"The personnel of the security services firmly stand guard for Russia's national interests," Putin said in a statement released as he threw a lavish party to mark the anniversary of the founding of the Soviet secret police.

MOSCOW, Russia (Reuters) -- To the clink of champagne glasses and strains of classical music Wednesday, Russia's President Vladimir Putin saluted Russia's resurgent secret services for their role in guarding national interests.

"Their best workers have always shown patriotism, competency, a high degree of personal and professional decency, and an understanding of the importance of their work for the good of their Fatherland," Putin said.

Historians still argue about how many tens of millions of people died at the hands of the Soviet secret service under the rule of Josef Stalin.

Stalin's death in 1953 ended massive purges but left intact a system of blanket control over the population exercised by the secret services. Political dissidents were imprisoned on criminal charges or locked up in mental hospitals.