Mikhail Vasilyevich Golovatov (russian: Михаил Васильевич Головатов; 23 August 1949 – 1 August 2022) was a Russian

intelligence officer An intelligence officer is a person employed by an organization to collect, compile or analyze information (known as intelligence) which is of use to that organization. The word of ''officer'' is a working title, not a rank, used in the same way a ...

. In 1965, Golovatov enrolled at the N. N. Godovikov Moscow Aviation College. He worked at the until 1972. Golovatov was a member of the sports and fitness society

Dynamo Sports Club Dynamo, also Dinamo, (; , Belarusian: Дынама, ka, დინამო) was a sports and fitness society created in 1923 in the Soviet Union. The society was an association of multi-sport clubs whose members were drawn from the NKVD and, a ...

from 1965 to 1971. He worked with 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 ...

. In 1984, Golovatov was dispatched to

Khabarovsk Khabarovsk ( rus, Хабaровск, a=Хабаровск.ogg, r=Habárovsk, p=xɐˈbarəfsk) is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative centre of Khabarovsk Krai, Russia,Law #109 located from the China ...

, where he established the regional branch of the KGB's

Alpha Group Spetsgruppa "A", also known as Alpha Group (a popular English name), or Alfa, whose official name is Directorate "A" of the FSB Special Purpose Center (TsSN FSB) (Russian: Спецназ ФСБ "Альфа"), is an elite stand-alone sub-unit o ...

. He was later commander of Alpha Group. In 2011, Golovatov was arrested at

Vienna International Airport Vienna International Airport (german: Flughafen Wien-Schwechat; ) is the international airport of Vienna, the capital of Austria, located in Schwechat, southeast of central Vienna and west of Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. It is the co ...

by Austrian police, having been placed on the European Arrest Warrant by Lithuania for his role in the events of 13 January 1991. The Lithuanian government was informed, but Austrian authorities released him within 24 hours, claiming that the information provided by Lithuania was "too vague". Former Estonian President

Toomas Hendrik Ilves Toomas Hendrik Ilves (; born 26 December 1953) is an Estonian politician who served as the fourth president of Estonia from 2006 until 2016. Ilves worked as a diplomat and journalist, and he was the leader of the Social Democratic Party in the ...

has accused the then-Austrian Foreign Minister,

Michael Spindelegger Michael Spindelegger (born 21 December 1959) is an Austrian politician. He served in the cabinet of Chancellor Werner Faymann as foreign minister of Austria from 2008 to 2013 and as finance minister from 2013 to 2014; additionally, he held the o ...

, of personally intervening in the case with the Austrian border police in order to please the Russian government. On 27 March 2019, the District Court of Vilnius found Golovatov guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity for his role in the events of 13 January 1991. The panel of three judges sentenced Golovatov in absentia to 12 years in prison. Over his career, Golovatov received a number of medals and awards, including the title of , Order of Honour, of Belarus,

Order of the Red Star The Order of the Red Star (russian: Орден Красной Звезды, Orden Krasnoy Zvezdy) was a military decoration of the Soviet Union. It was established by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of 6 April 193 ...

, Medal "For Courage" of Russia and

Order of the Red Banner The Order of the Red Banner (russian: Орден Красного Знамени, Orden Krasnogo Znameni) was the first Soviet military decoration. The Order was established on 16 September 1918, during the Russian Civil War by decree of th ...

. Golovatov died in August 2022, at the age of 72, at his house in

Sochi Sochi ( rus, Со́чи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg) is the largest resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi River, along the Black Sea in Southern Russia, with a population of 466,078 residents, up to 600,000 residents in ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Golovatov, Mikhail 1949 births 2022 deaths Recipients of the Order of Honour (Russia) Recipients of the Order of the Red Star Recipients of the Medal "For Courage" (Russia) Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner KGB officers Soviet colonels