Vladimir Putin Visits Main Intelligence Department (GRU)

Russian President Vladimir Putin has visited the Main Intelligence Department of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces where he met intelligence top brass and veteran intelligence officers. Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov and GRU chief Valentin Korabelnikov also met Vladimir Putin. After the meeting, the Russian President laid a wreath at the monument to intelligence officers and answered journalists' questions. The Russian Military Intelligence Service celebrates the 83th anniversary of its foundation on Monday. It was established on November 5, 1918. Communist Semyon Ivanovich Aralov who served as intelligence officer with the Russian Army during the First World War became the first chief of the military intelligence agency.