the Soviet Union, but not a security threat of any kind, yet Semichastny ordered the KGB to kidnap her and bring her back. The attempt failed, and led to the exposure of several KGB agents, who were arrested. The blunder gave Shelepin's enemies a pretext to sack Semichastny. Shelepin was able to protect him for a few weeks. but in May, he was hospitalised for eight days after an operation, and in his absence, on 18 May 1967, the POlitburo held a ten-minute discussion in which they decided to appoint Yuri Andropov, who was ten years older than Semichastny, as his replacement. Shelepin was removed from positions of influence soon afterwards. Later career From 1967 until 1981 Semichastny was a Deputy Prime Minister of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, although he did not have any significant influence in the political affairs of the Republic, which was tightly controlled by Brezhnevites. In 1981 he was removed from that position as well, and retired to private life. Semichastny died in Moscow at the age of 77, on January 12, 2001, after suffering a stroke. Kennedy assassination After U.S. President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963, Semichastny investigated the background of Lee Harvey Oswald, who was arrested for the murder and was himself shot dead. Oswald had spent some time in the Soviet Union but, according to Semichastny's investigations, had never worked for any Soviet intelligence agency; Semichastny's verdict, that there was definitely "something fishy" in the whole affair, is shared by many. Assessment Markus Wolf, the intelligence chief of East Germany, who worked closely with Semichastny, described him as follows: References |- |- 1924 births 2001 deaths People from Dnipropetrovsk Oblast People from Yekaterinoslav Governorate Komsomol of Ukraine members Party leaders of the Soviet Union Ukrainian people of Russian descent KGB chairmen Burials in Troyekurovskoye Cemetery Members of the Supreme Soviet of the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic First deputy chairpersons of the Council of Ministers of Ukraine Soviet military personnel of World War II from Ukraine