nikolay dmitrievich kovalyov (; 6 august 1949 – 5 april 2019) was a russian politician, general, and former kgb official. he was a member of united russia. he was also a member of the state duma. he was chairman of the duma's veterans' committee. he was the director of the federal security service (fsb) from july 1996 to july 1998. vladimir putin took on the role of director after him. kovalyov was born in moscow.