Alexander Korzhakov

Alexander Korzhakov
Korzhakov in 2017
Head of the Presidential Security Service
In office 1991–1996
President	Boris Yeltsin
Preceded by	Oleg Lobov
Succeeded by	Ivan Rybkin
Personal details
Born	Alexander Vasilyevich Korzhakov (1950-01-31) 31 January 1950 (age 74) Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union

Alexander Vasilyevich Korzhakov (Russian: Александр Васильевич Коржаков; born 31 January 1950) is a Russian former KGB general who served as Boris Yeltsin's bodyguard, confidant, and adviser for eleven years. He was the head of the Presidential Security Service (PSB) from 1991 to 1996, State Duma deputy from 1997 to 2011, and retired Lieutenant-general. Korzhakov had been Yeltsin's bodyguard since 1985, and on 19 August 1991, he stood next to his boss on top of a tank during Yeltsin's historic speech.

Being the Chief of the Security Service, Korzhakov was widely criticized for interfering in government affairs and business. In 1996, he was finally sacked after losing a power struggle with the Prime Minister. He then successfully ran for a seat in the State Duma where he received immunity from prosecution. In 1997, Korzhakov published a biography based on his experience at the very top of Russian politics. In the biography he contends that he and the Security Service "governed the country for three years".