Leonid Shebarshin

Leonid Vladimirovich Shebarshin (Russian Леони́д Влади́мирович Шебарши́н) (b. Moscow, March 24, 1935) became head of the First Chief Directorate of the KGB in January 1989, when the former FCD chief, Vladimir Kryuchkov, was promoted to KGB chief. Prior to that, Shebarshin had served as Kryuchkov's deputy from April 1987.

Most of Shebarshin's career had been spent not in Moscow but in the field. He was the first FCD chief with practical experience outside the Soviet Bloc since World War II. A graduate of the Moscow Institute of International Relations, he was posted in 1958 to Pakistan, where he served as personal assistant to the Soviet Ambassador. In 1962 he joined the KGB and from 1964 to 1977 served in Pakistan and India. He was Chief of the KGB Residency in Tehran from 1979 until 1983.

Shebarshin's posting in Tehran came to an end following the defection on 2 June 1982 of Vladimir Kuzichkin. The British Secret Intelligence Service helped Kuzichkin across the Turkish border with a British passport and shared his debriefing with the CIA. In 1983 the CIA shared some of the debriefing with the Khomeini government, with the result that Shebarshin was expelled along with 17 other Soviet intelligence officers.

When KGB Chief Kryuchkov was arrested following the unsuccessful August 1991 coup against Mikhail Gorbachev, Shebarshin became, for two days, head of the KGB. He was replaced by Vadim Bakatin, whose job was essentially to dismantle the KGB. Shebarshin returned to his post as FCD head until Bakatin announced a new FCD deputy director, Vladimir Rozhkov, without consulting him. Shebarshin resigned his post on September 20,1991.

With his friend Nikolai Leonov Shebarshin founded a consulting firm, the Russian National Economic Security Service (RNESS) which is based in Moscow.

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