He served in the
Group of Soviet Forces in Germany as an infantry platoon commander. In this function, he was involved in the downfall of
Walter Ulbricht and the rise to power of
Erich Honecker, the latter of whom had struck a deal with the
Soviet leadership under
Brezhnev to replace Ulbricht. In late April 1971, Maltsev and Yuri Bassistov secretly escorted
Central Committee member
Werner Lamberz to Moscow for a discussion with Brezhnev (aside from Maltsev and Bassistov, only Soviet ambassador
Pyotr Abrasimov knew of the operation). This led to Ulbricht stepping down a few days later. In 1972 he became a mechanized infantry company commander. In 1974 he was the commander of a motorized rifle battalion. In 1979 he graduated from
Frunze Military Academy. In 1979 Maltsev served in the
Far East Military District as a deputy commander of the infantry regiment and in 1980 as the commander of a motorized rifle regiment of the school, in 1982 as a Chief of Staff Motorized Rifle Division, and in 1986 as a Commander Infantry Division. From 1987 to 1990 he was a head of the district training center for junior professionals in
Far Eastern Military District (
Chita). In 1992 Maltsev graduated from the
General Staff Academy in
Moscow (with honors). After graduation from the Academy in 1992 he started serving in
Armed Forces of Belarus. On July 10, 1992 he became first deputy commander of the
28th Combined Arms Army, after the reduction and on 7 April 1993 he was appointed commander of the 28th Army Corps. In August 1994 Maltsev became Chief of Staff - First Deputy Minister of Defense of the Republic of Belarus. On October 10, 1995 he was appointed Belarus Minister of Defense. On November 1, 1996 he was fired from the post of Minister of Defence of the Republic of Belarus "for misconduct
discrediting the rank of officer (appearance in a public place while intoxicated)». In March 1997 on the decision of the Council of Defense Ministers of the CIS, he was appointed First Deputy Chief of Staff for Coordinating Military Cooperation of the
CIS. On November 29, 2000 he was appointed Deputy State Secretary of the Security Council. From September 24, 2001 to December 4, 2009 he again served as the Minister of Defense. He succeeded
Aleksandr Petrovich Chumakov. From December 4, 2009 to November 2, 2013 Leonid Maltsev served as State Secretary of Security Council. From 2014 to 2016, he served as the head of
State Border Committee of the Republic of Belarus. ==References==