Nikolay Kovalev (FSB)

Nikolai Dmitrievich Kovalev ( _ru. 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. Kovalev was the Director of the FSB from July 1996 to July 1998, when he was succeeded by Vladimir Putin.

Nikolay Kovalev 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.Fact|date=May 2007

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." [ [http://www.globalsecurity.org/intell/world/russia/fsb-cases.htm Counterintelligence Cases] ] He also publicly speculated that Boris Berezovsky might be involved in the death of Alexander Litvinenko. [cite web | title = Who orchestrated the plan to discredit Russia? | publisher=Kommersant | date = 2006-11-25 | url=http://www.kommersant.ru/doc-y.html?docId=724957&issueId=30261 | accessdate=2006-11-26 ru icon [http://www.online-translator.com/url/tran_url.asp?direction=re&autotranslate=on&transliterate=on&url=http://www.kommersant.ru/doc-y.html?docId=724957&issueId=30261 Computer translation] .]

During the Bronze Soldier Controversy in 2007, Kovalev 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. [ [http://www.interfax.ru/r/B/politics/2.html?id_issue=11725028 Российские парламентарии призвали эстонский парламент дать оценку деятельности правительства республики] Interfax, April 30, 2007. Retrieved: 2007-04-30] Before leaving Moscow, Kovalev asked Estonia's government to step down. [ [http://www.rian.ru/world/foreign_russia/20070430/64676483.html Николай Ковалев: эстонское правительство должно уйти в отставку] ] 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 Kovalev's delegation. [ [http://www.vm.ee/eng/kat_138/8413.html Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Press Release] ] [ [http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6602044,00.html Estonia Cancels Russia Talks Over Statue] , by Jari Tanner, Associated Press, May 2, 2007. Retrieved: 2007-05-02.]

References

External links

* [http://www.duma.gov.ru/index.jsp?t=deputat/99100733.html Official web page at the Russian State Duma] ru icon
* [http://fas.org/irp/world/russia/fbis/FederalSecurityService.html Federal Service of Security]
* [http://newsfromrussia.com/society/2001/12/06/23063.html Nikolay Kovalev: If the world had listened to Russia, it would have been possible to avoid a lot of mistakes] - Pravda on-line