KORZHAKOV, ALEKSANDR VASILYEVICH

(1950– )

Politician. Born inMoscowto a proletarian family, Aleksandr Korzhakov rose through the ranks of theKGBduring the 1970s. After serving in theSoviet-Afghan War, he was assigned toYury Andropovas a personal bodyguard. In 1985, he assumed the same role forBoris Yeltsin, the leader of theCommunist Party of the Soviet Union(CPSU) in Moscow.He remained close with Yeltsin after his dismissal from the CPSU, becoming head of the Presidential Security Service when Yeltsin took control of theRussian Soviet Federative Socialist Republicin 1991. On the occasion of the 1991August Coupand the constitutional crisis of 1993, Korzhakov assumed personal responsibility for the leader’s safety. Over time, he emerged as a key advisor to Yeltsin, particularly on security issues such as theChechen War. As a key member of the antidemocratic “Party of War” within the presidential administration, Korzhakov strongly opposed Yeltsin’s decision to permit the1996 presidential electionto be conducted. In a position with little external oversight, Korzhakov naturally became the subject of criticism for supposedcorruptionand embezzlement. He was sacked during a turf war within Yeltsin’s cabinet aftermediareports planted by his rivalAnatoly Chubaissuggested he was attempting a coup. He later won election to theState DumarepresentingTula; the seat had opened in the wake of the untimely death of the incumbentAleksandr Lebed. Korzhakov recounted his time in government in his biographyBoris Yeltsin: From Dawn to Dusk(1997).