Vadim Zaitsev Former Chairman of the KGB of Belarus Date of Birth: 16.07.1964 Country: Belarus

1. Early Life and Education
2. KGB and Border Guard Service
3. Rise in the KGB
4. Chairman of the KGB
5. Dismissal from the KGB

Early Life and Education

Vadim Yuryevich Zaytsev was born in 1964 (some sources indicate July 16, 1964) in Zhytomyr Oblast, Ukrainian SSR, to a military family. In 1986, he graduated from the Moscow Higher Border Command School of the KGB of the USSR.

KGB and Border Guard Service

Zaytsev began his service as a deputy chief of a border outpost. After the collapse of the USSR, he continued to serve in various officer positions within the Belarus State Border Guard Committee (GCPV). By 1994, he had become the chief of a border outpost.

In 1997, Zaytsev graduated from the Academy of the Federal Border Service. He then spent a year working in the Department of Border Protection at the GCPV headquarters. From 1998 to 2002, Zaytsev served as deputy commander and chief of staff of a border guard battalion before being appointed commander of the Pinsk Border Guard Detachment.

Zaytsev pursued further education in Russia, graduating from the General Faculty of the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in 2004.

Rise in the KGB

In July 2005, Zaytsev was appointed Deputy Chairman and Head of the Main Directorate of the GCPV. In April 2007, he was promoted to First Deputy Chairman and Chief of Staff of the GCPV. In September 2007, he was appointed First Deputy Chairman of the State Border Committee and Head of the Main Operations Department of the GCPV.

Chairman of the KGB

On July 15, 2008, Zaytsev was appointed Chairman of the KGB of Belarus. He held the rank of Major General at the time of his appointment but was promoted to Lieutenant General in 2009. In December 2010, he retained his position as Chairman of the KGB after the cabinet reshuffle following President Alexander Lukashenko's re-election.

Dismissal from the KGB

In November 2012, rumors emerged in the Belarusian press of the murder or suicide of a high-ranking KGB officer. It was later revealed that Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Kazak had committed suicide. President Lukashenko cited this incident, along with "other issues" that required "thorough investigation," as the reason for Zaytsev's dismissal from his post as head of the KGB.