Boris Pugo

Boris Karlovich Pugo (Latvian: Boriss Pugo, Russian: Борис Карлович Пуго; 19 February 1937 – 22 August 1991) was a Soviet communist politician of Latvian origin.

Boris Pugo
Борис Пуго
Pugo in 1989
Minister of Interior of the Soviet Union
In office
1 December 1990 – 22 August 1991
PremierNikolai Ryzhkov
Valentin Pavlov
Preceded byVadim Bakatin
Succeeded byViktor Barannikov
Chairman of the Central Control Commission
In office
30 September 1989 – April 1991
Preceded byMikhail Solomentsev
Succeeded byEugene Makhov
First Secretary of the Communist Party of Latvia
In office
14 April 1984 – 4 October 1989
Preceded byAugusts Voss
Succeeded byJānis Vagris
Personal details
Born(1937-02-19)19 February 1937
Kalinin, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Died22 August 1991(1991-08-22) (aged 54)
Moscow, Russian SFSR Soviet Union
Cause of deathSuicide by gunshot
Resting placeTroyekurovskoye Cemetery
CitizenshipSoviet Union
Political partyCommunist (1960–1991)

Early life and education

Pugo was born in Kalinin, Russian SFSR (now Tver, Russia) into a family of Latvian communists who had left Latvia after Latvia was proclaimed an independent country in 1918 and the Communist side was defeated in the war that followed. His father, Karl Janovich Pugo, was a participant in the October Revolution and the Civil War as a member of the Latvian Riflemen. His family returned to Latvia after the Soviet Union occupied and annexed it in 1940.[1]

Pugo graduated from Riga Polytechnical Institute in 1960 and worked in various Komsomol, Communist Party and Soviet government positions, both in Latvia and Moscow.

Party career

Pugo served in various positions between 1960 and 1984 including the first secretary of the Central Committee of the Komsomol of the Latvian SSR, a secretary of the Central Committee of Komsomol of the USSR, the First Secretary of the Riga City Committee of the Communist Party and chairman of the KGB in Latvia.

Pugo was the first secretary of the Communist Party of Latvia from 14 April 1984 to 4 October 1989. Pugo also served as chairman of the Central Control Commission of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1989 to 1991.

Between 1990 and 1991, Pugo was the Minister of Interior Affairs of the USSR.

August coup and death

Pugo participated in the August coup in 1991 and as the Minister of the Interior firmly supported measures to suppress opposition to the coup. After the coup had failed, Pugo committed suicide, anticipating arrest.[2] He was contacted by the RSFSR prosecution for a meeting and he shot himself minutes after the phone call.[2] His wife Valentina Ivanovna also committed suicide,[3] although sources from the time were uncertain as to whether she killed herself or was killed by her husband.[2][4][5][6]

Notes

    References
    1. "Пуго Борис Карлович" [Pugo Boris Karlovich]. XPOHOC (in Russian). Retrieved 14 December 2020.
    2. "After The Coup; Phone Call, Then a Suicide". The New York Times. 24 August 1991. Retrieved 21 December 2017.
    3. Synovitz, Ron (19 August 2016). "What Happened To The August 1991 Soviet Coup Plotters?". RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
    4. "The Kremlin Plot". Newsweek. 30 August 1992. Retrieved 21 December 2017.
    5. "Wife of Coup Plotter Pugo Dies After Suicide Attempt". Los Angeles Times. 5 September 1991. Retrieved 21 December 2017.
    6. Nadler, Gerald (23 August 1991). "Conspirator calmly took call from pursuer, then shot wife, self". United Press International. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
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