Alpha Group (also called the Alfa Group or Spetsgruppa A) is an elite, standalone component of Russia's special forces and the dedicated counter-terrorism task-force of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB). Alpha Group is organized under the "A" Directorate of the FSB Special Operations Center, and tasked specifically with responding, preventing, and thwarting acts of terrorism. Regional deployemtns to conflict-prone areas are not uncommon. Although little is known about the exact nature of its primary directives, it is speculated that the unit is authorized to act under the direct control and sanction of Russia's top political leadership, similar in practice to the "B" Directorate's secretive Vympel unit, making it at once available for expanded police duties, essentially paramilitary applications, and/or additional covert operations.
History[]
Soviet Union[]
On the orders of Yuri Andropov, then Chairman of the KGB, Group A, or "Alfa Group" was created on 28 July 1974 in the aftermath of the 1972 Munich Summer Olympics. By attaching a Spetsnaz unit to the office of the First Chief Directorate, it was hoped that the Soviet Union's defensive capacity against terrorist attack would increase significantly. Initially, this special-purpose counter-terrorism unit was involved in delicate operations that necissitated its members' unique skill set, such as the 1983 hijacking of Aeroflot Flight 6833. Soon, however, this newly constituted task force was assigned missions that far exceeded its traditional scope, including the 1985 arrest of the CIA spy Adolf Tolkachev.