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{{Short description|Soviet Latvian politician (1937–1991)}}
'''Boris Karlovich Pugo''' ([[Russian language|Russian]]: Бори́с Ка́рлович Пу́го) ([[February 19]], [[1937]] - [[August 22]], [[1991]], in Moscow, also spelled '''Boriss Pugo''') was a [[Latvia]]n ([[Russian]]-born) Communist [[political figure]].
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}}
{{expand Russian|date=August 2022|topic=bio}}
{{Infobox Officeholder
| name = Boris Pugo
| image = Boris Pugo.jpg
| citizenship = [[Soviet people|Soviet Union]]
| office = [[Ministry of Interior (Soviet Union)|Minister of Interior of the Soviet Union]]
| term_start = 1 December 1990
| term_end = 22 August 1991
| premier = [[Nikolai Ryzhkov]]<br/>[[Valentin Pavlov]]
| predecessor = [[Vadim Bakatin]]
| successor = [[Viktor Barannikov]]
| order1 = Chairman of the [[Central Control Commission of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|Central Control Commission]]
| term_start1 = 30 September 1989
| term_end1 = April 1991
| predecessor1 = [[Mikhail Solomentsev]]
| successor1 = Eugene Makhov
| office2 = [[Secretary (title)|First Secretary]] of the [[Communist Party of Latvia]]
| term_start2 = 14 April 1984
| term_end2 = 4 October 1989
| predecessor2 = [[Augusts Voss]]
| successor2 = [[Jānis Vagris]]
| birth_date = {{birth date|1937|02|19|df=yes}}
| birth_place = [[Tver|Kalinin]], [[Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic|Russian SFSR]], [[Soviet Union]]
| death_date = {{death date and age|1991|8|22|1937|02|19|df=y}}
| death_place = [[Moscow]], Russian SFSR Soviet Union
| death_cause = [[Suicide]] by gunshot
| party = [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union|Communist]] (1960–1991)
| spouse =
| profession =
| resting_place = [[Troyekurovskoye Cemetery]]
| residence =
| signature =
| native_name_lang = ru
| native_name = {{nobold|Борис Пуго}}
| caption = Pugo in 1989
}}
'''Boris Karlovich Pugo''' ({{lang-lv|Boriss Pugo}}, {{lang-ru|Борис Карлович Пуго}}; 19 February 1937 – 22 August 1991) was a [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] [[Communism|communist]] politician of Latvian origin.


==Early life and education==
Pugo was born in Kalinin, [[USSR]] (now [[Tver]], [[Russia]]) in a family of Latvian communists who had left Latvia following the loss of Communists in the Latvian independence war of [[1918]]-[[1920]]. His family returned to Latvia after Soviet Union annexed it in [[1940]].
Pugo was born in Kalinin, [[Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic|Russian SFSR]] (now [[Tver]], [[Russia]]) into a family of Latvian communists who had left Latvia after Latvia was proclaimed an independent country in 1918 and the Communist side was defeated in the [[Latvian War of Independence|war that followed]]. His father, Karl Janovich Pugo, was a participant in the October Revolution and the Civil War as a member of the [[Latvian Riflemen]]. His family returned to Latvia after the Soviet Union occupied and annexed it in 1940.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://hrono.ru/biograf/bio_p/pugo_bk.php |title=Пуго Борис Карлович |trans-title=Pugo Boris Karlovich |language=ru |work=XPOHOC |access-date=14 December 2020}}</ref>


Pugo graduated from [[Riga Technical University|Riga Polytechnical]] in [[1960]] and worked in various [[Komsomol]], [[Communist Party]] and Soviet government positions since then, both in Latvia and [[Moscow]]. His positions between 1960 and [[1984]] included the [[first secretary]] of the [[Central Committee]] of Komsomol of [[Latvian SSR]], a secretary of the [[Central Committee]] of Komsomol of USSR, the first secretary of [[Riga]] City Committee of Communist Party and the chairman of [[KGB]] in Latvia.
Pugo graduated from [[Riga Technical University|Riga Polytechnical Institute]] in 1960 and worked in various [[Komsomol]], [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union|Communist Party]] and Soviet government positions, both in Latvia and [[Moscow]].


== Party career ==
Pugo was the first secretary of the Communist Party of Latvian SSR from 1984 to [[1988]].
Pugo served in various positions between 1960 and 1984 including the [[General Secretary|first secretary]] of the [[Central committee|Central Committee]] of the Komsomol of the [[Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic|Latvian SSR]], a secretary of the Central Committee of Komsomol of the USSR, the First Secretary of the Riga City Committee of the Communist Party and chairman of the [[Committee for State Security of the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic|KGB in Latvia]].


Pugo was the first secretary of the [[Communist Party of Latvia]] from 14 April 1984 to 4 October 1989. Pugo also served as chairman of the [[Central Control Commission of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union]] from 1989 to 1991.
Between [[1990]] and 1991, he was the [[MVD|Minister of the Interior Affairs of the USSR]]. He was a member of the [[August Coup]] in 1991. He soon after committed [[suicide]]. Several media (including ''[[Moscow Times]]'' and ''[[Time Magazine]]'') have cast doubts on the circumstances of his suicide, suggesting he might have been killed and the murder masked as a suicide.

Between 1990 and 1991, Pugo was the [[Ministry of Internal Affairs (Soviet Union)|Minister of Interior Affairs of the USSR]].

== August coup and death ==
Pugo participated in the [[1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt|August coup]] in 1991 and as the Minister of the Interior firmly supported measures to suppress opposition to the coup. After the coup had failed, Pugo committed [[suicide]], anticipating arrest.<ref name="coupphone">{{cite news|title=After The Coup; Phone Call, Then a Suicide|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/08/24/world/after-the-coup-phone-call-then-a-suicide.html|access-date=21 December 2017|work=The New York Times|date=24 August 1991}}</ref> He was contacted by the RSFSR prosecution for a meeting and he shot himself minutes after the phone call.<ref name="coupphone"/> His wife Valentina Ivanovna also committed suicide,<ref>{{Cite web|last=Synovitz|first=Ron|date=19 August 2016|title=What Happened To The August 1991 Soviet Coup Plotters?|url=https://www.rferl.org/a/what-happened-to-the-august-1991-coup-plotters/27933729.html|access-date=27 March 2018|website=RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty|language=en}}</ref> although sources from the time were uncertain as to whether she killed herself or was killed by her husband.<ref name="coupphone"/><ref>{{cite news|title=The Kremlin Plot|url=http://www.newsweek.com/kremlin-plot-197950|access-date=21 December 2017|work=Newsweek|date=30 August 1992|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Wife of Coup Plotter Pugo Dies After Suicide Attempt|url=http://articles.latimes.com/1991-09-05/news/mn-2437_1_soviet-coup|access-date=21 December 2017|work=Los Angeles Times|date=5 September 1991}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Nadler|first=Gerald|title=Conspirator calmly took call from pursuer, then shot wife, self|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1991/08/23/Conspirator-calmly-took-call-from-pursuer-then-shot-wife-self/7549682920000/|access-date=26 March 2018|work=United Press International|date=23 August 1991}}</ref>

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}


==External links==
==External links==
{{Portal|Biography}}
*[http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2001/08/17/019.html An article on Pugo's death in Moscow Times]
*[http://hrono.ru/biograf/bio_p/pugo_bk.php Pugo Boris Karlovich biography] in Russian
*{{cite web|url=http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2001/08/17/019.html|title=The Men Who Tried to Topple Mikhail Gorbachev|access-date=2004-07-20|url-status=bot: unknown|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010905011525/http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2001/08/17/019.html|archive-date=2001-09-05}}
*{{Find a Grave|7323341}}

{{27th Politburo of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union}}
{{Latvian SSR First Secretaries}}

{{Authority control}}


[[Category:1937 births|Pugo, Boris Karlovich]]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pugo, Boris Karlovich}}
[[Category:1991 deaths|Pugo, Boris Karlovich]]
[[Category:1937 births]]
[[Category:Latvian people]]
[[Category:1991 suicides]]
[[Category:1991 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Tver]]
[[Category:Riga Technical University alumni]]
[[Category:Heads of the Communist Party of Latvia]]
[[Category:People's commissars and ministers of the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Ministers of internal affairs of the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:State Committee on the State of Emergency members]]
[[Category:Candidates of the Politburo of the 25th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Candidates of the Politburo of the 26th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Candidates of the Politburo of the 27th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Eleventh convocation members of the Soviet of Nationalities]]
[[Category:Members of the Congress of People's Deputies of the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Members of the Supreme Soviet of the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic, 1967–1971]]
[[Category:Members of the Supreme Soviet of the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic, 1971–1975]]
[[Category:Members of the Supreme Soviet of the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic, 1975–1980]]
[[Category:Members of the Supreme Soviet of the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic, 1980–1985]]
[[Category:Members of the Supreme Soviet of the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic, 1985–1990]]
[[Category:Expelled members of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Order of the Badge of Honour]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Order of Lenin]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Order of the Red Star]]
[[Category:Latvian communists]]
[[Category:Russian people of Latvian descent]]
[[Category:Soviet colonel generals]]
[[Category:Soviet politicians who died by suicide]]
[[Category:Suicides by firearm in the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Burials in Troyekurovskoye Cemetery]]

Latest revision as of 23:42, 3 May 2024

Boris Pugo
Борис Пуго
Pugo in 1989
Minister of Interior of the Soviet Union
In office
1 December 1990 – 22 August 1991
PremierNikolai Ryzhkov
Valentin Pavlov
Preceded byVadim Bakatin
Succeeded byViktor Barannikov
Chairman of the Central Control Commission
In office
30 September 1989 – April 1991
Preceded byMikhail Solomentsev
Succeeded byEugene Makhov
First Secretary of the Communist Party of Latvia
In office
14 April 1984 – 4 October 1989
Preceded byAugusts Voss
Succeeded byJānis Vagris
Personal details
Born(1937-02-19)19 February 1937
Kalinin, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Died22 August 1991(1991-08-22) (aged 54)
Moscow, Russian SFSR Soviet Union
Cause of deathSuicide by gunshot
Resting placeTroyekurovskoye Cemetery
CitizenshipSoviet Union
Political partyCommunist (1960–1991)

Boris Karlovich Pugo (Latvian: Boriss Pugo, Russian: Борис Карлович Пуго; 19 February 1937 – 22 August 1991) was a Soviet communist politician of Latvian origin.

Early life and education[edit]

Pugo was born in Kalinin, Russian SFSR (now Tver, Russia) into a family of Latvian communists who had left Latvia after Latvia was proclaimed an independent country in 1918 and the Communist side was defeated in the war that followed. His father, Karl Janovich Pugo, was a participant in the October Revolution and the Civil War as a member of the Latvian Riflemen. His family returned to Latvia after the Soviet Union occupied and annexed it in 1940.[1]

Pugo graduated from Riga Polytechnical Institute in 1960 and worked in various Komsomol, Communist Party and Soviet government positions, both in Latvia and Moscow.

Party career[edit]

Pugo served in various positions between 1960 and 1984 including the first secretary of the Central Committee of the Komsomol of the Latvian SSR, a secretary of the Central Committee of Komsomol of the USSR, the First Secretary of the Riga City Committee of the Communist Party and chairman of the KGB in Latvia.

Pugo was the first secretary of the Communist Party of Latvia from 14 April 1984 to 4 October 1989. Pugo also served as chairman of the Central Control Commission of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1989 to 1991.

Between 1990 and 1991, Pugo was the Minister of Interior Affairs of the USSR.

August coup and death[edit]

Pugo participated in the August coup in 1991 and as the Minister of the Interior firmly supported measures to suppress opposition to the coup. After the coup had failed, Pugo committed suicide, anticipating arrest.[2] He was contacted by the RSFSR prosecution for a meeting and he shot himself minutes after the phone call.[2] His wife Valentina Ivanovna also committed suicide,[3] although sources from the time were uncertain as to whether she killed herself or was killed by her husband.[2][4][5][6]

Notes[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Пуго Борис Карлович" [Pugo Boris Karlovich]. XPOHOC (in Russian). Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  2. ^ a b c "After The Coup; Phone Call, Then a Suicide". The New York Times. 24 August 1991. Retrieved 21 December 2017.
  3. ^ Synovitz, Ron (19 August 2016). "What Happened To The August 1991 Soviet Coup Plotters?". RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  4. ^ "The Kremlin Plot". Newsweek. 30 August 1992. Retrieved 21 December 2017.
  5. ^ "Wife of Coup Plotter Pugo Dies After Suicide Attempt". Los Angeles Times. 5 September 1991. Retrieved 21 December 2017.
  6. ^ Nadler, Gerald (23 August 1991). "Conspirator calmly took call from pursuer, then shot wife, self". United Press International. Retrieved 26 March 2018.

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Boris_Pugo&oldid=1222114061"