Trubnikov, Vyacheslav Ivanovich

(1944– )

   One of the most influential of modern Russian foreign intelligence officers, Trubnikov entered the KGB First Chief Directorate in 1967. In the 1980s he served as rezident in India and Bangladesh. In 1996 he was made chief of the Foreign Intelligence Service, the SVR, succeeding Yevgeny Primakov. Two years later he was promoted to the rank of general of the army. Russian President Vladimir Putin used Trubnikov as a special ambassador within the Commonwealth of Independent States. According to the Soviet media, he was an apostle of a very hard line. In 2004 Putin appointed him Moscow’s ambassador to India.

   Trubnikov was an experienced intelligence officer, and a capable administrator. While the Russian military was suffering major budget cuts, the SVR was able to maintain the tempo of its operations, remaining a worldwide intelligence service. In his four years as chief of the SVR, Trubnikov appeared frequently in the media, giving Russian foreign intelligence a human face.