Alexander Korzhakov
The shadowy KGB bodyguard who stood atop a tank with Yeltsin, then became the power behind the throne in chaotic 1990s Russia.
Born 1950 (age 76)·Russian former KGB general·Birthday: January 31·Baby Boomers
Biography
Alexander Korzhakov's story is a dark fairy tale of the Soviet collapse. He began as a junior KGB officer assigned to protect a rising Communist Party official, Boris Yeltsin. That assignment became a lifelong bond. Korzhakov evolved from a silent protector into Yeltsin's most trusted confidant, a fixer who controlled access and wielded immense behind-the-scenes influence. His iconic moment came during the 1991 coup attempt, when he stood guard next to Yeltsin on the tank outside Russia's White House, an image seared into history. As head of the Presidential Security Service, he built a formidable private army and became embroined in the brutal political and economic wars of the era. His fall was as dramatic as his rise; a 1996 political miscalculation led Yeltsin to fire him abruptly. He later parlayed his notoriety into a seat in parliament, forever a symbol of the opaque, muscular power that shaped post-Soviet Russia.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Alexander was born in 1950, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Alexander Was Born
The biggest hits of 1950
#1 Movie
Cinderella
Best Picture
All About Eve
#1 TV Show
Texaco Star Theatre
Alexander's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1950Born
Korean War begins
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $7,354Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Goodnight Irene" — Gordon Jenkins & The WeaversBest Picture: All About Eve
1955Started school
Rosa Parks refuses to give up her bus seat
Gas: $0.29/galHome: $9,550Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Rock Around the Clock" — Bill Haley & His CometsBest Picture: Marty
1963Became a teenager
JFK assassinated in Dallas; Martin Luther King's 'I Have a Dream' speech
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,100Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Sugar Shack" — Jimmy Gilmer & The FireballsBest Picture: Tom Jones
1966Could drive
Star Trek premieres on television
Gas: $0.32/galHome: $14,200Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"The Ballad of the Green Berets" — SSgt Barry SadlerBest Picture: A Man for All Seasons
1968Could vote
Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy assassinated
Gas: $0.34/galHome: $14,950Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Hey Jude" — The BeatlesBest Picture: Oliver!
1971Turned 21
Voting age lowered to 18 in the US
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $18,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Joy to the World" — Three Dog NightBest Picture: The French Connection
1980Turned 30
John Lennon shot and killed in New York
Gas: $1.19/galHome: $47,200Min wage: $3.10/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Call Me" — BlondieBest Picture: Ordinary People
1990Turned 40
Hubble Space Telescope launched; Germany reunifies
Gas: $1.15/galHome: $79,100Min wage: $3.80/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"Hold On" — Wilson PhillipsBest Picture: Dances with Wolves
2000Turned 50
Y2K passes without incident; contested Bush-Gore election
Gas: $1.51/galHome: $119,600Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Breathe" — Faith HillBest Picture: Gladiator
2010Turned 60
Deepwater Horizon oil spill; iPad launched
Gas: $2.79/galHome: $147,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Tik Tok" — KeshaBest Picture: The King's Speech
2020Turned 70
COVID-19 pandemic shuts down the world
Gas: $2.17/galHome: $248,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"Blinding Lights" — The WeekndBest Picture: Nomadland
2026Age 76 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Served as the head of the Russian Presidential Security Service (PSB) from 1991 to 1996, amassing great political power.
- Stood as Boris Yeltsin's personal bodyguard during the historic 1991 coup attempt speech from a tank.
- Elected as a State Duma deputy, serving from 1997 to 2011 after his dismissal from the PSB.
- Maintained a close advisory and protective relationship with Yeltsin for over a decade, a unique position for a security chief.
Did You Know?
He claimed in his memoirs to have personally dissuaded Yeltsin from resigning in 1994.
Korzhakov was dismissed after a bizarre incident where Yeltsin's aides were caught leaving the White House with half a million dollars in a cardboard box.
He is a published author of memoirs that provide a controversial insider's view of the Yeltsin administration.
Before protecting Yeltsin, his early KGB duties included guarding Soviet leaders like Leonid Brezhnev.
“My duty was to protect him, and I did so until the very end.”
