areas from which its power could operate in a more selective fashion. The report suggested establishing a Soviet foothold on the Arabian Peninsula in "the most Marxist country" in the region, South Yemen. The report was returned to Leonov's office, without Andropov's signature of approval. In the late 1970s and the early 1980s he traveled frequently to Poland to assess the situation and reportedly told the head of the KGB Yuri Andropov, in a heated discussion, that the prospects of Polish socialism looked bleak. Between 1983 and January 1991, Leonov was Deputy Chief of the First Chief Directorate of the State Security Committee (KGB) of the Soviet Union, the second post within the KGB structure. Previously he was Sub-Director of the KGB’s Analysis and Information Department (1973-1982) and Sub-Director of its Latin American Department (1968-1972). Leonov received a doctorate in Latin American History, from the Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union, and wrote the book Essays on Contemporary Central American History (Moscow: Academy of Sciences, 1973). In 1985, he published his memoirs under the title Difficult Times. As of 1998, he was a professor at the Institute of International Relations in Moscow. In December 2003, Leonov was elected to the State Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament, as a member of the nationalist Rodina party. He died on 27 April 2022 in Moscow, aged 93. He was buried at Troyekurovskoye Cemetery. Awards Order of the October Revolution Two Orders of the Red Banner of Labour Order of the Red Star Footnotes 1928 births 2022 deaths People from Skopinsky District Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Fourth convocation members of the State Duma (Russian Federation) Moscow State Institute of International Relations alumni Academic staff of the Moscow State Institute of International Relations Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Recipients of the Order of the Red Star Cuba–Soviet Union relations Mexico–Russia relations KGB officers Russian–Spanish translators Translators from Spanish Russian historians of espionage Russian lieutenant generals Soviet diplomats Soviet expatriates in Mexico Soviet historians Soviet lieutenant generals Soviet spies Burials in Troyekurovskoye Cemetery