Nikolai Nikolayevich Kostechko (russian: Николай Николаевич Костечко; 25 November 1946 – 3 July 2022) was an officer of the Soviet Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) and its Russian successor, the Main Directorate of the General Staff. He rose to the rank of

colonel general Colonel general is a three- or four-star military rank used in some armies. It is particularly associated with Germany, where historically general officer ranks were one grade lower than in the Commonwealth and the United States, and was a ra ...

and served as the Main Directorate's Chief of Staff and First Deputy Director. He was awarded 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 ...

in 2000.

Early life

Kostechko was born on 25 November 1946 in the village of ,

Pinsk District Pinsk District is an administrative subdivision, a raion of Brest Region, in Belarus. Its administrative center is Pinsk. Demographics At the time of the Belarus Census (2009), Pinsk District had a population of 51,997. Of these, 92.2% were of ...

, in what was then the

Pinsk Region Pinsk Region (Pinsk Voblast, be, Пінская вобласць, russian: Пинская Область) was a territorial unit in the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic created after the annexation of West Belarus into the BSSR in November ...

of the

Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR, or Byelorussian SSR; be, Беларуская Савецкая Сацыялістычная Рэспубліка, Bielaruskaja Savieckaja Sacyjalistyčnaja Respublika; russian: Белор� ...

, in the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

. He graduated from secondary school in in 1964, and was drafted into the

Soviet Army uk, Радянська армія , image = File:Communist star with golden border and red rims.svg , alt = , caption = Emblem of the Soviet Army , start_date ...

that year. He enrolled in the Cherepovets Military School of Communications, graduating from there in 1967, and was assigned to serve in special units of the Soviet Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU). He undertook further studies, graduating from the in 1973, and from the Higher Academic Courses of the Military Academy of the General Staff in 1996. He served during 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 ...

with the

40th Army The 40th Army (, ''40-ya obshchevoyskovaya armiya'', "40th Combined Arms Army") of the Soviet Ground Forces was an army-level command that participated in World War II from 1941 to 1945 and was reformed specifically for the Soviet–Afghan War fro ...

, and went on to see action in the

Second Chechen War The Second Chechen War (russian: Втора́я чече́нская война́, ) took place in Chechnya and the border regions of the North Caucasus between the Russia, Russian Federation and the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, from Augus ...

as head of a number of special forces' operations in the region. He oversaw trials of the Ka-50 helicopter and recommended it be adopted into service. He was also involved in the production of the 1993 film , which brought the helicopter and the work of Russian special forces to public attention.

Higher intelligence posts

Kostechko was appointed head of the GRU's 14th Directorate during the 1990s, and then Chief of Staff and First Deputy Director of the Main Intelligence Directorate, a post he held until 2009. On 19 February 2000 he was awarded the title of

, with the Gold Star medal number 578. He was promoted to the rank of

on 10 December 2002, and retired from military service in 2009. In addition to his intelligence work, Kostechko had the title of , was a Doctor of military sciences,

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

, and author of more than 25 scientific papers on the theory and practice of special operations and command and control. Over his career he was awarded the

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 ...

, the

Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" The Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" (russian: Орден «За заслуги перед Отечеством», ''Orden "Za zaslugi pered Otechestvom"'') is a state decoration of the Russian Federation. It was instituted on 2 March 1994 by P ...

Fourth Class, the

Order of Courage The Order of Courage may refer to: * , a state decoration of the partially recognized republic of Abkhazia * Order of Courage (Iran), a state decoration of Iran * Order of Courage (Russia) The Order of Courage (russian: Орден Мужес ...

, the Order of Military Merit, an Honorary Diploma of the Russian Government on 23 November 2006, and various foreign orders and medals. He was also a laureate of the

USSR State Prize The USSR State Prize (russian: links=no, Государственная премия СССР, Gosudarstvennaya premiya SSSR) was the Soviet Union's state honor. It was established on 9 September 1966. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, t ...

and the

State Prize of the Russian Federation The State Prize of the Russian Federation, officially translated in Russia as Russian Federation National Award, is a state honorary prize established in 1992 following the breakup of the Soviet Union. In 2004 the rules for selection of laureates ...

. He had also been made an honorary citizen of the Pinsk Region in 2006. In retirement Kostechko lived in Moscow, where he died on 3 July 2022 at the age of 75.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kostechko, Nikolai 1946 births 2022 deaths People from Pinsk District Russian colonel generals GRU officers Heroes of the Russian Federation Recipients of the Order of Military Merit (Russia) Recipients of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 4th class Recipients of the Order of the Red Star Soviet military personnel of the Soviet–Afghan War Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Russia alumni Recipients of the USSR State Prize State Prize of the Russian Federation laureates Recipients of the Order of Courage (Russia)