Lev Yakovlevich Rokhlin (russian: Лев Яковлевич Рохлин; 1947–1998) was a career officer in the

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

and

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

n armies. Rokhlin reached the top of the Russian military, quickly rising through the ranks during and after the

Soviet–Afghan War The Soviet–Afghan War was a protracted armed conflict fought in the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan from 1979 to 1989. It saw extensive fighting between the Soviet Union and the Afghan mujahideen (alongside smaller groups of anti-Soviet ...

. After the Soviet Union fell, he started a political career and became a member of the Russian

State Duma The State Duma (russian: Госуда́рственная ду́ма, r=Gosudárstvennaja dúma), commonly abbreviated in Russian as Gosduma ( rus, Госду́ма), is the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia, while the upper house ...

and the chairman of the State Duma's Defense Committee. He was shot to death in 1998 under mysterious circumstances.

Early career

Lev Rokhlin was the youngest of three children in the family of a

war veteran A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in a particular job, occupation or Craft, field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in a military. A military vete ...

, the political exile Yakov Lvovich Rokhlin. In 1948, eight months after the birth of his son, Yakov was arrested and apparently died in a

Gulag The Gulag, an acronym for , , "chief administration of the camps". The original name given to the system of camps controlled by the GPU was the Main Administration of Corrective Labor Camps (, )., name=, group= was the government agency in ...

prison. Lev’s mother, Ksenia Ivanovna Goncharova, brought up three children alone. Ten years later the Rokhlin family moved to

Tashkent Tashkent (, uz, Toshkent, Тошкент/, ) (from russian: Ташкент), or Toshkent (; ), also historically known as Chach is the capital and largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of ...

. Rokhlin studied there at school #19 in Old Town. After he graduated, he worked at the Tashkent aircraft factory, then was drafted into the army. In 1970 he graduated from the Tashkent Higher Military Command School with honors, then served in the

Group of Soviet Forces in Germany The Western Group of Forces (WGF),. previously known as the Group of Soviet Occupation Forces in Germany (GSOFG). and the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany (GSFG),. were the troops of the Soviet Army in East Germany. The Group of Soviet Occupati ...

Wurzen Wurzen () is a town in the Leipzig district, in Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the river Mulde, here crossed by two bridges, 25 km east of Leipzig, by rail N.E. of Leipzig on the main line via Riesa to Dresden. It has a cathedral dating ...

. Then he studied at the Frunze Military Academy, and after completing his studies served in the Arctic and in the

Leningrad Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

Turkestan Turkestan, also spelled Turkistan ( fa, ترکستان, Torkestân, lit=Land of the Turks), is a historical region in Central Asia corresponding to the regions of Transoxiana and Xinjiang. Overview Known as Turan to the Persians, western Turke ...

Transcaucasian The South Caucasus, also known as Transcaucasia or the Transcaucasus, is a geographical region on the border of Eastern Europe and Western Asia, straddling the southern Caucasus Mountains. The South Caucasus roughly corresponds to modern Arme ...

Military districts, as deputy commander of a corps.

Later service

In 1982–1984 he served in Afghanistan, initially as commander of the 860 Mechanised Infantry Regiment at

Fayzabad, Badakhshan Fayzabad (also spelled Feyzabad or Faizabad) ( fa, فيض آباد, Fayzâbâd) is a city in northeastern Afghanistan, with a population of around 39,555 people. It serves as the provincial capital and largest city of Badakhshan Province. It is ...

. In June 1983 he was released from this position after a failed operation and appointed deputy commander of the 191 Mechanised Infantry Regiment in

Ghazni Ghazni ( prs, غزنی, ps, غزني), historically known as Ghaznain () or Ghazna (), also transliterated as Ghuznee, and anciently known as Alexandria in Opiana ( gr, Αλεξάνδρεια Ωπιανή), is a city in southeastern Afghanistan ...

. But in less than a year he was reappointed to his previous position. He was wounded twice, and the second time was evacuated to Tashkent. He graduated from the Military Academy of the General Staff with honors. In March 1987 Rokhlin was appointed commander of the 152nd Motor Rifle Division, 31st Army Corps, in Kutaisi, a cadre division. In November 1988 Rokhlin became commander of the 75th Motor Rifle Division of the 4th Army in Nakhchivan. In early 1990 the division was transferred to the

Soviet Border Troops The Soviet Border Troops (russian: Пограничные войска СССР, Pogranichnyye voyska SSSR) were the border guard of the Soviet Union, subordinated to the Soviet state security agency: first to the ''Cheka''/State Political Di ...

of the

KGB The KGB (russian: links=no, lit=Committee for State Security, Комитет государственной безопасности (КГБ), a=ru-KGB.ogg, p=kəmʲɪˈtʲet ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)əj bʲɪzɐˈpasnəsʲtʲɪ, Komitet gosud ...

, and Rokhlin was promoted to major-general in February of the same year. In 1993, he became the head of Russia's 8th Guard Corps at

Volgograd Volgograd ( rus, Волгогра́д, a=ru-Volgograd.ogg, p=vəɫɡɐˈɡrat), geographical renaming, formerly Tsaritsyn (russian: Цари́цын, Tsarítsyn, label=none; ) (1589–1925), and Stalingrad (russian: Сталингра́д, Stal ...

(formerly Stalingrad), at the rank of

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

, the only Jew to reach such a rank in Russia since

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

.Lev Rokhlin, Jewish general and critic of Yeltsin, 51
Jewish Telegraphic Agency, July 24, 1998 During the

First Chechen War The First Chechen War, also known as the First Chechen Campaign,, rmed conflict in the Chechen Republic and on bordering territories of the Russian FederationФедеральный закон № 5-ФЗ от 12 января 1995 (в реда� ...

, Rokhlin was credited with reorganizing the Russian forces in

Chechnya Chechnya ( rus, Чечня́, Chechnyá, p=tɕɪtɕˈnʲa; ce, Нохчийчоь, Noxçiyçö), officially the Chechen Republic,; ce, Нохчийн Республика, Noxçiyn Respublika is a republic of Russia. It is situated in the ...

and finally taking the Chechen capital of

Grozny Grozny ( rus, Грозный, p=ˈgroznɨj; ce, Соьлжа-ГӀала, translit=Sölƶa-Ġala), also spelled Groznyy, is the capital city of Chechnya, Russia. The city lies on the Sunzha River. According to the 2010 census, it had a pop ...

in 1995. Frustrated with the bloodshed, he left the army a few weeks later. He refused to accept the state's highest medal and the title of

Hero of the Russian Federation Hero of the Russian Federation (russian: Герой Российской Федерации, Geroy Rossiyskoy Federatsii), also unofficially Hero of Russia (russian: link=no, Герой России, Geroy Rossii), is the highest honorary title ...

for leading the Grozny offensive, saying "Its immoral to seek glory in a civil war for commanders. For Russia, the Chechen war has none of glory, but all of tragedy".

Political career

After he retired in 1995, Rokhlin was elected to the Russian parliament, the

Duma A duma (russian: дума) is a Russian assembly with advisory or legislative functions. The term ''boyar duma'' is used to refer to advisory councils in Russia from the 10th to 17th centuries. Starting in the 18th century, city dumas were for ...

, as a member of a pro-

Boris Yeltsin Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin ( rus, Борис Николаевич Ельцин, p=bɐˈrʲis nʲɪkɐˈla(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈjelʲtsɨn, a=Ru-Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin.ogg; 1 February 1931 – 23 April 2007) was a Soviet and Russian politician wh ...

party

Our Home – Russia Our Home – Russia (NDR; russian: Наш дом – Россия; НДР; ''Nash dom – Rossiya'', ''NDR'') was a Russian political party that existed from 1995 to the mid-2000s. History Our Home – Russia was founded in 1995 by then Russian P ...

, from which he later resigned. Rokhlin chaired the Duma's Defense Committee until President Yeltsin made a rare agreement with the

Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...

to strip him of the post. In 1997, Rokhlin formed his own movement, called In Defense of the Army, which blamed Yeltsin for the war in Chechnya and for low morale in the military, unsuccessfully sought to organize serving and retired servicemen into a political force that could force Yeltsin from office.Lev Rokhlin, a Foe of Yeltsin, Is Slain at 51; Wife Is Accused
''The New York Times'', July 4, 1998

Death

On July 4, 1998, a few months after he tried to stage an anti-government mass protest by army servicemen, Lev Rokhlin was killed in his bed by a gunshot to the head. Rokhlin's wife Tamara, who at first had briefly confessed to the killing "due to a hostile relationship", was convicted by a Russian court for her husband's murder in 2005, but she continued to insist he was killed by a group of masked men who broke into their

dacha A dacha ( rus, дача, p=ˈdatɕə, a=ru-dacha.ogg) is a seasonal or year-round second home, often located in the exurbs of post-Soviet countries, including Russia. A cottage (, ') or shack serving as a family's main or only home, or an outbu ...

. She was given a

suspended sentence A suspended sentence is a sentence on conviction for a criminal offence, the serving of which the court orders to be deferred in order to allow the defendant to perform a period of probation. If the defendant does not break the law during that ...

of 4-5 years. Three burned corpses were found in a

windbreak A windbreak (shelterbelt) is a planting usually made up of one or more rows of trees or shrubs planted in such a manner as to provide shelter from the wind and to protect soil from erosion. They are commonly planted in hedgerows around the edges ...

near the scene of the crime. According to officials, they were killed some time before the murder of the general, and had nothing to do with that. But many of Rokhlin's colleagues thought that they were the real assassins, liquidated by the Kremlin's special service.Как военные готовили переворот в России
/ref> According to

Alexander Litvinenko Alexander Valterovich "Sasha" Litvinenko (30 August 1962 ( at WebCite) or 4 December 1962 – 23 November 2006) was a British-naturalised Russian defector and former officer of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) who specialised i ...

, former

and FSB general

Anatoly Trofimov Anatoly Vasilyevich Trofimov (russian: Анато́лий Васи́льевич Трофи́мов; July 14, 1940 – April 10, 2005) was a head of the Soviet KGB investigation department. He personally supervised all Soviet dissident cases inclu ...

(himself shot dead in 2005) told him that the murder appeared to be organized by Russian secret services.''"Don't you see? They killed Rokhlin; surely that was a Kontora job. Now the guy who came in

utin Utin may refer to: * Utin (castle), a former Wendish castle in north Germany * Saint-Utin, a commune in north-eastern France * Ikouwem Udo Ikouwem Udo Utin (born 11 November 1999) is a Nigerian international footballer who plays for Croatian c ...

will have to cover that up. He cannot afford to solve the case. It is like an insurance policy"'', Alex Goldfarb and Marina Litvinenko. '' Death of a Dissident: The Poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko and the Return of the KGB'', The Free Press (2007) , page 137.

References

External links