Vladimir Kryuchkov diplomatic service, stationed in Hungary until 1959. He then worked for the Communist Party Central Committee for eight years, before joining the KGB in 1967 together with his patron Yuri Andropov. He was appointed head of the First Chief Directorate (FCD) in the summer of 1971 (upon the order of Andropov)(See Vladimir Kryuchkov, 1996) (the KGB Foreign Operations) and Deputy Chairman in 1978. In 1988, he was promoted to the rank of General of the Army and became KGB Chairman. In 1989–1990, he was a member of the Politburo. A political hard-liner, Kryuchkov was among the members of the Soviet
KGB Security Troops which monitored/managed national, foreign, and overseas communications, cryptologic equipment, and research and development, and possibly the Sixteenth Directorate (SIGINT and communications interception) which operated the national and government telephone and telegraph systems. Such troops were reportedly employed, along with the MVD's Internal Troops, to suppress public protests and disperse demonstrations, such as that of the Crimean Tatars in July 1987 and those in the republics of Armenia and Azerbaijan in March 1988. Special KGB troops also were trained for sabotage and diversionary missions abroad. Other special KGB troops were intended for counterterrorist and counterinsurgency operations. The uniforms and insignia of