20 June 2019. Retrieved 16 September 2023.

## External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to [Philipp Bobkov](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Philipp_Bobkov).

- [His official biography (Russian)](http://www.peoples.ru/military/general/bobkov/index.html)

- [Philipp Bobkov "A guest at Dmitry Gordon", 2013, 61 min](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnhcto4vpXI) on [YouTube](/source/YouTube_video_(identifier))

- [Filipp Bobkov](https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/200935595) at [Find a Grave](/source/Find_a_Grave)

v t e Generals of the Army of the Soviet Union Altunin Andropov Antonov Apanasenko Arkhipov Batov Belik [ru] Belikov [ru] Beloborodov Betekhtin Bobkov Varennikov Vasyagin [ru] Vatutin Voloshin [ru] Galitsky Gareev Gerasymov Getman Govorov Gorbatov Grachev [ru] Gribkov Gusakovsky Yemokhonov [ru] Yepishev Yermakov [ru] Zhadov Zaitsev Zakharov V. Ivanov [ru] S. Ivanov Ivanovsky Ivashutin Kazakov Kobets Kozlov [ru] Kolpakchi Komarovsky [ru] Kochetov [ru] Kreizer Krivda [ru] Kryuchkov Kurasov Kurochkin Laschenko [ru] Lelyushenko Lizichev [ru] Lobov Luchinsky Lushev Lyashchenko Mayorov [ru] Maksimov [ru] Malandin [ru] Malinin Maltsev [ru] Margelov Maslennikov Matrosov [ru] Merkulov[1] Mikhaylov [ru] Moiseyev Obaturov Pavlov Pavlovsky Penkovsky [ru] Petrov Pliyev Poplavsky Popov Popov [ru] Postnikov Purkayev Radzievsky Salmanov [ru] Serov[1] Snetkov Sorokin [ru] Stuchenko [ru] Sukhorukov Tretyak Tyulenev Fedorchuk Fedyuninsky Khetagurov Khrulyov Tsvigun Tsinyov [ru] Chebrikov Chernyakhovsky Shabanov [ru] Shavrov [ru] Shkadov Shtemenko Shuralyov Scheglov [ru] Yakovlev Yashin [ru] [1]Stripped/Demoted

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Filipp Bobkov](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filipp_Bobkov) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filipp_Bobkov?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.