MOSCOW, January 23 (AVN) - The Regional Operations Staff for management of anti-terrorist activities in the North Caucasus will be headed by Vice Admiral German Ugryumov, deputy director of the Federal Security Service (FSB) and chief of its department for constitutional order protection and combating terrorism, an FSB source told the Military News Agency on Tuesday.
The regional staff's main function is direct management of special forces and equipment during the final stage of the anti-guerrilla operation in Chechnya, the source said. It is being set up in accordance with President Vladimir Putin's decree "Concerning Measures for Combating Terrorism in the Territory of the North Caucasus."
Lieutenant-General Valery Baranov, federal troops commander in the North Caucasus, is appointed Ugryumov's deputy. The staff also includes the deputy interior minister, deputy commander of the North Caucasus military district (military commandant of the Chechnya security zone), deputy federal troops commander in charge of special operations, deputy presidential envoy to the Southern federal district, deputy head of the FSB department for constitutional order protection and combating terrorism (head of the FSB co-ordination department for the North Caucasus), and head of the FSB department for Chechnya.
Ugryumov became known in connection with the recent spy scandal in the Pacific Fleet. The vice admiral (then rear admiral) headed the FSB department in the fleet when Captain Grigory Pasko, reporter of the fleet's Boyevaya Vakhta newspaper, was charged with disclosure of classified information to the Japanese media.
Ugryumov also supervised the release of hostages in the Lazarevskoye village on the Russian Black Sea coast in September 2000.