Main Directorate for Drug Control Day in Russia Date in the current year: December 6, 2024

In the Russian Empire, there were no specialized agencies tasked with combating drug trafficking. These functions were carried out by the Police Department and the Medical Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The situation didn’t change after the Russian Revolution, since the Soviet authorities underestimated the gravity of the problem and claimed that drug addiction wasn’t something that could exist in the Soviet society.

The Department for Combating Drug Addiction of the Criminal Investigation Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs was finally created in 1973. In 1989, it was reorganized into the 3rd Directorate for Combating Illicit Drug Trafficking and Crimes Associated with Foreign Citizens. Finally, on December 6, 1991, it was replaced by the Bureau for Illicit Drug Trafficking Control. The anniversary of its foundation is now celebrated as Main Directorate for Drug Control Day.

After the dissolution of the USSR, former Soviet republics began to create their own law enforcement systems, which included drug trafficking control agencies. The first drug control agency in independent Russia, named the Directorate for Illicit Drug Trafficking, was formed in 1992. For over a decade, it was the main body tasked with counteracting drug trafficking in Russia and prosecuting persons involved in drug trafficking.

In 2002, the Directorate for Illicit Drug Trafficking was transformed into the State Committee for Counteracting Illicit Trafficking in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Several months later, the Committee became a federal agency independent from the Ministry of Internal Affairs. In 2004, it was renamed the Federal Drug Control Service of the Russian Federation (FKSN).

In 2016, the Federal Drug Control Service was dissolved, and its functions were transferred back to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. For this purpose, the Main Directorate for Drug Control of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (GUNK) was created. Its main task is to detect, prevent, suppress and solve crimes associated with illegal trafficking of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and their precursors, potent substances, and new potentially dangerous psychoactive substances.