Nikolai Vasilyevich Ogarkov (; October 30, 1917 in the village of Molokovo, Tver Governorate - January 23, 1994), was promoted to Marshal of the Soviet Union in 1977. Between 1977 and 1984 he was Chief of the General Staff of the USSR. He became widely known in the West when he became the Soviet military's spokesman following the shootdown of Korean Air Lines Flight 007 near Moneron Island in September 1983. He was fired by General Secretary Konstantin Chernenko in 1984 for his association with Grigory Romanov (see below).