Viktor Fyodorovich Karpukhin (; October 27, 1947 – March 24, 2003) was a member 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 ...

who was instrumental in 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 ...

. He was born in the Ukrainian city of

Lutsk Lutsk ( uk, Луцьк, translit=Lutsk}, ; pl, Łuck ; yi, לוצק, Lutzk) is a city on the Styr River in northwestern Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Volyn Oblast (province) and the administrative center of the surrounding Luts ...

. He joined the KGB's crack

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 ...

(AG) in 1967 and worked his way up to become its commander in 1988. On December 23, 1979, Karpukhin led 38 soldiers of the AG into

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

, who along with 500 Soviet paratroopers, landed at

Bagram Airfield Bagram Airfield-BAF, also known as Bagram Air Base , is located southeast of Charikar in the Parwan Province of Afghanistan. It is under the Afghan Ministry of Defense. Sitting on the site of the ancient Bagram at an elevation of above sea leve ...

, next to the capital

Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...

. Two days later, 40,000

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 ...

soldiers poured over the Afghan border. Stationed in the Soviet embassy in Kabul, which was close to the

Tajbeg Palace Tajbeg Palace ( ps, د تاج بېګ ماڼۍ; fa, قصر تاج بيگ; ''Palace of the Large Crown''), also inaccurately called the Queen's Palace, is one of the palaces in the popular Darulaman area of Kabul, Afghanistan. The stately mansion is ...

of President

Hafizullah Amin Hafizullah Amin (Pashto/ prs, حفيظ الله امين; 1 August 192927 December 1979) was an Afghan communist revolutionary, politician and teacher. He organized the Saur Revolution of 1978 and co-founded the Democratic Republic of Afghanist ...

, Karpukhin's forces awaited further instructions. On December 27, Karpukhin was ordered to take the presidential palace. In the attack, two Soviet soldiers were killed, and Amin was shot to death. The following day, Prime Minister

Babrak Karmal Babrak Karmal (Farsi/Pashto: , born Sultan Hussein; 6 January 1929 – 1 or 3 December 1996) was an Afghan revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Afghanistan, serving in the post of General Secretary of the People's Democratic Part ...

took Amin's seat as president. Karpukhin was awarded the

Hero of the Soviet Union The title Hero of the Soviet Union (russian: Герой Советского Союза, translit=Geroy Sovietskogo Soyuza) was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for ...

medal for his role. Karpukhin retired from the Alpha Group in 1992, and worked in various government and commercial ventures.

References

1947 births 2003 deaths KGB officers Heroes of the Soviet Union People from Lutsk Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Soviet major generals Soviet military personnel of the Soviet–Afghan War {{hero-USSR-stub