Review

The purpose of the article is to initiate a scientific discussion on the introduction of the term «administrative and verified countermeasures» (hereinafter – AVC) into the theory of state security and its law enforcement practice, to substantiate the expediency of its application, to define the essence and content of AVC, and to outline its general characteristics and essential features.

The given article touches upon the initiation of a scientific and practical discussion on the introduction of the new concept into the counterintelligence theory and practice activities – «administrative and verified countermeasures», which should replace the term from the Soviet epoch «filtration measures». This term has finally be dishonoured by inhumane and criminal actions of Russian special services in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.

These days, the filtration measures carried out by the Russian occupiers are accompanied by ill-treatment, torture, threats of death, parents’ separation from minor children in filtration camps and other humiliations of human dignity, perceived as arbitrariness, a gross violation of human rights and freedoms, and disregard for the provisions of international humanitarian law by the all democratic world community, international human rights organisations and leaders of the world’s ruling states.

Therefore, nowadays it is extremely urgent to introduce a new term that would reflect the most signature elements of filtering and assist Ukrainian counterintelligence theory to get rid of terms and concepts inherited from the Soviet era, compromised by gross human rights violations by Russian special services.

The authors consider the AVC to be the most accurate to replace the term «filtration measures» in the activities of the SSU counterintelligence units, defining them as actions of counterintelligence officers carried out in the form of checking up persons (certain categories of them) at control points or certain territories, aimed at identifying facts or signs of intelligence, subversive, terrorist and other illegal attacks within the competence of the SSU and persons involved in them.

These administrative and verified measures are considered to have counter-intelligence nature and observed as a component of counter-intelligence search and an element of ensuring the counter-intelligence regime in the State.

Special attention is paid to the etymology essence and content of the given term, the main principals of the AVC are formulated, certain features of their tactics are pointed out in this study.

Key words: counterintelligence activity, administrative and verified countermeasures, countermeasures, filtration, filtration camps, filtration measures, Security service of Ukraine.