His good service brought him to the attention of Yuri Andropov, chairman of the KGB, and in 1974 he was appointed deputy head of the First Chief Directorate and led Department "S", illegal KGB intelligence gathering [ru], where he spent the next five years.[1][2] In 1979 Kirpichenko became First Deputy Head of the First Chief Directorate, and would hold this position until 1991.[1][2][3]