Vladislav Achalov, a former Soviet general who supported two botched anti-Kremlin coups and recently organized a protest against the government's military reform, has died. He was 65.
Military spokesman Alexander Cherednik said Achalov died at a Moscow hospital on Thursday. Achalov, an ex-commander of Soviet Airborne Forces, led a union of veteran paratroopers.
Achalov supported the 1991 hardline coup that briefly ousted Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev but did not face trial. In October 1993, he played an active role in a rebellion against President Boris Yeltsin and spent several months in custody before being released under amnesty.
Last November he helped stage a protest against the military reform that drew fears of military mutiny.
(AP)
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