13 Facts About Mikhail Barsukov

Mikhail Ivanovich Barsukov is a former Russian intelligence and government official.

Mikhail Barsukov was born in the city of Lipetsk, the capital of Lipetsk Oblast region in western Russia, the son of Ivan Barsukov, a Soviet Army non-commissioned officer serving as a radio communications operator.

Mikhail Barsukov studied tactics, strategy and military leadership for four years, prior to earning a commission as a KGB junior lieutenant in 1970.

Mikhail Barsukov spent the majority of his career moving up through various officer ranks of the Kremlin Regiment, a paramilitary KGB force responsible for the security of the Soviet seat of political power and the highest levels of political leadership.

Mikhail Barsukov career took a decisive upswing after the establishment of the Russian Federation and Boris Yeltsin's ascent to power as the President of the newly formed country.

Mikhail Barsukov build a relationship with President Yeltsin through his bodyguard, Alexander Korzhakov.

In 1993, Mikhail Barsukov displayed loyalty to Yeltsin in the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis, when Yeltsin resorted to force in order to dissolve the Russian legislative body, the Supreme Soviet.

Mikhail Barsukov personally ordered several of the defenders of the Supreme Soviet to the isolation cells at the infamous Lefortovo Prison.

Rumors circulated in the Russian media that Mikhail Barsukov intended to return the FSB's organizational structure to resemble the old KGB.

Furthermore, Mikhail Barsukov managed to get the Alpha special unit permanently assigned to the FSB.

Mikhail Barsukov immediately took control of the operational headquarters handling the crisis.

Deputy director of the FSB Nikolai Kovalyov replaced Mikhail Barsukov, who had served less a year as the head of the agency.

Furthermore, in December 1998, Mikhail Barsukov gained a more important post, as the head of the Chief Director for Military Inspection subordinate to the Security Council of Russia, later became the head of the Interdepartmental Commission on Underground Structures of the Security Council of the Russian Federation His current job remains unknown.