The exact lineage of Vympel is not known but the unit was formed in 1981by the KGB Maj. Gen. Yuri Ivanovitch Drozdovwithin the First Chief Directorate of the KGB, as a dedicated spetsnaz unit specialised in deep penetration, sabotage, universal direct and covert action, protection of Soviet embassies and espionage cell activation in case of war. Most of the Vympel operatives mastered two or three foreign languages since they were intended to act in foreign countries.