Nikolai Patrushev

Nikolai Platonovich Patrushev (Никола́й Плато́нович Па́трушев) (born 11 July 1951) is a Russian political and security figure. He was Director of the Russian FSB, the successor organization to the KGB, from 1999 to 2008, and he has been Secretary of the Security Council of Russia since 2008.

Career
Patrushev was born in Leningrad and graduated from Leningrad Shipbuilding Institute in 1974, where he worked as an engineer at his department. He joined the KGB in 1975.

KGB
In 1974—1975 he attended the Higher Courses of the KGB with the USSR Council of Ministers in Minsk.

In 1975 he began to work at the counter-intelligence section of the KGB regional directorate for the Leningrad region; ended up being chief of the service for combatting contraband and corruption.

Upon finishing a year-long refresher courses at the Higher School of the KGB (now the FSB Academy), in June 1992, he was appointed Minister of State Security of Karelia which post he held until 1994.

FSK/FSB
In 1994, under Sergei Stepashin as Director of the FSK, he was appointed chief of the FSK Directorate of Internal Security. According to Yuri Felshtinsky, the transfer saved him from the ongoing human trafficking investigation in Karelia.

After Stepashin's resignation on 30 June 1995, Patrushev got a senior post of deputy chief of the Organisation and Inspection Department of the FSB.

In May - August 1998 he was chief of the Control Directorate of the Presidential Staff; in August - October he was Deputy Chief of the Presidential Staff; in October 1998 he was appointed Deputy Director of the FSB and chief of the Directorate for Economic Security.

In April - August 1999 he was First Deputy Director of the FSB.

He was appointed Director of the FSB on 9 August 1999 by Boris Yeltsin's decree, replacing Vladimir Putin.

Patrushev holds the rank of General of the Army and a PhD in law. Nikolai Patrushev has been the recipient of numerous national awards: the title of Hero of the Russian Federation, Honor of the Military Merits and 7 other medals.

In January 2007, Patrushev joined the expedition of polar explorer Arthur Chilingarov, that flew on two helicopters to Antarctica and visited South Pole and Amundsen-Scott station.

Honours and awards

 * State awards
 * Hero of the Russian Federation
 * Order of Merit for the Fatherland, 1st class (2006), 2nd class, 3rd class and 4th class
 * Order of Courage
 * Order of Military Merit
 * Order of Naval Merit
 * Order of Honour
 * Jubilee Medal "300 Years of the Russian Navy"
 * Medal "In Commemoration of the 850th Anniversary of Moscow"
 * Jubilee Medal "60 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR"
 * Jubilee Medal "70 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR"
 * Medal Anatoly Koni
 * Medal for Strengthening Military Cooperation (Defence)
 * Medal for Strengthening Military Cooperation (Defence)
 * Medal for Strengthening Military Cooperation (Defence)
 * Medal "Diligence in carrying out engineering tasks" (Defence)
 * Medal for distinction in military service (MOD), 1st class
 * Meritorious Service, 2nd class


 * Russian regions
 * Medal "For Services to the Stavropol Territory" (Stavropol Territory, June 2003)
 * Honorary Citizen of the Republic of Karelia


 * Foreign Awards
 * Order of the Cross, 1st class (Armenia, 2003)
 * Medal of Honour (Belarus, 2001)
 * Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky, 3rd class (Ukraine, 23 May 2001) - for his contribution in the development of cooperation between the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation and the Security Service of Ukraine in the fight against international terrorism, organized crime and drug trafficking


 * Religious Awards
 * Order of Saint Blessed Prince Dimitry Donskoy great, 1st class (Russian Orthodox Church, 2005)