Nikolay Kovalyov (politician)

Nikolai Dmitrievich Kovalyov (Russian: Николай Дмитриевич Ковалёв) (born August 6, 1949) is a Russian politician (United Russia) and member of the State Duma, where he chairs the Duma's Veterans' Committee. Kovalyov was the Director of the FSB from July 1996 to July 1998, when he was succeeded by Vladimir Putin.

Nikolay Kovalyov joined the KGB in 1974. He was appointed General of the Army in 1997. In 1999 he was elected a deputy to the State Duma of the Russian Federation.

He said in 1996: "There has never been such a number of spies arrested by us since the time when German agents were sent in during the years of World War II."^[1] He also publicly speculated that Boris Berezovsky might be involved in the death of Alexander Litvinenko.^[2]

During the Bronze Soldier Controversy in 2007, Kovalyov led a "fact finding mission" to Estonia, where the authorities were relocating a World War II memorial, including a two meter tall bronze soldier in a Soviet uniform.^[3] Before leaving Moscow, Kovalyov asked Estonia's government to step down.^[4] The two-day visit by the Russian fact finding delegatíon, originally set up to defuse a diplomatic dispute over the Bronze Soldier statue, only appeared to have escalated the feud, with the Estonian foreign minister and other Government officials refusing to meet with Kovalyov's delegation.^[5][6]

References

1. ^ Counterintelligence Cases
2. ^ "Who orchestrated the plan to discredit Russia?". Kommersant. 2006-11-25. http://www.kommersant.ru/doc-y.html?docId=724957&issueId=30261. Retrieved 2006-11-26.  (Russian) Computer translation.
3. ^ Российские парламентарии призвали эстонский парламент дать оценку деятельности правительства республики Interfax, April 30, 2007. Retrieved: 2007-04-30
4. ^ Николай Ковалев: эстонское правительство должно уйти в отставку
5. ^ Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Press Release
6. ^ Estonia Cancels Russia Talks Over Statue, by Jari Tanner, Associated Press, May 2, 2007. Retrieved: 2007-05-02.

External links

• Official web page at the Russian State Duma (Russian)
• Federal Service of Security
• Nikolay Kovalyov: If the world had listened to Russia, it would have been possible to avoid a lot of mistakes - Pravda on-line

Preceded by Mikhail Barsukov

Director of FSB July 9, 1996 - July 25, 1998

Succeeded by Vladimir Putin

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Name	Kovalyov, Nikolay
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Date of birth	August 6, 1949
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