Obituaries

[pbrower2a]

Arch-nemesis of America's "Deep State"... in his day:

Ivan Lavrentevich Ustinov (Russian: Иван Лаврентьевич Устинов; 1 January 1920 – 15 January 2020) was a Soviet intelligence officer who held a number of posts in Soviet military counterintelligence, reaching the rank of general-lieutenant.
Born in 1920, Ustinov joined the Red Army in 1939 and was assigned to serve in the state's security organs. He had begun his operational studies two weeks before the Axis invasion of the Soviet Union, and was soon in service in the front lines. He saw action at the Battle of Smolensk and the fighting around Vyazma, having to escape encirclement before he could rejoin the Soviet forces. He served on several of the fronts during the Second World War, as part of the detachments of NKVD and SMERSH operatives assigned to army groupings. By the end of the war he was head of a SMERSH detachment with a regiment, and during the 1950s was part of military counterintelligence assigned to the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany, as part of the Ministry of State Security (MGB), and its successors the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD), and finally the Committee for State Security (KGB).

Ustinov then served in various positions with the KGB's Third Directorate in the 6th Guards Tank Army, and the Far Eastern Military District, eventually becoming deputy head and then head of the KGB's entire Third Directorate, effectively leading the Soviet Union's military counterintelligence. His final active posting was a return to the Soviet Forces in Germany as Head of the KGB's Special Directorate there. In the KGB's reserve after 1981, he served as advisor to the chairman of Gosplan on security issues until his retirement in 1991.

In retirement Ustinov published on the subject of the history of military counterintelligence, took part in anniversary events and was a consultant on documentary films. He had received a number of honours and awards over his career, and died in 2020, shortly after his 100th birthday.

From November 1945 Ustinov was deputy head of the SMERSH detachment for the 36th Guards Rifle Corps in the Baltic Military District.[2] Further postings in the 1950s were primarily with the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany. In April 1951 he became Deputy Head of the 3rd Division of the Second Main Directorate [ru] of the Ministry of State Security (MGB) for the Soviet Forces in Germany, holding the post until November 1952, when he became Secretary of the Directorate's Party Committee, followed by the Secretary of the Party Committee for the Directorate of Special Divisions [ru] in the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) for Soviet Forces in Germany from March 1953 until March 1954.[2] He continued to hold the post after the MVD was replaced by the Committee for State Security (KGB) that month, and in December 1954 became Head of the KGB's 3rd Department for the Soviet Forces in Germany.[1][2] Ustinov held this post until January 1957, when he returned to the Soviet Union as Deputy Head of the KGB's military counterintelligence section in the 69th Air Army.[2]

[/url]
Certification for a [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMERSH]SMERSH agent. Ustinov's career was spent with the various military counterintelligence organs, including the NKVD, SMERSH, the MGB, MVD, and KGB.

Ustinov's next post was as head of the KGB's military counterintelligence section of the 6th Guards Tank Army between August 1958 and July 1963, after which he became Deputy Head of the KGB's Special Directorate for the Far Eastern Military District until 1966.[2] In August that year he became head of the directorate, holding the post until February 1968.[2] He was during this time promoted to the rank of major general on 20 December 1966.[2] In February 1968 Ustinov was appointed Deputy Head of the KGB's Third Directorate, holding the position until becoming head of the directorate on 4 September 1970, effectively leading the Soviet Union's military counterintelligence.[1][3][5] Promoted to general-lieutenant on 15 June 1971, Ustinov was next appointed Head of the KGB's Special Directorate for the Soviet Forces in Germany from November 1973 until July 1981.[1][2] He was then transferred to the KGB's reserve and served as advisor to the chairman of Gosplan on security issues until Ustinov's retirement in September 1991.[2][5]


More at Wikipedia.