Boris Pugo

Boris Karlovich Pugo, OAN (Latvian: Boriss Pugo, Russian: Борис Карлович Пуго; 19 February 1937 – 22 August 1991) was a Soviet Communist politician of Latvian origin.

Boris Pugo
Борис Пуго
Minister of Interior of the Soviet Union
In office
1 December 1990 – 22 August 1991
PremierNikolai Ryzhkov
Valentin Pavlov
Preceded byVadim Bakatin
Succeeded byViktor Barannikov
Chairman of the Central Control Commission
In office
30 September 1989 – April 1991
Preceded byMikhail Solomentsev
Succeeded byEugene Makhov
First Secretary of the Communist Party of Latvia
In office
14 April 1984 – 4 October 1989
Preceded byAugusts Voss
Succeeded byJānis Vagris
Personal details
Born(1937-02-19)19 February 1937
Kalinin, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Died22 August 1991(1991-08-22) (aged 54)
Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Cause of deathSuicide by gunshot
Resting placeTroyekurovskoye Cemetery
CitizenshipSoviet Union
Political partyCommunist (1960–1991)

Biography

Early life and education

Pugo was born in Kalinin, Russian SFSR (now Tver, Russia) into a family of Latvian communists who had left Latvia after Latvia was proclaimed an independent country in 1918 and the Communist side was defeated in the war that followed. His family returned to Latvia after the Soviet Union occupied and annexed it in 1940.[1]

Pugo graduated from Riga Polytechnical Institute in 1960 and worked in various Komsomol, Communist Party and Soviet government positions, both in Latvia and Moscow.

Party career

Pugo served in various positions between 1960 and 1984 including the first secretary of the Central Committee of the Komsomol of the Latvian SSR, a secretary of the Central Committee of Komsomol of the USSR, the First Secretary of the Riga City Committee of the Communist Party and chairman of the KGB in Latvia.

Pugo was the first secretary of the Communist Party of Latvia from 14 April 1984 to 4 October 1989. Pugo also served as chairman of the Control Commission of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1989 to 1991.

In 1982, Pugo provided the case against Grigory Luchansky for a theft totaling 2,564 rubles of furniture, a telephone and other property from the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic Communist Party which led to Luchansky being sentenced in 1983 to seven years in prison at the Jēkabpils zone prison.[2][lower-alpha 1]

Between 1990 and 1991, Pugo was the Minister of Interior Affairs of the USSR.

August Coup and death

Pugo participated in the August Coup in 1991 and as the Minister of the Interior firmly supported measures to suppress opposition to the coup. After the coup had failed, Pugo committed suicide, anticipating arrest.[13] He was contacted by the RSFSR prosecution for a meeting and he shot himself minutes after the phone call.[13] His wife Valentina Ivanovna also committed suicide,[14] although sources from the time were uncertain as to whether she killed herself or was killed by her husband.[13][15][16][17]

Notes
  1. Grigory Emmanuilovich Luchansky (Russian: Григорий Эммануилович Лучанский) born 8 February 1945, Tashkent), also known as Garry or Harry Luchansky or Garik Luchansky (Russian: Гарик Лучанский), was the Commander of the student detachment in Latvia in 1969, then the Head of the department of the Central Committee of the Komsomol of Latvia and the Chairman of the Audit Commission of the Komsomol of Latvia. At University of Latvia in 1975, Grigory Luchansky was a vice-rector for economic affairs and the youngest vice-rector in the Soviet Union. He has an equivalent to a PhD in Economics. After Luchansky's release from prison in 1987, he became a deputy director of the Latvian firm "Adazhi" (Latvian: Ādaži) under Albert Kauls and then "Adazhimpex" (Latvian: Ādažimpeks) which was formed during perestroika to facilitate trade between the Soviet Union and the west. He is president of Nordex which he co-founded at Vienna, Austria, on 26 February 1990 as "Nordex GmbH" and re-founded on 1 December 1993 as "Nordex Hemishe Products, Handels und Marketing Service Gesellschaft MBH" with his brother Veniamin Solomonovich Levin (Russian: Вениамин Соломонович Левин; born 9 September 1946 Kurgan) who is the vice president of Nordex. To promote chemical production, trade and marketing, Nordex was established by three firms: "IFT-Industrial Financial & Trading SA" of Zurich, Switzerland; "Dalmex AG" of Zug, Switzerland; and the agricultural company "Adazi" of Latvia. Luchansky and Levin formed Nordex to supply Ukraine with oil from Kazakhstan in return for food. Lutchansky is very close to Aslan Abashidze and KGB agent in Italy Dimitry Naumov (Russian: Дмитрий Наумов).[2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12]

References
  1. "Пуго Борис Карлович" [Pugo Boris Karlovich]. XPOHOC (in Russian). Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  2. Точс, Сандрис (Tochs, Sandris) (5 January 2001). "Лучанский, Победивший Times" [Luchanskhy, Winner over Times]. Baltic Course (in Russian). Archived from the original on 17 October 2020. Retrieved 14 December 2020 – via Neatkarīgā Rīta Avīze.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. Гентелев, Александр (Gentelv, Alexandr) (23 April 2013). "Лучанский Без монтажа 1 часть" [Luchansky without montage part 1 (Interviewed in 2000)] (in Russian). Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 12 December 2020.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. "Лучанский о свободе и тюрьме" [Luchansky on freedom and prison] (in Russian). 21 March 2012. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  5. "Шумейко В.Ф. и Романюха В. П." [Shumeiko V.F. and Romanyukha V.P.]. Базы данных СБ Группы "Мост" (Database of SB Group "Most") (in Russian). November 1995. Archived from the original on 3 March 2001. Retrieved 26 October 2021 – via "Стрингер" (stringer-agency.ru). Alternate archive at compromat.ru on 9 October 2000 as Романюха немного рассказал, о ком спросили: Упоминаются Якубовский, Лужков, Шумейко, Черномырдин, Гусинский и др. Лучанский перевел Черномырдину $300 млн. Сотрудники группы "Мост" проходили через святая святых израильских спецслужб. (Romanyukha told a little about whom they asked: Mentioned are Yakubovsky, Luzhkov, Shumeiko, Chernomyrdin, Gusinsky and others. Luchansky transferred $300 million to Chernomyrdin. The Most group members passed through the holy of holies of the Israeli special services.).
  6. "Лучанский Григорий Эммануилович: Нордэкс" [Luchansky Grigory Emmanuilovich: Nordex]. FreeLance Bureau (in Russian). Retrieved 26 October 2021.
  7. "Справка N951208/В-4/50" [Help N951208 / B-4/50]. Базы данных СБ Группы "Мост" (Database of SB Group "Most") (in Russian). 1995. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
  8. Латынина, Юлия (Latynina, Yulia) (21 May 2003). "Есть мнение" [There is an opinion]. Channel 6 (in Russian). Archived from the original on 5 June 2003. Retrieved 26 October 2021.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) Alternate archive at compromat.ru on 22 May 2003 as Специальность - посреднические операции с коррумпированными режимами: Почему Гарри Лучанским интересуются американские спецслужбы (Specialty - Mediating Corrupt Regimes: Why Harry Luchansky is interested in American intelligence services).
  9. Intelligence Online staff (8 March 2001). "The U.S. Connection in Caucasus". Intelligence Newsletter (No. 401). Archived from the original on 16 November 2020. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
  10. Kāpēc tāds tracis? Kas ir G. Lučanskis? (Why such a brawl? Who is G. Lučanskis? Latvijas Jaunatne, Nr.20, 30 January 1993. Retrieved 26 October 2021. This is a Latvian reprint of the article "Wiener Russen aus Riga" ("Viennese Russians from Riga") published on 27 August 1992 in «Wirtschafts Woche».
  11. Робинсон, Джеффри (Robinson, Jeffrey) (2000). "ГЛОБАЛИЗАЦИЯ РОССИЙСКОЙ ОРГАНИЗОВАННОЙ ПРЕСТУПНОСТИ" [GLOBALIZATION OF RUSSIAN ORGANIZED CRIME]. satcor.ru (in Russian). Archived from the original on 23 January 2003. Retrieved 26 October 2021.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) Alternate archive
  12. "Лучанский Григорий" [Luchansky Grigory]. compromat.lv (in Russian). Retrieved 26 October 2021.
  13. "After The Coup; Phone Call, Then a Suicide". The New York Times. 24 August 1991. Retrieved 21 December 2017.
  14. Synovitz, Ron (19 August 2016). "What Happened To The August 1991 Soviet Coup Plotters?". RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  15. "The Kremlin Plot". Newsweek. 30 August 1992. Retrieved 21 December 2017.
  16. "Wife of Coup Plotter Pugo Dies After Suicide Attempt". Los Angeles Times. 5 September 1991. Retrieved 21 December 2017.
  17. Nadler, Gerald (23 August 1991). "Conspirator calmly took call from pursuer, then shot wife, self". United Press International. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
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