VITALIY  SERGEYEVICH  YURCHENKO 
Qn  1  August  1985,  general -designate  Vitally  Sergeyevich  Yurchenko,  a 
staff  officer  of  the  KGB  with  25  years  of  service,  requested  political  asylum 
in  the  United  States  at  the  American  Embassy  in  Rome,  Italy.  He  was  born  on 
2  May  1936  in  the  village  of  Bolshoye  Shkundino,  Khislavichskiy  Rayon, 
Smolensk  Oblast,  RSFSR.  His  father  was  a  factory  worker  who  served  in  the 
Soviet  Army  and  died  during  the  siege  of  Leningrad  in  1941/42.  His  mother 
worked  at  the  kolkhoz  near  Smolensk  until  1946  and  then  moved  to  Leningrad  and 
remained  there  until  her  death  in  1985. 
Subject  and  his  wife  married  in   1958.  They  have  a  daughter,  born  1n 
1961,  and  an  adopted  son,  born  in  1969.  His  wife  1s  a  graduate  of  the 
Construction  Institute  in  Voronezh  and  works  as  an  engineer  in  the 
Soyuzyodokanal proyekt  Planning  Institute  in  Moscow.  His  son  is  still  in 
school .  His  daughter  graduated  from  Moscow  State  University  in  1984  and 
teaches  English  and  French  at  a  physical  culture  Institute.  She  is  married. 
His  relationship  with  his  wife  was  seriously  strained  prior  to  his  defection. 
Subject  attended  a  Nakhimov  school  (Nakhimovskoye  uchilishche)  located  in 
Tblisi,  Georgian  SSR,  frm  1948  to  1954.  [Nakhimov  schools  are  secondary 
schools  which  prepare  individuals  for  military  careers.]  He  then  entered  the 
Leningrad  Higher  Naval  School  of  Submarine  Navigation  imeni  Lenin  Komsomol. 
After  his  graduation  in  1958,  he  was  commissioned  a  lieutenant  in  the  Soviet 
Navy  and  was  assigned  to  the  Pacific  Fleet,  headquartered  in  Vladivostok. 
From  1958  to  1960  Subject  served  with  the  4th  Independent  Submarine  Brigade  at 
Vladivostok.  The  brigade  repaired  and  refurbished  submarines  and  tested  new 
equipment.  Initially,  Subject  was  a  navigation  officer  on  a  submarine, 
pennant  number  176,  but  during  his  last  year  with  the  brigade,  he  was 
transferred  to  the  brigade  staff. 
In  1959  Subject  was  told  that  he  had  been  recommended  for  transfer  to  the 
KGB's  Third  Chief  Directorate  (counterintelligence  in  the  Soviet  Armed 
Forces).  The  transfer  was  accomplished  smoothly  and  in  1960  he  entered  the 
KGB  Third  Chief  Directorate  School,  Number  311,  In  Novosibirsk  and  joined  the 
Party.  From  1961  to  1965  he  worked  as  an  operations  officer  (operativnyy 
upol nomochennyy )  in  the  KGB  Special  Department  (KGB/00)  for  the  Black  Sea 
Fleet/Subject's  department,  which  was  located  in  Balaklava,  was  responsible 
for  counterintelligence  work  concerning  two  submarine  brigades  based  1n 
Balaklava,  a  PVO  Strany  Missile  division,  a  submarine  brigade  based  in 
Sevastopol,  and  the  Sevastopol  Higher  Naval  Engineering  School. 
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In  1963  Subject  was  promoted  to  senior  operations  officer.     In  1965  he 
entered  KGB  School  101  with  the  Intention  of  transferring  to  the  First  Chief 
Directorate  (Foreign  Intelligence)  after  graduation.  The  1967  Arab-IsraeM 
War  and  aftermath  and  the  Soviet  response  to  It  caused  Subject  to  be  returned 
to  the  Third  Chief  Directorate.  From  August  1967  until  December  1968,  Subject 
was  deputy  chief  of  the  KGB/00  of  the  Fifth  (Mediterranean)  Squadron  of  the 
Black  Sea  Fleet.  He  was  responsible  for  organizing  and  supervising  the  work 
of  the  KGB  officers  assigned  to  this  squadron  and  for  ensuring  the  security  of 
ships'  personnel  during  visits  to  foreign  ports. 
From  December  1968  to  May  1972,  he  was  assigned  to  the  KGB  Residency  In 
Egypt  as  a  Soviet  adviser  to  the  staff  of  the  Egyptian  Fleet  In  Alexandria. 
He  was  responsible  for  working  with  agents  among  the  Soviet  advisers  to 
prevent  the*  recruitment  of  advisers  by  Western  Intelligence  services;  for 
monitoring  the  conduct  and  activities  of  advisers  and  their  wives;  for  the 
collection  of  political  Information;  and  for  the  recruitment  of  Egyptian 
military  agents. 
From  May  1972  to  May  1975,  Subject  was  deputy  chief  of  the  Third 
Department  (Intelligence)  of  the  Third  Chief  Directorate.  The  Third 
Department  was  responsible  for  the  recruitment  of  foreigners  using  the 
resources  of  Soviet  military  counterintelligence;  for  working  with  foreign 
agents  to  acquire  Information;  for  the  recruitment  of  foreign  agents  among 
trainees  at  Soviet  military  academies  and  schools;  for  the  Insertion  of  agents 
[dangles]  Into  Western,  especially  American,  Intelligence  services;  and  for 
handling  double  agent  cases  involving  Western  intelligence  services. 
From  August  1975  to  August  1980,  Subject  was  the  security  officer  at  the 
Soviet  Embassy  in  Washington.  As  such,  he  was  responsible  for  ensuring  the 
security  of  Soviet  establishments  and  citizens  in  Washington;  for  work  with 
agents  within  the  Soviet  colony;  for  supervision  of  the  physical  security  of 
the  Embassy  and  other  Soviet  installations;  for  protecting  Soviet  classified 
information;  and  for  handling  foreign  visitors,  including  those  volunteering 
their  services  to  Soviet  establishments. 
In  September  1980,  Subject  transferred  to  the  First  Chief  Directorate 
(FCD).  From  September  1980  to  March  1985,  he  was  chief  of  the  Fifth 
Department  of  Directorate  K  (counterintelligence)  of  the  FCD.  The  Fifth 
Department  was  responsible  for  the  Investigation  of  suspected  espionage 
incidents  Involving  KGB  staff  personnel;  for  Investigation  of  incidents  of 
leaks  of  information  about  the  work  of  the  First  Chief  Directorate,  its 
personnel,  and  Its  foreign  agents;  for  analysis  of  Incidents  of  agent 
compromises  and  arrests  of  staff  personnel;  for  monitoring  the  testing  and 
vetting  of  foreign  agents  by  the  functional  directorates  and  area  departments 
of  the  FCD;  for  Investigation  of  treason  by  directorate  officers  and  for 
searching  for  such  Individuals  abroad;  for  organization  of  training  and 
preparation  of  security  officers  and  Border  Guards  personnel  sent  abroad;  for
recruitment  of  agents  among  directorate  staff  personnel;  for  the 
indoctrination  of  directorate  counterintelligence  officers  going  abroad;  for 
the  conduct  of  special  operations  abroad;  for  assisting  the  directorate  chief 
in  working  with  defectors  to  the  USSR  (K1m  Phllby,  George  Blake);  and  for  the 
use  of  special  drugs. 
From  April  to  July  1985,  Subject  was  Deputy  Chief  of  the  First  Department 
for  work  against  the  US  and  Canada.  The  Department  was  responsible  for 
supervising  the  KGB  Residencies  in  the  US  and  Canada;  for  coordinating  work 
against  the  US  by  other  First  Chief  Directorate  components  through  Group 
North;  for  assisting  all  other  elements  of  the  KGB,  outside  the  First  Chief 
Directorate,  in  work  against  American  citizens;  and  for  coordinating  work 
against  the  US  with  the  security  services  of  other  communist  countries. 
Subject's  own  responsibilities  Included: 
Supervising  the  KGB  Residencies  in  Ottawa  and  Montreal,  Canada; 
Supervising  the  activities  of  the  Coordination  Section,  Including 
its  work  against  the  US  on  Soviet  territory,  its  selection  of  agents  in 
the  US,  and  KGB  joint  operations  with  the  services  of  other  communist 
countries; 
Mobilization  work,  Including  preparing  the  First  Department  for 
wartime;  preparing  plans  for  the  deployment  and  use  of  the  operational 
staff;  selecting  agents  to  be  used  after  the  beginning  of  war;  and 
working  out  agent  communications  plans.