forces were dead, wounded, or captured, and 25 German divisions
had been destroyed.BAKATIN, VADIM VIKTOROVICH (1937– ).Bakatin, whose fa-
ther was shot in the Stalin era purges, was a pro-Gorbachevreformer
in the Communist Party. In 1988 Mikhail Gorbachev drafted
Bakatin to reform and modernize the MVD(Ministry of Internal Af-
fairs, or police). While originally a close ally of the general secretary
and a competent administrator, Bakatin was fired in 1990 as Gor-
bachev moved to the right and replaced him with Boris Pugo, a ca-
reer KGBofficial.
Immediately following the August putschof 1991, Bakatin was
appointed KGB chair. Bakatin made a valiant effort to reform the ser-
vice, fired officers implicated in the putsch, and cut down on corrup-
tion and nepotism. He even fired his own son, a KGB lieutenant
colonel. Bakatin also sought to build ties to Western intelligence and
security services, providing diagrams of the KGB’s bugging of the
U.S. embassy to the American ambassador. Bakatin, however, was
not a Boris Yeltsinloyalist and was fired in January 1992, before he
could make significant changes in the Russian intelligence services.BAKER, RUDY (c. 1890–?). Born in 1898 in Croatia, probably with
the name Rudolph Blum, Rudy Baker had a four-decade career in the
Communist Party of the United States (CPSUA). After receiving
training in Moscow in the late 1930s, he was assigned to replace
Josef Petersas head of the CPUSA’s secret apparatus, which was the
link between the party and the Soviet intelligence services. Baker’s
cover position was that of a minor party functionary, and he worked
so effectively that the Federal Bureau of Investigation never under-
stood his real identity until it was too late.
Baker played several roles simultaneously. He acted as a financier
for the intelligence services, moving money to agents in Latin Amer-
ica and the United States. He vetted recruits and found couriers to
move personnel, money, and documents around the world. He set up
clandestine radio stations, and he advised Moscow on questions of
tradecraft. Most importantly, Baker acted as a “cut out,” isolating
the legal CPUSA from illegalclandestine activities. In cables, he was
referred to as “son,” while CPSU leader Earl Browderwas “father.”BAKER, RUDY (c. 1890–?)•2106-313 A-G.qxd 7/27/06 7:55 AM Page 21