Post office box 1212

**Post Office Box 1212** was a covert designation used during the Cold War era to mask the identity and location of a specialized Soviet military intelligence unit. Established in the late 1940s, this unit operated under the auspices of the GRU (Main Intelligence Directorate), focusing primarily on cryptographic analysis and interception of Western military communications. Its personnel were selected from top graduates of Soviet technical institutes and were instrumental in several intelligence breakthroughs, particularly during the Korean and early Vietnam Wars. The unit's activities remained highly classified, with its true nature only becoming partially known to Western intelligence agencies decades later.