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Ex-KGB Chief Found Dead In Apartment From Apparent Suicide


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.

Shebarshin was head of the KGB's foreign intelligence division from 1989 to 1991 after serving as an agent in Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan and India.

He became acting head of the entire KGB on August 22, 1991 -- replacing the leader of the failed coup attempt, Vladmir Kryuchkov, the day the putsch collapsed.

Shebarshin was replaced as KGB chief the following day and resigned shortly thereafter.

With reporting by Reuters, AP, and AFP

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