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Sat 04 Apr 2003KGB general who refused to obey orders and arrest Yeltsin
VIKTOR KARPUKHIN: Viktor Karpukhin (55), who died on March 23rd after a heart attack, was a retired KGB major general and heavily decorated combat veteran of Soviet commando and anti-terrorist operations who may be best remembered for his refusal to obey orders in 1991.
Gen Karpukhin helped to lead the KGB's elite Alpha special operations group in the 1979 storming of the Afghan presidential palace in Kabul. Part of the massive Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, Alpha's assault resulted in the shooting of Afghan president Hafizullah Amin and his replacement by the pro-Soviet Barbak Kamal.
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