Russian Authorities Say Former KGB Chief Leonid Shebarshin Shot Himself

KGB Foreign Intelligence Chief Leonid Shebarshin in younger days.


Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (3-30-12) reports:


Russian authorities say the man who headed the KGB for one day after the failed 1991 Soviet coup has been found dead in his apartment as the result of an apparent suicide. 

Russian investigators say the body of 77-year-old Leonid Shebarshin was discovered on March 30 with a bullet in his head.

Nearby was a pistol he had been awarded when he retired.

Investigators said they also found a suicide note. [See the full text.] 


The Independent (3-30-12) reports:

Stanislav Kucher, a commentator who had interviewed Shebarshin and counted him as a close acquaintance, said Shebarshin had been "of sound mind" at 77 and that he did not know why he might have killed himself.


The lifenews.ru website quoted extracts from Shebarshin's diary discovered at the scene, which revealed that he could have had health problems. His last entry read:


"March, 29 - 17.15, left eye failure. 19.00, went completely blind. Foreign Intelligence duty officer 4293593."