Vitaly Fedorchuk, 89, of K.G.B., Dies
Vitaly V. Fedorchuk, who rose through the Soviet intelligence and police services to become the leader of the K.G.B. and then the country’s hard-nosed chief law enforcement officer, died Feb. 29 in Moscow. He was 89.
The Federal Security Service, the main K.G.B. successor agency, announced the death.
From late 1982 to early 1986, General Fedorchuk was Interior minister, making him the Soviet Union’s top police officer, in charge of uniformed officers from detectives to game wardens. The job’s high visibility contrasted with his covert past.
The barrel-chested, blunt-speaking minister arrested corrupt officials and thieves in fields ranging from trucking to finance, attacked chronic drunkenness as a cause of crime with puritanical relish and purged his forces of “dull” chiefs, ideological laggards and “strange people.”
He sought more death sentences and increased the pay of law enforcement officers by 70 percent. He immediately exposed the corruption of his powerful predecessor, Gen. Nikolai A. Shchelokov.
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The Federal Security Service, the main K.G.B. successor agency, announced the death.
From late 1982 to early 1986, General Fedorchuk was Interior minister, making him the Soviet Union’s top police officer, in charge of uniformed officers from detectives to game wardens. The job’s high visibility contrasted with his covert past.
The barrel-chested, blunt-speaking minister arrested corrupt officials and thieves in fields ranging from trucking to finance, attacked chronic drunkenness as a cause of crime with puritanical relish and purged his forces of “dull” chiefs, ideological laggards and “strange people.”
He sought more death sentences and increased the pay of law enforcement officers by 70 percent. He immediately exposed the corruption of his powerful predecessor, Gen. Nikolai A. Shchelokov.