Panyushkin, Aleksandr Semenovich

(1905–1974)

   Panyushkin joined the OGPU in 1927. At the age of 34, he was dispatched to China as intelligence rezident and ambassador, dual roles he later held in Washington and in Beijing. After serving in counterintelligence in the MVD and the KGB, he was appointed chief of the KGB’s First (Foreign Intelligence) Chief Directorate in 1954. He returned in 1955 to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where he served as a senior official until 1973. Panyushkin held the rank of KGB major general and was decorated by the Communist Party, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the KGB.