The secret police files: what every former communist country did with them

Stasi, the Ministry for State Security (1950–1990) · 18 March 1990, first free elections in the GDR

Your own file

since 1992

Names published by the state

case by case: findings on MPs, from 1998; otherwise only to the person watched

Lustration

removal from posts, 1991–2030

The three dates

Files have been read since 2 January 1992. Informers' names are not published: each person learns from their own file who reported on them, and can ask separately for the real names behind code names. Findings on members of parliament are published as Bundestag papers (the first documented, on Gregor Gysi, in 1998). Public employees have been vetted since 1991, and vetting is allowed until 31 December 2030.

What was lost

Erich Mielke gave the first order to destroy files in November 1989. On 4 December 1989 citizens occupied the Stasi office in Erfurt, then Leipzig and other towns; on 15 January 1990, the Berlin headquarters. The foreign intelligence arm (HV A) was allowed to destroy its own archive. About 15,400 containers of hand-torn paper remain; some 1.7 million sheets have been pieced together by hand from about 600 sacks.

Where the files are

The Stasi Records Archive of the Federal Archives (since 17 June 2021; before that the BStU, from 1991): about 112.5 km of files at 13 sites and 46.7 million index cards.

How many asked

3,499,663 citizen applications to 31 December 2025; 521,725 in 1992 alone. In 2025: 31,120, of which 21,103 were first applications.

What came out

Wolfgang Schnur, leader of Democratic Awakening, resigned on 14 March 1990, four days before the election, after first denying his Stasi collaboration. Ibrahim Böhme, chairman of the East German SPD, gave up his offices in April 1990 over the same accusation, saying he would step aside until he had cleared his name; the files later reconstructed his work for the Stasi in detail.

How to ask

Anyone, of any nationality, for their own file; close relatives for a person who has died. Apply online with a German electronic ID or on paper with confirmed identity. Free; the first answer takes months, sometimes over a year.

In 2026

Applications are falling slowly but have not stopped: a quarter of first applications now come from relatives of the dead.

Sources

• Bundesarchiv – Das Stasi-Unterlagen-Archiv in Zahlen (Stand 31.12.2025)
• BStU, 5. Tätigkeitsbericht (2001) Anhang 2; BStU 13. TB Anhang 8; Bundesarchiv 'in Zahlen'
• BStU, 1. Tätigkeitsbericht (1993)
• BStU, 13. Tätigkeitsbericht (2017)

UB, then the SB (Security Service), 1944–1990 · 4 June 1989, the partly free election won by Solidarity

Your own file

since 2001 (for victims; for everyone since 2007)

Names published by the state

case by case, since 1999

Lustration

removal from posts, 1999–today

The three dates

Applications were accepted from 7 February 2001, and the first people read their files in September 2001; since March 2007 anyone may ask for the documents about them. Since 1999 a lustration court has checked officials' declarations; a false one costs the post. Since 25 September 2007 the IPN has published online catalogues of officers, regime leaders, and what the archive holds on people in public office. A catalogue of informers was struck down by the Constitutional Tribunal.

What was lost

In 1989–1990 an estimated 50–60% of informers' personal files were destroyed, up to 90% in Gdańsk. A 1990 internal ministry inquiry found, in two voivodeships, that even the records of destruction had been destroyed.

Where the files are

The archive of the Institute of National Remembrance (IPN): 94.6 km of records at the end of 2025.

How many asked

The Wildstein list (an index of about 240,000 names taken from the IPN) went online in January 2005. In the 18 months from July 2004 to December 2005, which take in the leak, 31,589 requests came in, against about 2,000 a year before; in 2006, another 18,234. In 2025: 7,892, mostly from people tracing ancestors.

What came out

Lech Wałęsa: a lustration court ruled on 11 August 2000 that his declaration of non-collaboration was true. In 2016 the IPN seized the "Bolek" file from General Kiszczak's widow; in 2017 handwriting experts from the Institute of Forensic Research in Kraków, commissioned by IPN prosecutors, concluded that the 1970 pledge and the receipts were in his hand. Wałęsa denies collaborating. In January 2007 Archbishop Stanisław Wielgus gave up the see of Warsaw on the day of his installation, after a Church commission found documents of his collaboration, which he had admitted two days earlier.

How to ask

Anyone, for documents about themselves; since 2016 also for a close relative who has died. The form is filed at IPN headquarters or any branch; documents are seen in the reading room, more and more often as electronic copies.

In 2026

The IPN has no confirmed president: its head from 2021, Karol Nawrocki, became President of Poland in 2025.

Sources

• Biuletyn IPN nr 4 (39), kwiecień 2004
• IPN, Informacja o działalności IPN 2025, t. 1
• S. Cenckiewicz, P. Gontarczyk, SB a Lech Wałęsa. Przyczynek do biografii, IPN 2008 (pp. ~184–185)
• Tadeusz Ruzikowski (oprac.), Instrukcje pracy operacyjnej aparatu bezpieczeństwa (1945–1989), IPN, Materiały pomocnicze BEP

StB, State Security (1945–1990) · 17 November 1989, the start of the Velvet Revolution

Your own file

since 1997 (approx.)

Names published by the state

whole registry, since 2003

Lustration

removal from posts, 1991–today

The three dates

The 1991 lustration law is still in force: senior posts in the state, army, police, courts and public broadcasting require a certificate. Your own file can be read under a law in force from December 1996, in practice from 1997, at a single centre in Pardubice. On 20 March 2003 the Interior Ministry published the list of some 75,000 collaborators in the StB registers; its website crashed for two days. The 1992 Cibulka list was a leak, not an official publication.

What was lost

From 1 to 8 December 1989 the StB "sorted" its agent files on General Lorenc's order (the Lorenc shredding). No national total exists; in three counter-intelligence departments 9.5%, 27% and 21.4% of files were wholly destroyed.

Where the files are

The Security Services Archive (ABS), since 2008: 20.4 km at the end of 2025, of which only 11.7% is processed.

How many asked

By mid-2001 about 2,000 people had read their file in Pardubice and ten times as many had been told none existed. The ABS does not count own-file requests separately: in 2025 it answered 2,666 searches covering 10,018 people.

What came out

Milan Kundera: in 2008 the weekly Respekt published a 1950 police report naming him as the person who reported a Western courier, later sentenced to 22 years. The archive said the document was genuine; Kundera denied it. No court ruled. Andrej Babiš: see Slovakia.

How to ask

Any adult, foreigners included, for their own file; relatives for someone who has died; anyone may ask whether a named person was registered as a collaborator. Apply by e-mail, post or at the desk; digitised files can be viewed remotely.

In 2026

The lustration law has not covered ministers since 2014; a bill to restore that lapsed in 2025.

Sources

• Archiv bezpečnostních složek – Výroční zpráva (annual report) 2019
• Archiv bezpečnostních složek – Výroční zpráva (annual report) 2025
• Zákon č. 140/1996 Sb., o zpřístupnění svazků vzniklých činností bývalé Státní bezpečnosti (current text)
• Archiv bezpečnostních složek – Výroční zpráva (annual report) 2008

StB, State Security (1945–1990) · 17 November 1989, the start of the Velvet Revolution

Your own file

since 2003

Names published by the state

whole registry, since 2004

Lustration

removal from posts, 1991–1992

The three dates

The Czechoslovak lustration law applied until the split and was not applied in independent Slovakia. The Nation's Memory Institute (ÚPN) opened files to the public in December 2003, and from 16 November 2004 put the StB registers online: 76,000–81,000 entries, including 15,000–16,300 secret collaborators. An entry is not proof of collaboration.

What was lost

Shredding went on after Lorenc officially stopped it, in places until February 1990. On 6 December 1989 the file of dissident Ján Langoš, who would later head the ÚPN, was shredded. In 1990 files stolen from the Trenčín archive reached Vladimír Mečiar's circle.

Where the files are

The Nation's Memory Institute (ÚPN), since 2003. Some original files on Slovaks stayed in Czech archives after the 1999 settlement.

How many asked

Over 1,900 requests in 2004 and nearly 8,000 dealt with from 2003 to 2005, per the ÚPN. No later yearly series was found.

What came out

Andrej Babiš, Czech prime minister again: the register published by the ÚPN lists him as agent "Bureš". He denies it. Courts ruled for him in 2014 and 2015, but the rulings were annulled in 2017 because he had sued the wrong institution; in February 2024 the Constitutional Court upheld the dismissal of his suit. In October 2024, in a court-approved settlement, the Slovak Interior Ministry acknowledged that he had been registered without justification and had not knowingly collaborated; the ÚPN rejects the settlement and keeps him in the register. No court has ruled on the merits.

How to ask

Any adult for their own file; relatives for someone who has died; anyone may ask whether a person was a registered collaborator. Forms online; 90-day legal deadline.

In 2026

Slovakia still has no lustration law; the online registers are its main tool.

Sources

• Patrik Dubovský, Ján Langoš. Od samizdatov a VPN k dokumentom ŠtB a ÚPN (Ústav pamäti národa, Bratislava 2021)
• Zákon č. 553/2002 Z. z. o sprístupnení dokumentov o činnosti bezpečnostných zložiek štátu 1939 – 1989 a o založení Ústavu pamäti národa (zákon o pamäti národa), znenie účinné od 28. 9. 2002 (Slov-Lex)
• ÚPN, Registračné protokoly agentúrnych a operatívnych zväzkov ŠtB
• Zákon č. 553/2002 Z. z., znenie účinné od 22. 3. 2022 (Slov-Lex)

ÁVH, then the Interior Ministry's Directorate III (1945–1990) · 23 October 1989, the proclamation of the Republic of Hungary

Your own file

since 1997

Names published by the state

case by case since 1994; whole registry scheduled for 4 November 2026

Lustration

public screening without removal, since 1994

The three dates

Hungarians have read their files since 1 September 1997, at the Historical Office, which became the Historical Archives of the State Security (ÁBTL) in 2003. The 1994 law screened officials: anyone found to have a political-police past was asked to resign, otherwise the finding was published; it barred no one from office. Law LI of 2026, passed on 15 September by 149 votes to none, with 35 abstentions, sets free online publication of the registers for 4 November 2026.

What was lost

From autumn 1989 to January 1990, an estimated 1,400 dossiers were destroyed at Directorate III/III, which watched the opposition; when military prosecutors began seizing files, four "live" dossiers were left. From 22 December 1989, on the deputy minister's order, no destruction records were kept. The scandal was called "Dunagate".

Where the files are

ÁBTL, Budapest: 4.6 km of records at the end of 2023. Some classified pre-1990 records are still with today's services.

How many asked

69,220 personal requests from 1997 to the end of 2024; 3,410 in 2024. Two thirds now come from children and grandchildren of the people in the files; in 2024, 96 applicants were informers themselves.

What came out

Péter Medgyessy, prime minister 2002–2004: in 2002 the press reported that he had been a counter-intelligence officer, not a recruited informer; in a 2014 interview he confirmed the cooperation. In 2006 the weekly Élet és Irodalom published archive documents showing that film director István Szabó wrote reports from 1957 to 1963 under the cover name "Képesi Endre", mostly on fellow film students.

How to ask

The person watched; after their death, relatives. Online form or letter. Free; the archive advises applying again after two or three years because its holdings grow.

In 2026

On 1 November nyitottaktak.hu showed only "coming soon". What the law publishes: every network registration card (about 36,000 survive, failed recruitments included), the 1957–1962 recruitment registers, the data on magnetic tapes saved in January 1990 (58,708 records) and, by 25 February 2027, the recruitment files. Informers' reports stay offline. A person named may attach their own statement.

Sources

• ÁBTL, Beszámoló 2024
• ÁBTL, Beszámoló 2022 („Negyed évszázad után”)
• ÁBTL, „Államvédelem Magyarországon”
• Révész Béla, „Dunagate III.”, Beszélő X/2, February 2005

the Securitate, the State Security Department (1948–1989) · 22 December 1989, Nicolae Ceaușescu's flight

Your own file

since 2001 (approx.)

Names published by the state

case by case, since 2000

Lustration

public screening without removal, since 2000

The three dates

Law 187/1999, initiated by former political prisoner Ticu Dumitrescu, created the CNSAS, which began work on 13 March 2000. The first files were read in early 2001, provisionally on the premises of the SRI, the post-1990 intelligence service; the CNSAS reading room opened in March 2001. Each person learns informers' names, in writing, from their own file. Only decisions are public: from 2000 to 2008, CNSAS rulings published in the Official Gazette; since 2008, only final court judgments. Lustration was never applied: laws passed in 2010 and 2012 were struck down as unconstitutional.

What was lost

About 130,000 files were lost between December 1989 and March 1990, by an estimate quoted by historian Romulus Rusan, including about 40,000 in fighting in Sibiu. In June 1990 an SRI team burned and buried a truckload of documents in a forest pit at Berevoiești; in May 1991 eleven journalists from România liberă dug up 23 sacks. No one was charged.

Where the files are

The CNSAS: 27,985 linear metres at the end of 2024, after 1.3 million files were transferred from the SRI in 2005–2006. Files deemed to concern national security stayed with the SRI and the foreign intelligence service; the defence ministry's are only partly transferred.

How many asked

From 2000 to 2005, 13,504 requests for one's own file, per the CNSAS. The yearly series changes unit (requests, then persons) and is missing for 2013–2017; in 2024, 1,786 people.

What came out

Traian Băsescu: the Bucharest Court of Appeal found in 2019 that he had collaborated with the Securitate, and the High Court rejected his appeal for good on 23 March 2022; he denied knowing he had a code name. Dan Voiculescu: the CNSAS found in 2006 that he had collaborated as "Felix", and the High Court confirmed it for good on 10 March 2011; he was also the man whose objection led the Constitutional Court to strike down the CNSAS law in 2008. Mona Muscă: the CNSAS found collaboration in 2006; she said she had signed a pledge but never informed, and resigned from parliament in 2007. Mugur Isărescu, governor of the central bank: in 2020 the CNSAS asked the courts to declare him a collaborator, and the courts rejected the claim for good.

How to ask

Any Romanian citizen, any former Romanian citizen and any EU or NATO citizen, for their own file; spouses and relatives up to the fourth degree for someone who has died. The "Acces la propriul dosar" form on cnsas.ro, with a copy of ID; it can be sent by post or e-mail, including from abroad.

In 2026

The last parts of the SRI archive (the electronic database and microfilm) reached the CNSAS only in 2022–2023. The institution reports staff shortages.

Sources

• Lavinia Stan, 'Inside the Securitate Archives', Wilson Center / CWIHP, 4 March 2005
• CNSAS, Raport de activitate pe anul 2024, PDF p. 123
• CNSAS, Raport de activitate pe anul 2003, PDF p. 24
• CNSAS, Raport de activitate 13 martie 2000 – 31 mai 2002, PDF p. 23

Darzhavna Sigurnost (DS), State Security · 10 November 1989, the fall of Todor Zhivkov

Your own file

since 2007 (approx.)

Names published by the state

case by case, since 1997

Lustration

removal from academic posts, 1992–1995; public screening without removal since 2007

The three dates

Under a 1997 law, a parliamentary commission (the Bonev commission) announced the first names of office-holders. The files commission (COMDOS), created by a law of December 2006, has worked since April 2007; by 30 November 2007, 160 people had read their files. COMDOS checks people in public office or public life and publishes their affiliation on the day of the decision. Every attempt at lustration (1992, 1998, 2009–2011) was struck down by the Constitutional Court, except a 1992 law on academic posts, upheld in 1993 and repealed in 1995.

What was lost

In January–February 1990, under a proposal approved on the day it was made, on the order of interior minister General Atanas Semerdzhiev, 134,102 of 331,995 DS files were destroyed, according to the ministry's 1994 inventory (the 1992 indictment gives 144,235). In 2002 Semerdzhiev received a final sentence of four and a half years in prison.

Where the files are

COMDOS brought together the archives of the DS and military intelligence; over 14,430 linear metres by mid-2019, according to its reports.

How many asked

16,612 applications for one's own file or a dead relative's from 2007 to 2018; 26,448 applications of all kinds to mid-2019, per COMDOS's own review.

What came out

By mid-2019 COMDOS had checked over 351,948 people, established the affiliation of 17,958 and publicly named 13,921: a president, constitutional judges, over 150 MPs, over 100 ministers. On 19 July 2007 it named President Georgi Parvanov as a secret collaborator, code name "Gotse", recruited on 4 October 1989; a second decision, on 1 August 2007, found evidence of his work only in editing part of a history book. In January 2012 it checked 18 members of the Church leadership and named 11 metropolitans.

How to ask

Anyone, with no citizenship condition, for their own file or that of a deceased spouse, parent or grandparent. Written application on COMDOS forms, in Sofia, in person or through a representative; answer within 30 days.

In 2026

The 2026 budget law told the government to propose closing COMDOS and moving its work to the State Archives Agency; a draft is under consultation, and on 27 October 2026 COMDOS formally objected.

Sources

• ECtHR, Anchev v. Bulgaria, nos. 38334/08 and 68242/16, decision of 5 Dec 2017 (notified 11 Jan 2018), copy hosted on comdos.bg
• COMDOS, 'Равносметка по пътя / Stocktaking 2007–2019' (bilingual brochure, 2019), pp. 25–26 (PDF pp. 27–28)
• Закон за достъп и разкриване на документите и за обявяване на принадлежност на български граждани към ДС и РС на БНА — consolidated text on comdos.bg (Ciela), amendments to ДВ бр. 88/2023
• COMDOS website, 'Историческа справка' (historical note), accessed 1 Nov 2026

the Sigurimi, the Directorate of State Security (1944–1991) · 31 March 1991, the first multi-party election

Your own file

since 2017 (approx.)

Names published by the state

not published: told only to the person watched

Lustration

removal from posts, 1995–2001

The three dates

Laws of 1995 excluded people from office, until the end of 2001, for their role in the Sigurimi and political trials. A 2008 lustration law was suspended and then struck down in 2010. Law 45/2015 created the Authority for the Sigurimi files (AIDSSH), which has taken requests since 2017. Informers' and officers' names are told only to the person watched; published decisions carry initials only.

What was lost

Unverified estimates speak of about 39,500 files destroyed between 1980 and 1992 and a wave of about 50,000 in 1991; the Authority itself says the figures need checking in the archive. Collaborators' work and personal files are largely gone.

Where the files are

AIDSSH, Tirana: 7,339,347 registered sheets (September 2026 study), 69% of them from today's intelligence service (SHISH), handed over physically only in March 2022.

How many asked

4,209 individual requests from 2017 to the end of 2025; 508 in 2025.

What came out

In 2022 the Authority told parliament that a senior politician, identified only by the initials I.M., appeared in the documents as a collaborator, noting a conflicting 1990s clearance. Media linked the initials to former president Ilir Meta; the Authority named no one. Meta said he had never collaborated, cited his 1996 vetting and filed a criminal complaint against the Authority's members. No court has ruled on the substance.

How to ask

Anyone, Albanian or foreign: the person watched, relatives of the dead or disappeared, researchers. Form on aidssh.al, filed in person, by post or by e-mail.

In 2026

In 2025 only six election candidates asked to be checked, though the Authority wrote to 53 parties. The House of Leaves museum in Tirana, a former Sigurimi building, is open to the public.

Sources

• Gjykata Kushtetuese, Vendimi nr. 9, datë 23.03.2010 (V-9/10)
• Dagmar Hovestadt, 'Qasja në dosjet e ish-Sigurimit të Shtetit. Udhëzues për gazetarë dhe kërkues', OSCE Presence in Albania, 2025
• AIDSSH, Raporti Vjetor 2022
• AIDSSH, Raporti Vjetor 2025

the SDV, State Security Service (the Slovene branch of the UDBA) · 17 May 1990, the first freely elected Assembly

Your own file

since 1998 (year of the archive transfer; first reading undated)

Names published by the state

not published: told only to the person watched

Lustration

no

The three dates

The SDV part of the interior ministry archive reached the Archives of the Republic in 1998; people asked to see their files before that, but no date of a first reading was found. Since 2006, SDV records from before 17 May 1990 are open to anyone. A restrictive amendment was rejected in a 2011 referendum (70.88% against); the 2014 version keeps them open with sensitive data blacked out. The state never published a list; in 2003 the website udba.net put an index of file cards online, later banned by the data protection inspector. There is no lustration law.

What was lost

Of about 17,000 files on watched people and collaborators, about 4,000 survive. The culture minister said about four-fifths of open surveillance files were destroyed at the end of 1989 and in early 1990. No one was held responsible.

Where the files are

The Archives of the Republic of Slovenia, Ljubljana. The federal UDBA archive is in Belgrade.

How many asked

40,000 requests to the Archives of the Republic from 1992 to August 2003 (not only for SDV files); 10–15 people a day asked to see their file after the udba.net affair.

What came out

Marta Kos, EU Commissioner since 2024: the Archives of the Republic hold an index entry with a file number under her name; the magazine Reporter says such numbers were used for registered sources. The file itself has not been found. The intelligence agency SOVA says it holds nothing on her. She denies any collaboration, and no official body has ruled.

How to ask

Anyone, Slovene or foreign, at the reading room of the Archives of the Republic in Ljubljana; finding aids can be searched online.

In 2026

On 28 October 2026 Janez Janša said Slovenia will block Serbia's path to the EU until Belgrade hands over the federal UDBA archive. Serbia says it was destroyed in the 1999 NATO bombing.

Sources

• Arhiv Republike Slovenije: Letno poročilo 2025
• Uradni list RS 30/2006: Zakon o varstvu dokumentarnega in arhivskega gradiva ter arhivih (ZVDAGA)
• Državni zbor RS, Raziskovalno-dokumentacijski sektor (M. Križaj, J. Blažič, A. Lekše): Dostop do arhivskega gradiva v državah EU, primerjalni pregled, 21 Feb 2014 (copy hosted by RTV SLO)
• EHRI Portal: SI AS 1931 Republiški sekretariat za notranje zadeve SRS (fonds description supplied by Arhiv RS)

the SDS, State Security Service (the Croatian branch of the UDBA) · 30 May 1990, the first freely elected parliament

Your own file

since 1993 (year of the first transfer, with consent; first reading undated)

Names published by the state

not published: told only to the person watched

Lustration

no

The three dates

The first SDS personal files reached the State Archives in 1993, and since then they could be consulted with the consent of the person concerned. The 2018 Archives Act opens everything created up to 30 May 1990, including officers' and collaborators' service data, but no list is published. There is no lustration law.

What was lost

Before the 1990 election, a three-member interior ministry commission destroyed "certain parts" of the archive; it was headed by Josip Perković himself, according to the judge who sent the files to Munich. What was destroyed is unknown.

Where the files are

The Croatian State Archives, Zagreb: about 68,800 files on watched people; the last tranche came from the intelligence service in 2015.

How many asked

800 requests and 269 files found by 2001; about 15 readings a year around 2007. The archive no longer publishes request counts.

What came out

On 3 August 2016 the Higher Regional Court in Munich sentenced Zdravko Mustač, head of the SDS, and Josip Perković to life for the 1983 murder of émigré Stjepan Đureković in Bavaria. In 2013 Croatia had passed a law that would have shielded Perković from extradition ("lex Perković"); it repealed it under threat of European Commission sanctions.

How to ask

Anyone, citizen or foreign, at the State Archives in Zagreb; a refusal can be appealed to the Information Commissioner.

In 2026

Anyone named in the documents may attach their own statement.

Sources

• Josip Mihaljević, 'Researching the Yugoslav Secret Police in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina: Sources, Historiography, Publicist Writing', Aparat Represji w Polsce Ludowej 1944–1989, no. 21 (2023), DOI 10.48261/arprl232111
• Hrvatski državni arhiv, Izvješće o radu HDA-a u 2017. godini
• OLG München, Pressemitteilung 35/2016, 'Strafverfahren gegen Josip P. und Zdravko M. wegen Mordes', 03.08.2016
• Nenad Bukvić, '68 000 Intelligence Files of the State Security Service for Croatia', COURAGE Registry (2018, last edited 2020-02-18), DOI 10.24389/41145

the UDBA/SDB, Yugoslav State Security (Serbian and federal branches) · 5 October 2000, the fall of Slobodan Milošević

Your own file

allowed in 2001, then withdrawn (approx.)

Names published by the state

no

Lustration

law adopted, never applied (2003)

The three dates

In 2001 a decree of the Đinđić government let some citizens see their files under supervision, with informers' and officers' names covered in yellow tape; the decree was later revoked. The 2003 law on accountability for human rights violations was never applied and lapsed in 2013. The 2020 archives law leaves security-service files to a "separate law" that does not exist.

What was lost

Serbia says the federal service archive in Belgrade was destroyed or badly damaged in the 1999 NATO bombing. No independent verification.

Where the files are

BIA, today's intelligence agency, holds the files.

How many asked

No statistics. Vuk Drašković said in 2007 it would take him "15 days and 15 nights" just to leaf through his file.

What came out

The 1999 murder of journalist Slavko Ćuruvija: four former state security officers were convicted in 2019 and 2021, then acquitted on appeal in a ruling published on 2 February 2024.

How to ask

There is no procedure to see one's own file.

In 2026

Slovenia demands the federal archive as a condition for Serbia's path to the EU.

Sources

• Bezbednosno-informativna agencija (BIA), official site: Museum / History
• Josip Mihaljević, 'Researching the Yugoslav Secret Police in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina: Sources, Historiography, Publicist Writing', Aparat Represji w Polsce Ludowej 1944–1989, no. 21 (2023), DOI 10.48261/arprl232111
• Zakon o arhivskoj građi i arhivskoj delatnosti, "Sl. glasnik RS", br. 6/2020 (text as reproduced by Paragraf Lex)

the SDB, State Security (the Bosnian branch of the UDBA) · 18 November 1990, the first multi-party election

Your own file

no

Names published by the state

no

Lustration

no

The three dates

There is no files law, no files institution and no lustration law; attempts have failed several times. In 2000 about 70,000 files on the Informbiro period and the 1950 Cazin uprising became public. Everything else depends on the intelligence director's decision.

What was lost

In 1992 the archive split: part went to Republika Srpska, part to Herceg-Bosna; where they are now is unknown.

Where the files are

The OSA intelligence agency, Sarajevo, which by law has controlled its predecessors' archives since 2004.

How many asked

No statistics.

What came out

A four-volume book in 2003 published lists of alleged collaborators; many of those named protested, and there is no official verification.

How to ask

Only a general request to the OSA asking whether it holds data on you; no communist-era file is known to have been opened this way.

In 2026

No known change.

Sources

• Josip Mihaljević, 'Researching the Yugoslav Secret Police in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina: Sources, Historiography, Publicist Writing', Aparat Represji w Polsce Ludowej 1944–1989, no. 21 (2023), DOI 10.48261/arprl232111
• Zakon o Obavještajno-sigurnosnoj agenciji Bosne i Hercegovine (Službeni glasnik BiH 12/04, as published on the OSA-OBA website)
• OSA-OBA BiH, Vodič za pristup informacijama (under ZOSPI, Sl. glasnik BiH 61/23)
• UN Security Council, Report of the Secretary-General on the United Nations Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina, S/2002/1314, 2 Dec 2002

the SDB, State Security (the Montenegrin branch of the UDBA) · 9 December 1990, the first multi-party election

Your own file

allowed in 2001, then withdrawn (approx.)

Names published by the state

no

Lustration

no

The three dates

A 2001 government decree allowed people to consult their files for a year, with officers' identities hidden; the implementing instruction lapsed around 2005. A 2007 draft law and four opposition bills were not adopted.

What was lost

A politician who asked for his file in 2001 says he received a pile of burned and damaged papers. No official confirmation.

Where the files are

The National Security Agency (ANB), today's service, since 2005; the State Archives hold no security-service fonds.

How many asked

No statistics.

What came out

No officially documented revelation.

How to ask

No procedure in force.

In 2026

No data were found for 2023–2026.

Sources

• Josip Mihaljević, 'Researching the Yugoslav Secret Police in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina: Sources, Historiography, Publicist Writing', Aparat Represji w Polsce Ludowej 1944–1989, no. 21 (2023), DOI 10.48261/arprl232111
• Bezbednosno-informativna agencija (BIA, Serbia), official site: Museum / History
• Državni arhiv Crne Gore: Arhivski fondovi i zbirke

the UDBA/SDB, Yugoslav State Security (republic branch) · 11 November 1990, the first multi-party election

Your own file

since 2000

Names published by the state

case by case, since 2012

Lustration

removal from posts, 2009–2015

The three dates

The files law came into force on 13 July 2000; by 22 August, 17 people had seen their file. The 2008 lustration law required collaborators' names to be published in the Official Gazette, but the Constitutional Court struck that down in 2010, before anything was published. From July 2012 the verification commission put each decision online, with the name, date of birth and documents. Lustration was repealed from 1 September 2015, and the register vanished from the internet.

What was lost

A former interior minister said collaborators' files were destroyed in waves: after 1965, in 1989–1990, before the 1998 election and in 2001. The former minister he named denied it. Historians say some files are in Belgrade; no inventory confirms it.

Where the files are

The State Archives took over 14,572 political files; collaborators' files stayed with the security services or in Belgrade.

How many asked

748 requests in the first three months, in 2000. No yearly series was found after that.

What came out

Trendafil Ivanovski, president of the Constitutional Court: in 2010 the commission ruled his declaration false, on a file showing him registered as collaborator "Lambe" in 1964–1965; parliament dismissed him in 2011. He said the documents were forged. In 2016 the European Court of Human Rights found the procedure unfair, without ruling on whether he collaborated.

How to ask

Political files are requested from the State Archives, for one's own person.

In 2026

A 2019 bill to annul the commission's decisions stalled in parliament. The 2022 protocol with Bulgaria calls for a law fully opening the 1945–1991 archives; no evidence of its adoption was found.

Sources

• ECtHR, Ivanovski v. the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, no. 29908/11, judgment 21 Jan 2016
• Фондација Отворено општество – Македонија, 'Македонската лустрација (1999–2012 година): настани, изјави, наслови; Примена на лустрациските прописи', Скопје, ноември 2012 (Wayback copy of fosm.mk PDF)
• Комисија за верификација на фактите, Извештај за работата за периодот 15.07.2013–15.01.2014 (last report of the first composition, to the Assembly; Wayback copy of kvf.org.mk)
• Агенција за национална безбедност, 'За АНБ' – Историска рамка пред основањето на АНБ

the SDB, Yugoslav State Security (provincial branch) · 10 June 1999, UN administration (Resolution 1244)

Your own file

no

Names published by the state

no

Lustration

no

The three dates

Kosovo has no access regime for state-security files and, as far as can be established, does not hold them.

What was lost

It is often said that the province's files were taken to Serbia in June 1999, along with civil and land registers; no source consulted documents this directly.

Where the files are

The federal UDBA archive is in Belgrade.

How many asked

No statistics.

How to ask

There is no procedure.

In 2026

The 2023 normalisation agreement mentions missing persons, not archives.

Sources

• Josip Mihaljević, 'Researching the Yugoslav Secret Police in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina: Sources, Historiography, Publicist Writing', Aparat Represji w Polsce Ludowej 1944–1989, no. 21 (2023), DOI 10.48261/arprl232111
• UNMIK (United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo), official site: Mandate
• Bezbednosno-informativna agencija (BIA, Serbia), official site: Museum / History
• EEAS: Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue: EU Proposal – Agreement on the path to normalisation between Kosovo and Serbia (27 Feb 2023)

the KGB of the Moldavian SSR · 27 August 1991, the declaration of independence

Your own file

by law, only files of the convicted or what remains, since 2010 (approx.)

Names published by the state

no

Lustration

no

The three dates

Since 2010 the National Archives have received, through agreements between institutions, the files of victims of repression from the SIS and the interior ministry; the last batch, 19,875 files, came on 11 June 2025, bringing the total to about 48,000 files with about 100,000 names. There is no right to read one's own surveillance file, and no lustration. Of 101 MPs asked whether they had collaborated with the KGB or the SIS, 40 replied.

What was lost

When the 2010 presidential commission asked for access, the SIS told historians the Soviets had "burned everything" in 1989–1991. The historians said Moldovan officials also burned files, including in 1996 during an election campaign. That the archive was moved to Tiraspol is an unverified claim.

Where the files are

The National Archives Agency, Chișinău (repression files); the SIS Special Repository.

How many asked

No statistics for own-file requests, because that right does not exist.

How to ask

Victims of repression, their relatives and researchers: the doc.arhiva.gov.md database and an appointment at the Chișinău reading room.

In 2026

In June 2026 Moldovan specialists took part in the CNSAS conference in Bucharest on secret-police archives.

Sources

• Igor Cașu, 'The Activity of the Presidential Commission … and the opening of KGB and MVD Archives in Moldova', IDFI conference slides, Tbilisi 2019
• Guvernul Republicii Moldova, comunicat de presă, 11 June 2025
• EHRI portal entry (undated)
• SIS (Serviciul de Informații și Securitate), announcement of SIS–ANA cooperation agreement, 5 May 2023

the KGB of the Ukrainian SSR · 24 August 1991, the declaration of independence

Your own file

since 2009 (at the latest; fully open by law since 2015)

Names published by the state

open by law in the files, no list published, since 2015

Lustration

removal from posts, 2014–today

The three dates

The SBU archive admitted readers from at least the 2000s. Law 316 of April 2015 opened all records from 1917–1991: information on KGB officers and informers "cannot be restricted on any grounds", and access and copying are free. Still, no list was published. The 2014 lustration law removed former KGB staff and agents among others; the European Court found in 2019 (Polyakh v. Ukraine) that its application breached the applicants' rights.

What was lost

A 1954 KGB order called for purging the archives; a 1990 order cut the retention of the KGB's reviews of literary works to ten years. In August 1989 officers wrote on the cover of film director Oleksandr Dovzhenko's surveillance file that it should be destroyed; it survived.

Where the files are

The SBU State Archive, Kyiv, still inside the service. The law required all files to move within two years to the Archive of National Memory, which expects about 4 million files; in 2024–2025 it received a few thousand units, none listed as coming from the SBU.

How many asked

No yearly series. The archive's director said in 2024 that it had sent "almost 5 terabytes" of copies in the previous year.

What came out

KGB documents on Chornobyl are on UNESCO's Memory of the World register; the criminal files of Vasyl Stus and Viacheslav Chornovil are open.

How to ask

Anyone; a written request by e-mail or post, free. The reading room is closed under martial law.

In 2026

The description "most open KGB archive" is the SBU archive's own, not an independent assessment.

Sources

• Галузевий державний архів СБУ: Путівник (ed. V. Danylenko et al.), Kharkiv: Prava liudyny, 2009 — posted on ssu.gov.ua
• ECtHR, Polyakh and Others v. Ukraine, nos. 58812/15 and 4 others, judgment 17 October 2019
• СБУ: Галузевий державний архів СБУ (official page; web.archive.org copy of 8 Aug 2026)
• Закон України «Про доступ до архівів репресивних органів комуністичного тоталітарного режиму 1917–1991 років» № 316-VIII від 09.04.2015 (редакція від 30.08.2025; read via web.archive.org copy, 13 Sep 2025)

the KGB of the Byelorussian SSR (still called the KGB) · 25 August 1991, the declaration of independence

Your own file

only relatives of the repressed, under supervision; no documented date

Names published by the state

no

Lustration

no

The three dates

The service is still called the KGB and keeps its Soviet archive. Only close relatives of people repressed in the 1920s–1950s may read a relative's case file, under supervision, and the executioner's name and the burial place stay in sealed envelopes they may not open. The 75-year closure counts from rehabilitation, so files stay shut until 2035–2065.

What was lost

Estimates for Kurapaty, the execution site near Minsk, range from 7,000 to 250,000 victims.

Where the files are

The KGB Central Archive, Minsk; transfer to the state archives is put off until 2081 (KGB) and 2084 (interior ministry).

How many asked

In 2009 the KGB central archive received 229 requests from citizens; 52 people were shown files. No later data were found.

How to ask

Only close relatives of a repressed person, with proof of kinship, by written application to the KGB.

In 2026

Since 2021 the archive has been opened selectively for the official investigation of the Nazi-era "genocide of the Belarusian people"; Stalin-era files stay closed.

Sources

• Open access to the KGB archives in Eastern Partnership. Analytical report (Center for Research on the Liberation Movement, Kyiv, 2017), Belarus chapter by Dmitriy Drozd, pp. 17-18
• ЭТАЛОН-ONLINE (National Centre of Legislation and Legal Information): header of Resolution No. 1212-XII of 1 November 1991 citing the 21 December 1990 Regulation
• Archives of Belarus portal (Department of Archives, Ministry of Justice), news item, 30 June 2022

the KGB of the USSR (today the FSB and SVR) · 25 December 1991, the dissolution of the USSR

Your own file

by law, only files of the convicted or what remains, since 1991

Names published by the state

no

Lustration

no

The three dates

The rehabilitation law of 18 October 1991 gives rehabilitated people and their relatives the right to read the criminal or administrative case file. There is no right to see one's surveillance file or informer files, and no informer or officer has ever been officially named. Galina Starovoitova's 1992 lustration bill was never passed. In March 2014 the government commission on state secrets extended secrecy on 1917–1991 records about sources, methods and agents by 30 years, to 2044.

What was lost

No data were found on destruction in Russia in 1989–1991. Researchers say documents seen in the 1990s were reclassified in the 2000s.

Where the files are

The FSB Central Archive, Lubyanka, Moscow. IDFI's 2019 assessment: 43.78% for openness, 0% for online access.

How many asked

The interior ministry issued about 2.8 million rehabilitation certificates in 1992–2018; about a million people were refused, and their files are routinely closed even to relatives.

How to ask

Only rehabilitated people and their relatives, by written application to the FSB archive or regional offices. Relatives of the non-rehabilitated are routinely refused.

In 2026

Memorial, the organisation that documented the repression, was liquidated in December 2021; on 9 April 2026 the Supreme Court declared the "Memorial movement" extremist.

Sources

• IDFI, Assessment of the Openness of State Archives — Russian Federation, Central Archive of the FSB (2019, evaluator anonymous)
• FSB of Russia, 'Центральный архив ФСБ России'
• Закон РФ от 18.10.1991 № 1761-I «О реабилитации жертв политических репрессий» (text as amended to 25.12.2023 № 635-ФЗ, Wikisource transcription of official text)
• Memorial, 'Экспертное заключение к заседанию Конституционного суда РФ 26 мая 1992 г.' (expert report in the CPSU case; archived copy, memo.ru unreachable in 2026)

the KGB of the Estonian SSR · 20 August 1991, the restoration of independence

Your own file

by law, only files of the convicted or what remains, since 1993 (year the National Archives took over; agent files went to Russia)

Names published by the state

only staff who did not confess, since 1997

Lustration

removal from posts, 1992–2000

The three dates

From 1992 to 2000, candidates and appointees to high office swore an "oath of conscience" that they had not served the occupier's security services; refusal or a false oath barred them. The 1995 law opened a confession window: 1,153 people came forward by 1 April 1996, and their confessions are a state secret. From 1997 to 2009, the names of 647 former staff who did not come forward were published in the State Gazette, 42 of them drivers; not one informer. What remains in the archive can be read by the person concerned.

What was lost

About 13,500 agent files were reportedly shipped out of Estonia to Russia as early as November 1989, in one night, in a ship container; another 2,000 operational files on 31 January 1990. Department 5 (the political police) left no dossiers.

Where the files are

The National Archives of Estonia: criminal case files of the convicted and foreign-travel files, taken over in 1993 from the former KGB building.

How many asked

The archives count requests across all holdings, not the KGB alone: 10,869 access applications resolved in 2025.

What came out

Herman Simm, a senior defence ministry official described by the security police as a former KGB confidant, was convicted in 2009 of treason for Russia (12 years 6 months).

How to ask

The person concerned, heirs and relatives of someone who has died; requests go through the National Archives' virtual reading room.

In 2026

In 2015 the European Court of Human Rights found (Sõro v. Estonia) that publishing a former driver's name breached his private life; the law was not changed.

Sources

• ECtHR, Sõro v. Estonia, no. 22588/08, judgment of 3 September 2015, § 6
• Jüri Saar, 'Kaastöötajad ja koostöötajad', Tuna 1/2015, p. 8 (citing H. Mägi, ENSV KGB tegevuse lõpetamine, Varrak 2012, p. 18)
• Õiguskantsler (Chancellor of Justice) Allar Jõks, Ettekanne nr 1 Riigikogule, July 2005, para 53
• Estonian Internal Security Service, Annual Review 2016, p. 40-41

the KGB of the Latvian SSR · 21 August 1991, full independence

Your own file

by law, only files of the convicted or what remains, since 1994 (a general right, but the files are in Russia)

Names published by the state

whole registry, since 2018

Lustration

removal from posts, 1994–today

The three dates

Since June 1994 anyone may ask in writing whether the state holds KGB documents about them and read them; but the actual files are in Russia. Former KGB officers may not stand for the Saeima or local councils; informers may, but must declare. Only a court can establish collaboration. On 20 December 2018 the National Archives put the alphabetical agent card index (7,998 cards) and the statistical index (4,141 cards) online. The law says a card alone has no legal consequences.

What was lost

Agents' personal and work files and nearly all surveillance files were taken to Russia. In 1990, two orders from KGB chief Vladimir Kryuchkov called for the destruction of political counter-intelligence files. After the destruction, 1,379 blank dividers were put in the card box "so the cards would not fall over".

Where the files are

The National Archives of Latvia, Riga: a reading room for KGB documents since May 2019, and the kgb.arhivi.lv portal.

How many asked

191,200 visits to the portal in its first 12 days, in December 2018; 74,978 users in 2019 and about 11,000–18,000 a year since 2020. From 1994 to 2024 prosecutors checked 401 people; courts established collaboration or KGB service in 15 cases, and another 74 checks, most after an admission, were closed by prosecutors with the same legal effect.

What came out

Jānis Ādamsons, former interior minister: a court ruled in 2000 that he had served in the KGB border troops; in 2002 he was struck off the ballot, and in 2008 the European Court of Human Rights found the ban breached his right to stand.

How to ask

A written request to the Constitution Protection Bureau (answer within a month), or directly at the National Archives' KGB reading room; the cards are online.

In 2026

From 2019 to 2024, 18 people whose names were on cards asked a court to rule; per the archive, none was found to have collaborated.

Sources

• Latvijas Nacionālais arhīvs, LPSR VDK kartotēku raksturojums
• Likumi.lv (official publisher Latvijas Vēstnesis), law no. 57277
• Latvijas Nacionālais arhīvs, Nolēmumi lietās par sadarbību ar VDK (updated 6 Jan 2025)
• ECtHR Grand Chamber, Ždanoka v. Latvia, no. 58278/00, judgment of 16 March 2006, §§18, 27-28

the KGB of the Lithuanian SSR · 11 March 1990, the re-establishment of the Lithuanian state

Your own file

only what remains in the Special Archives; no documented date

Names published by the state

only those who did not confess collaboration, since 2001; 1,669 agents' records online 2012–2020, withdrawn

Lustration

removal from posts, 1999–2009

The three dates

The KGB Act (in force from 1 January 1999) declared the KGB a criminal organisation and barred former staff, for ten years, from many public and private jobs. The 1999 confession law opened a six-month window in 2000: the government told the European Court that 1,500 people came forward; their confessions are a state secret. Those who did not come forward and were found to be collaborators are announced in the Official Gazette. From late 2012 to 2018 the Genocide and Resistance Research Centre, a state body, published online a register of the records of 1,669 people recruited by the KGB; its new management withdrew it in September 2020, saying it had led to "unfounded judgements". The centre estimates that about 118,000 people secretly collaborated in 1940–1991. No date of a first reading of one's own file was found.

What was lost

No verified data for 1990–1991 were found in this research.

Where the files are

The Lithuanian Special Archives, Vilnius: 1,354,023 files and 17,557.8 linear metres at the end of 2018 (KGB, Communist Party and interior ministry together).

How many asked

The archive does not count own-file requests separately: 614 readers in 2016, 339 in 2021; about 2,500–3,000 certificate requests a year.

What came out

Egidijus Žičkus, a sports journalist decorated for 13 January 1991: the commission found in 2000 that he had been a secret collaborator, and the Supreme Administrative Court confirmed it for good in 2002. The European Court ruled that the private-sector job ban breached his rights.

How to ask

Requests to the Special Archives, at the desk or in writing; current details could not be verified.

In 2026

Lithuania did not amend the act after the European Court rulings of 2004, 2005 and 2009; it simply expired on 1 January 2009.

Sources

• ECtHR, Sidabras and Džiautas v. Lithuania, nos. 55480/00 & 59330/00, judgment 27 July 2004
• ECtHR, Žičkus v. Lithuania, no. 26652/02, judgment 7 April 2009
• Lietuvos ypatingasis archyvas, 2018 metų veiklos ataskaita (Lithuanian Special Archives, activity report for 2018; archived copy, web.archive.org)
• ECtHR, Sidabras and Others v. Lithuania, nos. 50421/08 & 56213/08, judgment 23 June 2015

the KGB of the Georgian SSR · 28 October 1990, the first multi-party election

Your own file

allowed in 2006, then withdrawn (approx.)

Names published by the state

no

Lustration

removal from posts, 2011–today

The three dates

After 2005–2007 the interior ministry archive opened its surviving holdings to all comers, but blacks out informers' names in the copies it hands out. The 2011 Freedom Charter bars former KGB staff and agents from top posts, but its first commission met only once, in 2014, and no record of its successor's work was found. The archive has been closed since autumn 2023 for "reorganisation", and no sign of reopening was found.

What was lost

In the 1991–1992 civil war, officially 210,000 of the KGB archive's 230,000 items burned. The claim that agent files were taken to Smolensk is unproven.

Where the files are

The interior ministry archive, Tbilisi (KGB and Party holdings).

How many asked

No statistics were found.

How to ask

Until 2023, anyone, as a researcher, at the interior ministry archive; it is now closed.

In 2026

Georgia, cited for years alongside the Baltic states as an example of an open KGB archive, has closed it.

Sources

• Anton Vacharadze (IDFI), 'Regime Archives', in Memory of Nations: Democratic Transition Guide – The Georgian Experience (CEVRO Institute, 2018), pp. 12–18
• Open Access to the KGB Archives in the Eastern Partnership: Analytical Report (ed. A. Oliinyk, Kyiv 2017), Georgia chapter by Irakli Khvadagiani (SovLab), pp. 27–33
• Giorgi Kldiashvili (IDFI), 'Lustration', in Memory of Nations: Democratic Transition Guide – The Georgian Experience (CEVRO Institute, 2018), pp. 19–27
• Law of Georgia 'Freedom Charter' No. 4717-Iს, Legislative Herald of Georgia (Matsne), consolidated version 28/10/2015–22/03/2017 and amendment list

the KGB of the Armenian SSR · 21 September 1991, the independence referendum

Your own file

by law, only files of the convicted or what remains, since 1997 (approx.)

Names published by the state

no

Lustration

no

The three dates

Lustration bills failed in 1992, 2011 and 2016 (the last by 30 votes to 70). Victims' case files went to the National Archives under a 1997 law. The security service archive has no reading room and no public inventory; IDFI scored it 28.47% for openness.

What was lost

No data were found.

Where the files are

The National Security Service; the National Archives (victims' files).

How many asked

No statistics were found.

How to ask

Victims' files, at the National Archives.

In 2026

No change was found after 2018.

Sources

• Open Access to the KGB Archives in the Eastern Partnership: Analytical Report (ed. A. Oliinyk, Kyiv 2017), Armenia chapter by Samvel Martirosyan, pp. 12–17
• IDFI, Assessment of the Openness of State Archives – Armenia, Archive of the National Security Service (evaluator Hranush Kharatyan, 'Hazarashen'), 2019
• National Security Service of the Republic of Armenia, official site, 'History'
• IDFI open-archives.org, country result page: Armenia

the KGB of the Azerbaijani SSR · 18 October 1991, the act of independence

Your own file

by law, only files of the convicted or what remains, since 1996 (approx.)

Names published by the state

no

Lustration

no

The three dates

There is no access or lustration law, and post-1953 records are state secrets. Only rehabilitated people and their heirs have a right to some documents from the file, under a 1996 law. In 2018 the security service archive refused even to be assessed by IDFI.

What was lost

No data were found.

Where the files are

The State Security Service.

How many asked

No statistics were found.

How to ask

Only rehabilitated people and their heirs.

In 2026

No change was found.

Sources

• Open Access to the KGB Archives in the Eastern Partnership: Analytical Report (ed. A. Oliinyk, Kyiv 2017), Azerbaijan chapter by Eldar Zeynalov (Human Rights Center of Azerbaijan), pp. 6–11
• Ministry of National Security of the Republic of Azerbaijan, official site, 'History' (Wayback Machine capture of 30 Aug 2009)
• IDFI, Final narrative report 'Enhancing Openness of State Archives in Former Soviet Republics' (1 Nov 2017 – 31 Oct 2018)
• IDFI press release, 'Openness of State Archives in Former Soviet Countries', Tbilisi, 24 October 2018

the KGB of the Kazakh SSR (today the KNB) · 16 December 1991, the declaration of independence

Your own file

by law, only files of the convicted or what remains, since 1993 (approx.)

Names published by the state

no

Lustration

no

The three dates

The 1993 rehabilitation law lets rehabilitated people and their relatives read the case file. The state commission created by President Tokayev on 24 November 2020 worked until December 2023: over 2.6 million documents declassified and over 311,000 people rehabilitated. Informer files are not opened; there is no lustration.

What was lost

No data were found.

Where the files are

The Special Archive of the KNB (today's service) and regional police archives.

How many asked

555 requests to the interior ministry archive in 2015, of all kinds.

What came out

Of the roughly 2.6 million documents declassified, the KNB itself declassified only about 1,500 (May 2022 figures); most came from the Prosecutor General.

How to ask

Rehabilitated people and their relatives, at regional police archives or the Presidential Archive.

In 2026

The work continues at the Presidential Archive in Almaty.

Sources

• Akorda.kz: Выступление Главы государства К.-Ж. Токаева на мероприятии, посвященном памяти жертв политических репрессий и голода (ALZhIR, 31 May 2025)
• КНБ РК (gov.kz): Специальный государственный архив КНБ РК
• Закон РК от 14 апреля 1993 года № 2143-XII «О реабилитации жертв массовых политических репрессий» (adilet.zan.kz; current text read via mirror zakon.uchet.kz/rus/docs/Z930002200_, edition of 08.06.2024)
• Постановление Верховного Совета РК от 14 апреля 1993 г. «О введении в действие Закона Республики Казахстан „О реабилитации жертв массовых политических репрессий“» (mirror of adilet B930002400_)

the KGB of the Kirghiz SSR · 31 August 1991, the declaration of independence

Your own file

no

Names published by the state

no

Lustration

no

The three dates

IDFI called the security service archive "completely closed". A rehabilitation law for 1917–1953 was vetoed in September 2024, passed again on 20 November 2024 and reported signed on 31 December 2024. The Ata-Beyit memorial holds 137 people shot in November 1938.

What was lost

No data were found.

Where the files are

Today's security service.

How many asked

No statistics were found.

How to ask

No public procedure was found.

In 2026

No change was found.

Sources

• IDFI, Openness of State Archives in Former Soviet Republics (research, 2018)
• IDFI press release, Openness of State Archives in Former Soviet Countries, Tbilisi, 24 Oct 2018

the KGB of the Uzbek SSR · 31 August 1991, the declaration of independence

Your own file

no

Names published by the state

no

Lustration

no

The three dates

The security service archive refused IDFI's assessors entry and scored lowest of the 20 archives assessed (18.85%). By late 2023 about 500 people had been rehabilitated case by case.

What was lost

No data were found.

Where the files are

Today's security service.

How many asked

No statistics were found.

How to ask

No public procedure was found.

In 2026

No change was found.

Sources

• IDFI, Openness of State Archives in Former Soviet Republics (research, 2018)
• IDFI, Enhancing Openness of State Archives in Former Soviet Republics, final narrative report to OSI, Nov 2018 (grant OR2017-34436)

the KGB of the Tajik SSR · 9 September 1991, the declaration of independence

Your own file

no

Names published by the state

no

Lustration

no

The three dates

Potential local partners refused to take part in IDFI's 2017–2018 study. No access or lustration law is known.

What was lost

No data were found.

Where the files are

Today's security service.

How many asked

No statistics were found.

How to ask

No public procedure was found.

In 2026

No change was found.

Sources

• IDFI, Enhancing Openness of State Archives in Former Soviet Republics, final narrative report to OSI, Nov 2018 (grant OR2017-34436)

the KGB of the Turkmen SSR · 27 October 1991, the declaration of independence

Your own file

no

Names published by the state

no

Lustration

no

The three dates

Potential local partners refused to take part in IDFI's 2017–2018 study. No access or lustration law is known.

What was lost

No data were found.

Where the files are

Today's security service.

How many asked

No statistics were found.

How to ask

No public procedure was found.

In 2026

No change was found.

Sources

• IDFI, Enhancing Openness of State Archives in Former Soviet Republics, final narrative report to OSI, Nov 2018 (grant OR2017-34436)

the State Security of the Mongolian People's Republic · 29 July 1990, the first multi-party election

Your own file

by law, only files of the convicted or what remains, since 1998

Names published by the state

no

Lustration

no

The three dates

The rehabilitation law of 2 January 1998 lets only rehabilitated people and their relatives read the file. State media publish victims' names, never those of perpetrators or informers. The files are with the General Intelligence Agency, today's service.

What was lost

No data were found for 1989–1992.

Where the files are

The General Intelligence Agency: 6,900 files on victims of 1937–1939 (2013).

How many asked

No request statistics; 31,595 people had been rehabilitated by September 2023, per the state agency MONTSAME.

What came out

In June 2003 a mass grave in Ulaanbaatar held 348 skulls, many of executed Buddhist monks.

How to ask

Only rehabilitated people and their relatives.

In 2026

There is no lustration.

Sources

• Law of Mongolia 'Улс төрийн хилс хэрэгт хэлмэгдэгчдийг цагаатгах, тэдэнд нөхөх олговор олгох тухай' (2 January 1998), consolidated text, State Great Khural website
• History and Anthropology (Taylor & Francis)
• Europe-Asia Studies