[Impy]

Don’t people know: the KGB was the USSR’s far less competent intelligence agency. The GRU was quietly much more effective. Maybe that’s why they are still not well known.

Makes sense. Publicity and fame seem like the last thing a successful intelligence agency would incur.

[cunning_fish]

Bullcrap. SVR aka Foreign Intelligence Service aka KGB’s First Directorate was the most powerful spy structure ever.
At one point they had covert agents in every country around the world (or in every neighborhood in case of United States and other major NATO countries) performing various HUMINT missions on a daily basis or ready to take arms and kill key public figures or sabotage infrastructure in your area in case or a real trouble between US and USSR.
If you are old enough and lived through 1970-1980 you knew at least a couple of Russian SVR agents acting as your fellow neighbors.
Each of them maintained a network of US citizens including military and public officials working for SVR being either fooled or simply paid, blackmailed, threatened or something.
These very people were behind subversion of American values and pushed for liberal indoctrination since 1960s.

GRU is an absolutely different service within military, limited in both means and mission.